Asheville, NC fall 2020

Blue Ridge Parkway view of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Summer of 2020 we had planned on going to Asheville, NC and then north on the Blue Ridge Parkway up to DC.  When we were about to leave, the covid metrics were bad for NC so we changed our plans and went to NY instead.  So where do you go when you suddenly need a temporary home?  Where you thought about going earlier in the year, since now it has lower/better covid metrics!  Asheville by way of Atlanta.  Thanks to Jeff's niece and her husband who car sat my convertible for us for a week.  Spent the night in north Atlanta and then onto Asheville.  We stayed at a Doubletree Hotel which was very empty and basically no food options.  We tried to order a takeout pizza and could not so Jeff went to pick it up - no food service at all at the hotel in the morning so we picked up egg McMuffins from McDonalds and started our drive.

We decided to stay in a Bed and Breakfast in Asheville - the Lion and The Rose.  It is a 5 bedroom inn so we figured that alone would help minimize our interactions with others.  It is pretty much in town - not downtown. There was a restaurant half way down the block and another one a block and a half away so food was in sight.  We stayed in the Marion Hall room which had a queen sized bed and a daybed so we had lots of room for our 4 night stay.  The first 2 mornings it was us and another couple.  The B&B did a good job of socially distancing us for breakfast when we had more guests later in the week.  Breakfast was nice each morning and kept us going for much of the day.  So what did we do while we were there?

We went on a hike, played some golf, went to the Abortorium, a winery, and just plain explored.  Jeff's niece and her husband really like Asheville so they gave us some advice on places to go and things to do. By chance, one of their favorite restaurants (Nine Mile) was the one practically across the street.  We could not eat outside there, so we enjoyed take-out on the nice big Victorian porch of the inn, which was quite nice.  It is kind of a Jamaican restaurant so the food was a little different than our normal but quite good.  The next night we went to the other nearby restaurant, Chisei.  It considers itself to be a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Jeff and I will tell you it is a very good Italian restaurant.  We really enjoyed our meal.

 

Enough about food!  On our innkeeper's recommendation, we set out one morning to do the John’s Horse hike in the Pisgah Forest. We did not do the whole hike.  It is not a set path in the forest as there are no signs turn left here or go straight.  So we followed the orange trail blaze for awhile and then were unsure which way to go so we turned back.  Having said that, we did have a nice hike and we saw a couple waterfalls, crossed a few wood log bridges and it was just relaxing.  Also on our innkeeper's recommendation, we went to the Etowah Golf Course.  We played 9 holes which is our normal amount.  It was challenging for us.  We had a good time and it was a nice course with some pretty views. Jeff's niece spoke highly of the North Carolina Abortorium.  While I am only now learning about abortorium's, sorry raised on botanical gardens, I am learning to like them!  This one was nice and educational at times. We walked through an area where the trees were marked as to what they were which is a great way to learn the names of trees other than oh that is an oak.  Like many museums, etc they had an area for changing exhibits and while we were there it was one on bonsai.  I really liked the plants they had and the exhibit on one of the bonsai was formed from regular plant to bonsai.  Additionally, there was a Lego exhibit - sculptures slipped in around the gardens closed to the visitor center.

Pictures from our hike in Pisgah Forest

One of several Lego exhibits at the Arboratorium.  The Gardeners' look so real.

One cannot only eat and explore, one must also drink.  Asheville is big on craft beer and small on wine. We did visit a winery - Burnt Shirt. Their Covid tasting was to have you pick 5 two ounce wine tastes or a glass.  We chose to share a tasting - hey who needs 10 ounces of wine in the middle of the afternoon?  We liked 4 of the 5 wines we ordered.  Surprisingly we did not like their port wine it was too sweet for us. We bought a bottle of one of the other 4 and headed out the door.  Oh, the tasting was on a patio with views of their vineyards which was nice to look at.  Another day we explored downtown Asheville a little bit. We ended up at Wicked Weed brewery another recommendation from Jeff's niece.  We tried a couple of their beers and ended up eating there too, each having a bison burger.  From there we walked around some and ended up at a European bakery; so we had to pick up a dessert which was quite good.

Burnt Shirt Winery

There are probably 2 things that come to most people's minds when they think of Asheville - the Biltmore House and the Blue Ridge Parkway/mountains.  We both thought we had been to Asheville about 30 years ago and only remembered the Biltmore House so we decided to skip that this time.  We did enjoy a drive along the parkway and stopped to enjoy the scenery.  The clouds/skyline really does pick up a blue tinge in the evenings. We really enjoyed Asheville for its scenery and for the atmosphere there so much that we may have to consider it down the road when we look for a permanent home.

Our fellow guests at the B&B encouraged us to go visit the Grove Park Inn.   It's a majestic old hotel that has some very tasteful additions to it.  We greatly enjoyed the grounds as well as the huge fireplaces throughout the hotel.  We hope to stay there sometime in the future.

Grove Park Inn opened in 1913.  Click here for its history 

One of many grand fireplaces, that was perfect for a cold and damp day.

Much to our surprise, Jeff's brother informed us he had a contract on a house nearby so we stopped to check it out on our way back to Atlanta. We really liked the house's setting.  We were surprised/shocked at how much the area has grown over the years.  When we lived in Atlanta, we would go up to that part of north Georgia (Rabun Gap, Dillard) and we would be in the middle of nothing.  Not now!  There were resorts and all sorts of stores.

Waterfall at my brother and his wife's new vacation home.

Then on to Atlanta for the weekend.  We stayed at Le Meridian in Dunwoody.  It is another business hotel that is hurting some.  It is a hotel we have stayed at before for Christmas.  We like to upgrade our room there to a large two room suite with 2 king beds in one room and the other room has a large sectional and a couple of tables. We once again ran into issues getting food.  I think a lot of restaurants are closing early these days.  Jeff watched a Georgia football game and then we tried to order pizza delivery - no luck so off he went to pick it up. We also had a socially distant outdoor brunch at Jeff's niece's home with her and Jeff's brother and their spouses.  I think it was a good get together since it lasted 5 hours!  While in Atlanta, we also explored the Vinings area for future home potential.  Enjoyed driving around but not many residences that will meet our future needs at least not now.  We did enjoy a glass of wine along the Chattahoochee river before a pop-up storm cut it short.  On Monday, it was time to go see what our condo looked like now 13 days since Sally's visit.