Asheville, NC

After apple picking, we hit the road again for Asheville. We honestly hadn't heard a lot about the small city, except that it was kind of the liberal city of North Carolina. Similar to Boulder, Colorado. The word on the street was that it was a great place to just wonder, people watch and walk through some shops. So, that was the plan. When we arrived in Asheville we were starving. We drove straight to downtown and parked. We parked in front of a rather adult store, if you know what I mean. We had a good laugh at what they were able to advertise on the windows and thanked our lucky stars that Annie wasn't old enough to understand/ask questions. We were starving (since James only got ONE donut, but I am not bitter or anything) so we popped into one of the first fun eateries we could find. A gourmet chip shop. Yum! They had everything from BBQ chips to sweet and salty chips. You name it, they could make it. And they had dipping sauce. We opted for the southern BBQ chips with chive dipping sauce. I could have eaten them for days. So delicious.

 Then we spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and learning a little bit about the history of Asheville. The tall monument used to stand in front of a courthouse where the slave auction took place. The general store was a hoot to walk through. A banjo and violin were playing as we wandered the shop with barrels of candy and old fashion walking sticks. The culture of Asheville was definitely far from the conservative, southern feel of Charlotte. We saw everything from a man riding a bike on top of a ten-foot pole, to a lady with hair to her feet, and people walking around in superhero costumes. James said he was, "overwhelmed by the culture." I was eating it up and thought it was an absolute hoot. 

image via

(wish I would have taken more pictures - but these help me remember)

After wandering downtown we headed to the Historic Biltmore Village. Everything in Asheville is owned by the Biltmore Company. Ok, not everything. But it seems like it. There is even the Biltmore Estate, which is the largest privately-owned home in the United States. It was built and is still owned by the Vanderbilt family. Infact, the entire Biltmore Company is still operated by the family. I find it fascinating. The Historic Biltmore Village was constructed in the 1890's as an entrance to the grand estate. We decided to stop by the shops for dinner. I was sad we didn't spend more time there. Darling shops! Most stores had their own little house. There was a Vera Bradley specialty store and other name brand shops that were specialized just for this village. Pretty cool. 

(image via wikipedia - this is what we could not see. but hope to soon)

We grabbed a quick bite and headed for the Biltmore Estate. We got a bit lost in some of the streets (thanks to the new iPhone map) and let me tell you, the houses were a dream. The foliage and pumpkins lining the steps of brick homes - dreamy. We had heard so much about the estate - including that it was 60 bucks to tour. We weren't planning on taking a tour. It was late in the afternoon and we weren't sure if it was worth the money. As we pulled in we were absolutely mesmerized. It looked like a page from Hansle and Gretal. We quickly learned that there was no driving by option. You had to purchase a ticket. Unfortunately, the home was also closed for the afternoon so taking a tour wasn't even an option. But after driving in to the grounds - we have agreed that we must go back while we are living here. It was stunning. We hear there is a 100-foot Christmas tree during the holidays, so that just may be the best time to go. We are going to search for some deals, but how can we pass this mansion up?

We drove home through the walls of changing leaves. Annie was falling asleep and James was singing his little heart out along the way. You know those magical moments where you just want time to stand still? This was one of them. I'll admit, moving to Charlotte has been hard on me (more on that at a later time). But then I have these redeeming moments where I realize how absolutely wonderful this is. All I have in this far away place is my tiny, new family. I am learning to operate with them and only them. As hard and as lonely as it can be, it is wonderful. This experience isn't for everyone - but for us, it is just what we need.

We got home around nine and were absolutely pooped. We got Annie into bed and passed out on the couch. James watched ridiculous amounts of football, as we had agreed. And we were both as happy as could be. Picture perfect weekend. Well, except for the one donut part. Ha.

*while in Asheville we also captured the greatest laugh from little Miss Annie on video. I am still watching it over and over and definitely plan to add it to our home video collection.