I had a few vacation days to use before the end of the year and had miles on U.S. Air, which I never fly. But, U.S. Air flies to Charlotte. I happen to have friends in Charlotte, and friends in Asheville. So I just kind of winged it. I had planned on Charlotte for two nights and Asheville for one, but oh my gosh Asheville... I swear to god if I didn't have a job I really liked in Cleveland, I would have just rented an apartment and carried on with life there. And one day, I will. Not now, but one day. I have never, ever said that about city.
I arrived early on Friday morning, and all of my friends in both cities were working. I had reserved a "Prius or similar" from Dollar, so I headed over to pick up my fuel efficient car. And got a Mercury Grand Marquis. Do you know what that looks like? A boat. I could barely park it. Jerks.
I had read about The Grove Park Inn, and wanted to check it out. It is a beautiful granite hotel built into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Oddly, it also has the worlds largest collection of arts and crafts furniture. It was spectacular. I planned on eating lunch there, but a burger was $22. So, I headed into downtown Asheville and ate lunch at a restaurant at the Grove Arcade. I met some really great people, and a little Welsh Corgi.
My plan was to visit The Biltmore in the afternoon. I allowed myself about four hours. BAD CALL. The Vanderbilt's "vacation property" was massive. It's not just the 31 bedroom, 43 bathroom (they didn't even have full indoor plumbing then), 65 fireplace home... it's 8,000 acres of fabulousness. Walking trails, vineyards, biking paths, shops.... it's a full two day experience that I pretty much rushed through. When I live there one day, I will buy a membership and enjoy the property. I drove past people who had set up a little table on the river with cheese and wine, and were watching the sunset. It was so perfect.
Friday night (yes, it's still the same day), Alison, Gene and I met up with their friends Kellen and Pladdy for drinks overlooking the city, and then had a fabulous dinner downtown, with more drinks after dinner. Everything downtown is independent. There are no chains- none. Except an Urban Outfitters, which I hear there was an uproar about.
In the middle of downtown on Friday nights, there is a massive drum circle. It's like a hippie's dream. It's just a public space where people go to play music, and people stop and enjoy it. Everyone is seriously so happy in Asheville. 
Randomly thanks to Facebook, I found out that one of my old touring friend Rasmiyyah, was about 40 minutes away in a show in Flat Rock, NC. She was in Buddy, the Buddy Holly story. The girl I met on Friday, Kellen, had actually heard about this show and really wanted to go, so the two of us went off on an adventure on Saturday afternoon. We took a scenic road up to Flat Rock, and it was beyond words beautiful. Apple orchards, pumpkin farms, Fall leaves... I loved it. I hadn't seen Ras since 2009, and she now lives in NYC, so it was such a random place to reconnect. Buddy was a great show, and the whole day was perfect.
Saturday night, Alison and Gene were invited to a party that we went to out on a farm. Literally, a farm with cows. Everyone there was just in such a great mood, and enjoying life. People brought their kids, there was a fire, hay rides, great food, and band, and a really positive attitude. And, and LOT of wind! (It was very windy the entire time I was there). After the party we went to their friends house and had fun drinking wine, eating smoked food that had been cooking for hours, and hanging out. Of course, their house wasn't just a normal place- I can't even explain it, but if I write that, I'll remember. It came with a Boom Boom Room.
Lastly, and definitely not least importantly, I headed back to Charlotte to stay with my friend Lindsay for the day and night. We spent the day at her house enjoying wine and music, and her cute little twins Brooke and Bryce. We had such a good friend day. I miss her so much now that I'm back in Cleveland and she's not here.
My trip was more than I could have expected or anticipated. I discovered a new city that I want to one day hopefully call my home, and I spent time with really good, good friends.
What a lucky girl I am!
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