Memorial Day
May. 27th, 2003 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
charlottezwebThis was such a lovely vacation--I only wish it could've been a little longer. The beginning wasn't particularly auspicious--tCBW and I had settled on and then rejected several destinations for the long weekend, including the Keys and Pigeon Forge (home of Dollywood). We'd about decided to stay home, even though we were both desperate to get out of town for a while, when I pricelined a hotel room in Asheville. Ah, Asheville, only 4 hours away but so beautiful.
We left Sat and made good time, stopping for lunch on the other side of Columbia. We had plans to walk around downtown Asheville after checking into the hotel, visiting the Visitor's Center and then eating dinner, but instead we napped. For about as long as the drive had been. Much refreshed, we drove into town, parked and walked all over the touristy section--the stores were all closed but we noted some to visit the next day and picked a place for brunch. We had some trouble deciding where to eat dinner until tCBW noticed the menu that advertised "Over 200 beers of the World!" Sadly, the beer menu was so overwhelming that he panicked and ordered a Newcastle. My spinach artichoke smoked salmon quesadillas were very tasty though. The place was enormous and I noticed after dinner that one side of it was little glass rooms with games inside--we played pinball and airhockey (I have mad skills) before heading back to the car.
After sleeping late on Sun, we went to Early Girl for brunch--I had the best special--eggs on two crisp tortilla layered with black beans, rice, green chile sauce and fried bananas. Mmmmmmmm. After that, we drove through the mountains over to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, but didn't stop to go up the mountain because it was like Myrtle Beach--tons of people and motorcycles and tacky souvenir shops, and don't even get me started on "The Beach at Lake Lure." The twisty mountain roads were addictive, so we kept driving around up to Black Mountain and Montreat so I could show him the places of my summer youth. Eventually, we wound up in Asheville again and it was time for some coffee and a snack--in my case Chai and chocolate cream pie, which was, as the sign said, pielicious. It was necessary to digest a bit before dinner so we walked around the city some more, visiting some cool bookstores, an awesome Irish store (gorgeous handmade sweaters in every color imaginable) and a little boutique that sells Sugar shoes among other things. Came close to buying pair of Sugar sneakers, but they didn't have the ones that light up, so I managed to resist. For dinner, we went to Spirits on the River, which serves authentic Native American food--tCBW is part NA so he was interested to see what they'd serve--turns out it was the same sort of things we eat normally. I had trout with grilled squash and a twice baked potato and he had a buffalo steak with the same veggies. The exotic meat sampler appetizer was nice too--pheasant, buffalo, gator and what was supposed to be rattlesnake (the only meat neither of us had tried before), but they were out and substituted venison sausage. The fry bread was different--he'd never had that--and I had a huge piece, part with dinner and then the rest with honey for dessert. After all that, we could barely move, but managed to make it back to the hotel and into swimsuits for some quality time in the pool and jacuzzi downstairs.
Mon came too soon, but after sleeping very late, we packed and drove into Asheville for the last time. Had lunch at a touristy, but tasty, Carribean joint complete with tropical drinks that tasted like push-ups and conch chowder then fresh frozen strawberry custard for dessert around the corner. After snagging some brochures on places to stay and things to do on the next trip, it was time to turn the car south and make the long trip home. Of course, I did convince the driver to make a couple of detours--one long drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and one quick drive-through at Piggie Park. Made it home with BBQ in hand, ready to eat and fall into bed.
We left Sat and made good time, stopping for lunch on the other side of Columbia. We had plans to walk around downtown Asheville after checking into the hotel, visiting the Visitor's Center and then eating dinner, but instead we napped. For about as long as the drive had been. Much refreshed, we drove into town, parked and walked all over the touristy section--the stores were all closed but we noted some to visit the next day and picked a place for brunch. We had some trouble deciding where to eat dinner until tCBW noticed the menu that advertised "Over 200 beers of the World!" Sadly, the beer menu was so overwhelming that he panicked and ordered a Newcastle. My spinach artichoke smoked salmon quesadillas were very tasty though. The place was enormous and I noticed after dinner that one side of it was little glass rooms with games inside--we played pinball and airhockey (I have mad skills) before heading back to the car.
After sleeping late on Sun, we went to Early Girl for brunch--I had the best special--eggs on two crisp tortilla layered with black beans, rice, green chile sauce and fried bananas. Mmmmmmmm. After that, we drove through the mountains over to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, but didn't stop to go up the mountain because it was like Myrtle Beach--tons of people and motorcycles and tacky souvenir shops, and don't even get me started on "The Beach at Lake Lure." The twisty mountain roads were addictive, so we kept driving around up to Black Mountain and Montreat so I could show him the places of my summer youth. Eventually, we wound up in Asheville again and it was time for some coffee and a snack--in my case Chai and chocolate cream pie, which was, as the sign said, pielicious. It was necessary to digest a bit before dinner so we walked around the city some more, visiting some cool bookstores, an awesome Irish store (gorgeous handmade sweaters in every color imaginable) and a little boutique that sells Sugar shoes among other things. Came close to buying pair of Sugar sneakers, but they didn't have the ones that light up, so I managed to resist. For dinner, we went to Spirits on the River, which serves authentic Native American food--tCBW is part NA so he was interested to see what they'd serve--turns out it was the same sort of things we eat normally. I had trout with grilled squash and a twice baked potato and he had a buffalo steak with the same veggies. The exotic meat sampler appetizer was nice too--pheasant, buffalo, gator and what was supposed to be rattlesnake (the only meat neither of us had tried before), but they were out and substituted venison sausage. The fry bread was different--he'd never had that--and I had a huge piece, part with dinner and then the rest with honey for dessert. After all that, we could barely move, but managed to make it back to the hotel and into swimsuits for some quality time in the pool and jacuzzi downstairs.
Mon came too soon, but after sleeping very late, we packed and drove into Asheville for the last time. Had lunch at a touristy, but tasty, Carribean joint complete with tropical drinks that tasted like push-ups and conch chowder then fresh frozen strawberry custard for dessert around the corner. After snagging some brochures on places to stay and things to do on the next trip, it was time to turn the car south and make the long trip home. Of course, I did convince the driver to make a couple of detours--one long drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and one quick drive-through at Piggie Park. Made it home with BBQ in hand, ready to eat and fall into bed.
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Date: 2003-05-29 08:19 pm (UTC)Piggie Park. I hate you. Wah!
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Date: 2003-05-30 08:08 am (UTC)