Asheville Visit Part 1
mother_thing and I are currently in Asheville visiting my brother. It's been a good trip so far. On the way up we left I-75 and went straight north from Macon to Athens instead of going through the Atlanta area. Although this route was more direct, it was slower driving than the interstate. The best thing I can say for it is that the route was pretty and we stumbled upon some interesting small town jewels, such as the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton. We made a point of exploring downtown Athens a little bit and eating near the University. We both liked the town a good deal. Another notable moment was the possible muskrat that I glimpsed along I-85 near the South Carolina border. We then kept on trucking and made it to Asheville, tired yet in good spirits
. . . but after a while of driving up Tunnel Rd looking for the hotel though, we were simply tired without spirits good or otherwise.
The next day we had brunch with Travis at some Moose-themed restaurant on the east side of town. The food was good southern cooking and you could glimpse the BIltmore monstrosity from a distance of several miles away.
I then left mother in the hotel to relax and do schoolwork while I went up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens Picnic Area to hike up Craggy Knoll and look for late blooming rhododendrons (one species peaks in late May to mid June and the other peaks in late June to early July) and other wildflowers. A lot of folks were having fourth of July picnics and there was even a bluegrass band starting up. I looked around a bit and then headed up the trail. Occasionally I would hear a bit of banjo drifting through the woods as I climbed. This would be disturbing under other circumstances in the Appalachians, but I did remember the band down at the picnic area and could take heart from this reassuring fact. I had dressed warmly, knowing that at higher elevations the weather would be chillier, but I found myself overdressed in my long sleeved shirt and long pants. Everyone else was in shorts and short-sleeves and the work was hot and hard-going (especially with all my camera gear). But it was well worth the effort. The view was pretty and the heath bald was a wonderful habitat. After hiking back down I drove on to the Craggy Gardens visitor center. I thought of continuing on but the afternoon was growing late and it was starting to rain. So I turned back. That night we had dinner with Travis and Liza at their favorite neighborhood pizza place. I kicked ass in a game of Carcassone and then we hiked up the hills over the UNC Asheville campus from Travis' place to get a good view of downtown fireworks. The most spectacular lights as far as I was concerned were the waxing moon and the galaxies of fireflies. But we did get some glimpses of distant fireworks, not just in downtown Asheville but over surrounding low mountains to the south and the west, presumably from other municipalities in the area. We were accompanied in our viewing spot by a gaggle of UNC undergrads and a guy who has a company that builds playground equipment. Our fireworks gazing (and a discussion of string theory between two of the female undergrads) was interrupted by the arrival of a police car and the group quietly disbanded and floated off in different directions.
Today we plan on seeing some more of downtown Asheville up close. More to follow.
. . . but after a while of driving up Tunnel Rd looking for the hotel though, we were simply tired without spirits good or otherwise.
The next day we had brunch with Travis at some Moose-themed restaurant on the east side of town. The food was good southern cooking and you could glimpse the BIltmore monstrosity from a distance of several miles away.
I then left mother in the hotel to relax and do schoolwork while I went up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens Picnic Area to hike up Craggy Knoll and look for late blooming rhododendrons (one species peaks in late May to mid June and the other peaks in late June to early July) and other wildflowers. A lot of folks were having fourth of July picnics and there was even a bluegrass band starting up. I looked around a bit and then headed up the trail. Occasionally I would hear a bit of banjo drifting through the woods as I climbed. This would be disturbing under other circumstances in the Appalachians, but I did remember the band down at the picnic area and could take heart from this reassuring fact. I had dressed warmly, knowing that at higher elevations the weather would be chillier, but I found myself overdressed in my long sleeved shirt and long pants. Everyone else was in shorts and short-sleeves and the work was hot and hard-going (especially with all my camera gear). But it was well worth the effort. The view was pretty and the heath bald was a wonderful habitat. After hiking back down I drove on to the Craggy Gardens visitor center. I thought of continuing on but the afternoon was growing late and it was starting to rain. So I turned back. That night we had dinner with Travis and Liza at their favorite neighborhood pizza place. I kicked ass in a game of Carcassone and then we hiked up the hills over the UNC Asheville campus from Travis' place to get a good view of downtown fireworks. The most spectacular lights as far as I was concerned were the waxing moon and the galaxies of fireflies. But we did get some glimpses of distant fireworks, not just in downtown Asheville but over surrounding low mountains to the south and the west, presumably from other municipalities in the area. We were accompanied in our viewing spot by a gaggle of UNC undergrads and a guy who has a company that builds playground equipment. Our fireworks gazing (and a discussion of string theory between two of the female undergrads) was interrupted by the arrival of a police car and the group quietly disbanded and floated off in different directions.
Today we plan on seeing some more of downtown Asheville up close. More to follow.