Blue Ridge Parkway

On all of our trips to Asheville, we've always acknowledged the presence of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but never gotten on it to take a look around. It's a fascinating piece of Americana. Extending 469 miles, and linking two national parks--Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains--the Blue Ridge Parkway is a throwback to a time when people actually took Sunday drives. The maximum speed limit is 45 MPH, and frankly, there are sections where that feels too fast. We got on in Asheville and proceeded north towards Linville Caverns.

Craggy Gardens, Elev. 5,500; Milepost 364

Spring was just springing at the end of May at Craggy Gardens

A vista atop Craggy Gardens

We continued along to milepost 331, with the intention of following our directions to Linville Caverns. We ended up at the Museum of North Carolina Minerals. It's right off the ramp and since we like rocks a lot, we thought we'd take a look. What we found is a very interesting history of mining and geology in North Carolina. The museum has well kept professional installations that detail the rocks in the area. One historical display has an audio track of an interview with a miner from the area, probably done in the late 1940s as a part of the Works Progress Administration. The boys loved the gift shop; rocks were about half what we paid in a rock shop in Asheville, and they claim the museum had more interesting specimens.



Got Rocks?

Linville Caverns, recommended by a friend, was next. I wouldn't normally say I'd like to go to a cave, but I'm glad we went. In 1822, people noticed trout swimming in and out of the mountain. They discovered upon further inspection, that the mountain contained caverns made of limestone. The tour takes you inside the caverns (a constant, yet sometimes drippy 52 degrees). www.linvillecaverns.com   We learned all about stalactites and stalagmites. Probably the best part of the tour was having the lights out for a few moments. The kids liked the pitch black so much that they asked for it to be dark a second time. While we didn't get to see any of the bats that live in the caverns, we did learn that some of the bats at Linville have White-Nose Syndrome, which is affecting bat colonies all over the U.S.









Pack Place Fountain

Our urban hiking around Asheville can leave the boys a bit draggy. After one such hike around town, we came back up by the fire station and realized that Pack Place now has a really cool outdoor fountain. The boys pulled off their shirts and ran right in. We didn't have towels and pretty much had to make a break for it in the hotel lobby, but it was all good. 



 All the boys in the fountain

Boy #2 digging it

NC Arboretum

This trip, we decided to visit the NC Arboretum. This decision was, in large part, because the husband required a pick up on the bike during a cloudburst when he came into Asheville, having started his ride in Dupont State Forest. We got a call during dinner downtown that he was at the entrance gate to the Arboretum, and would we please come get him. He wound up riding up to the State Farmer's Market entrance to wait, but the person manning the booth at the Arboretum had insisted that he come back to visit. So, we did. And we were wowed every minute we were there. http://www.ncarboretum.org/

The North Carolina Arboretum is 434 acres devoted to Southern Appalachian horticulture. It's spectacular. For $8 to park the car, we had a full day's entertainment. When we entered the main building, we were greeted by a black snake sunning himself on a drain grate. From there, we walked through a number of gardens to get to a cool sculpture garden.

NC Arboretum Sculpture Garden

The Arboretum was hosting a program for children at the time we were there, so when that crowd was out on a hike, we went into the education building and found a teacher who was willing to let the boys check out the kids' workroom. We got to see all sorts of interesting snakes, lizards and critters found on the land.

Two finger touch for toads please!

After that, we went on an epic three mile hike through the woods. The kids were kind of cranky, so that just adds another dimension. I think they just wanted to go back and play with the puppets. The hike took us up to a research greenhouse, where they grow the plants for the gardens. One other highlight of this greenhouse was a significant collection of bonsai. Oh, and a water fountain.

Worn out children do not make great hiking partners

And sometimes all you need are shoulders to ride on

From the greenhouse, we took the Bent Creek Road trail around and it followed alongside a very pretty creek. There were a multitude of butterflies around.

Checking out Bent Creek





Eating in Asheville

Everyone has their favorite haunts in Asheville. Here are mine.  I've been to each place at least twice.

Tupelo Honey http://www.tupelohoneycafe.com/
City Bakery http://citybakery.net/
French Broad Food Co-op http://frenchbroadfood.coop/
Salsa's http://www.salsasnc.com/
Early Girl Eatery http://earlygirleatery.com/
Laughing Seed Cafe http://laughingseed.jackofthewood.com/
French Broad Chocolate Lounge http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/

Places I haven't been, but have heard good things about:

Curate http://www.curatetapasbar.com/

I list the food co-op because we either buy bread, laundry detergent or both while we're there. This trip it was just bread and little nibblys for the car ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Awesome spelt bread; too bad I can still see pieces of it in between the seats of my car.

Downtown Asheville

You could call us loyal, crazy or repetitious. We always stay in Asheville in the same place, the Renaissance on Woodfin Street. The primary attraction is the location; the second, the indoor pool. We walk out the door and find downtown all around. We walk about eight miles a day when we're there.  If you don't like walking, I don't recommend staying downtown. This trip, we went up to Pack Square Park and discovered Arcade. http://www.arcadeasheville.com/  This is the be-all-end-all bastion to early video games. Their bar food is really tasty. And, they have Cheerwine in their soda fountain. It doesn't get any better than that.

Asheville how we love thee

We go to Asheville a considerable amount, especially thinking of how little we actually travel. We always know we're going to have a good time, eat well, and consume interesting beers. http://greenmanbrewery.com/ This trip, we stopped in the tasting room at Green Man. Boy #1 and Boy #2 each had root beer from Wisconsin. Mom and Dad tried intriguing beers. Yoda watched over us. In case you're interested, www.ashevillebrewers.org has more information on all the local breweries. Support the local beermakers!