Asheville!

October 25, 2015

Beautiful Asheville, North Carolina

Where the Blue Ridge Mountains meet the Smokey Mountains is a very charming place - Asheville, North Carolina. We were invited to park Dolly in the driveway of our friends, David Wilcox and Nance Pettit. We've always heard stories about Asheville, and this was our chance to get to know her. And I have to say, of all the places we've visited (which have been many awesome places), Asheville is at the top of our list. Of course, I've made this statement about other places we've been, and there are still more awesome places to come.

Asheville, number one in the US for Fall Foliage

Asheville has the same overall feeling that Boulder, Colorado had in the '70s. Or Portland, Oregon had in the '90s. It's a town that has a holistic and alternative vibe. Just like Boulder, just ten minutes outside of town and you are in the middle of a mountain wilderness. We picked the perfect time to be in Asheville. In the mountains, the Fall Foliage was in full color mode. The Asheville area has been proclaimed as the number one place in the country to view the Autumn colors on several prominent lists. Being here in October has been a blessing, as we've been able to take in the fullness of the change of seasons.

Blue Ridge Mountains surround Asheville

When I was a boy, my younger brother Tommy and I would play a game. We'd find a hallway that circled around, like the hallway to the kitchen that would wrap around through the dining room, and we'd chase each other. Rather, I would chase him, as is the prerogative of an older brother. I'd chase him, and then stop, turn around and surprise him by running into him. David and Nance's backyard was perfect for this game: a pathway along the fence, that led to a path across the patio and back. Except this time, instead of me an my baby brother, the participants in the game are Satchmo and Bebop. Satch is the chaser in this model, and Bebop takes off like a bandit. At some point, Satch stops, turns around and runs in the other direction. When Bebop saw him coming, he did an about face and headed in the other direction. This went on for several minutes until Satch discovered he could really confuse Bebop by breaking the rules and running across the patio halfway along the path and cut him off at the pass. It was a fun game, and they played this several times during our visit.

Up close, the Grove Park Inn in Asheville looks like a rough pile of rocks

One of the places we visited was the Grove Park Inn. The building looks like the construction is made of a rough pile of rocks. The construction was inspired by the Arts and Crafts construction style developed in Japan in the 1920s. The idea is to use simple forms, often medieval styles of decoration. Walking into the lobby, you see people sitting around a fireplace that is big enough to walk right into. At the back of the lobby is a large stone patio looking west over the Blue Ridge Mountains. One of the many things to do in Asheville is grab a table at sunset and have cocktails with friends. Below is a world class 43,000 square foot spa, where one can choose from over 60 treatments in their open air treatment rooms. Many presidents have visited the Grove Park Inn, going back to Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower to Presidents George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.

The Biltmore House, built by the Vanderbilts

Another big attraction in Asheville is the Biltmore Estate, featuring the 250-room Biltmore House, built in the late 1800s. It's the largest privately owned house in the United States (almost 180,000 square feet). It was built as a summer home for George Washington Vanderbilt II.  The grounds surrounding the estate take up 125,000 acres and were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the American landscape architect and conservationist who designed New York City's Central Park and many of the urban city parks throughout America. Only 8,000 acres of the land remains with the estate. The Vanderbilts sold the remaining land to the US Forest Service for $5/acre, which has become the core of Pisgah National Forest, the mountains that surround beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.

On top of old Smokey Mountains

In the Forest, we hiked up a trail to Black Balsam Knob. We climbed over a thousand feet in elevation to 6,214 feet. The trail was at one time a fairly easy hike, but over the years the trail turned into a path for the snow melt off, and the result is a stream bed of rocks. It was challenging. With support from Cheri, Dave and Nance, I was able to make it to the lookout. Through the years, I have made it a point to challenge myself physically. I had a motorcycle accident in my senior year of high school. My foot was crushed, and my doctor wanted to amputate. I insisted he not do that, and after a couple of surgeries, he told me I'd never walk again. I have made it my goal to prove him wrong. At first, I was confined to a wheelchair and through time, I found a way to get up on crutches, then walk with a cane, and ultimately I was able to walk again. Sitting on the overlook, I felt great that i had made it to the top.

The Smokey Park Supper Club, built out of shipping containers

We also got to sample some of the great restaurants Asheville has to offer. David and Nance took us to a Latin Restaurant, an amazing Ethiopian restaurant and a very cool place called Smokey Park Supper Club that was built completely out of shipping containers. There were too many great looking restaurants to even start the scratching the surface. Cheri and I were overwhelmed by all of the great things to do and see in Asheville. We certainly will have to come back to experience this city more fully.

David Wilcox with Cheri and Dennis

We had a great time in Asheville, and much of that was due to our gracious hosts, Nance Pettit and David Wilcox. It was wonderful spending time with them and seeing their lovely town through their eyes. We'll be back!.