Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Asheville Road Trip

I haven't posted in awhile and that shouldn't be much of a surprise as I was Asheville, NC over the weekend with some of my high school buddies (who will probably be updating their blogs whenever they get the chance--and they'll have pics as well). I probably should look into getting a camera.

All in all I would say that Asheville is a pretty cool little city. Coming back from our Honeymoon Jenny and I did venture to the Biltmore but we didn't explore the rest of Asheville. Lo and behold Asheville is a happening place. Our hotel was downtown and that worked at well as Asheville has a bustling downtown with a low-key vibe--plus almost everything was in walking distance (including McCormick Field--where the Asheville Tourists play).

Things that impressed me (in no particular order)...

1. We took in a Tourists game on Saturday night and that was a lot of fun. They are a single A team for the Colorado Rockies. I had never been to a single A game before. Part of the cool thing about the game (besides the fact of watching professional baseball) was the environment. It's a small venue where things were modestly priced...and where we could also get a little rowdy.

2. We also went to the Biltmore. Now this was my second time and I would say that's probably enough. Don't get me wrong I'm impressed by the Biltmore...no question about that...but the tourist trap aspect of it started to wear on me. But I do recommend going there at least once. It's definitely worth it.

3. Hiking. I'm normally not one on hiking but we did take a pleasurable hike at Graveyard Fields. We saw some water falls and apparently somebody (not a member of our group) was not impressed--as he stated there was more water in his washing machine than up here. Whatever. It was a good hike.

4. We continued with the environment theme the next day by driving through The Great Smoky Mountains National Park on our way home. It did make for a long day but was ultimately worth it after checking out the scenery from Clingmans Dome.

5. Good Eats. Are their good restaurants in Asheville? Are you kidding me. Yes their are. I think my favorite was the one we ate at on Monday morning. It was called Five Points (and it was not a tire place) and it was basically set up like a Waffle House (Waffle & Steak for you Hoosiers). We were lucky to actually eat there as they were closing early due to their air conditioning going out.

But anyway, I had ham and cheese omlette with home fries and biscuits and it was everything one could want from a local diner. It was very good and very reasonable priced. Ultimately every meal we had--especially in Asheville--was pretty top-notch.

6. Beer. My three favorite beers that I tried--that I had never had before--on the trip would be French Broad's Goldenrod
(which is brewed in Asheville); Gossard (Australia) and Koing Pilsner (German)--those last two beers were courtesy of The Bier Garden bar.

All right...I'd say that's it for now.

I probably should stop writing and go hang out with my wife who I haven't seen in several days.

All in all I'm racking Asheville.

1 comment:

Slammin' Sam said...

sounds like a cool trip. still waiting on everyone else to update their blogs w/pics and stories.

i just saw my first beavers game here in portland. i used to hate going to ball games as a kid, but i really enjoyed this one. perhaps was b/c i had beers.

did you really like the koenig pilsner? i tried it a couple weeks ago and wasn't a fan. i guess i like a heavier more earthy beer. you were probably outside in some heat, though, and i think it would be a good beer for that.