Blogs from Asheville, North Carolina, United States, North America

Rise and Shine. Day 3 of the road trip upon us... which means another 7 hours and 59 minutes on the road before getting home. BUT to make the most of the trip, we decided we'd at least have try to see a little bit more of downtown Asheville. Having experienced the wonderful hot breakfast that Hampton Inn served yesterday, we decided to head back to the fancy McDonalds for breakfast. Hopefully the water break has been fixed and we could go in. Thankfully it was. McD was very elegant. There was a baby grand in the corner, a fireplace in the middle and leather seats. Same low cost though. Now we can say we've been. After breakfast, we went to city center downtown Asheville. We found parking on the street. The parking meters were a ... read more

Day two…. We woke up early today excited to have a hot breakfast Hampton Inn style only to be disappointed. For some reason this Hampton Inn’s definition of a hot breakfast consists of fresh waffles, but microwaved pancakes, chicken biscuits and French toast. Not very hot and not very good. We were disappointed, but had a full day ahead of us, so we ate there anyways.At least the coffee was decent. We checked in at Biltmore, which was about a 10 minute drive from Flectcher. Very close and very convienent. Once we got past the front gates of the estate, it was another 2 mile drive thru the woods to get to the parking lot. In my mind, it was very Ireland-esque. You had tall trees, cobblestone bridges and lots of greenery…. All leading up to ... read more

7 hours and 59 minutes... that's the amount of time that it takes to travel from Alexandria, VA to Asheville, NC. On Saturday, March 10th we embarked on this road trip. 7 hours and 59 minutes sounds a little daunting, but with good company and a comfortable car... all is good. We drove for 4.5 hours and did a pit stop in Durham. We stopped by Durham for lunch at the Backyard BBQ. This was a big hit amongst the TripAdvisor forum. It's a is family owned-hole in the wall dive that had Pork Barbeque, Ribs, Smoked BBQ Chicken and Beef Brisket. Good ole southern cooking. How could we pass this up. So we didn't. We had BBQ Chicken with corn and cole slaw, Beef Ribs with mac and cheese and fried okra and Pork BBQ ... read more

Today is flight day! I have two classes to take, then I will be on my way to AVL. I hate flying so Im not really looking forward to the flying part but to visit Katrine is worth it. After Asheville I fly to Chicago, then the big flight to Brussels (which is when I will be taking my xanax, which currently I cannot find so it may have to be NyQuil) then ariving in Brussels around 8 or 9 in the morning, have 2 and half hour layover, then FINALLY the flight of Kobenhavn! Needless to say, the next 24 hours will be spent in airports and airplanes, I am hoping to have time today to stop by greenlife and grab healthy snacks! I hope I remembered to pack all of Katrine's presents (one of ... read more

So we made it to Ashville tired and hungry after our big walk in the Smokie’s but we made it to David Castro’s (couch-surfer) house and got on with making pie, beans and mash with gravy some nice home comfort food. Mr Castro was an interesting fellow; he was a TV writer and had written for such shows as Married with Children so over a bottle of red wine, he shared a lot of interesting stories with us. We watched some American football with him and it was good to understand the game a bit better. The next day we were both feeling better than we had in a while so we set out to explore Asheville; a really lovely town. We visited the farmers market and got some fresh vegetables for tea and then headed ... read more

We are here in Asheville, North Carolina... or 'Naa Caliiiina' as all those Southern bus drivers say. Just been out for an amazing brunch at 'Sunny Point Cafe' and got to try the legend that is cheese grits for the first time. Verdict is that they are like porridge mixed with cous cous...but grittier. We have heard them being talked about all the time in the South, one bus driver talked at me for about 5 minutes about how she has "Grits with bacon, grits with cheeses, grits with eggs, shrimp and grits. And sometimes I like to mix it up a lil' and have grits on toast!" So that was definitely something to check off our list. The bites on my legs have turned into what just looks like a horrible rash. Each bite has ... read more

Today was the much anticipated day when Katherine and I got to go on a canopy tour adventure. You've probably seen the squirrel billboards around town. We drove up to the Navitat adventure center in Barnardsville (not far from where the Hollars and Noels live) and prepared ourselves for a new and exciting experience. The two of us joined 4 other people and 2 Navitat guides who rigged us up and showed us the way. For several hours we flew through the forest from tree to tree on 10 different zip lines. Some were over 100 feet long and we got up to speeds of 40+ mph. Wow! Did I ever tell you that Katherine is the daredevil in our family? From the tree canopy we could see all the way over to Craggy Gardens. It ... read more

What a great day at St. Mark's! The sendoff blessing during worship was so meaningful to our family. Then lunch was wonderful! The food, the decorations, the remarks by Ed Hauser, Pastor Seth, and Nate Mueller all made the celebration perfect. Thank you to everyone for coming to say farewell. Thank you to Wolfie, Suzanne and Blake for their help making the "top 10" slide show make everyone laugh. Thank you to Karin Doss for her help with the props. Thank you to Vickie and all the ladies in the kitchen. You guys are fantastic! I love you all and look forward to many more years of ministry together! +Pastor Webb... read more