Eliada

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Ken and I slept in until around 8 am. We leisurely enjoyed coffee by the fireplace and then took a walk around the lake in the park. You will probably hear me say this many times, I absolutely love autumn. The blue sky, the crisp air, and the smell of the leaves and of course the colorful leaves. We ate cereal, showered then went for a drive.

Amy is running a half marathon in Cherokee, NC this morning, so they left early this morning. We will meet up with them later. We drove through some beautiful neighborhoods in Asheville and then headed up to Weaverville. This is such a beautiful part of the country.

Jason called and said they ran in to traffic (leaf peepers) on the way back home from Cherokee. Amy wants to go home and take a shower. Ken and I told them we would get lunch and told them to call when they are ready to go. We stopped at Panera. It feels right for soup today.

Jason called and said they would meet us back at our RV. We all got in Jason's car and headed to Eliada for a Fall Festival. Eliada began as a refuge and then an orphanage.

Founded in 1906, Eliada Homes, Inc. is a non-profit agency serving the children and families of Western North Carolina.

Originally a refuge for women and children and later maintained as an orphanage, Eliada’s services now include Residential and Day Treatment for high risk children and adolescents; Child Development Center services, including Day Care, Summer Camp and School Age care; Foster Care and Therapeutic Foster Care; Therapeutic Recreation and Community Support services.



The history of 1200 acre Eliada Homes is interesting and it feels good supporting it. 100%!o(MISSING)f the proceeds benefit the children here. It is absolutely beautiful land. We had a lot of fun going through the 12 acre Corn Maze and many other activities. Ken and Jason were throwing corn nibblets at us; Lola was pretending to leave a 'corn' trail for me to follow so I wouldn't get lost. The weather was just as you would hope it to be....sunny, cool breeze but warm sun, good for a sweater and scarf.

Afterwards we went to downtown Asheville. The area is packed with tourists and as always, many interesting people. If you haven't visited this area, I would definitely recommend it. So much to offer. We have reservations for Posana Cafe to celebrate Amy's birthday. We planned on eating on the patio outside, but the wind has picked up and it's too windy so we moved inside. The decor is calming, lots of greys and the lighting is subdued. Posana uses local growers which so many restaurants in Asheville do. We started off with a Scallop appetizer to share and a few adult beverages. The scallops were seared and served with pumpkin bread, bacon, almond butter and black pepper crème fraiche. I could have just had that for dinner....so yummy. We also had a side of frites which seems like a weird appetizer but they are not your ordinary fries-truffle-parmesan French fries.

An elderly couple sits down next to Ken and the lady obviously has dumped about half a bottle of perfume on. Ugh-why do people do that? As the man maneuvers to get in his seat, his backside is almost in Ken's face and Ken picks up his fork and acts like he is going to poke him. Lola giggles. It's not always a good idea to put these two next to each other in a restaurant...they usually will get scolded by me.

Dinner is delicious- Lola-chicken and fries, Ken-Brasstown Beef Burger with pimento cheese, smoked bacon, dijonnaise, Me-Gulf Redfish with parsnip puree, Brussels sprouts, caramelized sorghum onions, almond-rosemary butter, Amy-Swordfish special with Rosemary pasta, Jason-Heritage Farms Pork Tenderloin with sweet potato puree, caramelized turnips, leeks, apple salad, cider, cardamom. We skipped dessert because we have another plan. We gave Amy her B-day present- Amazon gift card- seems so impersonal but she wants to get a mophie when she gets a new phone.

We walk around the corner to the 'French Broad Chocolate Lounge'. Have you ever been to a Chocolate Lounge? Just the name invokes a sense of luxurious indulgence. Will I be lying on a couch next to a fireplace with Ken serving me truffles? People line up outside this cute little place every night. They control how many go in. Three come out, three get to go in. There is cool breeze and we can smell the sweet chocolate as we wait in the line. They pass out menus to us so we can be prepared when we go in. Lola decides on a milk chocolate sipping chocolate and two truffles. Ken and I split a Mocha Stout cake. Jason and Amy got sipping chocolate and White chocolate pumpkin truffles. We found a couch (ha-ha) to enjoy our treats. They have a second floor for seating-it's a lot bigger than it seems. Needless to say-this is NOT a healthy eating day...but a fun day!

We stopped at the grocery before driving back to the RV. Lola and I are making pumpkin pancakes for breakfast tomorrow and needed a few things. She decided to spend the night with us. I like that because we have no idea when we will see her again.

We read a 'Thanksgiving' book before bed. I couldn't find a Halloween one. I think it is at Jason's. It's difficult to keep track of where everything is. It was a wonderful day.

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