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

Advertisement


We had booked months in advance through REI a mountain biking expedition which would involve seeing waterfalls and a lot of beautiful scenery. It was a two wheeled waterfall tour that was 10-12 miles. Going into it, Chloe and I weren't sure what to expect. We did a Zoom call to learn more about mountain biking and things to know when going out on the trail. We practiced a little bit on gravel and some hills by us in Durham. We wouldn't know what to expect until we got there. We left on a Saturday and had very nice weather out to the mountains. We stopped for Starbucks and then a 2nd time for gas. We headed to Asheville for lunch. It was approximately 25-30 minutes from Flat Rock, where we stayed for the weekend. We ... read more

North America » United States » North Carolina » Asheville August 29th 2021

Asheville - North Carolina Before the Europeans arrived in what is now North Carolina, the land around Asheville was a part of the Cherokee nation. While many cities underwent major overhauls in past decades, Asheville's historic and architecturally diverse downtown remains beautifully preserved. Many of the city's architectural achievements took place in the 1920's when Asheville danced to the tune of flocking tourists and new growth. By the time of the Depression the city inherited one of the highest per capita debt. Asheville was determined to pay back every cent, it couldn't afford to tear down any of its wonderful buildings that we saw today. The city officially erased its debt in 1976. Two surprises today It started to rain in just one place close to a crossing, it was only when looking up A&P realised ... read more


Hello! It's been a really long time since our last big trip. I've really missed going on adventures, and writing about them. Hopefully, we will be back into the swing of things someday soon, because there are so many wonderful places still beckoning us to go see them... I'm looking at you Japan! I truly hope that everyone reading this is doing alright during these difficult times, and I extend my love and prayers to you if you're not. Sometimes, when I am feeling overwhelmed, nostalgic, and lonely, I go back through my blogs and it takes me back to those wonderful memories, back when the current pandemic couldn't restrict travel, or make us feel so anxious. So what do you do when you've got cabin fever, mixed with travel restrictions? Well, you start exploring local ... read more
Biltmore Dining Room
Biltmore Atrium
Blue Ridge Mountain Views from Biltmore Mansion

North America » United States » North Carolina » Asheville December 25th 2019

Asheville has been a city that has grown and had a reputation as a charming place to check out. I wanted to make a weekend trip there to see what the city was all about. The drive was very foggy and rainy on the way until about an hour away when the sun finally peaked out. There was a lot of cows as the drive continued to progress away from the bigger cities like Durham, Greensboro and Winston Salem. There was farms, cute little towns and forest all around. As you approach the city, there was some mountains in the fog with trees up on the hill. I drove through Pigsah National Forest and it was magnificent to look around and see all the trees all over. I stayed at an Airbnb in East Asheville. You ... read more

North America » United States » North Carolina » Asheville November 26th 2018

Poet, novelist and travel writer William Graham holds a BA and MA in English and a MS in Communication from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives in Stowe, Vermont. His most recent book is Border Crossings: Travel Essays and Poems. Have you ever wished that your house had 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces among 250 rooms in total? If you did, my guess is that you wouldn't be living there alone and sweeping your own floors. You would have dozens of servants and groundskeepers. Your name would likely be Vanderbilt--George Vanderbilt to be precise. And you would be in the grandiose architectural marvel known as the Biltmore, which is nestled in the mountains outside of Asheville, North Carolina. This past Thanksgiving week, my family and I visited this stunning home, reputed to be ... read more
Entrance Hall
Holiday Decorations
Library


As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the Asheville airport, and I have a couple hours to wait before my plane takes off. I’m anxious. I’m excited. I’m just a little overwhelmed thinking about what the next 20 days will be like. I have traveled before, and I have been on long flights before, but something about this trip is different. I’ve traveled before as a professional educator, learning about the educational system and culture of some far away place, but something about this trip is different. I can’t quite put into words just yet why I feel this way, but it is my hope that through this travel blog, I will be able to post something meaningful--something that either brings a smile or touches your heart is some way. South Africa is like no other ... read more


Since yesterday was spent riding all around Asheville, the plan today was to ride the bike through the tunnel (how cool is that!) and into downtown Asheville some 3 miles away. Since Asheville is an artist community, there was nothing open until 10:00, and in fact some of the galleries didn't open until 11:00, so it was our excuse to sleep in today. So we had breakfast at the hotel, just before it stopped at 9:00 and headed out to Asheville about 9:45. We weren't sure about parking, and were expecting to find a parking garage, but as we pulled in to the corner of Patton and Broadway, there was a spot available right on the street. There was a 2 hour limit, but we had lots of change we had accumulated over the trip, so ... read more
Asheville - Inscribed Aluminum Waterfall
Asheville - Tiger From Bullets - Ceramic & Mixed Media
Asheville - Screw & Nut - Cast Glass


Today we are going nowhere. We have planned 3 nights in Asheville to try and recuperate from the last couple of days. The last time we were in Asheville was back in 1999 when we were first dating and we came up here for the Honda Hoot Motorcycle Rally before they moved it to Knoxville and ruined it. It's a beautiful area, with the Blue Ridge Parkway running just outside and mountains everywhere. Since we have 2 full days here, we decided to spend one day sightseeing in the area and one day visiting downtown. We had hoped to do the downtown thing today, but the museum we wanted to go to is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so we had to change our plans. We had also planned on visiting the Biltmore Estate, but when ... read more
Wheels Through Time - Motorcycles Out Front
Wheels Through Time - Chopper Graveyard
Wheels Through Time - Museum From Above


Today seemed like such a simple task, just ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway from Roanoke, VA to Asheville, NC. Should be about 275 miles, no big deal. It was Sunday morning, so we slept a little late, and by the time we ate breakfast and got on the road, it was after 9:00. Since we had bypassed the Roanoke Visitors Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway as we rode in yesterday, we thought we would begin today by backtracking a few miles north to visit the Roanoke Visitors Center and get our passport stamps. It didn't take too long, but by the time we were finally back on the road and heading south, it was 9:45. We began the day as expected, riding down the Blue Ridge parkway, stopping at a few scenic overlooks. It ... read more
Blue Ridge Parkway - Scenic Overlook
Blue Ridge Parkway - Blacksmith Working at Mabry Mill
Blue Ridge Parkway - Mountain Music At Blue Ridge Music Center


Downtown Asheville, North Carolina Joan's last Bucket List Rebellion side trip was a visit to the major city of the North Carolina mountain country, Asheville. We skirted the area on our way to Great Smoky, but Joan wanted an immersion of sorts into the city's downtown. So we drove some 60 miles back down US19, US74, and I40 right smack into the center of the city and found public parking. She had found a 'scavenger hunt' walking tour on-line that took us through much of the downtown area looking for plaques in the sidewalks that commemorated Asheville history and architecture. One thing you notice pretty quickly here is that this place is not hurting. There are multiple construction projects blocking the sidewalks and cranes dotting the skyline. Downtown, at least, is very vibrant with what appear ... read more




Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 10; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0641s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb