Artsy Asheville.
I have a few minutes before I have to check out of my hostel so I figured I'd get a jump on telling you about my two day, three night stay is Asheville, NC. I wasn't really sure what I'd find when I got here late Sunday night. It was raining, there was no one else checked into the hostel, and I was relaxing watching football with my take-out. So far traveling by myself hasn't been terribly lonely. I mean technically it's just me at the end of the day, but I haven't felt that yet. When I woke up Monday morning, the mixture of being the only one here and the gross rainy day ahead weighed on me a bit. So I texted my family to say good morning, picked myself up, and strolled through downtown Asheville. I must say, it's a pretty cool place. It's very artsy. There are murals all over, neat little shops and lots of bars that open up at night. The people are a mixture of chill, hippie, and outdoorsy. It is a mountain town after all. About an hour later I strolled back to the hostel and met Kory, someone else staying here. Lunch and two beers later, we became "travel" friends. He's just moving here and I'm just passing through so it worked out wonderfully since we both wanted to explore the city. We stumbled upon a bookshop that doubles as a wine/champagne bar, an awesome record store that I could get lost in for hours, and a pinball machine museum. Wall to wall pinball machines from every decade, some so old you can't even play them. When we added another Sweet Peas Hostel regular, Scott, into the mix that night, we got to see the live music side of Asheville. He knew all the good places to go and introducing me to The Siamese Jazz Band was something I won't soon forget. I can see myself wanting to stay longer just to see what new bands play the other five days of the week.
I decided on a whim to push my stay one night longer than originally planned and go hiking during the day Tuesday to Crabtree falls along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Day pack ready to go once again and this time a new walking stick to accompany me, we set out on a 2.5 mile loop down past the 70ft. waterfall and back up again. It was beautiful. There's something really cool about seeing the trees with no leaves mixed in with some just coming in, but I imagine the hike in full bloom is a thousand times better. That's definitely something I've been missing starting my trip in January. I'm not too worried though, there are many national parks and hikes to be explored. More live music, another new friend, and now it's time to keep going. I came into Asheville not knowing anyone and thinking my stay wouldn't be terribly eventful and ended up with an experience I'll always remember.
My next stop is Smokey Mountains National Park. More hiking and more exploring awaits!
- G.
The Photo:
Burl from Crabtree Falls Hike.
Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.
1/24/17.
