travel tuesday | asheville, nc

As promised in my Asheville preview, I would like to share more of the photos I took on our adventure.  

We had originally planned to leave Friday afternoon after work but decided against it in an effort to save some money.  We started bright and early Saturday morning so we could have most of the afternoon to explore the city once we arrived.  It's a solid 8 hour trip so we were pretty happy to get out and explore once we got to town.  

After walking around for a little we decided we needed some lunch and resfreshments (read: alcoholic beverages) so we stepped into a place for some good farm-to-table hamburgers.  I am a sucker for a good burger - sans bun of course - but was disappointed by the fries.  As for the bev, as far as I am concerned you can't go wrong with Pinot Grigio.  I mean, paying more than $15 for a bottle seems expensive in our house, so I was happy.   Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the restaurant right now.  

After lunch, with our bellies full, we walked around town a little more then decided to check into our place for the weekend.  It was our first Airbnb experience.  And while it wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't bad.  Great location with a room, kitchen, bathroom - WITH a sauna might I add #NBD - but the photos posted on the site were a little deceiving.  The husband and I both thought we would have access to her screened in porch.  It was a bummer once we realized we didn't but were able to use the porch pictured below with beautiful views of the mountains in the distance.  We opted to stay in our first night and drink some wine with a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance and save our energy for the next day.

^our wine glasses for the night

Our original plan for Saturday was to spend the day at Biltmore Estate and for wine tasting after.  Being that I am a poor planner, I did not realize 1) how much it cost for the tour and 2) the house and ground tours are part of the same package.  We decided to take a day to decide if we wanted to do the tour and walked around Biltmore Village for a little instead.  

Craving nature, we searched parks and discovered the Botanical Gardens at Asheville.  We walked around a little and as the boys rested in the sun, I took some photos of the different plant life. 

^view from our patio outside of our room

Hungry,  we had lunch at Whole Foods then went back to regroup and change for a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  From where we stayed, there was a scenic road that connected us right to the Blue Ridge.  As we turned a bend, there was a mama bear with two of her cubs walking close behind her.  Of course I had the husband stop so I could get a photo of mama.  As you can tell, she wasn't so sure about me and kept a close eye on me to make sure I wasn't coming after her babies.  

For someone who gets car sick pretty easily, the drive to and on Blue Ridge Parkway is not easy on the tummy.  So pulling off for scenic views were a welcome respite from the winding roads. 

^mountains for as far as the eyes could see.  

We stopped at Craggy Pinnacle for a quick hike to the top for 360 views of the above scene.  The trail to get to the top were really cool, lined with some of the most interesting trees I have ever seen.  While it wasn't an easy hike, it was only a .75 miles to the top.  The hike back down was much more enjoyable. 

Exhausted after a day walking around and small hikes, we watched the sunset from our spot on the porch.  

There is so much more of the Blue Ridge Parkway that I still want to see and explore.  The husband is already talking about wanting to go back.  

The next day we did decide to tour Biltmore Estate and it's grounds so stay tuned for my post on that.  

Where have you traveled to this Summer?

What were some of your favorite moments?

Linking up with Bonnie and Tiffany today!