My trip to Asheville

[rachelmanija]

If you already have inside info on this matter, please do not vote in the poll. Otherwise, please guess what remarkable sight I saw today.

[Poll #1866054]

To get to Asheville, NC, I had to trasfer at Charlotte to a very small plane, reachable by walking across the tarmac, which was so small that the sound of the propellers, once inside, precluded conversation. I then arrived in the deserted Asheville airport and discovered that I was unable to rent a car, as all rental cars were already rented. Based on this information, I concluded that I was in the Hicksville, south of Nowhere.

Actually, it turns out that Asheville, or at least the parts of it I've seen so far, is considerably more hip and upscale than my own neighborhood. It reminds me a bit of Santa Barbara, except with nicer shops. Also with more head shops. I remarked today, while driving with my mom and a mutual friend, upon the fact that I had noted three bong shops in a four block radius.

Friend: "Bong shops?"

Mom: "Head shops."

Friend: "Head shops?"

Me: "Shops selling equipment with which to smoke marijuana. Although, given that mom has been able to find several cafes that will make her cappucinos with almond milk, the marijuana is probably organic."

Mom: "And gluten-free."

Friend: "Manufactured in a nut-free environment... though possibly manufactured BY nuts."

We went to 12 Bones, which was recommended by basically everyone I met as "where the President had barbecue." EXCELLENT. Especially the ribs and the sweet, fluffy corn pudding.

After that, we went to one of the greatest shops I have ever encountered, a huge bookshop/coffeeshop, very well-designed, with little passages into more rooms of books, all opening up in a "bigger on the inside" effect. They have several fancy varieties of dog coffee, that is, coffee drinks named after dogs. I had the Red Setter (coffee with raspberry syrup, whipped cream, Kahlua, and a sprinkle of red sugar), and bought Island Year and Wild Life in the Southwest.

Also, the area where I'm staying is quite beautiful and green, with tall trees covered in ivy. Nice weather, a bit hot in the day but nowhere near the swelter of LA when I left. Photos will be forthcoming.

Comments

[kore (from livejournal.com)]

Asheville is also where Zelda Fitzgerald died in her asylum, where Fitzgerald wrote the Crack-Up articles, and where Thomas Wolfe grew up. PHEER my knowledge of useless literary trivia!

If you at all have the inclination, you could go to the "Old Kentucky Home" -- "Dixieland" in Look Homeward Angel -- Julia Wolfe's boarding-house. It's now the Thomas Wolfe House. My dad was planning to go there for forever.

[mme-hardy.livejournal.com]

IIRC the Wolfe House burned down a few years back and had to be rebuilt. :( (Checked: Yup, in 1998.) Go Biltmore! Choose Biltmore!

The other two important things to know is that it has more tattoo shops per capita than I've ever seen, and it has an incredibly kickass fabric store, Waechter's Silk Shop.

[kore (from livejournal.com)]

No doubt those in the tourist industry are glad you are not generally in charge of them, if reconstructed landmarks are not worth seeing. Perhaps everything should just be allowed to crumble into genuine if unremarkable sand-pits.

[tool-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I make a distinction between maintaining landmarks so they don't fall down and entirely rebuilding them after they fall down. I mean, I don't have moral objections to people doing the latter but I am generally not too interested in seeing things rebuilt from scratch.

Of course a continuously-maintained landmark may eventually fall subject to the grandfather's axe problem. And a rebuilt landmark, if it survives long enough, can reasonably be considered a landmark in its own right.

I won't pretend this is a logical position on my part - it's all about the emotional response. Nonetheless it's how I tour. (When I went up the Moselle and down the Rhine in Germany I didn't visit any of the medieval castles Louis XIV knocked down and which were later rebuilt. This cut down a LOT on the number of castles I felt the need to visit.)

[mme-hardy.livejournal.com]

There is a difference between burned to the walls, destroying many of the artifacts (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=20040605&id=m1UeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YMgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2784,832495) and "needs a good coat of paint".

Don't get me wrong. The burning (probably arson) of the Wolfe House was a tragedy. But the reason I go to artists' houses -- as opposed, say, to national monuments -- is to think, "Wow. Emily Dickinson slept RIGHT HERE. Louisa May Alcott climbed these stairs RIGHT HERE." At this point, the idea of the Thomas Wolfe house doesn't give me that vibe.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

As you have discovered, Asheville and the area in like, the hour around it are a great mix of Old South (Hick subversion) and complete artist-hippie-granola. I love that area a lot. (It helps the mountains are gorgeous.)

I know it because my brother used to work at the local (hippie) Quaker boarding school. (Actually, it wasn't officially Quaker because they couldn't reach consensus on that.)

Place was founded by Arthur Morgan, who was at one point president of Antioch.

Um. That was a big time tangent. Anyway!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I know it because my brother used to work at the local (hippie) Quaker boarding school. (Actually, it wasn't officially Quaker because they couldn't reach consensus on that.)

That is hilarious.

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm corn pudding.

[tool-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I think I guessed wrong, but really, my odds were pretty good for "flaming car."

[kore (from livejournal.com)]

Seriously, "flaming car" is sort of the default when reading Rachel's LJ!

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

Thus I felt obliged to vote for Republican senator, as the other thing is it's always the most unlikely seeming thing when reading Rachel's LJ.

[mikeda.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't that suggest a vote for "wooly rhinocerous"?

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

No, somehow that seemed more likely.

My brain is WEIRD.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

If you have obtained or do obtain a car, I recommend a short drive (30-45 minutes) to Flat Rock NC, where you can visit the Carl Sandburg home (his wife kept a flock of prize goats, whose descendents are available for petting) and Sky Top Orchards, to pick your own incredible apples (http://www.skytoporchard.com/). I like it there so much I seriously contemplated an 8-hour drive there for Labor Day weekend.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

That sounds delightful, but I'm leaving tomorrow and would not be able to bring apples on a plane. Fruitflies on a Plane!

[fiveandfour.livejournal.com]

A colleague did that same trip (with the flights and everything) over the summer for business. As he was was waiting his turn to check in at his hotel, he looked around and saw a man lean over and vomit into a potted plant. That confirmed his suspicion which had began forming at the airport that he was in Hicksville.

[bluehwys.livejournal.com]

Found your journal via friendsfriendsfriends (or something). If you don't mind my asking, what's the name of this magical bookstore? I recently moved a few hours outside of Asheville and am in dire need of a good bookstore.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

http://www.batteryparkbookexchange.com/

Enjoy! Make sure to visit the upstairs.

[bluehwys.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you!