Asheville

I guess I've had little time to blog recently, which is evident in the fact that it's taken me until the end of this weekend to write about last weekend. Jarrett and I had a lovely time in Asheville last Saturday through Tuesday, regardless of the work that was intertwined with the pleasure. After checking in at the cheaper motel we stayed at on our dime Saturday night, we drove into Downtown Asheville and strolled around, stopped in many of the shops, and generally just enjoyed the nice weather. We went back to the motel to rest for awhile, still completely clueless about the crisis we were about to face. Jarrett was in the process of taking off his shirt, as he was about to hop in the shower, when I noticed he had come to a complete standstill, his head still covered in shirt, so I asked him what he was doing. A few curse words escaped his lips as he finished pulling off his clothing, revealing his beat red face -- he'd left his hanging garment bag, which contained all of his dress clothes for both that night's dinner and, more importantly, his business meetings, lying on the guest bed back in Atlanta. To try to keep my upset husband as calm as possible, I called the restaurant and asked if we could push our reservation back a bit, and proceeded to iron my clothes and get as put together as possible so we could run out and make it to the mall before heading to eat. Things only got worse. Jarrett had decided he could get away with wearing jeans and the one button-up shirt that was in the suitcase that evening, but as he started to iron the shirt (white with a small pattern), rust-colored water seeped onto the material. His face became even more red. Fabulous. So I told him I'd take his shirt down to the front desk and tell them they needed to take care of it (not that it would solve the immediate problem), but he decided to go down there himself. I was proud of him for keeping his cool, especially since the delinquent front desk clerk claimed she could do nothing because we had prepaid. Huh? We get punished because we paid at the time of reservation? Apparently she could just refund us the worth of the shirt otherwise. We're still working on all of that. So Jarrett just put on a polo, and we were out the door. Belk saved us, and we had a relatively easy shopping experience, finding him a nice pair of dress pants and two dress shirts -- all of which were on sale. So off to dinner at The Market Place we went -- and what a great dinner it was, proving to be quite tasty and relaxing.

On Sunday we went to the Biltmore Estate, and spent most of the day in awe over the structure and its grounds. We'd both been there before (I've actually visited two or three times), but Jarrett hadn't been there since he was 14, and there was quite a bit neither of us remembered from the previous visits. We also went ahead and paid for the audio tour, which really explained a lot of the history and purpose behind each room. We had a lot of fun. The winery was kind of a disappointment -- but an expected one, so that was okay. We still ended up buying a couple bottles of wine to enjoy while in Asheville.

Sunday and Monday nights were spent at the incredibly secluded and peaceful Sourwood Inn, these nights on Jarrett's company's dime since he was there for a conference. :) I absolutely loved this place. Just take a look at the rooms online, and you'll understand why. Each of the 12 or so rooms enjoy breathtaking views from the french doors that open onto a little balcony (see photo above), the bathrooms share the same view and have a huge bathtub and open shower, each room has a wood-burning fireplace, and the inn itself is just gorgeous with it's rustic, yet exquisite craftsman, style. I can't wait to go back at some point and go when we don't have to think about work at all.

Monday and Tuesday were spent partially at the Grove Park Inn, where Jarrett's meeting was held (I just did some editing while he was in meetings -- but outside on the porch in a rocking chair -- heck yeah), and partially just taking in Asheville. One highlight was our visit to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, where we found some pottery and art that we, of course, couldn't live without.

It was a very enjoyable four days, indeed. Now we're just using this weekend to catch up with errands and getting ready for my upcoming photography shows (which all of you should really check out!)

And now I'll leave you with Asheville's motto (yes, you can buy this printed on a t-shirt): Nice Place, Weird Folk.