First days trying to get my bearings and explore town. I’m close to but not quite Downtown. Same as to some nearby neighborhoods. There’s a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s literally within one block, so that ought to tell you everything about the area. My first morning, I had a typical diner breakfast at 5 Points Restaurant a couple blocks up the street. The place was pretty crowded. Sat next to a guy named Howard, who introduced himself as the person who supplies the restaurant with most of its produce. He gave me a bunch of travel tips, and said he’d moved from Florida years ago to get away. Sounds pretty smart.
I also found the Reed Creek Greenway and got in a morning run/walk. I was soon to learn Asheville has set aside a lot of areas as parks, natural areas, and Greenways. These greenways usually follow creeks, like the one by my place. I’ve already been on it twice.
Then it was off to the airport, through surprisingly hellish traffic, to swap the Land Shark for Black Lightning, pictured below. Yeah it looks like an extravagance but really it was the cheapest available rent car. And this is a town where I can actually use a convertible during the summer. The Asheville airport is pretty easy to get in and out of, but looks to be fairly modern. Its not the Shreveport airport, in other words.
Had a great lunch at Luella’s BBQ south of town. There I met up with Craft BBQ Guy. One of these days I’ll get into that particular phenomenon. Suffice to say it’s hard to take someone really seriously about BBQ if they’re super thin, and not wearing Wranglers and boots, like Craft BBQ Guys everywhere. They’re really just BBQ hipsters.
Let’s see. Most of the rest of the time I’ve been settling in and seeing the town. Turns out the neighbor has a friendly cat. Oxymoron I know, but I found him inside the house checking out me and my stuff. That needs to stop. Later that night I ran on another greenway, this time along the French Broad River, when a downpour opened up. It rained on me much of the way here and hasn’t really let up. But these Greenways are a pretty great way to walk and run without being in some sidewalk along a busy street. The greenway was teeming with rabbits, squirrels, a variety of birds.
Yesterday I had to hit work again, ugh. And attend to a whole long list of getting settled in tasks. Leaving little time for exploration. Mostly I’ve been trying to find places to eat. I had breakfast at Green Sage Cafe, near the UNC-Charlotte campus. Like Austin, its pretty easy to find healthy food options, and this place, right up the street, is also a great place to work. After dealing with a dreadful day getting back to work, I found Beaver Lake, near the country club, offering a gravel trail for walking and running. Finally something that won’t kill my knees. I was there near sunset, and the lake and the teeming wildflowers were really shimmering in the late sun.
Tomorrow-sailing into the Fourth like a banshee! Uh, not so much.
Summer In the Mountains 