Day 5 - Brevard, NC - Columbia, SC

In typical fashion for us, we took our itinerary for today and put it in the shredder this morning!  HA!  We still ended in Columbia, SC, but the journey here was somewhat different than planned.  We accidentally missed a car museum that Jason and Lena wanted to see yesterday, so instead we drove 30 miles up into Asheville, NC to visit the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum.  Vansen soon rolled up into the Historic Greenwood Village (which we accessed via residential roads in a very posh area).  Established in 1966, the museum was founded by local legend Harry D. Blomberg, Asheville’s Cadillac-Pontiac dealer for over half a century.  It features Harry’s prized collection of antique and vintage automobiles, including a rare 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham and Asheville’s own 1922 American LaFrance fire truck.  It also has a 1959 Edsel Corsair which is similar to an Edsel Lena and Jason will rebuild back home.

While they visited the car museum, Caroline, the kiddos, and I walked around the other buildings which used to make up the weaving and woodworking operations of Biltmore Industries, a force in American craft that was originally backed by Edith Vanderbilt.  We were soon in the Grovewood Gallery, a great place for local art.  Not only were there great handmade crafts, glasswork, and art, but the furniture was amazing!

For the remainder of the afternoon, we were on a timetable because we had scheduled a pointe shoe fitting appointment for Lena at 5:00 pm.  After Grovewood, we headed to the Folk Art Center just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is kind of like a pilgrimage for us.  I have several pieces at home that were purchased here.  Today I picked up a really cool spoon holder.

We soon headed south to Hendersonville and its Mineral & Lapidary Museum.  Sylvia is fascinated with rocks so we made a little detour for this nice, small, local museum.  The kiddos picked out geodes and had them cracked open on sight.  We got an amethyst one, a white crystal one, and one filled with red.  The museum was located downtown and the local townsfolk (and maybe tourists) were certainly out and about in this happening place.  We picked up another local meal, this time from Mike's on Main, and we were soon headed east.

About an hour and half later we arrived in Charlotte!  We pulled into the parking lot at The Sock Basket at exactly 5:00 pm.  I've only ever visited Charlotte's airport, so this was a rare treat to visit a new city.  Lena picked up some really cool new pointe shoes that she can't get in Arkansas and had the best salesperson (a fellow dancer) help her.  The smiles were huge, for sure.

The nice folks at the dance store suggested we try Viva Chicken for dinner.  Before heading there, we popped into REI.  I'm on the hunt for a blue Tilley hat, but looks like I'm just going to have to order it online.  After shopping a bit, we loaded up and headed towards the south part of town.  Viva Chicken is a fast casual charcoal-fire Rotisserie Joint specializing in the authentic Pollo a la Brasa found on the streets of Peru.  We picked up our order and headed to a small residential park nearby and enjoyed a summer evening picnic.  The chicken was some of the best I'd ever had.  To wrap up our meal, we picked up shakes from Shake Shack (I'd only seen these on TV).

On the way out of town, we spotted a Carvana vending machine.  If you don't know what that is, Carvana is an online car marketplace.  They'll deliver a used car to you at home or you can visit a vending machine to "pick" your car.  Franklin was entranced and he took several selfies plus video to capture the moment.  Next up, we jumped back on I-77 and soon crossed into South Carolina, arriving at our hotel in Columbia much later than planned, but wow...what a fun day!  Tomorrow we spy the Atlantic for the first time and our beach time begins.

Day 3 - Asheville, NC

A bit of a respite today as we spent all day hanging around Asheville.  I was first introduced to this city in 2003 during our Smoky Mountain camping trip and have loved it ever since.  After breakfast at the hotel, we drove out to the northeast side of town to the Folk Art Center located on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This is a very dangerous store for all of us as they have amazing art for sale:  photos, pottery, textiles, etchings, drawings, glass and more.  You owe it to yourself to stop here anytime you're in the area.  I had a framed piece of art in my hands, but I put it back on the wall before I got to check out.  I walked away empty-handed today, but only because I know I'll find equally cool souvenirs later in our trip.  Franklin picked up his first harmonica and has been serenading us ever since; he's actually getting better!

Our next stop was south of Asheville near Hendersonville.  It was time to go mining at the Elijah Mountain Gem Mine.  This family-run establishment might sound touristy (it is), but it is guaranteed fun, especially if you have kiddos.  We got a bucket full of sand with hidden treasures inside which we scooped into sifters.  A dip in the flowing water, some good old shaking, and gems began to appear.  Garnets, rubies, sapphires, quartz crystals, amethysts, emerald, geodoes, and more were found, resulting in big laughs from us all and wonderful smiles on the kids' faces.  The shop even cracked open Lena's geode for her.  I'm sensing a rock tumbler may be in their future.

We tried to visit the REI store in Knoxville on Friday, but the distance from our hotel and the down pouring rain caused us to delay until today.  Before shopping, we grabbed some North Carolina Bar-B-Que at Luella's.  Between the sweet potato chips, chopped brisket, ribs, andouille sausage, and homemade banana pudding, we all walked away with full bellies.  Lena snagged a new school backpack at REI and we found a perfect sticker for our "stowaway" bin on the back of the car.  

Downtown Asheville is home to many wonderful cafes, restaurants, street musicians, architecture, and more, but we spent some of our afternoon hours at the Asheville Pinball Museum.  For a flat per person rate, you get unlimited plays on old and new pinball machines, plus arcade favorites from when we were kids:  Miss Pac Man, Tron, Dig Dug, Galaga, Burger Time, Donkey Kong, and more.  Who knew frittering away 2 hours could be so much fun?  I did notice that I no longer have to get on my tip toes to see the arcade screens as I've grown a bit since the mid-1980s.

After a quick late afternoon coffee and some decadent chocolate confections we walked around the downtown area a bit and then drove through the River Arts District.  This "new" district is located near the Front Broad River and is in the old industrial area of the city.  Several studios have renovated warehouse spaces and open their doors to visitors.  Because it was late on a Sunday, all were closed, but we decided this would be an excellent way to spend a day with other adults on a future trip.  Back to the hotel early tonight and prepping to head out toward the center of North Carolina tomorrow.  The weather has continued to be completely amazing; it feels very much like fall in the mountains!

Day 2 - Knoxville to Asheville, NC

We slept in a bit this morning as the time change (we are in Eastern time now) and the long day in the car Friday zapped us.  The breakfast in the hotel was pretty good, all things considered, and we soon hit the road south towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We decided to take the more scenic route into the park which meant that once we hit Pigeon Forge, we turned west for a bit.  This was a good move as we soon came across the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster.  We HAD to stop and give it a try.  You get seat belted into this sled-like coaster that ascends the nearby mountain via a few different climbs.  Once you reach the summit, you push down on the coasters handles, and off you go as you slide/glide down the hill on steel tracks through corkscrews, bumpy straight sections, and banking turns in a woodland setting.  Franklin rode with me and was a little scared at first, but halfway down he was yelling, "THIS IS AWESOME, we have to do it again!"

Back on the road, we turned toward the Smokies and were soon at an area called "The Sinks" where folks come to swim and jump into the Little River's natural pools caused by the river making an S-turn.  The weather today was outstanding as the sun was out, but temperatures were amazingly pleasant.  This great late July day clearly brought a lot of people into the park.

Our next stop was the Newfound Gap which is about halfway through the park is at nearly 1 mile above sea level.  The temperature really started to cool off here--it was about 68 degrees at 1:00 pm.  The Appalachian Trail crosses the Gap as does the Tennessee/North Caroline state line.

Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the park (6,643 ft), the tallest mountain in Tennessee (yes, it's barely back across the state line), and is the third highest peak east of the Mississippi.  As we parked, clouds started to envelope us.  Not fog, but rolling clouds that curled and curved with the wind.  The temperature had dropped to about 64 and everyone except me donned long-sleeved t-shirts or a pullover.  A tower sits at the summit and is a half mile walk (uphill the whole way) and, during clear weather, offers sweeping views of the park.  Today was NOT a "clear weather" day.

As we left the park, we stopped to have our picture made with the southern entrance sign and then we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and then Highway 19 en route to Asheville, our final destination for today.  I was first introduced to Asheville by Caroline in 2003 when she, Jason, and I camped in nearby Maggie Valley.  The town is quite an eclectic mix of things to do, restaurants, and people.  The downtown area is a little like the French Quarter in New Orleans except locals, tourists, street musicians, college kids, and retirees all come here to enjoy what the city has to offer.  We found an excellent taproom and pizzeria for dinner and then spent some time just walking around.  We're staying put in Asheville tomorrow, which will be very nice.  Looking ahead, there has been a power outage on the Outer Banks that has caused the evacuation of two of the islands.  Fortunately, where we will be staying in a few days hasn't been affected.