Well, today was another good day, so maybe that first day was a fluke and not some portent of things to come. We got up a little early because the baby was too excited to stay in bed any longer and went up to shower and eat breakfast with my parents. The yurt slept nicely. It was cool and the bed pretty comfortable. Being able to put the kid in his own crib was nice as well. My kidneys were also happy to have the break from the constant nocturnal pummelings of his little feet.
After breakfast we headed back into downtown Asheville to meet K's parents, who left early this morning, at the information center to take a trolley tour of town. This was actually more interesting than expected. I got to see sections of town I wouldn't have known existed otherwise (there is a ton of old architecture in town from old Victorians to early Art Deco that's more like the original European version than the cheesy Miami South Beach version that came later. Apparently one of the locally born architects studied in Europe for a good dozen years just as the style was coming into being and then brought the idea home with him, making Asheville home to some of the oldest Art Deco construction in the country.
Also, while walking through the River Arts District (an old industrial area that's going through urban renewal as art studios right along the French Broad River) I stumbled across the Wedge Brewing Co. Now, I knew the brewery existed and that it had only opened a few months earlier. I never go to a new town without knowing all of the local breweries and brewpubs beforehand, but I had no clue that while looking for the studio of the guy who did the interesting found scrap iron sculpture that I'd walk right past the brewery and happen to notice the small chalkboard sign in the window announcing the hours of the brewery's tasting room.
Unfortunately, we had to catch the trolley back to the information center just as the tasting room would have opened. Luckily, everyone else in the group was in fine spirits, so I was able to drag them all back by car after the tour was over for a couple of pints. I had the Golem, an incredibly tasty Belgian Strong Ale that even my mom surprisingly liked. Seriously, the best reaction I've ever gotten from my mom for a beer n the past was, "That's not terrible." Usually the lack of a gag reflex grimace is about as positive of a response as I can hope for. With this beer she took a sip, got a surprised look on her face and took a few more sips. She even came back for another taste before I finished the glass. Her pronouncement was that this was the only beer she had ever enjoyed. K had the porter (good but not the lucky find kind of good of the Golem) and I took a growler of the IPA home with me. If you like craft beer and are in town, look these guys up. The tasting room is open from 4 p.m. most days and they are right in the middle of a bunch of artist studios that are open to the public to make the trip even more worth your while. You could always just go to one of the better beer bars in town and hope they're carrying the stuff, but then you'd miss the guy who encourages you to touch his paintings or the potter who wants you to play with his sculptures.
I won't be going rafting tomorrow, but we will be going to Chimney Rock and some of the area south of Asheville. I haven't really decided if I'm doing the Brews Cruise or not, but I'm hoping so.
6 comments:
Have you been to The Bier Garden? It's right across from Malaprops and we liked it.
I almost stopped reading this post when you said that you 'got up early' and had lunch with your parents. As someone who cannot sleep late, I am offended by such talk.
I talked myself out of it, though, assuming you'd meant to say breakfast. I was right.
I've never made it to Chimney Rock because I can't stand to see so much beautiful granite that is closed to climbing. The park is privately owned and they do allow guided climbing through one specific company, but it's still a crime.
Across the valley is Rumbling Bald. Plenty of open climbing there.
Mickey: It's been a state park for about 14 months now. Still probably can't rock climb there without the guide service, but the family who owned it sold it a year ago May. I don't climb, so I was indifferent to the fact, although having to pay $13 per person to get in a state park where it's basically just hiking around the mountain is annoying. Some really great views, though and I was able to rent a baby backpack pretty cheaply so I could hike up to the falls without having to push a stroller down the many sets of stairs that took you down the parts that were shear granite cliffs.
Courtney: I didn't even see it, but if I had I wouldn't have been able to go. I'd just drug my parents to a brewpub when I found Malaprops.
Julie: It was a typo and has been fixed. We got up at 6:30 that morning so it was a ridiculously early lunch.
I had a stout last time we went to Big River Grill in Chattanooga, and it was probably the best beer I've had. Of course, I don't drink much beer. So I can relate to your mom in this story.
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