Yurt, Sweet Yurt

Ah, the refreshing vibrations of free wi-fi, or at least wi-fi that comes with the cost of our lodging. K and I are at Campfire Lodgings in Asheville, NC, today and we're staying in one of their yurts, a large, semi-permanent tent that looks more like a nice cabin on the inside than a tent with its hardwood floors, gas fireplace and real bed. There are a couple of yurts here with a bathroom, but we ended up in the cheaper yurt with just a changing room and no running water (but an air conditioner and refrigerator.) It's a really nice set-up, a little pricey for what it is, but worth the one-time experience. The only drawback is that we have to go up a terraced hill to get to the bathhouse for waste elimination and showering. It's still a really cool experience.

I actually took photos of the yurt to post today but then realized that I don't have the cable that connects the camera to my computer. Nevermind. I'll have to make due with words until I get home late next week. Yurts are circular tents with wooden posts and beams supporting a wooden lattice wall that is covered by a canvas. In this case, it's built on a deck protruding from a very steep hill (as in ground level in the back and twelve feet above the ground in the front. The view from the deck out our door is really nice, nothing but a forested slope descending below us. The ceilings are about seven feet tall at the outer edges and closer to twelve feet tall at the center where a clear dome can be raised to let hot air escape. Obviously, this isn't your normal tent. K's been looking forward to staying in this thing since she first saw one a few years ago, and I'm glad it's living up to her expectations.

As for the rest of the day, it went much better than yesterday. We got on the road at the decent time. We made good time and E mostly slept and was a happy rider with very few exceptions when awake. We got to the the campground a bit earlier than check-in, but by the time we helped my parents set up their pop-up camper we were able to drive down the path to the yurt and unpack the car. Then we drove into downtown Asheville, walked through some of the shops in the Grove Arcade (a mall like thing in what seems to be a really old building with shops that are mostly artsy or food related) and then went to eat dinner at Jack in the Wood (a brewpub of sorts, although their beer is brewed off-site a few blocks down the road). After that we stopped in the Malaprop's bookstore (I think Courtney and Mickey visited the place during their last visit to Asheville) and I bough E a little baby haiku book that he seemed to really like. There wasn't much else to the day other than doing laundry, so I'll refrain from boring you with sitting in the laundry room reading the AARP magazine while waiting for the wash to finish.

Tomorrow K's parents come into town and we're going to do some touristy things with them. I'm hoping to go rafting or hiking on Wednesday in addition to the Brews Cruise, but who knows. My vacations don't tend to follow much of a preset schedule. It's more fun that way.