Alice & I were finishing our Blue Ridge Parkway vacation as we neared St Rt 40 just east of Asheville. We were tired of driving in fog and the Saturday traffic the parkway was having. When Connie & Ted called and informed us they were at the KOA campground that was to be our home for the next 7 days, the news wasn't good. The rain the area had made the campsites muddy. Wil and Gloria had their camper and Alice and I had our cargo box but Harold, Laurie, Ted and Connie were using tents. But back to the phone call, Connie said the tent people were going to Bearwaters brewery 4 miles west of the campground and discuss the situation. Since I was on St Rt 40 heading that way, we just drove the camper to the brewery and had our first beers in Asheville. Wil and Gloria pulled in also after dropping their trailer at the campground. After some food and drinks it was to the campground where we got set up with tents on stones or mulch which helped with the mud problem. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, socializing and playing poker.
Sunday the 27th was beautiful weather wise. We lazed around most of the morning then went to town to brewery hop and find lunch. We hit the following breweries; Asheville Brewing, but they were closed so next door was Rabbit Rabbit where we got their beer anyways. Hiwire, Wicked Weed and Bhramari. All good places but very busy for Sunday and the covid stuff. Supper was Italian Beef and pasta salad by Wil and Gloria and since the next morning was biscuits and gravy, I cooked some potatoes in a nice bed of hot coals from the evening campfire. The first full day of Asheville was behind us now.
Monday the 28th was mid 70's and mostly sunny. After the wonderful biscuits and gravy, we all loaded up and drove to the Dupont State Park to see some beautiful waterfalls. Hooker Falls was first and around a .6 mile walk. The next two falls, High Falls and Triple Falls was a 2.4 mile hike and mostly uphill. Wil, Connie, Alice and I took the plunge and hiked it. The rest shuttled cars to another parking lot so we didn't have to backtrack. The falls and the hike were just marvelous. After walking it was time for lunch. Ted and Connie were in the lead and took us to the Oskar Blues Brewing Company, makers of Dales Pale Ale which I really love. They also have a Scottish Ale called Old Chub which Alice, Gloria and Harold really liked. We bought cases of beer to take with us. After lunch at their taproom called "The Tasty Weasel" it was off to camp for a nap. Alice and I had plans to meet my niece Gretchen and her husband Craig. They had just moved to Asheville about 3 months ago and it was great to see them. We met at the Zillicoah Brewery on the north end of Asheville. We talked, ate Mexican off a food truck and just had a great visit. Back at camp it was more poker before bedtime. I was not winning much so far in the trip.
Tuesday morning the 29th I awoke to the sound of rain on the trailer. And rain it did, ALL day. 5 of us had tickets to go see the Biltmore Estate which was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and it is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet of floor space. After milling around in the gift shops it was our turn to enter the mansion. 33 guest bedrooms plus his and hers not counting the staff made for lots of laundry. Just the hired staff could have been a village. And the Vanderbilt's only had one daughter to share it with. It was a huge place and very exciting to see. They even had the first known in house bowling alley. I wanted to see the gardens but the rain prevented that. After the tour it was off to the Biltmore Winery where we got 5 free samples with our estate tickets. I bought 3 bottles of a red sirah then we headed back to camp to join the others. The rain made everything at camp even muddier and jackets were needed for the damp chill. Supper was pulled pork by Harold and Laurie, then more poker and cribbage.
Wednesday the 30th we started the day by eating at Biscuit Head, a wonderful biscuit and gravy restaurant. Wil was in heaven with his "Flight of Gravy" and biscuit. We then drove an hour or so south to the North/South Carolina state line. Our campground host, Dave Flowers, told us about the "Pretty Place" or Symme's Chapel. This open air chapel sits on the edge of Standing Stone Mountain and you can see for miles. It would have been a great place to see the sun rise in the morning but driving up the steep roads would have been nerve racking at night. We even saw a man spreading ashes at the site so you could tell people came there for deep, deep mediation. On the way back to Asheville we stopped in the town of Brevard to see white squirrels, hit a Wal-Mart for supplies and then more breweries. Ecusta Brewing was first then Sierra Nevada Brewery, but their taproom was closed just curbside pick up. I said piss on them and we ended up at the Blue Ghost Brewery. This place was the funniest of all the breweries we visited. The atmosphere was great and they had games like cornhole. It was a very relaxing place. Back at camp we dodged mud and had a campfire and drinks. It was a wonderful day. Connie and Ted had fixings for nachos for supper. I stayed up until midnight with Alice, Ted and Connie and was on the verge of falling into the campfire when I knew it was bedtime.
Thursday October 1st I awoke around 8:00 am to sounds of Harold cutting down one of the tarps we used for a wind block on the canopy. Everyone moved a little slow as we just didn't want to get started on our last full day of Asheville. When we did get around it was to a donut shop Dave Flowers told us about. Vortex Donuts sits next to Catawba Brewing and the Buxton Hall BBQ shop was next to that. We also hit the Green Man Brewery and Burial Brewing. Alice and I needed to hit a Harley Davidson shop for our nephew and on the way back we met everyone at the New Belgium Brewery. There was over an hour wait due to covid and the social distancing so we just left. Out of the 3 major name breweries we tried only Oskar Blues was very accommodating. Supper for the evening was chili that Alice made in the new crockpot we bought at Wal-Mart, along with biscuits in the dutch oven. We invited Dave Flowers and his wife to supper and got to listen to more of Dave's stories. For a retired lawyer turned camping bum, he was very interesting to chat with.
Friday the 2nd was traveling home day. Wil and Gloria were on the road by 8:30 am and Alice and I left the other 4 around 9. I talked about driving part way and camping again but after talking to daughter Nissa and her wanting to be rid of our dogs, I decided to drive straight through. We stopped in Circleville, Ohio to eat at a Rooster's just to miss Columbus rush hour traffic and man did a big plate of salad taste good.
The 11 days we were on the road was fun but we were glad to be home. In all we hit 13 breweries and one winery but who's counting. We drove or camped in the following states; Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky. Asheville has a lot going for it and I wouldn't mine going back someday. The new camper was great, the Jeep made it home safely (see Blue Ridge Parkway report) and Alice didn't kill me like her boss said she would. We drove 1460 miles total and the jeep averaged 11.81 miles per gallon. Another vacation is history, but hopefully will live on as a memory. (If not that's why I write these reports and save them.)
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