ON THE ROAD AGAIN .... ALMOST!..YEAH!..

Getting ready to get gone!  The big decision was whether to start a new blog under a new title, or keep this one going.  After looking at the number of hits on this site, decided to keep Billy going as Billy is going with us!  

For anyone interested in specifically traveling the Bourbon Trail, check out "Travel The Bourbon Trail" (www.kybourbontravel.blogspot.com) which details our exploration of that area for two year travels.  If we manage to get back to some of the same distilleries in Kentucky or new ones, I'll update on both blogs.

We are leaving on Sunday and hoping that the jet stream will meet us and cool weather will prevail.  The way it's been looking the last couple of summers, it's not worth leaving Florida.  While the rest of the country sizzles (and it does sizzle every summer), we remain the same, expected weather - 90's with breezes on the coast and afternoon showers.  It's actually been very pleasant down here and hope we waited long enough for the heat wave to break as we head up into Asheville, NC.

THE PLAN

We'll be spending four days in Asheville NC in a new (to us) campground. We usually stay at Cascade Lake Recreation Area in Pisgah Forest because we (1) love the location and (2) used to work there.  However, we decided to try something different.  My son Chris and his wife Sarah with Collin and her mother Linda are camping at Cascade Lake which was a last minute decision for them.  By the time they firmed up their plans, we were committed to Campfire Lodging and couldn't cancel without a penalty.  So..........we are about 40 miles apart!

Leaving Friday we are heading into Kentucky for the weekend, perhaps to hunt down a distillery or two, then up to Coldwater, Ohio to visit family.  Ultimately we are going to Michigan, first a little touring and a wedding in Leland and then August 15th - September 15th we are campground hosting at North Muskegan State Park.  Should be an  interesting gig!

No firm routing plans home, will sort that out in August.

July 21, 2013 – Sunday

SOMETIMES IT JUST TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET STARTED!

Day of departure is upon us.  About 9:30 we were ready to go when our neighbors, taking their morning walk, stopped by to say goodbye and pointed out that the license plate on the Caddy had expired April 2013!  Since this is Dave’s birthday month, he takes care of this one and he immediately dove into the glove compartment pulling papers out looking for the most recent registration…April 2013!  That sent him into the house to dive through paperwork that would shed light on whether he paid for the renewal. 

Meanwhile Steve mentioned that people steal stickers off license plates.  I said that sounds plausible except for the fact there was no renewal paperwork for the registration which points to the plates not having been renewed.  Steve agreed and they went on their way while I went into the house to see how the great paper hunt was coming. 

Dave now was heading back out to the RV to find the laptop and go online to see the status of the registration.  I took the opportunity to make a final pass at the grocery store buying bread and rotisserie chicken for dinner. I also noticed you’d have to have bionic vision to read the dates on those little yellow stickers on the plates. Returning home, Dave discovered he had not renewed the registration, and did so on line and printed out the receipt so we at least have the proper paperwork awaiting the actual sticker.

Now it’s about 10:30 and we are really leaving … heading over to the warehouse to hook up the car tow dolly.  This was when we discovered that the right tail light on the MH wasn’t working and none of the lights on the dolly were working. 

By around 11:45 I decided to head down to pick up sandwiches for lunch while Dave followed wires along the RV to the plug for the tow dolly.  By the time I got back, all lights were working and Dave discovered a missing bolt on the tow dolly which was a lucky find so he replaced that.  Note:  We bought this tow dolly new May 2012 from Camping World and had them assemble it.  Dave has since reassembled it and keeps finding parts that are falling off. 

Backed the car up onto the dolly and had our lunch and hit the road at 1:20 PM … a few hours late but the whole point of leaving Sunday was to give us a head start because our campground reservations are actually Monday, 7/22.

We made it up to Point South KOA just about an hour south of I-26 which we consider the halfway point.  Pulled into an easy spot and hooked up electric, turned on the A/C and spent our first night on the road getting the interior of the MH organized.

July 22, 2013 – Monday

ASHEVILLE

Got an early start of 9:20AM leaving Point South KOA and headed up to Asheville.  Drove through some rainstorms but pretty much had an uneventful trip. 

Saluda Pass is always a challenge and is the gateway to those beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!  It was an especially tough one for the MH this time because our engine was missing as in miss firing.  Our speed dropped to about 20 MPH as we coughed and wheezed up that pass. 

Back in the early days of going to WNC (30 years ago),  it was not unusual to see cars and trucks pulled over with their hoods up and steam pouring from their engines.   Back in the 90’s, I remember watching the gauge on the Explorer, pulling a travel trailer,  struggling to get up through that pass.  The prize is the vista of mountain ranges that lay before you as you come through the pass.  It was a relief to start that downhill run!

We are staying at a new campground that was highly recommended, Campfire Lodgings Campground and it is on the top of a mountain overlooking Asheville and the French Broad River. 

IMAGINE WHAT THIS WOULD LOOK LIKE WITHOUT THE RAIN!!!!!

This is a beautiful campground with full hook ups including cable.  The premier sites are in the open and look out over the mountain ranges. 

PREMIER SITE OVERLOOKING ASHEVILLE AND FRENCH BROAD RIVER

Located on the north side of Asheville it is about 4 miles from I-26 but the road up is one lane and steep, climbing and climbing, hoping you don’t meet anyone coming down because someone has to back up – there is no room to pass.  We were fortunate that we did not meet anyone coming down and when we finally reached the top and the vistas were amazing.  

We opted for a shady site as the jet stream did not meet us and it isn’t particularly cool up here and can walk to the vistas.  It’s a beautiful spot.

Our neighbor has a dog training company in Bradenton and is traveling with 7 dogs, 2 Whippets, 1 Border Collie, 2 Bull Dogs and 2 Papillons.  Their dogs compete in dock diving and agility and hold records!  Pretty cool.

Who's that dog??? The infamous Boat Dog Billy????

Tuesday, 7/23/13

FRIENDS, CASCADE LAKE & BEER

We made our way to Brevard to meet our CG Host friends Linda & Howard and Linda & Geoff for lunch at Dugan’s.  Had a great lunch and lots of catching up to do.  From here Dave and I headed over to Cascade Lake to find Chris & Sarah who are spending the week there.  They were not at their site  and cell phone service is extremely spotty in the mountains, so we left a note and headed back down into Pisgah Forest.  

On our way down the mountain, we stopped at our favorite open market to purchase fresh (and I do mean fresh) corn on the cob and stringer green beans. I was worried because the corn did not look very high, and we asked how long they have had corn.  The corn started coming in yesterday!  There has been so much rain through here, the first crop of corn was flooded and destroyed!  No fresh tomatoes, none of the usual piles of vegetables that are seen by this time in the summer. 

A BREWERY ...... A BREWERY!!!!

Oskar Blues picked Brevard NC because of the small town feel, the proximity to Pisgah National Forest with the mountain biking-spirit also found in the Rockies.  They opened in January getting the brewery up and running and are now working on the amenities; restaurant and bar.

 I couldn't help but see a similarity between Oskar Blues and Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, Vt.  Last summer I felt a strong connection (and wrote about it a lot) between Vermont and Western North Carolina.  Probably would feel the same connection in Colorado!

G'Knight, Gubna and Tenfidy were our favorites...but we drank them all!

While we were sipping our sampler, the cell phone rang and we heard from Chris, met them in Ingles parking lot and made our plans for tomorrow …. lunch at the Moose Café!

Wednesday - 7/24/2013 

MOOSE CAFÉ!

Chris, Sarah, Collin and Sarah’s mother Linda met us at the Moose Café located at the Western North Carolina Farmer’s Market.  This restaurant is a family tradition and we were not disappointed.  

The food is fresh from the Farmer’s Market and prepared in wonderful southern style …. fried, rich gravies, fresh vegetables!  Our meals of buttermilk fried chicken with white pepper gravy, homemade mashed potatoes with more gravy, corn on the cob, tomato pie, lots of fluffy biscuits served with fresh apple butter and fresh corn bread filled us to the brim.  Can it get any better than that??

We waddled out of the restaurant and headed down to the farmers market.  

This is a major distribution center for fresh produce from North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

 There are four or five large drive through covered bays where farmers bring their vegetables to wholesale market.  These vegetables appear in farmer’s markets throughout the south.  The vegetables were beautiful with bushels of corn on the cob, bin after bin of tomatoes, fresh squashes, lots of South Carolina peaches and North Carolina melons. 

 Wonderful baskets of veggies!

Jellies, Chow Chow, even Kudzo Flower Jam!

Inside the retail building were more vegetable stalls and all those fresh vegetables, cheeses, meats, jellies, honey, spices, and whatever you want, are available.  I picked up several different kinds of heirloom tomatoes and, my favorite, white sweet potatoes! 

COLLIN GETS A NEW SLINGSHOT!!

MY GRAND-DOG ANNIE WITH FOREVER PARENTS CHRIS & SARAH!

We parted ways mid-afternoon and headed back toward North Asheville.  I saw a sign for Hot Springs and suggested we drive up that direction.  Years ago I whitewater rafted the French Broad starting at Hot Springs.  The town is about 27 miles north of Asheville, up near the Tennessee border and the drive  through the passes was resplendent with mountain vistas.  Hot Springs is a small town, about a block long!

What I was looking for were the hot springs.  I remembered walking down to them in an old broken building.  

HOT SPRINGS HISTORY

This was a resort destination in the early 1800's due to the healing mineral springs and the beautiful mountain setting.  Buncombe Turnpike followed the French Broad River through Hot Springs (formerly Warm Springs) connecting Tennessee and Kentucky to the east coast.   Farmers drove their cattle through this town on their way to Charleston and Augusta markets so Warm Springs was a great stopping point.  In the 1900's an elegant resort called Mountain Park Hotel was built containing stables, expansive lawns for croquet, sixteen marble pools benefiting from the mineral springs and the earliest 9-hole golf course in the southeast.  However as WWI dawned,  fewer people were visiting the waters and Mountain Park Hotel and grounds were leased to the federal government as an internment camp for German merchant sailors captured. They were well treated by the folks of the town and returned to visit after the war. Good ole’ Southern hospitality!

The hotel burned in 1920 and was not rebuilt. Several other hotels were built over the next 40 years but they burned down and Hot Springs was hardly a tourist destination.

Today there is a hotel and spa called The Warm Springs Hotel and Spa. According to their website, it looks like a great place to have a spa weekend. Check it out at: http://nchotsprings.com. I think Warm Springs Hotel & Spa would be a great “getaway weekend”. Easy trip from FLA and it truly sounds inviting!

The area is benefitting from adventure tourism. Many rafting outfitters set up white water rafting trips down the French Broad River. Kayakers also enjoy these waters. The Appalachian Trail runs down the main street of town before heading back onto the mountains. Mountain biking is big in the area as it is throughout the WNC mountains and there is the spa for relaxation, soaking in the mineral baths in secluded outdoor tubs. There is even an RV park as part of the Warm Springs Hotel and Spa.  It's a town off the beaten path but worth visiting.  For motorcycle enthusiasts, it's a great ride out of Asheville into Tennessee.

Thursday, 7/25/2013

HOPS ARE A WICKED AND PERNICIOUS WEED!

Along with beautiful mountains, Biltmore House and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville is known for its craft breweries.  There are 12 craft breweries in this city and we made our way to two.  More to aspire to, next time we come through.

For lunch we stopped at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company.  Ordered a flight of six beers ranging from dark stout to pale blonde.  It wasn’t until after lunch that we noticed it was also a movie theater. 

It’s  known as the brew and view located in an old renovated movie theater on 675 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville.  There are two showings an evening 7PM and 10PM offering second-run movies and for $3 you can watch a movie and order your dinner from their menu.  Great evening for the family who wants to go out to eat and catch a show!  Tonight the Great Gatsby will be playing.    

Had a Moon Pizza which was great!  It was on a Parmesan crust with feta, artichokes and mushrooms.  Yummy!  Dave had a large hamburger with fried onions and jack cheese.  One of the beers in our flight was brewed with jalapenos and it really had a kick to it.  Definitely a beer to be drunk with food!

We took a drive to the Grove Park Inn and Spa which was a beautiful as I had heard it was, then headed to downtown Asheville on Biltmore Street where we found Wicked Weed (as in hops).  

We went down to the brewery and had a six glass sampler of their wonderful hoppy and Belgium beers. The Cherry Black Angel had been stored in Four Roses used charred barrels.

The sampler was served on a bourbon barrel stave that was carved out to hold six small glasses.  You could see the char of the barrel on the underside.  The bar was also made of bourbon barrel staves. 

The Wicked Hops Harvest Ale was a sweet, citrus-y refreshing hoppy IPA; Lucid Blonde was a light Belgium and not one of my favorites.  The Cherry Black Angel came from the bourbon barrel and it had a definite sour taste along with the smoky rich flavor of the barrel.   The Freak IPA had a bitter flavor, the batch 100 was made from 8 hops and 8 malts as their 100^th batch and the Infamous Porter had the rich back flavor of coffee.   

So ended our stay in Asheville and we now have a goal for when we get back …. More breweries!  Back at the MH we are getting ready to move on to Kentucky.  Loved it here, as always.  Will be back, as always!  WNC is  our second home!