We only stay at the finest hotels…
Asheville to North Carolina
We pulled into the art district of Asheville ready for some city vibes and southern cooking. We took a few wrong turns and ended up in a really rough part of town. As we sat at a stop sign trying to navigate to where we needed to go, a rather unsavory looking character approached our car. I wasn’t sure if he needed something or what but Jimmie decided to smile and drive off. It was a good choice because as we drove off he reached over to the back of the van and tried to see what he could grab. Needless to say after that we wanted to make sure we slept in a safe place.
I have had a bucket list thing for this trip and that is to do a really nice spa day. I found the most beautiful spa online. It was at a hotel so after dinner we decided to drive up there and check it out. The spa was closed but the pine grove hotel was gorgeous!!! It was an enormous estate. We found parking and went in. The bar was open so we cozied up in front of the massive fire place for a glass of wine. I love people watching. The lounge was full of very yuppie looking men in their white collared shirts sipping their whiskey. I looked over and the two ladies next to me looked like two southern bells out of the TV Show Dallas. The one lady caught me staring and I turned away. I am always curious about people. A few minutes later we asked them if they would mind taking a picture of us. That struck up a conversation. Now to look at these ladies you would think they would be the stuffy snobby type. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Once we got chatting they were hilarious and full of stories and as warm and friendly as can be. Jimmie asked what it is they do for work. The one lady put her head down and whispered she was a cotton farmer from Mississippi. Jimmie promptly asked why she replied so sheepishly and she acknowledged that to be a cotton farmer in the south comes with some stigma. I did a little reading on the history of cotton farms in Mississippi and it wasn’t pretty. I know nothing about cotton so we asked lots of questions, It was fascinating and I imagine the farms must be very beautiful. Thankfully now they have machines to harvest the cotton. Valerie and Trudy told us all about life growing up on the farm. Trudy still lives the farm life and raised her kids on the farm. She told us what it was like raising hogs. Disgusting!! In her southern accent she had us in stitches telling us stories about the hogs and cows and six year olds driving trucks across the property. They were lovely ladies and we enjoyed them. I thought about the fact how weird the world is right now. None of us can control how we are born or the life we are born into.
We weren’t about to fork over the money to stay in this posh hotel, I can barely get Jimmie to spring for a camp sight half the time. We walked out of the ritzy hotel to the parking lot, closed up the windows and went right to sleep. We felt safe and sound parked high on the hill. We only stay at the finest hotels.
The next day we toured the Biltmore estate. Wow!! It was a legit castle. At least when it was built it was the largest house in America. More than a century ago George Vanderbilt built this amazing estate on over 8,000 acres to entertain friends. The library was incredible. He was an avid reader who loved to travel. He kept a journal of all the books he read since he was 12 years old. The library had about 23,000 books. By the time he died he had read over 3,000 books. His wife was only 25 years old when she married him. Imagine her coming to this house for the first time! She apparently was a nice lady who took great pleasure in treating all the staff well and was known to bring gifts to them when someone was sick or a baby was born. Again she couldn’t help being born on the uppity side of town but it sounds like she made the choice to not lord it over others but chose kindness instead. It took nearly three hours to go through the house. It was interesting and beautiful. After seeing the house you drive over to the farm where they now have a winery. Theres a little village with shops and restaurants and I loved seeing the farm animals. There was another very fancy pants hotel by the farm with a lovely restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner and then went outside to enjoy the views and play a game of corn hole. We met a great couple from New Jersey and they joined us. They were so sweet and fun, At first he didn’t want to play but soon he was really into it. The game became very serious. When Jimmie offered to get a bottle of wine to share with them he looked confused when Jimmie went out the front door (our room after all was in the parking lot). Later they told us one of their friends had drowned in the floods from the hurricane. They had just found out and were sitting there bummed out before we walked up and dragged them into a game of corn hole. They were so nice, and just a few of the many people we have made friends with, exchanged numbers and invited to come see us in California. The many people we meet are really making this trip. From our sweet friend Jay who is homeless right down to our high fluting southern bells and everything in between, people when they choose to be are .. wonderful…
We drove to Jimmies brothers house in Roxboro. It was a beautiful drive and now we are following them to the outer banks of North Carolina. We are enjoying being with their cute kids Gunner and Thora. In one hour when we arrive at the beach we have officially driven coast to coast. Then we head south and begin the journey slowly home. I am sure well make new friends on the way.