handsful

I’m just a tad behind in blogging our lives happenings, so I’m gonna cram the rest of our wonderful Asheville weekend into this one, little bloggy post. K?

After zip-lining, we stopped by a local place for ice cream (yum), and then checked into the inn. A quick change of clothes, and we were out the door for dinner.

We both love walking around downtown areas, especially busy cities. I’ve never wanted to LIVE in a big city, but I love to visit. So, we chose a restaurant right in the middle of things and ate outside in the gorgeous weather.

Dinner over (and really, really good), we decided to wander around. Asheville, if you’ve never been there, has a very distinct vibe. Very college, very diverse, very…hippie. Honestly, it is. And, they readily admit it and are dang proud of the fact.

We heard music, and headed that way. We came upon a HUGE crowd, all crammed into one, small brick amphitheater. The only instruments were drums…all kinds. And, if you didn’t happen to have a drum, you danced around the drums. There were no planned songs, or anything resembling planning of any sort. They just had a beat and everyone went along with it. Around the area were other people holding signs with scripture verses on them. I saw one guy walking while carrying a large white cross. The whole thing had a very “Moses on the mount, Israelites having a party” feel to it. Very strange. We learned later that this happens EVERY Friday night.

There’s a live band every night at the GPI, so we had a late night drink while we listened. A Sam Cooke song made us get up and dance :)

We had to get up early Saturday morning…I know, on vacation, we had to get up early?! But, it was for good reason. We had a couples massage appointment :) An hour long massage, followed by hanging out around the indoor and outdoor pool, saunas, hot tubs, etc. Four hours later, we emerged feeling very relaxed and very thankful for the experience!

Taken after our spa morning.

This was taken outside the spa, looking up at the inn behind us.

Walking up to the inn.

In fact, we were so relaxed, we spent the next couple of hours napping. Can’t remember the last time I took a NAP.

Deciding we should do something other than sleep our day away, we went back downtown for a treat and a little shopping. Chocolate chip pecan pie (oh, yes I did) and red velvet cupcake.

Next up, dinner. And, this one was planned ahead of time. Randy had made reservations at the best restaurant at the inn. The kind of place where they put your cloth napkin on your lap. The dinner was incredible, but we talked the most about the little cheesy bread puffs on the bread plate. They melted in your mouth! I’d go back for just those.

These were taken before dinner, just at sunset.

Cameras never capture how truly beautiful a mountain sunset is.

Not ready for the evening to end, we listened to that night’s live band while having a drink and dessert (chocolate mousse!)

Random weekend pictures to follow…

Original leather chairs that have been there since the inn opened in 1913. Edison (one of many famous visitors) could have sat in THIS chair!

Our door. We stayed in the original part of the inn. Not sure when, but there were two additions built and they are newer and more modern. We wanted the experience of staying in the old part. We roll like that. Plus, the other rooms in the “club” section were TWICE as much. Ah, no.

The main lobby has two HUGE fireplaces on each side of the room. I mean huge…the andirons are almost as tall as Randy.

The other fireplace :)

In the side of (and in the same shaft as the fireplace) is an elevator. There is always someone operating the elevator, 24hrs/day. It has the iron gates that they open and shut as you board and exit. And, it’s one of the last working elevators that opens on 3 sides (front, and each side depending on which side your hallway/room is). Very cool.

Re-creating the set-up photo we took the morning after our wedding. Posing with the “do not disturb” tag!

And, then, all too soon…it was the day we had to leave. The breakfast buffet was great (but the White Swan is Guangzhou, China still remains top dog), and we did a little more shopping for the kids and my parents. On the drive home, we stopped by Black Mountain, NC and looked at antiques. We found a lovely, old (100 years or so) wooden dough trencher bowl. My eye went directly to it and knew I loved it immediately. A little bargaining later, and it was ours. A remembrance of our 20th anniversary.

We’re already talking about our 25th. Our dream would be to take our family back to China. I guess we’ll see if that’s God’s plan for us as well.