Asheville
When I decided to drive to Asheville I had one thing on my mind…wanting to see the Great Smoky Mountains the next day. I didn’t think much about Asheville, and wasn’t expecting to have that great of a time. I didn’t have the greatest time in the world, but after a few hundred miles in my car I found a hostel in Asheville, checked in to a single room that cost me $40 (a fortune for me and a hostel in the States), and made my way downtown. There were a lot of restaurants and bars in downtown, but LP suggested Early Girl Eatery. I wasn’t sure if this was a restaurant or a place for a good time, but it was listed under the “Eating” section, and I found it without much trouble. The restaurant was located on Wall Street which was a cobble-stoned street lined with restaurants and quaint shops. The restaurant was a Southern restaurant, and not a sketchy place to my pleasant surprise. I tried ordering a chicken platter, but they had run out of chicken, then I tried salmon, but they didn’t have any before I felt forced to order the meatloaf. I had never ordered meatloaf in a restaurant in my life, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, and since meatloaf isn’t the most appealing meal to me, I had low expectations.
Somehow the meatloaf was surprisingly good, and the free refills of coke kept me full and satiated. I had been reading a Bill Bryson novel and found some time to read a chapter, before paying the tab and heading out to discover the town. Asheville had a lively downtown for a place the size of Asheville, so I headed towards some beer gardens before deciding I didn’t want to drink and made my way to the city square where a band was playing some type of rock music. I saw a bunch of people gather around the band, and saw one of the weirdest things in my life. Apparently all the homeless people of Asheville congregate in this area and there were about ten of them, dressed in dirty clothes or rags, or both, dancing with each other. Sometimes they’d kissed, sometimes they did vulgar things, but it was by far one of the most intriguing things I had ever seen in my life. Had I been the lead singer or guitarist standing 5 feet away from this spectacle I probably would’ve, well I probably wouldn’t have cared, but since I was standing in the crowd I was terrified to join this motley crue on the dance floor. After watching this craziness for a few minutes I continued my ramble around Asheville, before trying to find my car and heading back to my hostel.
For some reason it was really nice to have my own room and bed when I got back, and the thought of spending $40 wasn’t that awful. I passed out thinking about The Smoky Mountains, but the more daunting drive through the Blue Ridge Highway to Washington DC was lurking in the back of my mind.
Tags: Summer 2007 Road Trip, Travel
