A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Gonna lay down my burdens,
Down by the Riverside,
Down by the Riverside,
Down by the Riverside,
…Ain’t gonna study war no more.
It was Keith’s birthday. I’d called him to see if he wanted to go for lunch, but he was already in Asheville for some early appointments. He suggested I join him up there for a late breakfast instead. Having no other plans, I agreed. It turned out to be another day of discovery and laid the groundwork for further exploration.
It’s fair season! Somehow I completely missed the Upper State South Carolina Fair, but that’s probably OK. For years, though, I’ve wanted to visit the North Carolina Mountain State Fair in Asheville, but I’ve always missed it. I almost missed it this year, but I spotted that this past Sunday was the last day. Laura had work to do on Sunday, so I decided that this was the year that I’d make that trek.
Laura is out of town for awhile traveling with her mother. Saturday morning I dropped her off at GSP for an early flight, then headed out to try out the new camera. My plan was to head up into the North Carolina mountains for a bit and see what I could see. I have to confess, it was quite a bit of a learning curve.
Friday night I charged up the batteries and got familiar with the menu and controls. The temptation is to start with an absolutely perfect shot – something worthy of such a fine instrument. Didn’t happen. I shot one of the cats, and shot him poorly. So much for breaking the ice.
When the time came the next morning I felt ready for a cursory outing. From the airport I drove north on Highway 14, pausing in Landrum to get some shots of the sunrise through the fog. Here’s the shot I was after…
Karen B had said that we absolutely had to try Tupelo Honey Cafe for breakfast while we were in Asheville. She also warned that it was very popular, and that we needed to get there by 9:00 if we hoped to get seated. We arrived in time to get a couple of seats at the … Read More “Tupelo Honey Cafe” »
After our tour of Biltmore on Saturday, the plan was to hang out in Asheville and do some window-shopping Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Karen and Herman had given us a list of their favorite places in Asheville, and we wanted to check out a few of them.
Asheville always strikes me as a city of opposites, but not necessarily bad ones. You have the opulence of Biltmore and Grove Park, combined with a funky hippy vibe and alternative lifestyle mecca. That’s born out by the businesses downtown, where eclectic music venues and interesting restaurants sit side-by-side with lawyers’ offices and high-end retail shops and art galleries.
This particular Saturday evening lots of people were out enjoying the milder weather. We walked through several blocks of downtown, and most of the restaurants were busy. On one street there was a long line of young adults waiting to get into some club – I’m guessing a favorite band was playing there. Other places were just about as crowded.
After a day touring Biltmore we were hungry, and specifically we were in the mood for something ethnic. A quick check of Google Maps showed an Indian restaurant within walking distance of our hotel in Asheville, so we decided to give it a shot. Our walk took us onto Lexington Avenue and into a very … Read More “Mela Indian” »
Laura and I needed a weekend away together. We’ve done a good bit of traveling lately, but it’s either been for business or to see family. However, we didn’t want to drive too far. We decided to head up to Asheville for the weekend and visit the Biltmore Estate.
I’ve only been to Biltmore twice, and the last time was well over ten years ago, so I was stoked. After work Friday we drove on up and spent the night downtown. That means that we were in town early, so we were able to head over to the Estate as soon as it opened.
Laura had talked to Karen B and had gotten some good tips about what we needed to see. She said that we really needed to do the Roof Tour. When we got there we didn’t see that as one of the tours. However, we did find out that the Architect’s Tour had replaced the roof tour, and we got the last two slots available that day. We also paid for the general audio tour. The whole deal was quite pricey, but we really wanted to see as much as we could.
This weekend was the big wedding for our good friends Karen Buchmueller and Herman Holt. The wedding was up in Asheville at the Crest Center, with beautiful views out across the city and across the valleys to the west. This was to be an outdoor wedding, and as we drove northward was watched ominous clouds … Read More “Congratulations Karen and Herman!” »