So you want to know if the Pink Lady is more than just an apple, character from Grease, or Mary Kay representative?
Well, read on my friend...but first there are other things to see in Asheville!
On a rather gray day we drove to the other side of town to the Biltmore Village (located just outside the grounds of the Biltmore Estate). You remember the little cottage in the country that I eat imaginary cheese and crackers:
The complex of quaint shops in the Biltmore Village, formerly a town known as Best, was built by George Vanderbilt II, the grandson to the infamous family fortune amassed from shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt. The town was originally built as a "company town" for the estate workers, since it took 6 years to build the Biltmore Estate,
(1889-1895) and then of course to support the multitude of people needed to maintain the estate through the years. The town was designed to resemble the quaint feel of the English countryside. Biltmore Village is now a charming array of independent shops, galleries, and a few chain stores and restaurants. Biltmore Village:
I remember this area the last time we visited with the girls and wondered if it was still full of independently-owned unique stores. Yes, there were still independent stores but also a few chain stores like J Crew and Williams Sonoma had crept in, albeit, easy places to skip over. Just a sad reminder of the homogenization of America.
Two spectacular shops were just brimming with original craft. The Bellagio, which is filled with "art to wear" such as elaborate decorative purses, clothing, jewelry, scarves, (all artisan made) and the New Morning gallery, a 12,000 sq ft array of decorative arts: ceramics, art glass, furniture, jewelry, woodcraft, and so on. Artist depiction of the New Morning Gallery from American Craft:
There was one more beautiful handcrafted item after another--a magnificent display of creativity and a plethora of inspiration. It was fascinating to see how many different textures and fabrics and mediums could be combined to make a new form of art.
I love the compartmentalization of color on this:
Well, read on my friend...but first there are other things to see in Asheville!
On a rather gray day we drove to the other side of town to the Biltmore Village (located just outside the grounds of the Biltmore Estate). You remember the little cottage in the country that I eat imaginary cheese and crackers:
The complex of quaint shops in the Biltmore Village, formerly a town known as Best, was built by George Vanderbilt II, the grandson to the infamous family fortune amassed from shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt. The town was originally built as a "company town" for the estate workers, since it took 6 years to build the Biltmore Estate,
(1889-1895) and then of course to support the multitude of people needed to maintain the estate through the years. The town was designed to resemble the quaint feel of the English countryside. Biltmore Village is now a charming array of independent shops, galleries, and a few chain stores and restaurants. Biltmore Village:
I remember this area the last time we visited with the girls and wondered if it was still full of independently-owned unique stores. Yes, there were still independent stores but also a few chain stores like J Crew and Williams Sonoma had crept in, albeit, easy places to skip over. Just a sad reminder of the homogenization of America.
Two spectacular shops were just brimming with original craft. The Bellagio, which is filled with "art to wear" such as elaborate decorative purses, clothing, jewelry, scarves, (all artisan made) and the New Morning gallery, a 12,000 sq ft array of decorative arts: ceramics, art glass, furniture, jewelry, woodcraft, and so on. Artist depiction of the New Morning Gallery from American Craft:
There was one more beautiful handcrafted item after another--a magnificent display of creativity and a plethora of inspiration. It was fascinating to see how many different textures and fabrics and mediums could be combined to make a new form of art.
I love the compartmentalization of color on this:
And the "Sticks" furniture is always so cool--for kids:
A little more grown up:
And then this awesome organic swirl of steel:
And the ideas just went on an on for everything: lamps, tables, chairs, wall art...
After all that inspiration I needed a fuel stop so our last stop was to "Well-Bred Bakery" for coffee and carrot cake.
We went to do laundry but could only do the cold loads (all the stuff that we can hand dry) because the laundromat was closing in 45 minutes. Even just a couple of cold loads hanging inside Max make it look like a spandex jungle.
Gotta use every square inch and every available protrusion or handle as a potential laundry line or place to hook a hanger!
Thursday we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway which is the longest linear park in the nation, a full 469 miles of scenic roadway that took 52 years to build. Scraping away at the mountain to create the sinuous roadway was obviously, a monumental task. Of course when they began the work, much of it was completed literally by hand, using a pick ax to chop away at the mountain, piling the rocks into a cart and hauling it off to build up other areas. Lucky for us we had the chance to benefit from the sustained labor.
One stop along the Parkway was befitting of the 'Ol Man:
We parked at Craggy Gardens and decided to hike out to "Douglas Falls", a short 8 mile hike (we thought) but up and down and around the mountain. We hiked for 6 hours (sustained by only a bowl of cereal). It was a long hike and Doug ('ol gimpy as I now call him) hobbled his way back after his knee started to bother him on the return trip. I worried I might have to drag him back but gimpy made it.
The start to the hike was pretty easy but it was a bit chilly--frost still clinging to the ferns:
One stop along the Parkway was befitting of the 'Ol Man:
Oh look Layne, we almost found your name pre-stamped on something...
Well, I guess it needs a little help to get there...
Can you believe in October the flowers are still blooming?
The rocks provided a sturdy pathway:
This was a most "touchable" trail: silky smooth birch bark, spongy moss, and crispy little moss puffs!
Found a garage for stones...
Gortex shoes were a must for this trail since we crossed several streams, all of varying intensity and depth, but I never fell in (nor did Gimpy)!
The "This 'Aint No Video" stream:
The "I'll Beat You There" stream:
The "Napoleon Complex" stream:
The "Rock and Log Roll" stream:
Found a nice hunk of burl.
And we all should have roots like this (perfect Gnome home):
And finally, after hundreds of steps and wading through streams, taaadddaahhhhhhhh..."Douglas Falls":
Great hair washing for the wild mane:
Maybe we'll just camp out here, a little viewing hut by the falls:
Not having eaten since breakfast, well, aside from some trail mix that I burned through in the first mile, we were famished! We treated ourselves to beer and pizza in the sleepy little town of Black Mountain. FFB (see previous posts to get the acronym down) for sure (but at that point I would have eaten those crapy sawdust laden organic cookies from the Tea House in Burlington) and made it extra heavenly with a Scotch Ale, a Porter, and Vegetarian pizza (with hamburger) just like dad likes his "vegetarian dishes", right Lauren!
Friday we wandered downtown again and ran into the iconic Asheville shoe store called "Tops".
People flock to this store because of the massive selection--rooms of shoes and boots and purses for both men (come on guys, we are sick of carrying your crap...get yourself a murse or if you prefer, manbag) and women. Of course there were three times the amount of shoes for women because women equate shoe acquisition with ahhhhhh, power? Prestige? Femininity? Emelda Marcos? A Woman's Right? Closet Dominance? Salvation? We may never know but I'm pretty sure me, myself, and I, and most of my friends could outfit a (stylish) army...but they might have to have tiny feet, right Ms. Amy???
I didn't buy anything, amazingly. Doug told me it was "mug day" (sarcastic font) but not "shoe day", so I could buy a mug but not shoes and that TOMORROW was going to be shoe day (when we were driving on the highway and miles away from a shoe store). So I sadly passed up shoe buying for more city exploring and did some people watching (found one hippie, boy most likely, and a guitar) at a coffee shop later in the afternoon. Also saw some use of the Pubcycle...sadly I read some weeks ago, this opportunity for Baraboo was ousted by the City Council. Fun wreckers!
It was getting cold (mind you, it had been sunny and 65 all week) so we went home to cook dinner. Little did we know what that cold was leading up to...
I didn't buy anything, amazingly. Doug told me it was "mug day" (sarcastic font) but not "shoe day", so I could buy a mug but not shoes and that TOMORROW was going to be shoe day (when we were driving on the highway and miles away from a shoe store). So I sadly passed up shoe buying for more city exploring and did some people watching (found one hippie, boy most likely, and a guitar) at a coffee shop later in the afternoon. Also saw some use of the Pubcycle...sadly I read some weeks ago, this opportunity for Baraboo was ousted by the City Council. Fun wreckers!
Saturday we woke up to snow! And not just a dusting but about 4 inches (maybe more like 6 but it had already melted down to 4).
Although it was melting quickly the snow was still coming down and it was a cold (OK, we'll say "brisk" to our sturdy Minnesota friends)--only 34 degrees all day! I guess our exodus south didn't work--OK, better move the house further south! So what's there to do until we can get our "house on the road"? We decided to bum around the camper (Doug hunts for more Asian beetles for his swim team), make a hardy breakfast (a serving bowl of cereal vs. a small bowl), and go to a movie (there's nothing a little popcorn and movie can't make better, or at least forgotten for a while). We went to see "St. Vincent", a cute comedic drama with Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy (from "Bridesmaids"). It was a sweet movie, perfect for a Saturday matinee. Someone made this cute little guy outside of the movie theatre:
Located just down the block was a Barne's and Noble so we wandered in to browse. Even though the chain stores are basically the same from store to store the bookstores are always an interesting indicator of the prevalent interest in the area. It was intriguing to note how the various genre sections vary in size. For instance, it's quite apparent we are in the "bible belt" since the "Christian" section is rather large, a whole row and a half, top to bottom and the "Spirituality" section is only a couple rows of shelving. In Madison the ratio is completely reversed. Also the "local" section is quite extensive; a little more history here to recount I suppose.
I'm dreaming of a white campground.
Poor Max didn't know what to think of this.
And we didn't even bring our studded tires!
Although it was melting quickly the snow was still coming down and it was a cold (OK, we'll say "brisk" to our sturdy Minnesota friends)--only 34 degrees all day! I guess our exodus south didn't work--OK, better move the house further south! So what's there to do until we can get our "house on the road"? We decided to bum around the camper (Doug hunts for more Asian beetles for his swim team), make a hardy breakfast (a serving bowl of cereal vs. a small bowl), and go to a movie (there's nothing a little popcorn and movie can't make better, or at least forgotten for a while). We went to see "St. Vincent", a cute comedic drama with Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy (from "Bridesmaids"). It was a sweet movie, perfect for a Saturday matinee. Someone made this cute little guy outside of the movie theatre:
Located just down the block was a Barne's and Noble so we wandered in to browse. Even though the chain stores are basically the same from store to store the bookstores are always an interesting indicator of the prevalent interest in the area. It was intriguing to note how the various genre sections vary in size. For instance, it's quite apparent we are in the "bible belt" since the "Christian" section is rather large, a whole row and a half, top to bottom and the "Spirituality" section is only a couple rows of shelving. In Madison the ratio is completely reversed. Also the "local" section is quite extensive; a little more history here to recount I suppose.
Our tour ghost guide was a school teacher (teachers make the best tour guides) by day but had a passion for the paranormal and participated with a team of investigators who are part of some paranormal cable television show I can't remember the name of since we haven't watched cable for years.
The trolley shuttled us around the town as the tour guide recounted interesting tales about a former mental asylum with ghostly patients still roaming about the grounds. On March 11, 1948 this "mental hospital" as they called it back then, took the lives of nine women. News accounts vary about how many were also injured but it was one of the most devastating hospital fires in the history of NC.
We heard tales about shoot outs (with holes still visible on the monuments) on the circle downtown and various other hauntings, but the most famous and prevalent tales were those of the specter sightings of the purported "Pink Lady" at the Grove Park Inn. This is the tale as taken from their website:
The Pink Lady is one of the Omni Grove Park Inn’s most notorious guests. She checked in during the early 1920’s and to this day has never left. Lore states that an unidentified woman wearing a flowing pink gown fell from the fifth floor of the Palm Court where she met her untimely demise. Ever since, there have been hundreds of sightings of her ghost wandering through the Inn. Some guests have had their hair suddenly stand on end or felt slight tugs on their ear. Others have experienced an unexplainable chill in the air.
In 1995, the Omni Grove Park Inn commissioned Joshua P.
Warren, a paranormal investigator, to investigate. He discovered tumultuous energies surrounding
the area where the Pink Lady had passed away, but by all accounts surmised that
she was a benevolent spirit.
So there you have it! A benevolent spirit, and thus the origins for the Mary Kay lady...as my mother always says, "I'm not trying to look good anymore, I just don't want to scare anybody!" Mary Kay, the "other pink lady", creates that mysterious barrier...making certain ghastly/ghostly faces don't appear before you!
We ended the tour at Pack's Tavern, housed in a building with an underground tunnel that was used to provide alcohol during prohibition. So there you have it! A benevolent spirit, and thus the origins for the Mary Kay lady...as my mother always says, "I'm not trying to look good anymore, I just don't want to scare anybody!" Mary Kay, the "other pink lady", creates that mysterious barrier...making certain ghastly/ghostly faces don't appear before you!
The tavern rotates over 30 craft brews on tap. We tried a unique Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout.
The perfect "dessert beer", it was creamy and smooth with a hint of sweetness.
Sunday we were off to Columbia, South Carolina, a town almost obliterated by fire in 1865 when General Sherman's troops captured the town. Some say the fires were started by the Union troops and some purported the fires were set by the wild outburst of retreating confederate soldiers, liberated Federal prisoners, and emancipated slaves.
Needing a break from highway travel, we found a river walk nearby to stretch our legs:
Needing a break from highway travel, we found a river walk nearby to stretch our legs:
And reveled in the southern ambience: You know you're in the south when...you see spanish moss.
And alligator warnings:
The sun was setting and it wasn't even a bit chilly:
And we couldn't be in Columbia without Columbus. I guess Columbia doesn't know he shouldn't be a celebrated hero. And you DO KNOW it is a major myth he should be a celebrated hero, right? Yes, do your homework. Many sites about the myths, here are just two:
We did an over-nighter (planning only to burn our propane heater, not the town) at our favorite, Camp Walmart, and then travel on to Charleston, SC. Goodbye glorious art in Asheville...
