Asheville: A City We Love

We have taken a hiatus, but we are BACK! It's tough work planning a wedding, fixing up a house, and overseeing conferences.  As we slow down {some} moving into the summer months, we aim to be better bloggers.  This post from Garden and Gun {one of our favorite magazines} was the inspiration for today's post:
http://gardenandgun.com/article/city-portrait-asheville-north-carolina

Last August, we traveled to Asheville, North Carolina for a long weekend.  I've been to the Biltmore and the Grove Park Inn previously during the holiday season, but I had not been to Asheville's downtown, explored it's surrounding areas, or STAYED at the Grove Park Inn.  I was looking forward to checking out all that Asheville had to offer, and I had a great guide to show me around.

We arrived mid-morning on Saturday and set out on the streets of downtown Asheville, pursuing the eclectic mix of boutiques, antique stores, and other novelty shops.  We stopped for lunch at Lexington Avenue Brewery, sampling one of the many local breweries in the Asheville area.  We sat at the bar, ate our lunch, and enjoyed the delicious beers as we people-watched.

After lunch, we milled around downtown awhile longer before jumping in the car and heading to Highland Brewing Company for the Brewery Tour and evening concert in their tasting room.  I had done a little research prior to our trip, and we had planned on going to visit the brewery of some of our favorite beers.  We highly recommend working this into your itinerary if you are going to be in the Asheville area, because you are able to tour the facilities, see how their beers are made and why Asheville is such a great place to brew, and taste the beer!  They even have special, small-batch brews that they only serve in the Highland Tasting Room.  You can get all the info here:
http://www.highlandbrewing.com/

Adjacent to the Highland Brewing Company is the Troy & Sons Distillery, which makes moonshine.  After our Brewery tour, we were able to go through the Distillery Tour.  We enjoyed seeing how moonshine is made {not in your bathtub} and sample the different varieties they have.  I opted out, but Ben enjoyed them. The guys working there said they are starting to market to local restaurants and establishments to offer the moonshine as an alternative to Vodka or Rum in mixed drinks.

We stayed at Highland Brewing Company a little longer to listen to the local bluegrass band that was playing in their outdoor park area, appreciating the cooler mountain air and a break from the steamy, humid temperatures at the beach.  We left to check in at the Grove Park Inn, and we were so fortunate to be able to stay there since Ben's conference was taking place at the Inn.  We were assigned a room in the "old hotel," which you have to take an elevator nestled in the large fireplace that is manned with an attendant at all times.  When we stepped off the elevator onto our floor, it was like we had stepped back in time to the 1920s.  Much to our surprise {and delight} there was a plaque on our door identifying it as part of the suite that F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed in when he visited the Grove Park.

That evening we headed back to downtown Asheville for dinner at Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria, meeting up with some of the fellow South Carolina-LEED Conference attendees.  Barley's offers a wide assortment of beers, and the pizza is delicious.  You can even order by the slice!  We made our way back to the hotel to enjoy some music in the Great Hall, overlooking the twinkling city skyline before turning in for the night.

Ben had given me a special surprise a few weeks before our trip with a massage and day pass at the Grove Park Spa.  I had been looking forward to this experience, but I was a little nervous, as it was my first massage and first spa experience.  But let me tell you, it was incredible.  The massage was wonderful and something I desperately needed, and getting to lounge around all day at the spa was just what I needed to unwind.  If you can make plans to go, the Grove Park Spa is worth every penny! And yes, it is just as magical as it looks in the photos:
http://www.groveparkinn.com/the-spa

The remainder of our trip was full of Ben's conference activities, but it was a great get-away for both of us.  Asheville is a fun city with lots of things to do and see.  We hope to make it back there soon to explore more that the city has to offer...and try out some more brews!

Tell us about your favorite spots in Asheville!