10/26/10: Exploring the Asheville area, including Brevard, and the tiny little hamlets of Lake Toxaway, Sapphire, Cashiers, Tuckasegee, Cullowhee, Dillsboro, and Sylva... plus downtown Asheville!
Another rainy start to the day, we set off for Brevard to check out that area. The rain came down in earnest on our trip there, but it was worth it. Interestingly enough, Brevard is located in Transylvania County! It's a great little college town, with very friendly folks at the Chamber of Commerce, who gave us a great sales pitch about moving to the area!
The pouring rain was knocking the fall foliage off the trees:
The fall foliage created colorful reflections on the pond near the Brevard Music Center:
Canada Goose swimming on the pond:
More country roads through woods!
We decided to take the back country roads from Brevard back to Asheville, driving east for a while, then north on mountain roads! By the time it was lunchtime, we were deep in the woods on a winding mountain road. We stopped at a place that advertised food and souvenirs, but when we went in, we were told that the cook had not yet arrived, so there was nothing to serve, but we were welcome to wait for him. We didn't, but this incident gave us an idea of how casual and informal things are in this part of the country!
At one point on these winding back roads, we drove around a bend and almost hit a very large branch lying in the road, because we hadn't seen it until we were nearly upon it. It could have caused a serious accident, especially if another car had been coming in the opposite direction! We pulled off the road onto the shoulder, and Bob walked back to drag it off the road. This is a photo of him returning to the car after his good deed!
There were several dams and a hydroelectric plant hidden in the back woods:
We also saw some ramshackle farms along the drive. This one seemed very picturesque against the backdrop of the woods and some lingering fall color:
After driving all morning and stopping for lunch at an all-you-can-eat-buffet, we finally headed back to Asheville. By this time, the sun was trying very hard to make an appearance:
It was pretty nice by the time we reach Asheville, where we spent the afternoon exploring the downtown area. Here are some shots of me that Bob took - not bad, honey!
Here he caught me just getting ready to change positions, I think!
A cropped version of the first shot - I really like this one! I even made a cartoon version of it!I may even use one of these as my avatar on Facebook or Daily Pics!
We had a great afternoon exploring downtown Asheville on foot - we had soft drinks from an old fashioned soda fountain, browsed through a market full of local art, checked out the library and did a little shopping. Here is some cool wall art we saw near the place where our car was parked:
Another great day - unfortunately our last in this area! I love it here, and will miss being here. There is so much more to see and explore!! Maybe, just maybe, this is our retirement destination? It really feels right to me!
End of Day 11!
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