more asheville

Picking up where we left off, we began our first full day in Asheville with a short fishing trip. Jack loves the idea of fishing, especially since his first somewhat successful fishing outing. His attention span is not quite long enough to really put in the time required to catch much though. So, we stopped at a park with a fishing lake. After a good 10 minutes, he was done. So, we were glad we had not planned a whole day around fishing.

We continued our day with a hike in DuPont State Forest. A well-visited area, the trail was easy for Jack. In fact, he was our leader. We were pirates, looking at a map and then exploring the forest in search of a waterfall and the perfect picnic spot.

Although I felt I'd done a fair share of research beforehand, I didn't remember reading anywhere about the bottom of the waterfall being a huge swimming hole. As soon as Jack spotted folks wading in the water, he wanted to jump in. Fearing he'd complain about walking around in wet clothes, we improvised. He was happy. All was well.

Then, we found a perfect setting for a picnic with a view and sounds of the waterfall. It was a good first day. We'd crossed lots off Jack's list already...fishing - check; swimming - check; picnic - check. We finished our afternoon with a dip in the hot tub at our cabin. And then enjoyed dinner right off the grill.

Sunday was spent exploring several different areas of Asheville. A trip to a giant playground was fun until the heat got the best of us. We strolled around the Historic Biltmore Village, which later required a re-visit since most shops were closed. We also enjoyed one of our favorite meals of the trip. Sunday lunch at Luella's BBQ. The place has Cheerwine on tap, macaroni & hoop cheese as a side, serves hush puppies with a pulled pork sandwich & had a two-man band playing a live set. Sam bee-bopped to the music, and we enjoyed relaxing with the familiar taste of barbeque on our tongues. Did I mention the place's phone number is 505-RIBS?

We had planned to take in a minor league baseball game Sunday afternoon, but when thunderstorms prevented that, we took the boys to see Winnie the Pooh instead. Jack was his usual movie-loving self. Sam was a terror. He wouldn't sit still. He wouldn't wander quietly. Even the lollipop was no help. I swear he's just like the owl in the old Tootsie Pop commercial, "1 lick, 2 licks, 3...crunch," and it's gone. Thankfully, the movie was only an hour. By the way, it's a cute flick. Made me fall in love with that silly old bear all over again.