NC road trip...kind of

It had been sooo loooong since I had a break, I was really looking forward to taking the last week off before the long Labor Day weekend. I decided I would to outside my comfort zone and rent a car for a road trip to see some of North Carolina. 

I’ve lived in Charlotte for almost 9 months and really haven’t seen anything else of the state. I decided I would go to Asheville and then drive across the state to Wilmington. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out the way I planned.

After a shaky start learning to drive a car again…I took off for Asheville, Located in the blue ridge mountains, the drive from Charlotte was really pretty and reminded me of my youth in Colorado for our family treks through the Rocky Mountains. Although not nearly as high as the Rockies, the Blue Ridge is quite lovely. I was hoping for cooler weather, but it was still very hot!

Asheville

I stayed in downtown Asheville, a mixture of art community with college town feel. UNC Asheville is very close to downtown. In between the college town bars are quaint bistros and shops, there are several art galleries, circling down to the French Broad River to the River Arts district, filled with small artist studios. 

Momentum Gallery

Many buildings had murals

Even the city hall buildings had a very artsy feel

River Arts District

There are several sections in the district combining studios and galleries; from Riverside Studios to Urban Art, Wedge and Roberts Studios closer to town, next to the Depot Studios followed around to Riverview Station on the way to the famous Biltmore Village.

After several hours of walking I was glad to get back to the hotel and relax. I started watching the news and realized Wilmington was being hit with a storm and then the hurricane from Florida was going to hit during my stay. At that point I decided to cancel Wilmington leg of the trip. Needless to say, I was disappointed, but didn’t want to get caught in bad weather, so back to Charlotte the following day.

River rafting on the French Broad

Rosie's Garden

Great place to have an ice tea or glass of wine

I’d heard about Rosie's Garden and wanted to check it out, so here are some photos of this beautiful place in the heart of Charlotte. Not Wilmington and the beach, but I’ll get there someday.