For most of this week, we've been shacked up at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, where The Husband has been attending a seminar.
Neither of us is too keen on airplane travel these days, so we drove. Left home Sunday morning. We stopped for lunch with a friend in Nashville, and then drove a couple more hours to Dandridge, TN, where we spent the night. Since we did not have to be in Asheville until later in the day Monday, we did a little sight-seeing around Dandridge. The Husband wanted to see Douglas Lake. I was guiding us with the map program on my telephone. When the map indicated that we were near the lake, I looked up and saw this:
I saw boat docks stranded on dry land, but there was no lake! Come to find out, whatever outfit that's in charge of the lake lowers the water level in the fall to prepare for winter/spring rains. The lake was just...gone. So much for that sight-seeing trip!
We drove on to Asheville Monday afternoon. Grove Park Inn is a nice place. It was built in the early 1900s. What you see in the picture below is the original part of the inn. Modern wings have been added to each side. It's weird - when we got on the elevator to go to our room, the elevator went DOWN instead of up. I guess the wings are built into the side of the mountain.
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Picture of the rear of the main building, viewed from our room.
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Anyway . . . nothing in this place is cheap. Our first lunch - a charcuterie board, two cups of chicken chowder, and two cocktails (needed them after the long drive, you know) cost us nearly $100. Two hamburgers (with fries) for dinner the next night in the same restaurant, plus a "flight" of beer for The Husband: $60, including the tip. Tonight, we availed ourselves of the buffet in the Blue Ridge room. $45.00 apiece, and the food was . . . meh . . . basically an assortment of mushy casserole-type dishes.
I guess I'm just not cut out for fancy-schmancy places. Give me a good old Holiday Inn Express with a free breakfast. ;)
Our one delicious dining experience happened this afternoon in the town of Asheville. We drove down to the River Arts District and strolled through the artisans' workshops, then we drove around looking for some place to eat. As it turned out, we turned around in the parking lot of a restaurant outside the district and decided to just eat there. (We have a rule when traveling: no eating at chain restaurants we can find at home.) It turned out to be a good choice. The Husband had a Cuban sandwich, I had mushrooms and caramelized onions on rye. Best food we've had since we left home.
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| Can't say a lot for the decor, but the folks were friendly |
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Can you see the sign through the window? They make compost in the alley with paper and food scraps from the restaurant! LOL
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Tomorrow morning, we tour the Biltmore Estate, then start home.
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