Beyond the Grove Park Inn

A few weekends ago with no plans on the table and a picnic lunch packed up and ready to go, Catie and I decided to take a previous adventure and go above and beyond.

Our original adventure, posing as guests at the Grove Park Inn and fully exploring the facilities, was satisfyingly anonymous. We and our fellow 60s-something patrons enjoyed the views on a few of the many patios, roamed the hallways (looking for our room, if asked), made phone calls from the courtesy phones, and fully enjoyed the Spa (to the extent one can without intention to take part in the many, wildly-expensive services). We even took pictures of the staggering views of town:



After our jaunt at the main building, we decided to take an unofficial tour of the grounds. Disappointed that the antique car museum had closed five minutes earlier, we sauntered through the sculpture garden to find such creations as this seductive face in the trees:



With the sun setting and our pockets filled with Grove Park Inn pens and notepads, we headed home.



On our more recent adventure, all we wanted was a simple view to enjoy as we picnicked. My solicitation of "how about the Grove Park Inn?" was answered with a mostly definite "yes", although we both knew what we wanted was a little bit more. So as we rounded the corner to the GPI fork, Catie suggested we go further. So, up the mountain it was.



Reminded of the Virgin Islands by the decadent houses and hairpin turns, we were in awe that this place existed and we never knew. The further we went, the more astounding the views.

"Let's just park here."

"We can't just park in front of someone's house."

"Why not? I bet people do that all the time. I mean, look at their view."

"No."

Turning on whims but mainly just going up, we approached a sign that advertised a new mountain community. After convincing ourselves that they've got to be used to car-picnickers hankering for a view (after all, their sign said theirs were "majestic"), we turned in and soon noticed that there were no houses in this new community. We passed lot numbers until we reached a dead-end and decided this was the spot. Lot 12. Someone's future home; our current picnic blanket. We had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of it as we pulled out our sandwiches.



Four bites into my turkey sandwich, we noticed a big white truck approaching. Sure that we are going to be asked to leave, Catie opened her door as a man approached. He informed us that he was the builder and was wondering if we had any questions.

"Oh no, we are just eating some food, enjoying the view."

Surprisingly, he leaves without concern. We finish our sandwiches, snap a quick shot of us at "majestic" Lot 12, and head back down the mountain.

Holiday Preparations

This holiday season, Catie and I decided that we would make our own wrapping paper. I had a bunch of old paper shopping bags in my recycling and Catie had the creativity and inspiration necessary to get me in on it.



Here, Catie is using empty aluminum cans to make rows of circles on her first go-around. The technique is simple; find an object with an interesting shape/textural pattern, paint the interesting part of the object, and press onto the paper before it dries. (I used the bottle in the extreme foreground).




This is Catie's end result. And isn't she cute?



On this piece, Catie used the side of a plastic cup that has raised bumps. Here, she is painting the cup.



Rolling the cup onto the paper. This pattern was my favorite, even if my cup is still a little yellow.

Hurrah! I hope your holidays were also inspired.

-JR

We're still here!

Alright y'all, I know it's been a while but I just wanted to let you all know that we are still adventuring and we plan on posting soon!

-JR

pumpkin carving - better late than never!

we know, we know. it's two weeks after halloween, when jack-o-lanterns sit on front steps and we "ooo" and "ahh" at the patterns and glowing lights.

but why save that magical pumpkin-y glow just for that one day? today was the perfect day to finally dig in to the orange globe and carve away.

jessie grabbed all of the little orange carving tools, i grabbed some bowls for seeds and pumpkin innards, and we went outside to join zoie in the cool november air.

after some tracing, poking, pulling and scraping, we had a pumpkin ready to be lit up.

since it was just a little after one in the afternoon, we brought our little masterpiece into the bathroom and struck the match. magic!

happy halloween! two weeks later...

later on we washed the slime and goop off of the seeds, split them into two bowls, and rolled them around in some canola oil, brown sugar & cinnamon, and olive oil & sea salt, respectively. after about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, they came out toasted, crunchy, and perfect for snacking. yum! maybe next weekend we'll carve my little pumpkin.

-catie

special edition: weekday "weekend" adventure on lexington avenue

last night, wednesday, we met up with our friend em at the LAB for dinner and drinks. the spread included a belgian white ale infused with coriander, orange peel, and chamomile for em, the oktoberfest brew for jessie, and a refreshingly non-alcoholic cranberry & soda for me. the munchies were delivered hot and fresh, and we cleaned our plates so well that jessie was complimented on having such a "neat" plate. excellent.

we finished our meal around 8:30 and headed up and across the street to the BoBo Gallery for music and some more tasty drinks. this time around i enjoyed a wonderfully fruity and sake-full orange mango "slush" which was quite easy to drink - mmm. the gallery was softly lit and the art geometric and striking against the light.

around 9:30, holy holy vine and sin ropas started to play - with two members of the trio jumping up from the front table and taking their seats to perform, much to our surprise. good music, but better company, as we were getting a little antsy for the main act to get up and start singin'. soon after my second slush treat arrived, zoe boekbinder came on.

her spunky attitude, sky-high bang poof, and whimsical lyrics complete with looping on most songs proved to be worth the wait. her cover of beyoncé's "all the single ladies" required a little more audience participation than we seemed to be willing to give, but was adorable and fun nonetheless.

her set was short, a little less than an hour long, but we were tired and definitely ready to retire from our wednesday "weekend" adventure.

she's playing tomorrow night, friday, at 8pm at the chocolate lounge, another block up the same street! we might stop by for a truffle or two and some more sweet tunes.

i'm liking the idea of weekday "weekend" adventures...

-catie

Skinny Dip Falls: Where People Swim In Dresses in Mid-October

the leaves are just beginning to turn, and no picture can do the view justice


stylin' on the parkway


the bottom pool of the falls


patient dog


the water wasn't too high, but it was flowing steadily


the leaves and water glistened in the late-afternoon sun


red shoes on the bridge


ruler of the forest


"i love the waterfall!"


jessie

A Saturday in Seven

Saturday. The plan: find a waterfall on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

1

Every weekend adventure is necessarily preceded by some amount of research. For this weekend we knew where we wanted to go generally, but how to find the specifics was an unclear task. After a brief google search, we came upon both the official Blue Ridge Parkway website and a detailed website aptly titled "Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge Parkway". After scanning the latter, and overwhelmed by the multitude of choices, I followed the link that caught my eye for obvious reasons: Skinny Dip Falls. After receiving an unwarranted reprimand from the site author instructing anyone in search of nudes catapulting themselves off boulders into icy cold basins to try a more specific wording in their search browser, I decided this was to be our destination.

2

A certain amount of preparation ensues between a chosen destination and a foot out the door. Directions are printed, bags are packed, shoes are tied, a leash is grabbed and a general lay of the day's plan is discussed, or at least considered.

My weekend standard:



On this particular day, the general plan as the movement started simply consisted of "get lunch"; "waterfall" took a backseat to the hunger pangs setting in as the morning's
strawberry smoothie wore off.

3

And we're off. The day's adventures begin. Nothing is considered trivial and neither of us even thinks to murmur that this or that part might not count. We settle down for an avocado hoagie (J) and a calzone filled with soy cheese, pineapple, and banana peppers (eaten by C, designed by J) at Mellow Mushroom. We cross the street to peruse Ragtime's latest. I try on every jean jacket, glance at the sizes on the tags of blazers (never mine), and resist a reversible down vest. Catie is torn between the idea of velour and the perfection of the blazer made from it. We leave empty-handed and satisfied like it was the first potato chip out of the bag.

"More vintage!", we scream in our glances.

"How about Honeypot?"

4

Now ensues the real adventure. We are drawn in like Japanese tourists' video cameras to the Mona Lisa (really y'all, she's not going to move). We head over to Lexington and stop into Hip Replacements for a quick second before reaching Honeypot. While inside Catie tries on sunglasses goggles while wearing a raccoon-themed hat. I'm drawn to some reddish wingtips. Once again we leave empty-handed, but we are realize we're not really here to buy so much as try on. As much as store employees might despise it, we've all been there, right?

5

After stops at Parlour, Malaprops, Union, and Tops, we decide to head a little south.

In Biltmore Village, we feel like tourists. Unlike in downtown, we don't recognize a face and no one seems to care about ever recognizing ours'. After a coffee and a brief walk-around we realize we are exhausted for the day. In my typical style of suggesting the plans for the next few hours, I detail my desires.

"You know what I want to do now?"

"What's that?"

"Go home, cook dinner, read books, and sit on the couch."

"Yes."

6

We've got consumer exhaust. We make it home and settle in with our Heiwa leftovers (best sushi and soup in Asheville) and our respective books. While I'm reading "The Town That Food Saved" and dreaming of having my own farm sooner rather than later, Catie is getting lost in Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman's "Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation".













We drift off to sleep just in time to bypass any regret we might feel about completely ignoring our waterfall-seeking plans of the day.


7

Rule number one of weekend adventures: don't sacrifice spontaneity for the sake of the destination.

We didn't make it to a waterfall on Saturday, but the town-exploring was worthy of the title "adventure" in and of itself. Sometimes the best remedy for the stresses of a week is to avoid specific time-limited planning and simply give into your desires when it's over.

We tell ourselves "this is what we want", and so we do it.


Theme song for the day: Lupe Fiasco's "Paris, Tokyo"

-JR