Asheville, NC. Sept 10 - 14th

Welcome to part two. Melissa's girls weekend.

Asheville is a town of about 95,000 residents located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about two hours northwest of Charlotte and, as you know, about two hours south of Bristol, TN. It's got a thriving art and music scene with an eclectic mix of history, upscale dining, estates, museums, bars, and a little bit of hippy vibe.

Melissa and her girlfriends stayed at the Aloft Hotel since it was centrally located and dog friendly. Her room was right in front of the pool and had a patio with a couch, table and chairs. Perfect place for the dogs to hang out. Since the dogs are both girls, they had to go with her. Ok, to be perfectly honest. I would have loved to have Stella and Rita hang out with us boys but we were away from the RV for long periods of time so it wasn't feasible. They did spend a few nights in daycare so Melissa could get quality time with her girlfriends.

Instead of me trying to filling all the details, I'm just gonna turn it over to Melissa.

My girlfriends and I had a blast! What a wonderful place Asheville is, a small walkable city in the middle of the mountains with a HUGE foodie scene. I can't say enough about the chefs and quality of food and restaurants. We actually did a walking food and cocktail tour one day which my girls and I love to do in a new city. Our guide took us to 6 different restaurants with a wide range of bites and drinks until we were ready to burst!

The main reason I wanted to visit Asheville was the Biltmore Estate, aka Americas largest home. It is a 175,000 sq ft French estate on 8,000 acres built by George Vanderbilt in the 1890s. At one time he owned over 125,000 acres which is now the Pisgah National Forest. It is spectacular and so well preserved, they even have the Biltmore Vineyard and Winery which is the most visited winery in the US!

One day, we woke up early and took a Jeep/waterfall hiking tour into the forest. Absolutely gorgeous waterfalls all over the place, most were right off the side of the road!

To say we ate and sipped our way through 5 days is an understatement. 🍾🍷 Between the food tour, many rooftop bars with views of the city, and gourmet restaurants, we were never hungry or thirsty.

I could definitely spend a few months out of the year in this charming mountain city. It's got gorgeous old architecture, ancient churches, live music, amazing food, shopping, art, and all of it surrounded by those Blue Ridge Mountains! What more could a girl want? I'm beyond blessed to have so many wonderful girlfriends that love me enough to fly across the country and spend time with me. Love and already miss you girls! ❤️

Ok. It's Kevin. I'm back. Told you Melissa's weekend was just like mine. 🤣 There's lots of fun pictures in the "Pictures" section.

As much fun as we both had last weekend, we also agreed that it was great to be back together, including Rita and Stella. Up next are the Great Smoky Mountains. We've been here for three days so expect details in my next post. As always, thanks for coming along with us.