Friday, July 30, 2010

I Know It's a Bit Incongruous...

to have a summer rafting picture on the same page as this winter header, but I figured that if I had limited time, I would be better off sharing about our recent trip to North Carolina than to worry over getting my header up to date. That's my thinking at the moment anyway.


Anyway, that's Hannah and me in the raft, along with our guide, Cotton, who is in the very back, and another guy who just happened to be put in the raft with us. He's the one who is definitely not paddling or attempting to paddle as evidenced by his outstretched arms and hands proudly hoisting his oar high into the air when he was supposed to be paddling forward. (Just between you and me, I think he knew where the photographer was standing).

We were on the French Broad River near Asheville. It's a slower trip than the Ocoee River in Tennessee, with a little less action, but the scenery comes close to that of the Chattooga River area. We also had a chance to jump off a cliff (okay, maybe it wasn't as high as a cliff, but it was at least a rock outcropping pretty high above the river) and picnic on a little island.

Craig, as you can see, decided to try his skills in an inflatable kayak.

Before I go, I'll have to brag on the food we ate while in Asheville. I'm not sure if it's my age, or what, but this is the first trip I've taken that turned out to be such a culinary delight. Our first dinner was at Bistro 1896 (or some number similar to that). The berry dessert there was scrumptious. At Vincenzo's, a cozy little Italian spot, the pasta was both plentiful and savory. During our shopping expedition later in the week, Hannah and I stopped in at Early Girl Eatery for lunch where we feasted on a grilled chicken sandwich. Did I mention that the sandwich had goat cheese on it? In fact, we were so impressed with Early Girl that we brought Craig back the next day for breakfast. Our two other dinner time triumphs were the Tupulo Honey Cafe where I ordered an appetizer of fried green tomatoes on a bed of grits and the Sunset Terrace at The Grove Park Inn. The food, and the view from the terrace, were excellent.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever carried on over food the way I have this week. In fact, I don't think I've been so gastronomically happy in my life!

How about you? Do you have a favorite restaurant that you always look forward to visiting?