Last year we started a family tradition: A long weekend trip with just our small family. It worked out great, so we did it again this year; this time, not the beach, but the mountains. During the hottest week on record.
Question: What the heck are you supposed to do in Asheville?
Answer: Text a friend with kids who lives there, and do almost everything they recommend.
First stop on Thursday evening: A couple breweries near downtown. Burial Beer is amazing. And, the two car-cabs to climb on were a hit for Mercy.
Because it was over 90 degrees and humid and I was pushing a stroller, and Rosie didn’t feel like walking, we started with the brewery that was the LOWEST elevation and decided to go from there.
At the top of the hill- as high as we wanted to go anyways- we did get to stop at my favorite destination: the Wicked Weed Brewery.
It was funny how Rosie has really been into the song “Eye of the tiger” recently, you know, the song famous from the Rocky movies.
So, this is my blog, and I wanted to post a real-life picture of me at the top of Baltimore blvd after pushing a stroller with both Rosie and Mercy, with very low pressure in the tires:
There was an epic battle that went into a few rounds of overtime trying to get the youngest daughter to sleep. She had a strong amount of fight in her, but after almost 2 hours, everyone slept just ok.
The Biltmore
Not gonna lie, ya’ll, it was HOT. But, this was my big ask for the trip.
I take it you have seen pics of this place before. It is where the movie Richie Rich was filmed; you know, the Disney movie about a kid who is richer than Gates and Bezos combined.
Anyways, what struck me the most was how BIG it was. Sure, this doesn’t look too big from the image- but that main door? It’s about 20 feet wide. So the SCALE is just MASSIVE.
We had a lot of fun seeing the gardens; it really was amazing. In the shade, it wasn’t too bad. Eye of the tiger, baby…
There’s more
There were plenty more places to see downtown, but no-no; this workhorse needed a break. I seriously didn’t feel right after pushing our bob stroller around, and carting up and down those stairs that day.
We did a quick recharge in the hotel room, and even though many people have talked about going to this place, we had never actually been to the Sierra Nevada Brewery before. It didn’t disappoint.
Now that the kids were fully recharged, they were ready to: get stuck on the elevator.
Even before ordering my first drink, Taylor and I took the elevator upstairs on the two-floor world headquarters and brewery. Rosie was pushing the stroller simply because she wanted to- and learned a valuable lesson: elevator doors close if you aren’t exiting the elevator carriage. And so it did; with Mercy and Rosie inside.
They ended up going back downstairs. I sprinted down the stairs 3 steps at a time. And found a very calm, cool and collected Rosie standing with the stroller and her little sister- eyes big like she had seen a ghost- but not crying. There was hugging. And we all learned a lesson that day.
The rest of the brewery was amazing. I didn’t get enough pics to really do it just. It took a lot of re-hydrating to get back to normal after the Biltmore that morning.
Asheville has a drum circle. What does that even mean? Taylor kept talking about wanting to do- and sure, I had heard of it, but what the heck was it?
Well, we found it. All I can say is, remember to take showers and use shampoo on a regular basis:
We stayed with Nick and Lindsey the third night. They have been in the area about 5 years and live in West Asheville (it was her recommendations from the weekend that we followed). It was tons of fun seeing them. They were good friends of ours in College, and she is Taylor’s best friend since middle-school days. It is pretty solid to see Rosie make fast-friends with their daughter now as they behaved more like teenagers than little kids- in a good way- just chit-chatting and telling stories.
Oh wait, there was one more brewery: Highlands Brewery. Not as epic as Sierra Nevada, but pretty high on the list. They had an outdoor place for kids, beach volleyball, frisbee golf, and lots of other cool stuff. This post is getting pretty long, so time to wrap it up.
Once again, I was a little too wrapped up to get any good pics. Mercy was potty training, so this was a common thread throughout the weekend. Taylor, you are amazing in the patience you had for it.
Lindsey was a great host. I bonded with their younger one as we talked about Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Now I want to buy that game).
The next morning, our family was really dragging on some low energy tanks, we did a quick walk and had some breakfast from a bakery down the street from their house.
The kids were awesome together. It was sad to leave, but our potty-training mission would likely be more successful if we took it back to Greensboro.
And, as soon as we got back to Greensboro, this happened:
Rosie accidentally locked Mercy in her room. These doorknobs are about 60 years old, so they don’t play nicely. The windows were locked, so the only option was to take apart the doorknob. She was rescued before a single tear was shed.
Now, only 1 more month of summer…
How about you guys? What are you doing this summer? What are your favorite things to do in Asheville? Leave a comment below; you don’t have to enter a website, even though it asks for one.