Three and a half days in Asheville was just enough. After the Biltmore day on Thursday, we were less ambitious on Friday and Saturday. Short trail walks each day, and mostly staying closer to Swannanoa and Black Mountain, which is about five miles in the other direction from our campground. Black Mountain is a cute little town, almost like a mini-me of Asheville. If that diesn’t make sense you need to visit Asheville. One interesting fact about Black Mountain is that it is the birthplace and childhood home of Roberta Flack. Go figure. When I think of Roberta Flack, I think of the slow jazz, urban, sophisticated sound of “Killing Me Softly (with his Song)” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. Black Mountain seems more Andy Griffith than Roberta Flack. It just goes to show you.
Sunday morning (4/24) we left bright and early for the long ride across North Carolina to the Atlantic coast. There aren’t too many places east of the Mississippi river where you can drive 450 miles and not cross a state border, but that’s what we did as we traveled all the way to Coinjock, NC.
For the first time, I feel like we’re definitely a long way from home. As we drove through and beyond the mountains of NC, it was noticeable how much greener everything was than when I left St. Louis just five days ago. Granted, the pines for which Carolina is rightly famous do make things somewhat green year round. But the deciduous trees were already sporting full, lush foliage. The highway was a green alley until we approached the coast. Although the residents do have a distinct Carolina drawl, for the most part Asheville didn’t strike me as that different from a small midwestern city. Coinjock is north of the resort-heavy area of Kitty Hawk and Nag’s Head, and as such it has a much quieter, open vibe to it. It definitely seems like part of the South, with its warm climate and a sleepy, laid-back feel.
Yesterday was Sunday, and not yet tourist season. So things were very quiet in the area where we are staying. Just about every restaurant was closed by the time I went looking for dinner at a not-so-late 6:30 p.m. From the looks of them, they were not permanently closed – an all-too-common occurrence in these post-COVID days – but appeared to be just “not open NOW”. I found one, Mel’s diner, which had an Open sign but had no cars in front and looked dark. So I stopped in and they looked surprised to see me when I walked in the door. It was 6:59, and I found out later after talking to them that they close at 7:00, but they were nice enough to make me feel welcome. I sat out at their picnic table and had a club sandwich which was awesome, in part because it was and in part because it was the first thing other than an apple and a banana that I’d eaten all day.
Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon, so today was the day to hit the beach if we were going to at all. Beautiful day – upper 70’s and sunny. Ollie was beside himself seeing the ocean for the first time. He didn’t know what to make of the surf, but he wasn’t the least intimidated and charged into it with typical Ollie-esque enthusiasm. It was great fun. We will both definitely be getting a shower b efore heading into the trailer tonight.
