The Perfect Day

Last Sunday, the three of us took the day off and drove up to Asheville. We took the back roads so we could enjoy the fall foliage. It was beautiful! Jalal and I couldn't get over how brilliant the colors were. I think we hit it just in time. The weather was perfect--clear blue skies, brisk temperature, and a nice breeze (or sometimes a stiff wind!). We took the road straight to the front entrance of the Biltmore Estate, though we're saving that for a separate trip. We went downtown and walked around a little bit, stopping in shops and browsing. There was this cute children's bookstore with a very affectionate and strange-looking dog. Turns out it was a husky-basset hound mix. Hmmm. By that time we were ready for lunch, so we drove down to the Biltmore Historic District and found parking near a cute little cafe in a historic cottage. We left the stroller because Quinn deserved some walking time. Boy, did he get it! There was a 35-minute wait so we kept looking. Half the restaurants we found were closed down, and we finally came almost full-circle back to the car before finding another restaurant. I was dying of thirst by that time, and we still had to wait 15 minutes. So I treated myself to a margarita! Haven't had one of those in a while. It was very nice and relaxing. We let Quinn stomp on some dry leaves on the way back to the car, and then he fell asleep for a little nap. Jalal and I decided to take the other way home, 276, which meets up with the Blue Ridge Parkway and then takes us right back to Mauldin. We stopped at the first few overlooks, but pictures just can't capture those views, so we just enjoyed the drive. We climbed higher and higher, ears popping and everything. At one point, Jalal said, "You know this means we're going to have to go down, right? And pretty fast, too." Sure enough, 276 was winding and steep and a lot of fun to drive. We even found a waterfall by the side of the road! Quinn woke up just in time to walk down a couple flights of stairs with us and see it. It wasn't huge but it was bigger than anything in Charleston! We traded off taking pictures of the couple down there and them of us. I think it turned out pretty great, don't you? We even made it home before dinner! So we all agreed that this was just the perfect day all around. We've decided to go back to the Biltmore the weekend before Thanksgiving and do an overnight with the Christmas lights up and the evening tour. I can't wait! Well, more soon. Love, Us.