If you read my Atlanta post, you’d know that aside from the time I went there with my family, Eric and I also made a pit stop on a road trip through the South. Asheville was the first stop on the road trip.
Between Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, and now Asheville, plus all of the other place I’ve visited in the south (posts coming soon on Savannah, Charleston, Austin, and Greensboro), I feel like I have a pretty extensive experience with Southern cities. Asheville is probably one of the least well known of all of the cities above, which is unfortunate because it was definitely one of my favorites.
On our drive to Asheville from Greensboro, we decided to just read some signs and pull over at some fun spots just outside the city to visit. We knew nothing about any of the places we visited, and it was so great to just explore.
The first stop was Black Mountain, NC, about 25 minutes from Asheville. Their motto is “The Little Town That Rocks,” because there are rocking chairs lining the streets. It’s a really pretty cute little town, and made for a great pit stop on our way.
Next we headed to Haw Creek Valley. Just about a 15 min drive from Asheville, this area is a beautiful spot to stop to take in the sights and take some pictures. There are also some nice hiking trails in the area, but we were not dressed for hiking so we just explored a little and then got back in the car to head to Asheville.
The city of Asheville is a bit of a hippie town. They have a drum circle in town every Friday night, and the whole place has a very laid back feel to it. It’s a really great little city to just walk around, browse the shops, and get some delicious dinner. I have been there twice, and I definitely want to go back.
The main attraction in Asheville is the Biltmore. This was an old Vanderbilt mansion and is still owned by Vanderbilt descendents. There was a brief moment where Eric and I actually considered getting married at the Biltmore until we (I) realized how annoying it would be for all of our guests to get there. It’s a good thing we didn’t because Crystal Springs (where we did get married, and was easily accessible for everyone by car) was sunny and in the 70s on July 19, 2014. Asheville was nonstop rain all day long. New Jersey FOR THE WIN.
Anyway, there is a ton to do at the Biltmore, and you could actually spend a few days exploring, but here’s a taste of what we did in the little time we had there.
We took a hike around the estate. It’s huge and beautiful and there are a ton of gardens and paths to walk along and through. We even found a waterfall but couldn’t get a picture in front of it because the lovely woman we asked to take our picture said “sure, but be careful, there’s a snake,” and Eric was gone before she finished her sentence.
We managed to get a picture of the waterfall from above. 
You can also tour the mansion, which I actually think we may have done on our first visit there, but I block all historical tours from my memory because I find them excruciatingly boring.
There were also these fun tractors that we found highlighting agriculture.
The next day we went on a Segway tour around the grounds. Definitely a really cool way to see the estate.
After the tour, we went to the winery for a little tasting before we had to head out.
After Asheville, we were meeting up with Marissa for a few days in Savannah and Charleston, but had some time to visit one more place beforehand.
After some discussion about where to go with our one extra night, we decided (and by we I mean Eric decided and I complained) to spend one night in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is 2 hours in the OPPOSITE direction of Savannah from Asheville, and there is basically nothing to do there. So why did we go, you might ask? To see Dave Chapelle, who I hate, at 10 pm, an hour past my bedtime. He did not appear on stage until close to 11 (2 hours past my bedtime, and I was asleep in the audience – actually asleep, this is not an exaggeration), and the show was awful.
We figured if we were going all the way out of our way we should at least make a road trip of it, and stopped at a few random spots on the way to Knoxville that we accidentally found along the way. I highly recommend this. It was really so much fun and we found some hidden gems that we would’ve driven right by if we asked the internet for an itinerary.
Unfortunately, though, when you just pull over you don’t always have an accurate record of where you were. That’s the case with this beautiful lake.
We saw it, we pulled over, we took pictures, we explored, and we got back in the car. I did a little research and I noticed that my lake pictures came before the “Tennessee Welcomes You” sign, so it must have been in North Carolina.
After zooming in on google maps to find water along our route, and looking at pictures to try to match mine, I think this might have been Lake Junaluska, NC. One can never be sure.
We continued driving and saw a sign for “Forbidden Caves.” Sounded fun, so we pulled over. I am so glad we did. We did an underground cave tour in the random little town of Sevierville, Tennessee. It was a lot of fun and a really good pit stop. Also, the gift shop was an attraction of its own. SO Southern. You’ll just have to go and see for yourself.
Then we arrived in Knoxville, which as you know was pretty lame. We ate a little food, saw a bad show, and were on our way.
I guess we also ate some food in Knoxville.
After Knoxville, we did our last little road trip of random stops on our way to finally meet Marissa in Savannah.
Our first stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee. We found a great spot called Lookout Mountain to hike up and take in these awesome views.
Our second and final stop was Atlanta – you can read about that here. (I have now linked my Atlanta blog three times, so it should be easy to find.)
Next stop – Savannah!! Another favorite :-).
TRAVELING WITH ARDEN 
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