My Asheville Experience & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #130

July 9, 2019 / 53 Comments
This is not a sponsored post.

My experiences are generally about the people. The people we meet. The people with whom we make connections. We all exist within a different context depending on the people around us. The chemistry is different with each and every relationship. The structure shifts depending on our environment and what and whom surround us at any given moment. We are relational beings and as such we exist directly within the context of each relationship. Whether it be a brief encounter or a long standing friendship, our relationships with other people contribute to the definitions of us.

Last week, I wrote about my experience traveling to Millheim, Pennsylvania. While much of that adventure resulted in metaphysical epiphanies from traveling solo, there was still an enormous part of the experience that was rich in context due to the human connections as well. With every new experience and every new person that I meet along the way, I am never disappointed with the bountiful abundance of life itself that exists within the stories of each and every person. Recognizing that we all have a story and embracing the significance of these stories is exactly what brings the richness of the human experience to life. It is the stories that I love. I love to hear them, to tell them, to repeat them, and to share them. Because without our stories, what do we have really? Without human connections and shared experiences, what is the purpose?

And so now I have caught the wanderlust. Except it is not simply the desire for travel. It is the desire to find and meet and know all the fascinating people. They are everywhere. Yes, I know, I can find so many right here in my hometown. And I do find them and appreciate them. But I want more. More connections, more stories, more creativity, above and beyond wanderlust…it is perhaps a humanlust. It is what fuels me these days and when my tank is running low, I want to go and meet all the wonderful people that I can find. Because it is the unique and genuine energies that I have been able to touch and feel lately that reigniting my fire and refueling my soul.

So off to Asheville I went last week in search of that inspiration that feeds my spirit, revitalizes my creativity, and excites my muse. Traveling solo via car, 845 miles each way, is not for the faint of heart. The majority of the trip being on Route 81 did not lend itself to the same philosophical revelations as the Millheim trip. Rather it was merely a test of patience and driving endurance to reach my destination. But once I had reached the destination and started living the Asheville experience, that is when the good living began.

I decided early on to put away my phone and camera and live my experiences without much photographic documentation or technological interruption. Sometimes it is just too much with social media and taking pictures of everything. We lose the moments when we focus too much on creating images that are social media-worthy. The memories become only what we have captured in the images rather than true recollections of the actual experiences. The art of documenting these memories with words only has become a lost craft, but one that I want very much to resurrect. And so with very few photos to substantiate my experience, I use mostly my words as my method of delivery. I hope you enjoy the imagery I have attempted to recreate. I am thinking for my next trip south, I may want to go completely off the grip to really get in touch with nature and perhaps explore some RV campgrounds in NC. That would be an amazing experience I think!

In any event, for this trip, I was fortunate enough to have a dear friend, Carson, as my tour guide during my stay in Asheville. There are a million things to do and see in this artsy little southern city so you simply cannot do and see it all in 5 short days. Rather than even try, I simply let Carson lead the way. As a musician residing in Asheville for the past 7 years, he essentially immersed me in the downtown music scene and of course, the culinary wonders as well. Because one must eat while on vacation so why not eat well. So much succulent food.

On Tuesday, I arrived at my hotel around 3:00 in the afternoon after 10 hours of driving and very little eating. I was starving so I met up with Carson for some light fare. I can’t remember where we ate that day but we did enjoy some pretty delicious spring rolls which was about all my stomach could tolerate at that point. Then we visited one of his favorite microbreweries (again, my memory is lacking on the names of places…maybe I should have taken some photos!) and then off to Guitar City to twiddle around with some guitars. Actually, I did no twiddling at all as I was treated to the musical magic of my very talented friend. Sitting on stools in the middle of Guitar City, with a slight buzz from the refreshing microbrews we had just imbibed, it was like my own personal concert and I sort of got lost in it. Later that night we headed to Asheville Music Hall for Tuesday Night Funk Jam. What a cool experience. My only regret is that I had not yet found my Asheville groove and was a bit too stiff for my own good. But next time I will know better. Drink, relax, and feel the vibe.

On Wednesday afternoon I had the great pleasure of meeting Jennie of A Pocketful of Polka Dots and Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish for lunch. I was feeling a bit awful from the long drive the previous day. I have this tendency of not eating when I drive. Combine the lack of nutritional substance with the few drinks from the night before and staying up way later than my norm and I woke up with a raging hangover type feeling in the morning. I eventually got myself together and headed to Wicked Weed Brewing to meet my blogging friends. Just as blogging meet ups of this sort go, it was like we had known each other for years. But I guess we kind of have. I have been reading Jennie’s and Jess’s blogs for as long as I have been blogging (4 years next month to be exact) and you do get to know people when you regularly read about their lives. We talked for hours, as women will, about blogging, fashion, family, health and wellness, menopause and menstrual cycles. Jess’s husband Roy, God bless his heart, sat with us and endured it all with a smile and then he took some photos for us. You can’t even tell in the photos how we were all melting from the heat! I spent the remainder of Wednesday evening recovering in my hotel room and resetting my sleep schedule. Even while vacationing, I still require rest.

Thursday, the 4th of July, Carson and I spent the day driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at various look out points, and hiking down to the most serene and beautiful waterfall hidden amidst the cliffs and trees like a secret inspiration hideaway. If not for the overabundance of people there, I could have gotten quite lost in my thoughts…which I did for the most part of the day as we drove along the winding mountain road listening to music and simply existing within the moment.

A look out point on the Blue Ridge Parkway with Looking Glass Rock behind us.

Then we headed back to downtown Asheville, enjoyed an amazing sushi dinner and then met up with friends for a Bluegrass jam at Jack of the Wood.

I met this amazing woman, Stacy, in the ladies’ room at Jack of the Wood. It was her shirt that did it! We became fast friends, of course, and spent about an hour chatting after our bathroom encounter.
The shirt! I need this shirt!

Friday night we headed off to Salvage Station with some new friends to see Lotus. Feeling all sorts of festival vibes, I had more fun than I even imagined this old gal could have! My favorite part of this show, however, had nothing to do with the music and very well may have been my favorite part of the entire trip. As I was getting lost in the music, sipping my vodka and water, swaying and dancing along with the crowd, someone walked up behind, slid their arm around me, and exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing here?!” I turned and found myself looking directly into the face of a very dear old friend of mine from Pennsylvania. Mark and I were swim coaches together way back when and he and his wife have just moved to South Carolina only a few months ago. Moments like these are when we realize just how connected we all are in this great big world! We spent the rest of the night combining my group of friends and his group of friends into one giant friend fest and it was simply amazing!

Me and Mark at Salvage Station. Not sure where my bear ears came from but apparently they turned me into a bear at one point (see the image below).
Me, Julia (another amazing new friend), and Carson at Salvage Station
Julia and Aaron were visiting Carson from Seattle. They are two of the coolest people I ever met. I do hope our paths cross again.
Getting ready to head into the Lotus show…and yes, Carson is now the very proud owner of my Toto tee shirt. He is quite possibly the biggest Toto fan on the planet, so naturally I had to hand over the tee shirt.

By Saturday morning, I was completely pooped and we spent the day hanging out in the air conditioning watching Netflix and ordering food delivery (thank you, Mellow Mushroom, for the most delicious pizza). I got a decent night’s sleep in preparation for my Sunday morning drive. Thank goodness I did because what should have taken 9 hours to arrive at my mother-in-law’s in Pennsylvania ended up taking 12 hours due to holiday weekend traffic. I arrived home yesterday afternoon tired and feeling a bit changed from my Asheville experience. I am certain I will be sharing more posts that will be inspired by Asheville (I took a lot of notes in my phone so I can revisit some of the ideas that came flooding down upon me). I am also certain that I have omitted a lot of the details and events of my week in Asheville. Some have been omitted on purpose and some I am just having trouble recalling the details and timeline. Some may resurface and I will write about them and some I may be more discreet and keep it to myself. In any event, I feel like this trip has triggered something bigger and more important in my life goals. But only time will tell. Stay tuned…and thanks for sharing in my memories.

And now your featured favorites from last week.

Katie of Hello Katie Girl shared her post, A Kaleidoscope of Prints. Katie is looking gorgeous as always in her signature brightly colored ensemble!

Katie of Hello Katie Girl

Kellyann of This Blonde’s Shopping Bag shared her post, Ageless Style: Red, White, and Shoes. Looking marvelously patriotic and summery in two different red and white dresses, I am always inspired by Kellyann’s sartorial choices.

Kellyann of This Blonde’s Shopping Bag

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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