Shelbee on the Edge

Road Tripping & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #161

February 25, 2020 / 74 Comments
Shelbee on the Edge

I am back from the best road trip ever. I was hoping to be refreshed and rejuvenated upon returning to the realities of my life as a mom and wife in the North Country, but honestly, I am exhausted and a tiny bit overwhelmed as I try to catch up on all the things that I had pushed aside so I could just enjoy life and living. While I may be a bit road weary, I am definitely inspired and have approximately 19,357 things racing around in my brain that I want to write about, describe, analyze, and philosophize. But all in due time. First I must get myself organized and back to all the mundane things that are the foundation of this crazy beautiful life.

It may take some time for me to get back to my regular schedule and start chipping away at the long list of things that I would like to accomplish, so in the meantime, do let me share a less than brief overview of my 10 day road trip.

I did not take very many pictures during my travels. I did this on purpose. I wanted to be in the moment. In all of the moments. All too often taking pictures triggers me into thinking about various writing topics and in an instant the entire thing becomes more like work than vacation. So I will share the few pictures that I did take (as well as a few that I swiped from Becca’s Facebook page) and the rest of my stories I will articulate later based solely on my memories. Those are the best kind of stories anyway, in my opinion. Even if they sometimes get a little skewed or embellished, it is the way we remember things that is the most important. Often more important than the way they may have actually happened. Until then, I will leave you with a synopsis of my 10 days on the road.

I began last Thursday by driving to Pennsylvania where I spent the night at my sister’s house babysitting her 3 lovely grandchildren. We did a good deed by attempting to wash the Vaseline out of her 4 year old granddaughter’s hair. This kid will give y’all a run for your money. Have you ever tried to get Vaseline out of a child’s hair…in the kitchen sink…with Dawn dish soap? This is definitely a story for future family gatherings.

Little greasy headed beast. Her hair is not wet in this photo…that is just a copious amount of Vaseline.

After a terrible night’s sleep of approximately 3 hours of slumber interrupted by my own nerves, I was up at 4:45 a.m. and on the road by 5:30. I stopped in Roanoke, Virginia, at noon and had lunch with some very dear friends from my childhood. It was wonderful to catch up with them and it was also the perfect breaking point for lunch on an all day drive.

I was back on the road by 1:30 p.m. to finish the final 4 1/2 hours of driving to visit my friend Becca in Cullowhee, North Carolina. I arrived at her house at exactly 6:00 p.m. just before the sun began to set (thankfully because night driving is not conducive for these old eyes). Becca’s house sits atop a beautiful mountain peak that you can only get to by driving up the steepest hill ever. It’s like an 89 degree angle that makes you feel like your car is going to tip nose over tail and send you tumbling to your death. But once you get to the top, it is the most serene place I have ever inhabited.

We first planned to make jambalaya for dinner and enjoy the fruity Pennsylvania wine that I brought upon Becca’s request. Then we decided we were going to head into town to watch a funk band play at a local drinking establishment. But the effort required on my part to take a shower to wash away the travel scum (how do we get so gross just from sitting in a car all day, I’ll never understand) was just too much and we opted instead to stay in and have a true Galentine’s night of girl bonding. And yeah, that night will definitely go down as one of my most memorable nights ever. More on that another time.

Becca’s sweet little boy, Tucker. He slept on my legs all three nights that I was there.

Due to a large amount of caffeine and other caffeine type products to keep me awake for 12 hours of driving, I could not fall asleep despite the intense level of exhaustion that I was feeling. Eventually, I stopped fighting against it and just enjoyed my time with Becca. We headed into Asheville the following night…on no sleep…to see Billy Strings and Umphrey’s McGee. Another amazing experience and it was only day 2 of my trip!

Becca and me at the concert.
Umphrey’s McGee
The massive crowd.

Day 3, Sunday, Becca and I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for the day. What a cute little tourist town! We spent the day just strolling in and out of shops. We did a moonshine tasting at Ole Smoky Distillery and then enjoyed dinner at No Way Jose’s Cantina. We returned home that night with full bellies and tired feet and settled in to watch The Joker.

The elk along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The view from the parkway.
Ole Smoky Distillery
A little resting stop in Gatlinburg.
At No Way Jose’s Cantina.
Outside the Hollywood Star Car Museum.

Monday morning was my departure date to meet up with Carson in Asheville. I first stopped at Izzy’s Coffee Shop in West Asheville for a few hours by myself to catch up a tiny bit on blog comments and emails before beginning this next part of my trip. Carson met me there around lunchtime and we spent the rest of the day just sort of floating around Asheville. Tuesday brought us much of the same thing. Coffee, lunch, dinner, hanging out and catching up.

On Wednesday, I headed out for the day by myself with my first stop being the River Arts District and Foundation Studios where Becky of Pink Cheetah Vintage houses her vintage clothing collection in partnership with Noreen. I do not have adequate words to express how incredibly cool these two women are! Noreen took me on a tour of the entire studio which houses dozens of artists who all work in different mediums and genres. And that is just one building in this expansive arts district. Again, I did not take very many pictures because pictures cannot do it justice. But every single building is covered in the most amazing graffiti art that just fuels your inspiration in the purest of ways.

I couldn’t resist this graffiti art in the River Arts District. My Ralphie got a huge kick out of this photo.
Becky, me, and Noreen inside Foundation Studio.

I then indulged myself with a Thai chicken taco, chipotle cheese grits, and a margarita at White Duck Taco Shop in the River Arts District followed by a few hours of strolling around downtown Asheville. I purchased a few used books in Downtown Books & News as well as a new book from Malaprop’s Bookstore. I then stumbled upon a really cool shop, The Open Door Boutique, where I found this adorable new hat and made an amazing connection with the shop owner, David. We spent over an hour in intense and meaningful spiritual conversation that resulted in an impromptu walk in Montford Park on Friday before I headed out of town. I now have another wonderful new friend to hang out with when I visit Asheville!

Carson and me showing off my new hat!

I kept the remainder of the evening pretty low key and then spent Thursday afternoon cruising around Asheville with Carson in the snow. I thought I had escaped the white stuff, but alas, Mother Nature had other plans for me. But snow in North Carolina is much different from snow in northern New York. We spent about an hour and a half in the coolest barber shop in Asheville sharing stories and beverages and then headed off to Wedge Brewery for some phenomenal microbrews that got me way more intoxicated than I had anticipated.

The coolest barber shop in Asheville!

About an hour after arriving at Wedge, Becca met up with us and we continued on to the Thursday night bluegrass jam at Jack of the Wood. I had attended this bluegrass jam when I visited Asheville in July and it was super cool that one of the artists, Krista Tortora, who was performing that night remembered me! She promptly came over and gave me a big hug saying how great it was to see me again. You see, this makes the draw to Asheville that much stronger for me.

Friday morning was my time to start the journey back home. I was unable to attend the Fireside Collective show in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday night as planned, but it all worked out for the best because I got to catch up with another friend in Virginia for the night before heading on to Pennsylvania to pick up my boys. I got on the road Saturday morning for the 6 hour drive to Gramma’s to see my babies whom I missed very much. We scored a pickle pizza from La Napoli III & O.I.P. in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, and it was even better than I had imagined! If you are a fan of pickles, you really need to try this.

Pickle pizza from O.I.P.

Sunday morning we began our trip home where we enjoyed some delicious chocolate treats that I scored on the 50% off Valentine’s Day candy sale at Dollar General! Post Valentine’s Day might very well be my favorite time of the year. I mean, who doesn’t love half price chocolate?

My little guys were thrilled with their chocolate surprises.

And now here I sit on Monday evening, still in my pajamas, drafting this post for the morning. I hope the details have not bored you all to death. But those are the highlights of my most amazing 10 day road trip. I am sure I will be ready for the next road trip in about 60 days! What have you been up to lately?

And now your featured favorites from two weeks ago.

Reader Favorite (Most Clicked)

Laurie of Vanity and Me shared her wonderfully stylish post, Wardrobe staples SS2020 to mix and match, where she shows some gorgeous wardrobe pieces and offers different ways to style them.

Laurie of Vanity and Me

My Favorite Fashion Post

Shauna of Lipgloss and Lace shared her post, A Passion for Fashion. Not only does this monochromatic black look create the most stunning silhouette with the beautiful feather details but Shauna’s message is one that rings very near and dear to my heart.

Shauna of Lipgloss and Lace

My Favorite Non-Fashion Post

Jill of Doused in Pink shared a post that is so my jam, Easy Random Acts of Kindness Ideas. Yes indeed! Go check out Jill’s list of 30 wonderful ideas to #SpreadTheKindness every day!

Doused in Pink

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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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Shelbee on the Edge