COOL & QUIRKY ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

(FK) Trying to find the campsite in Asheville was a little like a scene from The Hills Have Eyes. With the sun starting to set, we were in a backwater where killing deer and fishing becomes second nature at four years old. Having to stop a guy on a quad to ask for directions, I did start to panic slightly as he reached into the car with his big hunter hands, but fear not it was only to zoom in on google maps.  He pointed us in the direction of FrenchBoard River Campsite, a little beauty of a site, running along the banks of the French Broad River. Fairly over priced at $30 a night but the location made up for it.

Cooking up some Aunty Pia left overs

Waking up to a misty morning by the river, left me feeling a little damp, but at least the flat ground had aided in a better night’s sleep (and the bottle of Flora De Cana Rum). 

Camping martyrs we are not, so at first light we hotfooted it to our nearest favourite store  - Walmart – to buy a foldable futon mattress similar to the one we used to camp with back home (I do like my creature comforts – but this was an essential as far as I was concerned).

At Uncle Paul’s suggestion, we took in the sights of a small town called Asheville – it’s apparently where the oi polloi go to escape the summer heat and get some clean mountain air. The Globe Trotting Girls really sold it to us as well and I'm really glad we bothered,  I bloody loved this place! Art Deco architecture, indie shops, buskers on every street waiting to be discovered – a bit like the Northern Quarter but with a sweet southern drawl. 

                                                                      

It was refreshing not to see the same strip malls and faceless out of town shopping centres that I had started to become accustomed to and if I'm honest was beginning to  feel rather disillusioned with the American Dream. Asheville restored my faith, that US residents do indeed want character, individualism and charm right on their doorstep, without having to     
go all the way to quaint little old Europe to experience it.

This town had soul and a touch of genuine neighbourhood, with its cools downtown area having a feel of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. I turned into a snap happy hipster tourist for the day, had fried green tomatoes (on top of a burger, which NK scored 8/10 btw) for the first time at the delicious Magnolia's  and could have stayed a whole lot longer. 

Neil spotting a burger on the menu!