Category Archives: U.S.

A Day at the Beach

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Two mornings after I saw the band Beach House play in Jax Beach, I decided to head to Atlantic Beach. Coincidentally enough, the first people I walk up to and ask what they’re doing, the woman Hece responds, “We are building beach house.”

She was there with Deyan, and “We always do beach house,” she said.

Atlantic Beach was a pretty happening place Saturday morning, as can be expected as more and more kids get out of school for summer and the weather gets hotter and hotter.

From beach-house building, to bike-riding, to reading or running around, there’s all sorts to do in the sunshine on the sand near the ocean. Fishing, surfing, kites and boats, too, of course.

Loblolly, Between Two Houses

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There’s a reason I hadn’t heard of the Loblolly Hogtown Creek Greenway until yesterday morning, and that is that the entrance is wedged between two houses. Just North of University, on 34th,  exists these secret woods, with trails, water, and wildlife running through them.

Just North of the intersection of 34th and University.

Brightest Night, in Asheville

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Enter if you can shrug the dignity.

It was the night of the brightest full moon in 30 years, if you missed it Saturday Cinco de Mayo, stick around another 30 and maybe it’ll happen again. The Tupelo Honey Cafe had a wait, because it’s so good, so I wondered into the hipster-ist of hipster-stores — no, the hipster-ist of the hipster of hipster stores, in the hipster-capital of the East. What other could I be speaking of than the Urban Outfitters in the heart of Asheville, NC? I couldn’t stay in long, of course, I felt like I was holding my breath in there, but I did it — I went in, snapped a shot to prove, yes, it -does- exist, right there on the corner of College and some other street(oops), and yes, I survived.

The wait ended, and the egg-roll appetizer was great, but not as good as the chicken I had for dinner. Okay, so, I can’t remember the fancy name on the menu, but it came with cheesy cauliflower which I had doubts about, but turned out to be much better than expected. The desserts though, that’s the real gold. The banana pudding will nearly melt your face off with its smooth delectability, and the sweet potato creme brûlée is just too odd of a menu-item to not try out. Turns out, both are great options. You’ll appreciate the lightness of the pudding after a full meal of awesome, but the sweet potato creme brûlée is so rare and definitely worth it in my book.

As its early May, a table outside was perfect, and I had full view of the bright full moon right from the table.

Build more, Biltmore

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I couldn’t get a picture of the whole mansion, its just too big, so here’s the top of it:

The Biltmore Estate has pretty much anything anyone could want. For tourists, there are shops of all sorts, along with eateries and the most expensive restaurants in Asheville. Full tours of the mansion, including servant’s quarters, view of one of the largest organs in the world, the family bowling alley, gym, and seemingly out-of-place halloween room. The people who work in there don’t play around, they WILL yell at you for having your phone out or trying to take a picture(trust me, I know), so I apologize for my lack of insight to the inside. But, I DID get a photo of one of the creepier selections among the plethora of shops:

The View from the Biltmore Estate

The view from the Estate goes without words, I couldn’t imagine a more majestic place to sit a mansion. The Vanderbilts certainly knew what was up at property-picking time.

The gardens, of course, are wondrous as well.

There’s also a winery, and stables, and even an Inn to stay at on the Estate if you’re feeling good and fancy.

 

Wild -Very- Lodge

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Luck herself couldn’t have picked a more beautiful place to spend a weekend. Tucked away on it’s own mountain, the Wildberry Lodge overlooks a farm-pastures complete with goats and Scottish horses. I know, right, Scottish horses!!

Perhaps a few too many rooms to call it a -traditional- log cabin, but the inside is as cozy as home, maybe even a bit more.

Something should be said for the tall windows, opening the cabin to the sky and mountains.

Windows like Mirrors of the Sky

As if this view wasn’t enough…

Sunset from Wildberry Lodge

…there’s the view at sunset:

Of course, I can’t forget about the animals, me and one particularly goat became good buddies. I think he might’ve been as fascinated with city-folk and a camera as I was with mountains and a goat.

Just because I will NEVER be able to say this again, “Hare today, gone tomorrow.”