"Wild" in Asheville

Last year I was inspired after reading the book Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. If you have not read this true story about a woman's lonely hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, you may have seen the movie. Cheryl endured thirst, freezing weather, wild animals, battered feet, and a "monster" backpack, among other things, on her three month journey from Oregon to Washington. I admired her tenacity and thought that this type of adventure may have appealed to me in my much younger days. (minus the thirst, freezing weather, wild animals, battered feet, and monster backpack). But the walking part sounded really fun to me. Due to my advanced age, I decided to rule out doing the Pacific Crest or Appalachian Trail, and thought that a fun alternative would be to stay right here in Asheville. What if I just started out from my house and walked all day in Asheville? I could walk as far as I could, going to downtown and taking in all of the sights. I had been thinking about this for several months, and finally set out for my trek last Friday.

My starting point was my house. I wore my walking shorts, New Balance walking shoes, and my Rolling Stones tour tee shirt.I carried the gigantic tote bag, bought in China from our trip earlier this year. Unlike Cheryl, I did not load it down with supplies. I carried 2 extra tee shirts, money, cell phone, band aids in the event of feet problems, a bottle of water, and paper and writing pens. It is a good idea, in my opinion, to have writing supplies available when you are dining alone. That way, it appears tha you are actually doing something important and not just looking like a loser playing with your cell phone. My plan was to start out with a light pack and actually add to it as I went along!

I started out at 9:00 in the morning, and walked the first mile and a half with Rich. We walked from our house, around the our neighborhood in the Grove Park, and back to the house. I know this sounds strange, but I realized that I had forgotten to put on sunscreen, plus by that time, I needed a bathroom. From there, I walked to the Grove Park Inn. Even after all of these years of seeing it, I still find it impressive, with the beautiful stone work and magnificent setting. I made my way to Charlotte Street and directly to my first planned stop - City Bakery. As some of my friends know, I love this place. It is not necessarily the food or coffee that draws me to this cafe. It is the atmosphere, and the fact that it is really my neighborhood hangout. It is a place that draws locals, who come here before work for coffee and breakfast, or later for lunch. I was sitting down, just starting to take a bite of my egg and cheese croissant, when an aging hippie with a pony tail and missing teeth approached me. As he greeted me, I panicked that he was going to ask to sit down with me. To my surprise, he pointed at my tee shirt and said "that was a great tour this summer, wasn't it?' Of course, he was referring to the Stones tour. He had seen them in Dallas, me in Raleigh. We chatted about Mick's ageless stage moves. After coffee and croissant, I knew it was time to get moving again.

I headed toward downtown, with a little over 3 miles on my Fitbit,, and passed the YMCA,  my gym. For a brief moment, I considered stopping in for my Friday zumba class, but figured that I would get enough exercise with my walk. It was a straight shot to Broadway, where one of my favorite shops exists, The Loft. I think I could probably spend a whole day in this shop full of signs, coffee mugs, books, refrigerator magnets, and any knick knack that one might imagine. I love this kind of place. The fridge magnets are always comical, with sentiments like "I still miss my Ex, but my aim is getting better" , which sounds like the words to a country song. But Loft also has glassware, linens and even decorative pillows for those who are doing more serious shopping. I had spent about half an hour there, bought a few little things for my nieces and realized that I should probably be moving along.

Just down from The Loft is Va Va Vooom, a lingerie shop that I have always been curious about but have not had the nerve to actually visit. Why, I don't know;  at 63, I am certainly old enough but I guess that southern belle upbringing kept me from it. The store has a vast array of lingerie, clothing, and toys. While I was browsing, a couple came in saying that they were getting married later that day, and the perspective bride wanted to try on lingerie! So it hit me that this shop really serves a useful purpose. I thought about buying a present for Rich, but left, worrying that someone I know might see me. Across the street from Vooom is a cute looking little antique shop that I had always been interested in seeing. I was fascinated by the back corner of the store, that featured vintage clothing. Looking around, I saw several items that  might be possibilities for Halloween costumes, but thought it best to come back another day to try on things.

At this point, I was getting hungry and headed toward my favorite area of town: Lexington Avenue. I was a fan of Lexington Ave. even when it wasn't cool to be over 20 and love  Lexington Ave. When we first moved to Asheville, this area was filled mainly with tattoo parlors and piercing establishments. There is certainly nothing wrong with either of these, but it did not have the variety of bars, cafes, and clothing shops that exist there now, which meant that it was mainly a place for the young college students who were trying to do things to shock their parents. I thought about having a tea and light lunch a Dobra Tea, a cozy little tea shop where one could easily dine alone and be unnoticed. But then I passed by Bouchon Creperie, and knew this was where I was going to have lunch. The restaurant Bouchon has tasty food, but since it doesn't accept reservations, I haven't managed to eat there in several years. But the Creperie next door has most of the same menu, and also crepes. It has a wonderful outdoor courtyard space which makes it even more fun. I had one of the tables under a tree, and with the blue skies and pleasant temps, it was absolutely perfect. Of course, the French fries (best in town, in my opinion), and the Cassis mimosa didn't hurt either. I encountered a little wildlife of my own when a pesky yellow jacket kept going after my drink! After lunch was the perfect time to wander around and try on clothing at stores on Lexington Ave., such as Cosmic Vision, Honey Pot, Virtue, and my top shop, Hip Replacements. This little clothing shop has vintage and modern clothes that are very different from things you see at your typical mall. Several years ago, I bought a skull head dress that I still wear occasionally. So, of course I bought another dress, and several other items at various places. My tote bag was beginning to get a tad full, so I reluctantly said good bye to Lexington, dreaming of shopping there another day.

I started walking briskly, as I was in need of a bathroom after that mimosa. An interesting and important fact is that there is a public restroom in the police station building on Haywood St. This is good to know. From here, I walked directly to Kim's Wig Shop, which sits on the corner of Haywood and Wall Street.  Kim's is my go-to place for Halloween costume wigs, although the quality wigs there could be worn anytime. Several years ago, I found a great MJ wig for my "Bad" costume, and last year proudly wore one of her hot pink wigs. Actually, the owner is extremely helpful and takes her time to find exactly what you are looking for. She tells me that she has been there for 25 years - a true Asheville institution! And I think I did find the wig I want for my Halloween costume, although since it wouldn't fit into my tote bag, I will need to return another day!

My most important task for my all day walk was a mid-day dessert at Mayfel's, across from Pritchard Park. This restaurant has good New Orleans style dishes, and I enjoy it. But the dessert selection there is truly incredible, having a daily selection of 7-8 desserts. Unfortunately, I am usually too full to eat one, so I was determined that this would be my day to enjoy one of their southern treats. When I walked up, a "closed" sign was displayed on the front door! I walked up anyway, to try and figure out a way to have someone sneak a dessert to me. A server then told me that due to a computer glitch, they had to close until dinner! I was beyond disappointed, and considered begging, but recalled a good dessert experience at nearby Donatelli's on Haywood St. This is a lovely bakery with beautiful cakes and pastries. I decided on a mocha chocolate ganache cake. The dessert looked perfect, and was served to me personally by the baker. It was rich, but had a nice lightness to it that made it a scrumptious treat.

My next task was to find a gift for one of my Atlanta friends, who was letting us crash at her place for the weekend. Walking along Haywood, and past Malaprop's book store (another Asheville institution), there was a young guitar playing musician. Further down on Wall St, a young girl and guy were playing fiddle and guitar, and the girl was also clogging! Music is always a part of the downtown Asheville scene, and adds to a festive attitude. I was feeling generous and gave money to all of the musicians. I noticed Woolworth Walk, which displays crafts of numerous local artisans, and bought my friend a hand painted, locally made gourd vase.

I was finally ready to head back to the house, but still needed to buy a bottle of wine for the Atlanta host. Right on Charlotte St. is Metro Wine, a nice little wine shop that has varied selections of wines. Asheville is such a beer town, that I sometimes forget about this place, but the owner was very helpful, and recommended what I hoped was a unique wine. I was lucky in that Friday is free wine tasting day at Metro. I looked at my Fitbit and at that point had walked over 8 miles! I explained to the owner what I had been doing all day, and I believe that he poured me a little extra wine. I still had two miles to go, and was able to stuff the wine into my tote. At as I approached the one mile point, I sympathized with how Cheryl must have felt as she was so close to the end of her journey - I thought I would never get there. But I did, and my total walk time was 10 1/2 miles! I reached home at 5:45.

I had a blast - this was more fun than I had imagined! With perfect weather and no injuries, I did not suffer the struggles in one day that Cheryl did in 1 hour! I was super excited about the 10 plus miles and knew that I had probably lost a pound or two. To my surprise, I actually gained a half pound! The truth is, even if you walk ten miles but spend a large part of the day eating a croissant, fries, mimosa, and dessert, you are not going to lose weight! But it was worth it- what a fantastic place Asheville is! I highly recommend spending a day walking around and exploring those places that you have always wanted to see. As for me, my next trek may be "wild in West Asheville"!