Asheville, NC

Hi ya'll! We're in Asheville after a smooth trip off the mountain. We're also expecting thunderstorms this afternoon, so we gave the photobug took the day off. New photos from our side trip up to West Jefferson can be seen at the end of the slideshow on the post below this one.

I think I speak for Julia when I say, Boone/West Jefferson are on our list of possible places to settle. Cool mountain air, life a little slower than the city, and no shortage of scenery to see. According to the locals, schools are very good in this part of NC. The infrastructure is great--brand new in this area. We were surprised to learn West Jefferson was a town of a population of only 1100. Seems most homes up here are second homes to folks in Charlotte or Winston-Salem. The only thing we are having trouble with is the accent (and a few observed rednecks)...that twang is some'em to get used to!

The kids made new friends yet again. Bridget met a family of 7 adopted kids (2 white, 4 black, and 1 russian). Okay, I thought it was a little unusual. They had a great time spinning on the marry-go-round and feeding the goats. We took a forced march (for the kids) up the mountain across the road from the campsite to see a cemetery. They found some cool rocks in the road and some kindling for last night's fire.

Got to get back top my Stephen King's novel...reading is an important part of unwinding for me when I'm on vacation...D