Asheville Day 1!

My blood practically hummed as the plane touched down.  I tried to calm myself so I didn't look like a lunatic racing to the baggage claim and car rental spot.  Bag grabbed.  I learned earlier on that although I can travel for a week with a simple backpack, going to Asheville requires a big suitcase.  I really like to buy Asheville made items and books...ugh so many books when I come here.

I got to the car rental part.  I had booked a cute little car beforehand.  Tip:Always book your car before you leave.  Never a good idea to just assume they will have a car to rent.  Save yourself some stress by booking before you go.  My excitement was already gaining traction thinking about traveling those mountain roads in my cute little Spark with John Denver blaring out of the stereo.

I had to wait an hour before a car was returned and cleaned.  Then a bomb was dropped on me.  "Would I take a Jeep Wagoneer?"  I drove a Jeep Wagoneer in high school so thought, Hell ya I'll take that.  It was like a 1980's Jeep Wagoneer on steroids!  I was suppose to drive that monster in the mountains and around Asheville?

I took a deep breath, jumped in and started the drive to my hotel....gripping the steering wheel like my life or better put the life of fellow drivers depended on it.  Made it just fine to my hotel.

Decided to stay a little bit further from Downtown than I normally do.  I wanted to be right next to nature!  I opted to stay at Holiday Inn Asheville East.  The bonus of the stay...Waffle House is right next door.  Living in the Upper Midwest, we do not have this amazing restaurant that has melt in your mouth waffles for only $5.00!

Tip:  This hotel has a restaurant that serves everything from Chicken Tenders to Filet Mignon.  Waffle House is right next door as stated above.  There is also two gas stations about half a block away where you can buy snacks and drink instead of paying an arm and a leg at little hotel store.

Beautiful Arch on Holiday Inn property.  It leads to an open area with a wood swing.

At night the arch is even more magical.

Look at the size of this mouth watering waffle.  

View from my window.  What you can't see is the picnic tables scattered about and some trails that go off into the woods.

Tip:  Although this hotel is not very close to the top tourist area of downtown, it is easy to get to.  Driving takes about 10 minutes and is a quick interstate drive with the Haywood St. Exit being the one you take for downtown.  If you are driving there, roads are not very wide and when busy time of year, driving in downtown is a nightmare.  Parking is slim.  There is a good size public parking garage by Grove Park Arcade (not an actual arcade).  Uber takes about 10 minutes and costs about $16.00 one way.  There is a bus stop about 5 blocks from hotel.  Cost is $1.00 but it takes about 30 plus minutes depending on time of day and stops it makes.

This day I spent my time just hanging out and planning (a little) things I want to do on the trip and directions on how to get places.