“This is a Good Day to Be Alive”

It’s a really good day when Carter says this to me when we are alone. It has been a really good day. We sadly left Russ standing in the driveway with Shay Shay in his arms as we drove off to Asheville this morning. Although the weather was poor the road was not crowded and we made great time.

We stopped in Black Mountain to have lunch at a bar called The TrailHead. Our server was a nice as a person can be and since the only person we know from Black Mountain is our minister Chris we figured that Black Mountain grew good people.

As we made our short leg from lunch into Asheville and turned off the highway onto city streets we commented on how empty the streets were. It is Sunday, (I finally figured out what day it is) so we thought that might be coming to the ghost town. We drove no further than seven blocks and suddenly we were surrounded by hoards of people walking the sidewalks of downtown Asheville. Obviously we are not the only ones who thought a little post Christmas trip would be fun.

We drove past our hotel and made a little loop exploring the area. We stopped at a cool glass blowing gallery where a guy was demonstrating. It was very interesting and beautiful, but I did not see the need for a $500 vase or the $2,000 standing lamp that Carter liked.

Checking into the hotel that Russ had given us with his hotel points the clerk thanked Russ for being a good customer. Carter said, “We thank Russ too.” Since he is such a good customer they had upgraded us to the best suite on the top floor. Nothing makes Carter happier than a gorgeous hotel suite with a giant ass bathroom, soaking tub and bath salts.

We walked around a little and then went to the bar in the hotel and played backgammon and Mancala. It was nice of Carter to volunteer to play games with me.

Our big event today was dinner at Cùrate, the famous tapas restaurant. It did not disappoint. My favorite thing was the ham croquettes. Something I am never going to try and make at home. Carter had some funky spanish Cider, which she loved. Who knew they made cider in Spain?

Now we are snuggled in our big bed about to watch a movie. We had so much fun telling stories today. I can’t wait to see what stories we will create tomorrow.