Asheville NC

 Clayton and I have been talking about going to see the NC mountains since we've moved here, and this weekend was finally time! We talked about all different places we could stay, but Clayton got really excited about the idea to car camp. So that's just what we did. 

It was surprisingly comfortable, and we both could easily fit. We left Friday after work and began our drive to the mountains. 

We were taking the KIA for this road trip, which was already a gamble. The check engine light had already been on, but we took the chance for the weekend. Most of our drive there was traffic which was not a fun start to the trip. Then the car started driving very jerky (this has happened a few other times before, but hadn't happened for a long time) which was scary as the weekend has just started. And on top of that, the AC stopped working. It was supposed to be hot this weekend, AND we were planning on sleeping in the car, so this was also scary. Then it started pouring so hard (and don't forget, the KIA only has one windshield wiper). Then the battery light turned on, which is a light I've never seen before. We were seriously considering turning back around and just driving home. But when the traffic cleared, the rain stopped, the battery light turned off, and the car stopped jerking, we decided to keep going. 

Once we got into Asheville, we spent time walking around and exploring the town. There was live music, lots of booths, a drum circle, and lots of fun stuff going on. I will say, we've heard stereotypes about the people in Asheville and they seem pretty much true. There were lots of hippies and lots of people seemingly on drugs haha. But it was fun to people watch and see the area. 

We decided to pull over on the side of the road to sleep in the car. This first night ended up being soooo hot. We woke up just dripping in sweat. Luckily, we started off the next morning with a nice shower. 

The next day, we headed for Frying Pan Tower to see the mountains. Clayton did the hike on a work trip last year and thought it was so cool and has been talking about bringing me forever. It was so nice to finally go and see it for myself. I feel like I haven't been around mountains in a long time, even just the drive to the tower was incredible. 

After Frying Pan Tower, we wanted to go see the waterfalls in the area. First we went to sliding rock. Here, there was this giant rock / water slide in nature that people were sliding down. This was such a fun and unique spot, and I'm really glad we decided to go. 

Next we went to the waterfalls. We went to Triple Falls, Looking Glass Falls, and Hooker Falls. All of these were amazing and definitely exceeded expectations! I forgot how beautiful the mountains could be.

Now if there's a casino nearby, we're making an appearance. To be fair, it was definitely the coolest casino I've ever seen. And it was fun for Clayton to get to play poker. 

Now this night if when things get interesting. I liked the idea of sleeping at a truck stop (in my head it seemed safer - lights, camera, 24 hour workers, bathroom, etc). So we stopped at a truck stop, but was woken up at 5 in the morning by this guy yelling. I was half asleep, so at first I thought he was on the phone with his girlfriend yelling about her cheating on him? Then I heard what sounded like him hitting his car while yelling out of anger. then I heard clayton whispered to me, don’t move, and he quickly got out of the car and moved it. as we were driving away, we saw him and another dude start physically fighting, and then they both zoomed off in their cars. So maybe my truck stop idea wasn’t a good one, but it was eventful for sure haha. 

The next day was spent driving around the area, taking in the views, and eating good food before driving back. We wanted to make sure we had lots of time to reset the apartment before going back to work, which was so nice. 

Anyways, now we are already planning another trip like this! The motorcycle might make an appearance on our next trip though haha.