I've had vacations in the meantime, but they've been of the shorter variety. I ventured to Chicago for a long weekend last November, and I spent about five days in Colorado two summers ago. I crossed the pond and landed in England for a week in May, and I got a few days in New Orleans last year -- but both of those were business trips, so they don't count as vacation. I got nearly a week off from work to have laser eye surgery in late 2008, but that doesn't really count either, does it?
If my memory serves me, my last week-long vacation was a trip with my girlfriends to Florida in the summer of 2007 -- and that was before I started SightSalad.
Mom and I started a tradition following our trip to Colorado: we vowed that we would do a mother-daughter vacation every year from then on. This year's venture? A road trip to North Carolina and Tennessee!
We drove straight to Asheville, North Carolina. Neither of us had ever been to the lovely state of NC, but we'd heard mountains (or oceans) of positive reviews from friends and family. We chose Asheville for its location in the mountains and its reputation for being a haven of arts and crafts.
I'm happy to say that Asheville lived up to its beautiful reputation.
On our first full day in the area, we ventured to the historic Biltmore Village for some shopping and sight-seeing. Adjacent to the Biltmore Estate, it's a quaint village with brick-paved sidewalks and quality local shops. Our favorites were Yarn Paradise and Waechter's Fine Fabrics.
(And before you ask, no, we did not visit the Biltmore Estate. We'll check that out on another trip if they've reconsidered their ticket prices.)
In the (hot) afternoon, we met a friend at the North Carolina Arboretum and toured the manicured gardens. The company was great, but I have to say I think I would have enjoyed the Arboretum more on a cooler day. No fault of the Arboretum's, though! I'd like to revisit it earlier in the year, when more of the flowers are blooming.
The photos in this post are from the Arboretum. The top photo is of their Quilt Garden, and the bottom photo is a view from the overlook above that garden. The garden's block design changes every year.
Camera: Canon 40D, 1/500s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 at about 4:00 p.m.
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