On the Road Again: Asheville, NC

the front window of 16 Patton with Karen's painting on display

It's been hard to get any "work" done lately, because Karen and I have been on the road. We definitely consider ourselves homebodies, but now we've been on two short trips, out of town, in as many weeks. I think I can safely say, we're developing a taste for it. Tuesday morning we headed up to Asheville NC to deliver some of Karen's paintings to her new gallery 16 Patton. We've been to Asheville in the past to attend two opening night reception's of our friend Karin Jurick, who also shows her paintings at 16 Patton. Danna Anderson the owner of the gallery could not have been more welcoming. After a couple of minutes we felt like we had known her for years. She immediately put one of Karen's paintings in the front window, and seemed genuinely excited about showing her work. It was a good start to our visit.

the bicycling nun

We planned our trip to get there as early as possible tuesday, to maximize our time for wandering, since we would be leaving the following morning. It was a fun day. I have to say, Asheville is a wonderful place. For a couple of old hippies like ourselves, it really feels like we've gone back in time. Laid back would be a accurate word to describe the attitude of the place. Not a lot of suits and high heels. But, lots of vegetarian restaurants, street musicians, beards and tatoos. If we could swing it, Karen and I would move there in a heartbeat. Where else can you see a guy dressed like a nun riding a whacky bicycle down the main street. I saw him too late to get a good shot. It would have made a terrific photo.

facade of the S & W Cafeteria (possible painting)

We walked all day, stopping for food, iced coffee, and to visit most of the galleries in town. The artwork there was exceptional. Karen and I would occasionally pop back into 16 Patton as we strolled the city. On the first of those visits Danna said she had already given out three of Karen's bio's. At the end of the day we returned to our room at the Haywood Park Hotel to get cleaned up. It's a wonderful hotel that used to be a department store. Then we headed back out for dinner at a great restaurant called Doc Chey's Noodle House.

video of our evening walk around Asheville

After dinner, we hit the streets once more to experience some of the activities that take place in the evening. The weather was perfect, and there was a lot to see. I recently got a new camera that has the capability to shoot video, so I shot some of the night life. This is my first attempt at video, and put this together using Apple's iMovie. It's kind of clunky, but I think you can get a sense of the "life" there.

Now it's time to really get back to work and finish Dumbo.