Asheville or bust - Suburban Shalom

Last weekend, the Spouse and I had a chance to go on an anniversary getaway for twenty-four precious hours. We dropped the girls off {and their cargo of suitcases, dolls, stuffed animals, and blankets} with his parents and headed for one of our favorite destinations ~ Asheville. We love the scenery there, and the fact that the temperature drops some ten degrees once you get over the mountain makes it an all the more desirable destination in the summer.

When we went on our honeymoon nine years ago, we took a road trip of sorts and Asheville was our first stop. {As a side note, this reminds me of our last stop which was at a Westin in downtown Atlanta. When the Spouse was booking the hotel there he thought it would be fun to get a themed room and surprise me. This was a great idea. Only the theme he chose was fitness. To this day, this decision remains one of the great mysteries of our marriage. Let me just say that I have never before or since seen a treadmill as large as the one that sat beside our hotel bed. And, rather than being decorated in romantic rose petals and chocolates, our room came complete with free weights, exercise balls, and water bottles for our refreshment. It looked very similar to this:

If you know me at all, you know that I’ve never been accused of being a fitness buff. High-strung maybe, but “fit” has always been in question. So, the whole idea of this room was hilarious. And the fact that we spent the last night of our honeymoon in the equivalency of a hotel fitness center is one of my favorite memories of the trip}.

Anyway… back to this past weekend in Asheville. We thought it might be fun to do something active on this trip that we wouldn’t or couldn’t do if the girls were with us. So, we decided on biking at Biltmore. We rented our bikes, got a quick tutorial on the “moderate” trail options, and began our trek to the House. It sounded easy enough.

Though I’ve been to the Biltmore House several times before, I had somehow failed to ever notice that it’s actually perched atop a rather steep hill. There are things you overlook when riding in the comfort of your little car or bus that suddenly become much more apparent when you’re on a “comfort” bike, as they call it. And, one of those things is incline.

And, there are a few other things I feel like the guys at the Bike Barn could have mentioned when we were talking to them. Like, that the trail is rocky… and very narrow in parts… and not anything like riding a stationary bike at the gym.

But, when you do arrive at the top of the hill, this kind of view makes it worth all the sweat… and you even forget that you had been deceived by the professional bikers who work in the Bike Barn.

And, of course, the House itself is a pretty incredible sight to see, too. When you take the bike trail there, you approach it from the back side and gain a different perspective on the hugeness of the home. But, on this trip we were only there long enough to grab a cold drink before we made the rocky trek back down.

Most days, like the 364 other days of the year, I take for granted the beauty that surrounds us in this part of the country.

Breathing that kind of air is good for the soul.

While we were in North Carolina, the girls were having some refreshment of their own. My in-laws have a beautiful spring that runs through their yard. This is a huge hit with everyone, most especially the 10 and under crowd.

The Toddler likes to go on and on about how the water is “told” {cold}, and then she proceeds to get in it just for the thrill.

Everyone starts out at ankle depth.

But, there’s always one who winds up being in it up to her waist.

This is why we never travel with only one set of clothes… or shoes.

Maybe one day soon we’ll be adventurous enough to take all three girls in the tag-a-long behind us on the trek back up to Biltmore.

And, in the meantime, if you’d like us to book your next romantic getaway, we’re available to do so with a whole list of hotels with in-room fitness amenities.

Happy weekend!

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