Asheville, Day Four

Monday was the day we would finally head home. We finally tried our B&B's breakfast, and I must say it was quite good. David the innkeeper served what he rather preposterously called “French toast crème brûlée.” There was no trace of either French toast or crème brûlée, but it was delicious nonetheless. It was sort of an egg soufflee, baked until puffy, with a layer of something made of apples in the middle. The coffee was excellent as well.

I had a full-blown cold by Monday morning, and was feeling moderately miserable, but it was another beautiful day. After checking out, we spent an hour or so at the Asheville Botanical Garden, a peaceful little park adjacent to the UNC Asheville campus. It was beautifully quiet, and the wildflowers were beautiful. Afterwards, we stopped in at a store J. wanted to go to; by the time we were done it was lunchtime, and I was determined to visit one more local institution before leaving – the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. The pizza was generic, but wasn't bad when hot and fresh from the oven. Despite my cold an an impending eight-hour drive, I allowed myself a beer, and asked our waitress, amazingly with-it by Asheville standards, to recommend one. I was glad I did – though it was merely their red ale, usually a boring style, it was hoppy and refreshing, with a floral aroma that I could detect even with my malfunctioning sinuses. J. opted for the IPA, which was even better. The space was full of character (and characters, I am sure, come nighttime) and featured a movie theatre in the back.

From then on, it was driving and more driving. We got home close to midnight, sick, exhausted, dreading work the next day, but delighted with the trip.