ASHEVILLE, NC

Over the weekend, Ben and I drove down to Asheville, NC to visit his family and home town. It's a long drive (about 8 hours with a stop to eat), especially when we got a late start on I-66 after a few detours. But we HAD to have the detours because one of them included getting some steamed crabs from B J's Crabshack in Chantilly (BEST crabs around.) His folks have to go at least 4 hours (to Charleston, SC) for the nearest steamed crabs, so when Ben goes home, he brings some of those delectable decapod crustaceans down in the cooler.

We have trouble travelling past Catawba, VA, without stopping at The Home Place to eat. It is worth the wait. There is plenty of seating outside on their big front porch and all around the property. You can stroll over to check out the pond, or just sit on one of the rocking chairs on the front porch. For fun, you can guess how many times the man announcing the various names over the loud speaker, who's tables are ready, will say the last name of the tardy party before moving on to what you hope is YOUR name. It is roughly 10 minutes off of I-81. (I got to see a huge rainbow on that part of the drive -- from end to end!)

Asheville is just BEAUTIFUL, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. Did you know that it was actually a shorter drive for us to get to Asheville than it would be to go from Asheville allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way east to the Outer Banks of North Carolina?

Ben's family home is right out of a cozy book. His mom and dad were waiting for us when we got in, along with 3 cats (I was in heaven!) I became particularly fond of "Little Man" day one, and then "Marmalade" on day two. When was the last time anyone prepared you dinner with a bouquet of flowers and a "welcome, we're glad you're here" card? I was stunned. His folks are very sweet; I can see where Ben gets his demeanor.

Saturday was spent visiting his friends and exploring a bit. On Sunday, I went to a one-of-a-kind church called "Jubilee". It is kind of a blend of many religions. I was able to pick out the "most Catholic" part. It was very warm and welcoming and the music was FANTASTIC -- I love it when churches mix in modern music!

Before we left on Sunday, we enjoyed our steamed crabs. This was my first time pulling them apart and got some great lessons from some real pros! One caveat, though: I wish I hadn't taken biology in college. So much about eating seafood for me is getting over the mental stuff -- I know what all that gook was that I had to scoop out of the crab!

We took some pics in front of the house before we left. We even were able to join hands and make a big circle around one of the big Oak trees.

The weather on our trip couldn't have been finer. Sunny warm days became cool autumn nights. I love this time of year!!

We rolled back into the DC area just in time for me to get a couple hours sleep! Much love to Phebe and Douglas -- I had a wonderful time!