clouds and asheville

well, wouldn't you know that the day my parents leave asheville, there is no fog and no clouds? and you can see the mountains. of course. oh well. we all had a lovely time this weekend. mom and dad came down on friday and we enjoyed some good italian food and a quick tour of the downtown festivities. and then saturday we had brunch at mayfel's while waiting for metos and larry (jay's stepmom and dad) to drive down from kingsport with jay's new ride. and can you believe i don't have a picture of it yet?! but i do have some pictures of brunch at the eclectic mayfel's.





you can dine inside or outside on the front walk/patio. they also have a back patio for the evenings they are open.

the inside is quite uniquely decorated. the decor is lively, the service is great, and the food is fantastic! all home-cooked goodness. http://www.mayfels.com/

the walls are hand-painted. perhaps there was a stencil involved, but it is hard to tell.

ok. so dad took this picture. i think it was supposed to be of me and mom. but i think the picture behind us got in the way!
so after brunch at mayfel's we met up with larry and metos who had made it in from kingsport while we were eating. after quick introductions we headed up on the blue ridge parkway. we stopped a few times along the way, but made our way up north to craggy pinnacle.
we stopped at the craggy garden's visitor center and this picture is of the clouds blowing across the parkway. the mountain in the picture is where we ended up after our walk.... craggy pinnacle. (yes, see june when the rhododendron was blooming.)

here we are at the fallen birch. gotta love tripod and the timer on the camera. dad, me, jay, mom, metos, and larry. it was a bit chilly up there. only about 66 degrees. but no one was complaining.

we made it to the top. not much to see up there b/c of the haze and clouds but tripod came through once again! we are a photogenic bunch, yeah?

this is a view of down below on the path from whence we came... and what you see a lot of is wild mountain blueberries. and yes, they taste delicious! jay and i plan to go back up and pick some either tomorrow or tuesday to compliment our breakfast choices this week.


so after getting some rest at the top and then heading back down, we drove south to mount pisgah. it was dinnertime. and thank goodness we were hungry. because dinner was filling and wonderful at the pisgah inn. http://www.pisgahinn.com/ the views there, too, were obstructed by clouds, but at over 5000 feet you run into that risk. we had a good time chatting and eating and resting from our drive. then it was back to mine and jay's apartment.... for some wonderful ut football. (please re-read that sentence if you forgot the sarcasm the first time!)
and now it is sunday. larry and metos headed back to kingsport. jay is at work. so me, mom, and dad headed to the hot shot cafe. we have heard conflicted information. jay read that it will be closing after tomorrow. it has been in business since 1925. but we found out today it is just alma's last day. she is a character and a half. i will have to add pictures of her, but this one will have to do for now. but needless to say, the breakfast there is fabulous!





so no, we didn't just eat, but when we did the meals were wonderful. and the company they were spent with are wonderful too. mom and dad have some different pictures so i will share them another day. we had a lovely weekend of relaxing. i will post pictures of the new car as soon as we have them. and the birthday boy. labor day isn't the only holiday on september 3rd!