Saturday Exploring

If we don't have a special get-away planned for the weekend, we often go over to Asheville or the surrounding area to explore.

We've learned it's wise to stop in downtown Asheville to share an appetizer before heading out on our journey to unknown places. There may not be a restaurant around for miles when we find ourselves hungry on the top of one of the many surrounding mountains.

Laughing Seed Café is one of our favorite places to visit. We often share the hummus trio. During this visit, we also tried an apple, carrot, and ginger smoothie. My favorite thing to have with hummus is cucumber slices, so I always ask for a side order of those.

That's a spicy black bean hummus, vegetable pâté, and chickpea hummus. The pita bread is made in house.

Three things are constant with me when I travel, even if only for a day-trip. 

Always take a sweater, jacket, or wrap because, at some point during the trip, I know I am going to be cold. 

Visit every restroom. You never know when you will see another one. 

Always drink lots of water. Staying hydrated is so important for the digestive tract, eyes, skin, and muscles. Leg cramps in the middle of the night are never fun!

Wall Street in Asheville, North Carolina, is home to many interesting shops and restaurants. It's also fun to people watch, and there are usually several entertaining street performers.

Just strolling down the street and stopping to pet a dog or visit a shop along the way is great fun. Many dogs live with their owners in swanky lofts and condos in downtown Asheville, so most shops have water dishes out front. Well behaved dogs are often seen at sidewalk cafés waiting patiently for their humans to dine.

Around Wall Street's corner is the Chocolate Fetish, which is home to some of the best gourmet chocolates ever. My favorite indulgence is dark chocolate covered coconut mound or one of the fabulous truffles. Just one is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth for the day.

Many of the mountains in our area rise to five thousand feet or more above sea level.

The temperature in the valley below was 90 degrees. The temperature at the summit was only 70 degrees.

If our exploring gets more off-road than this, Mr. Mickey may have to put brush guards on his sedan!

Much later in the day, after a long drive on numerous mountain roads and through quaint small towns, we returned to Asheville to have dinner at the Lobster Trap. Their lobster roll is the best I have ever found outside of Maine. The roll is made in a local bakery, and the lobster is perfectly prepared. It is indeed delicious, but I can never finish all of it.

We drove through a brief summer storm along the way home. Rain is becoming a rare thing here in East Tennessee, so it was wonderful to hear it on the rooftop. I love the sound of rain falling on a tin roof!

I wore one of those Portofino blouses from Express. It is one of the only button-front shirt styles I have found that works with my top-heavy figure. I have it in several colors, and I buy a size larger than I usually wear.

The pants are old from Fabrizio Gianni. The sandals are old by Jessica Simpson. The bag is several years old.

Easy breezy classic separates always seem to work well for me.