Growing up in New England, we are very familiar with the term (trotted out every July/August) “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” After a few late summer weeks in the South, we’re thinking it’s both. There is no doubt that high humidity makes the heat less bearable (looking at you, Kill Devil Hills!), but when the car thermometer says 117 degrees (as it did in Chattanooga)…it’s just HOT.
We did manage to do some fun stuff regardless of the weather. Chase joined us for a short family vacation in Chincoteague and the Outer Banks, where we kayaked, rode jet skis, cycled, and swam. On a two hour kayak trip, Chase and Michele caught a glimpse of the wild ponies (they were shy that day) and saw a wide range of local birds. We also got our kayaks caught a couple of times in the oyster beds…we had no idea they stood vertically in the water, sharp side up!
In Durham and Asheville NC we had some respite from the heat (one night we actually had to dig out our sweatshirts…that was heaven!). Both cities are fun and seemingly thriving, with lots of art, food, beer, and other things we love.
Asheville’s River Arts District is really well done. It covers a lot of real estate, and offers a wide variety of media and galleries. Two regrets — we can’t buy any art right now (no place to put it!), and there are some really fun events coming up this fall (although, we might just swing back through Asheville on our way to Florida…).
Of course, you might expect us to extol the virtues of the many breweries we visited in Asheville, but the place that we enjoyed the most was NOT a brewery! One evening, on our way to check out Wicked Weed’s Funkatorium (the “East Coast’s first sour beer dedicated taproom”, heaven for Andrew) we stumbled across Chemist Spirits, a female-owned and operated distillery focused on gin (we love our serendipitous discoveries!). It was wonderfully designed to replicate an early 1900’s apothecary, as was Antidote, the fabulous cocktail bar next door. Did you know that during Prohibition, physicians could write prescriptions for alcohol? According to the folks at Antidote, “despite the rise of organized crime, the devastating influenza pandemic, and the perils of illegal bootlegging…apothecaries served as a beacon of light.” We’re not sure how true this really is, but Antidote was certainly a highlight of our time in Asheville!
