Author – Grant
From – Asheville, North Carolina
To – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Miles Driven – 220
Today’s Photos - Not many today as the camera wasn't charged. Oops. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157611959649760/
I was emotionally torn when saying goodbye to our Christmas home in Asheville on the morning of Day 56. On one hand I was sad to see the back of such a beautiful cottage in the middle of heaven where life as so easy and Molly had fallen in love. On the other hand, one of the local dogs had taken our garbage and spread it over half an acre (for the third day in a row) and I’m getting bored of clearing it up. It doesn’t seem to matter what precautionary security measure I take with the rubbish, one of the hounds still manages to unlock it and make modern art with it which is pretty impressive for an animal that is supposedly lacking in opposable thumbs.
The drive from Asheville to Chapel Hill was fairly unremarkable although we were blessed with yet another sharp day with blue skies and blinding sunshine which made the four hour drive fly by for me although not so much for the passenger. If you’ve joined us throughout this journey then you’ll know we’ve been experimenting with various in-car entertainment choices including audio books, religious radio sermons and comedy podcasts in addition to the obvious music. Today we popped in one of Kate’s Christmas presents which was the soundtrack from the show Avenue Q. If you haven’t seen or heard of it then think of Jim Henderson’s Muppets if they had gone off the rails and were currently in rehab. It’s the funniest thing I have ever seen on stage (i.e. it’s the perfect blend of childish and vulgar) and each song is a masterpiece. The only danger is leaving the car, standing in line for a sandwich and realizing that you are still singing politically incorrect lyrics from “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” or “The Internet is For Porn” under your breath. Funny but dangerous.
Our hotel in Chapel Hill is a classic example of “the internet pictures look nicer than reality”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad place. In fact, I’d go as far to say that it’s pretty good but the web pictures didn’t indicate just how much faux Italian crap there was going to be. The theme is supposed to be Tuscan but it is about a subtle as being punched in the face by a Tuscan native eating a Tuscan sandwich whilst someone tattoos
the word Tuscan in mirror writing on your eyeballs. Still, our room is huge, the staff are super friendly and all the furniture smells of rosemary and is edible. OK, the last bit is a lie. Since we’ve been in North Carolina we’ve noticed just how ridiculously friendly everyone is. It’s a bit of a culture shock at first when you’re so used to surly staff further north and it’s taking some getting used to. I’m just learning that before ordering something here, it’s the culture to have an actual conversation first. For example, in New York when ordering a coffee the conversation goes “Hi. One coffee please. Milk, No Sugar”. Even there I have used at least one word too many (namely “please”) but I am an English gentleman and hence I am naturally polite. Here in NC, the conversation is more like “Hi”, “Hi, how are you?”, “I’m fine thanks, how are you?”, “Well I’m doing just great thanks. Now that funny accent tells me you’re not from around here so what brings you to these here parts?”, “Well actually we’re passing through as we’re doing a road trip….blah, blah, blah” Now this conversation can go on for several minutes when all that is running through my head is “give me my coffee or I’ll rip your head off” and it’s not that I’m bored of explaining our situation, it’s just that I’m used to getting things quicker. I’m sure I’ll relax more then longer we spend down here.
Tomorrow night is New Years Eve upon which it is customary for all adults around the world to get obliterated. We have wisely declined to join in the hotel’s 20’s theme party (that’s the 1920’s meaning flappers etc rather than 20 year olds meaning slappers etc) and have opted instead to trawl some of the local bars to get a better taste of Chapel Hill. As such, our bell boy Bradley (notable by his filthy suit with shiny elbows) had made us up a map of local bars. As such, we spent the afternoon wander
ing round the tiny quaint town working out what was on offer. It so happens that town is a two mile uphill walk from our hotel so what better way to celebrate our arrival than with a massive ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. This was another first for us and I thought it was just another naff chain in the same vein as Dairy Queen. How wrong I was. Kate’s Apple Pie ice cream (vanilla ice cream, Graham Cracker, Apple Pie filling…all mixed up in front of your face by hand on an iced board) was probably the nicest ice cream I have ever tasted. I realise that’s quite a bold statement but as I sit here typing this I am tempted to grab the car keys and go get another.
Dinner was in the hotel’s AAA (although I’m not sure how many A’s is good), 4 Diamond (although I’m not sure how many Dia
monds is good or what the Diamond to A exchange rate is) Tuscan (shocker) restaurant called Il Palio which I liked the look of because the head chef is seriously fat. Beyond my fat and venturing into the “surely your knees hurt” fat. Unsurprisingly, the food is richer than Donald Trump but it’s also pretty darn good. We had a really citrusy squid, crawfish & shrimp cerviche, a horrible looking yet beautifully tasking liquidy, grey chicken liver pate, a super rich wholeweat parpadelle bolognese, grass-fed angus NY strip and a chicken risotto. Where it let itself down a bit for us was, in-keeping with the attached hotel, it was all a bit too themed and traditional. From the 3D horse painting looming over us to the oil station to the waistcoated waiters all just screamed old-school circa 1980s as it was just needlessly formal and the kind of place where you are expecting a tableside Crepe Suzette for dessert…but, unfortunately, they didn’t. Still, the place was full on a Tuesday night (admittedly with an older clientele) so there is clearly a niche for this kind of thing. There was a table containing three generations of family celebrating Grandma’s birthday and this was probably the perfect venue for that but I’m not sure who else they will attract. Anyway, post-dinner comedy highlight was Kate’s inspection of the intricate gingerbread house of the hotel that is on display in the lobby which she managed to smack one of the hand-crafted characters off. Two beers…just two beers.
Tomorrow brings more Chapel Hill explorations, investing the possibility of getting tickets to see some college basketball and the annual drink till you can’t drink any more then have a few shorts party. Lovely.
From – Asheville, North Carolina
To – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Miles Driven – 220
Today’s Photos - Not many today as the camera wasn't charged. Oops. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157611959649760/
I was emotionally torn when saying goodbye to our Christmas home in Asheville on the morning of Day 56. On one hand I was sad to see the back of such a beautiful cottage in the middle of heaven where life as so easy and Molly had fallen in love. On the other hand, one of the local dogs had taken our garbage and spread it over half an acre (for the third day in a row) and I’m getting bored of clearing it up. It doesn’t seem to matter what precautionary security measure I take with the rubbish, one of the hounds still manages to unlock it and make modern art with it which is pretty impressive for an animal that is supposedly lacking in opposable thumbs.
The drive from Asheville to Chapel Hill was fairly unremarkable although we were blessed with yet another sharp day with blue skies and blinding sunshine which made the four hour drive fly by for me although not so much for the passenger. If you’ve joined us throughout this journey then you’ll know we’ve been experimenting with various in-car entertainment choices including audio books, religious radio sermons and comedy podcasts in addition to the obvious music. Today we popped in one of Kate’s Christmas presents which was the soundtrack from the show Avenue Q. If you haven’t seen or heard of it then think of Jim Henderson’s Muppets if they had gone off the rails and were currently in rehab. It’s the funniest thing I have ever seen on stage (i.e. it’s the perfect blend of childish and vulgar) and each song is a masterpiece. The only danger is leaving the car, standing in line for a sandwich and realizing that you are still singing politically incorrect lyrics from “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” or “The Internet is For Porn” under your breath. Funny but dangerous.
Our hotel in Chapel Hill is a classic example of “the internet pictures look nicer than reality”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad place. In fact, I’d go as far to say that it’s pretty good but the web pictures didn’t indicate just how much faux Italian crap there was going to be. The theme is supposed to be Tuscan but it is about a subtle as being punched in the face by a Tuscan native eating a Tuscan sandwich whilst someone tattoos
the word Tuscan in mirror writing on your eyeballs. Still, our room is huge, the staff are super friendly and all the furniture smells of rosemary and is edible. OK, the last bit is a lie. Since we’ve been in North Carolina we’ve noticed just how ridiculously friendly everyone is. It’s a bit of a culture shock at first when you’re so used to surly staff further north and it’s taking some getting used to. I’m just learning that before ordering something here, it’s the culture to have an actual conversation first. For example, in New York when ordering a coffee the conversation goes “Hi. One coffee please. Milk, No Sugar”. Even there I have used at least one word too many (namely “please”) but I am an English gentleman and hence I am naturally polite. Here in NC, the conversation is more like “Hi”, “Hi, how are you?”, “I’m fine thanks, how are you?”, “Well I’m doing just great thanks. Now that funny accent tells me you’re not from around here so what brings you to these here parts?”, “Well actually we’re passing through as we’re doing a road trip….blah, blah, blah” Now this conversation can go on for several minutes when all that is running through my head is “give me my coffee or I’ll rip your head off” and it’s not that I’m bored of explaining our situation, it’s just that I’m used to getting things quicker. I’m sure I’ll relax more then longer we spend down here.Tomorrow night is New Years Eve upon which it is customary for all adults around the world to get obliterated. We have wisely declined to join in the hotel’s 20’s theme party (that’s the 1920’s meaning flappers etc rather than 20 year olds meaning slappers etc) and have opted instead to trawl some of the local bars to get a better taste of Chapel Hill. As such, our bell boy Bradley (notable by his filthy suit with shiny elbows) had made us up a map of local bars. As such, we spent the afternoon wander
ing round the tiny quaint town working out what was on offer. It so happens that town is a two mile uphill walk from our hotel so what better way to celebrate our arrival than with a massive ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. This was another first for us and I thought it was just another naff chain in the same vein as Dairy Queen. How wrong I was. Kate’s Apple Pie ice cream (vanilla ice cream, Graham Cracker, Apple Pie filling…all mixed up in front of your face by hand on an iced board) was probably the nicest ice cream I have ever tasted. I realise that’s quite a bold statement but as I sit here typing this I am tempted to grab the car keys and go get another.Dinner was in the hotel’s AAA (although I’m not sure how many A’s is good), 4 Diamond (although I’m not sure how many Dia
monds is good or what the Diamond to A exchange rate is) Tuscan (shocker) restaurant called Il Palio which I liked the look of because the head chef is seriously fat. Beyond my fat and venturing into the “surely your knees hurt” fat. Unsurprisingly, the food is richer than Donald Trump but it’s also pretty darn good. We had a really citrusy squid, crawfish & shrimp cerviche, a horrible looking yet beautifully tasking liquidy, grey chicken liver pate, a super rich wholeweat parpadelle bolognese, grass-fed angus NY strip and a chicken risotto. Where it let itself down a bit for us was, in-keeping with the attached hotel, it was all a bit too themed and traditional. From the 3D horse painting looming over us to the oil station to the waistcoated waiters all just screamed old-school circa 1980s as it was just needlessly formal and the kind of place where you are expecting a tableside Crepe Suzette for dessert…but, unfortunately, they didn’t. Still, the place was full on a Tuesday night (admittedly with an older clientele) so there is clearly a niche for this kind of thing. There was a table containing three generations of family celebrating Grandma’s birthday and this was probably the perfect venue for that but I’m not sure who else they will attract. Anyway, post-dinner comedy highlight was Kate’s inspection of the intricate gingerbread house of the hotel that is on display in the lobby which she managed to smack one of the hand-crafted characters off. Two beers…just two beers.Tomorrow brings more Chapel Hill explorations, investing the possibility of getting tickets to see some college basketball and the annual drink till you can’t drink any more then have a few shorts party. Lovely.
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