Nothing like a little bestie time.

This past weekend, I went to Asheville, NC to visit my dear friend T.  She and I have been friends since our Junior year of high school, and she is the type of friend that no matter what, and no matter how much time has gone by, I know I can count on her and she can count on me.  In true fashion, we picked up exactly where we last left off. 

Thursday night, we went to "Thirsty Thursday's" at the Asheville Tourists' (minor league baseball team) game.  It seemed like every young person in town was there enjoying the $1 beers and each other's company.  Hardly anyone watched the game (or even left the concession area) which made me a little uncomfortable so I kept asking people what the score was.  I don't know why it bothered me so much, and due to my incessant asking, people assumed I was this die-hard baseball fan.  T and I decided to go watch a little bit from the steps (probably so I would just shut up about it), but were told by the ushers to "move it along ladies".  Given the option to commit to a seat or go back to the $1 beers, we made the only sensible choice, and I still have no idea who won or what the score was.

T has two adorable cats, Walt and Royce, and Royce and I quickly fell in love.  Here we are having a little cuddle session.  

We traveled into the mountains to a town called Cherokee where the main attractions are the casino and Santa's Land (a little theme park and zoo).  There were signs for Santa's Land EVERYWHERE and when we used the parking lot to turn around we saw that it is really small.  It also had this creepy sign out front.

Then we went to a little river area where people can raft and kayak.  Although we were in our "activity outfits", we were not water-ready, so decided to have a drink and people watch.  There were all types at this place.  It truly is a little kayak community where all of the regulars knew each other and worked on refining their tricks.  One guy was on a stand up paddle board braving the rapids, which got everyone's attention.  Someone is the popular guy at the river!

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway for part of the trip back which was very pretty, but also very long!  Our patience was wearing thin and then we almost cried when we saw a sign that said Asheville 30 miles and realized we had only gone about 15 miles in over an hour.  The roads are so twisty and turny that you can't go very fast.  There are very few entrances on to the parkway and so we took the next one we found thinking it would be faster to get home.  This was probably not a great plan.  The road we ended up on was so steep and twisty, it was a little nerve-racking.  (We are flat-land girls from Florida...this is all new to us!)  After thinking we were lost several times, we finally found a familiar road and high tailed it back to T's house. 

That night we went to the Mellow Mushroom for pizza and had the BEST Hawaiian pizza I have ever had.  Actually, possibly the best pizza I have ever had period.  I ate way too much but don't regret a bite because it was just that good! 

We headed toward the airport early the next day so we could do a little shopping in Greenville, SC before I had to go.  Using the trusty Google Maps GPS on our phones (which got us in the mess we were in the day before), we got a great tour of the city while taking the least convenient way to the mall.  Google Maps needs to get their head in the game.

It was a great time though filled with reminiscing, serious talks, and lots of laughter.