My family rented a cottage in Banner Elk, NC for christmas. Made a trip over to Ashville and was pleasantly surprised. This is defiantly my kind of city: urban, mountainous, liberal, beautiful and very vegetarian friendly.
Population: 72,231
MSA: 369,171
These photos do neither the city nor the region any justice but I hope you enjoy:
A couple extras
The front view from the cottage:
back view:
Grandfather mtn: (they say you can sometimes see the Charlotte skyline from here but I had no luck.
Those are great cities. Asheville always seemed like a western city tucked in the south. Anyone else feel that way? It has a western feel. Maybe its the mountains.
Location: Greenville, SC - "Birthplace of the light switch rave"
Posts: 13,444
What a pleasant surprise! I recall someone posting a Christmas tourist thread last year, and working at a hotel it seems our holiday tourism has been on a big upswing.
I'm glad you had a good time while you were here, sfmob. Thanks for the pictures!
__________________ "To sustain the life of a large, modern city in this cloying, clinging heat is an amazing achievement. It is no wonder that the white men and women in Greenville walk with a slow, dragging pride, as if they had taken up a challenge and intended to defy it without end." -- Rebecca West for The New Yorker, 1947
Wonderful set of pics sfmob. I found Asheville to be a surprise myself. Hard to believe a liberal, urban, and quirky smaller city is tucked away in the mountains like that. Maybe I like it because it reminds me of a bigger Ithaca. Whatever the case, thanks for sharing your trip with us.
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Get off my lawn you whippersnappers!!!!!
One of the most remarkable things about Asheville is that it manages to pull off the funky, liberal, bohemian vibe normally reserved for college towns, without really being a college town itself. There is a minor state school (UNC-Asheville) with an enrollment of about 3,000 students, though it's not walking distance from downtown. Today's UNCA was just an insignificant junior college run by the county until the 1960s, so given the school's relatively short history and small size, it has never played a major role in shaping the city's policies.
There are also a few even smaller private schools (Warren Wilson, Montreat, Mars Hill) less than an hour drive away, but these schools are even less influential.
So, while lots of people refer to Asheville as a "college town" it's really not!
Location: Greenville, SC - "Birthplace of the light switch rave"
Posts: 13,444
Quote:
Originally Posted by moniker
I was in Asheville for the holiday too, and I love it. Anyone know what happened to the thread of historical images of Ashevill that was up before?
Most of those pics are in the Cities in the Late 1800's, Early 1900's thread. First page.
__________________ "To sustain the life of a large, modern city in this cloying, clinging heat is an amazing achievement. It is no wonder that the white men and women in Greenville walk with a slow, dragging pride, as if they had taken up a challenge and intended to defy it without end." -- Rebecca West for The New Yorker, 1947
Asheville looks like an interesting place, definitely somewhere I'd like to see someday. It always looks so beautiful and the architecture is one of a kind.
Also the idea that you could see Charlotte from there, which is 100 miles away is incredible.
Location: Greenville, SC - "Birthplace of the light switch rave"
Posts: 13,444
Here's that pic of Charlotte from the top of Grandfather Mountain, which, according to the Grandfather Mountain website is about 67 miles from Asheville and 113 miles from Charlotte.
__________________ "To sustain the life of a large, modern city in this cloying, clinging heat is an amazing achievement. It is no wonder that the white men and women in Greenville walk with a slow, dragging pride, as if they had taken up a challenge and intended to defy it without end." -- Rebecca West for The New Yorker, 1947
great pics, especially of the church (St. Peter's i think.) i need to swing by there before i move out west, hopefully next week if weather cooperates.
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"The vapors! The fainting couch! Those heartless elitists are burning down the plantation with their logic and arithmetic!"
Here's that pic of Charlotte from the top of Grandfather Mountain, which, according to the Grandfather Mountain website is about 67 miles from Asheville and 113 miles from Charlotte.
That is amazing.
__________________
Get off my lawn you whippersnappers!!!!!
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