Amazing Asheville, North Carolina

Tyler and I love to travel with the kids and friends, but it had been years since we went anywhere just the two of us and we so desperately needed to!  The past almost two years of dealing with Covid made the need for a weekend hubby trip even greater!  Tyler won a trip through his work for donating to a charity event so that was our sign that we had to go, plus this summer was our 15 year anniversary so we had a good reason to celebrate!  SO off to Asheville, North Carolina we went!  I had been eyeing Asheville for awhile and pinning away on pinterest.  It seemed right up our alley with good food, amazing breweries and cocktail bars and great hiking!  And holy moly, it did not dissappoint.  We had the BEST weekend!  We definitely want to visit again with the kids!

We hit up the brewery scene as soon as we arrived!  They were all great but my favorites were Burial, Green Man and Catawaba.   We also went to Urban Orchard Cider, Wicked Weed, Rabbit Rabbit, as well as a few cocktail bars.  Sovereign Remedy had the best cocktails and reminded us so much of bars in Portland, Maine.  Needless to say, we had a fun day exploring downtown Asheville!  We ended the evening with a much needed big dinner at the Lobster Trap!

Couldn't resist taking a picture at Boomers. We felt right at home!  Boomer Sooner!

We started our first full day off with breakfast at Honey Tulepo.  We had to fuel up before a full day of hiking the Great Smokey Mountains.  The drive down the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway was absolutely breathtaking.   

Tyler rocked this "tiny" car!  

The Smokey Mountains were stunning!  The dense trees and endless rolling mountains were so vast!  It was a kind of beautiful I've never seen before!  I was in awe of the beauty the entire time!

We hiked the Art Loeb/Black Blasm Knob trail and we were blown away with the beauty.  We hiked for hours without seeing another person.  It was the most peaceful and serene hike I've ever done!  I could have hiked here for days!

We realized quickly why the mountains are called the Great Smokey Mountains.  It would be sunny and the next minute a hazy "smoke" would roll in.

We definitely earned a few beers at New Belgium Brewery and tacos at White Duck Tacos after hiking!  We finished the evening with dinner at Vinnies Italian, which was fabulous and 100% worth the wait!

This breakfast sandwich was bomb!  I would highly recommend Tiger Cafe to anyone visiting!

Next up, we toured the Biltmore Estate!  This came highly recommended from friends but honestly I wasn't sure if this would be something Tyler and I would enjoy!  But boy was I wrong!  The Biltmore Estate is SO impressive and definitely a must see!

It was a self guided audio tour listening through these "Zac Morris" phones.  

Definitely can't imagine eating every meal in a grand dining room like this!

We ended our weekend getaway with drinks on the sunset terrace of the Omni Grove Park Inn hotel.  The most amazing patio views ever!  I'm still dreaming of sipping my wine on this patio!

Asheville you were just the weekend getaway we needed!  Can't wait to visit again!