out of town coffee

So about a month ago Chachi (my brother) asked me to go to Asheville N.C. on the first weekend of November. I half-heartedly agreed, and forgot about it until sometime this past weekend when he reminded me of my agreement, and to be honest as much as have wanted to go to Asheville the trip was not one I was looking forward to because of the work load at Blackbird; but I went.

The ride up was gorgeous, once Chachi and I left the fifty mile radius that Chachi refuse to call unfamiliar because we've seen it so much we settled into the north Georgia foot hills, and a Chik-fil-A in Commerce, Ga.

Gobble gobble and get back on the road, and we cruising. An hour or so more and goodbye middle Georgia flats and "hills", hello 6:00pm sunset ( surrounded by mountains = awesome......and early dark). The colors on the trees lining the mountains were as vibrant as Martha Stewart's fall collection of towels....I would imagine, but it's a good image either way.

Finally, South Carolina. And freedom from all that is where I grew up. I love my home but I needed a break apparently, and as soon as I saw the the mountains, literally everywhere, I took in the deepest breath I could, closed my eyes, and laid back for a minute. Funny how little it actually takes to be pleased.

We arrived in decent time to Asheville, after only missing one turn- Chachi was driving, saw a Young Life sticker, and while waving missed the exit, hahaha- classic.

We stopped off at the visitor center for stickers, and met this older guy named Dan who gave us advice on where to, and where people our age go, but honestly I wanted to go have a beer with him and just let him tell stories; btw he knows where Milledgeville, Ga is, even better.

From there we wandered and found some of the coolest art galleries that I've ever seen. there was your traditional quilted stuff, and other added beauties, but then there were amazing things and indescribably astounding ingenious artwork. I grabbed a couple of business cards, and I'll post the links as soon as I fish them out of the bottom of my bag.

We then stopped at this cool bar which I regrettably have forgotten the name of but if you are ever here it's just down the street from The Asheville Civic Center. Next, more wandering time, found a couple coffee shops most of which I thought we a little less than Blackbird, but not in a snobby way, although maybe just a little biased. Then we found this really awesome Tobacco/ Head shop,that's not what it was called but lets just say you don't need Einstein to figure that out sometime, and let's all be honest, even if you don't partake in either of the options in these places they intrigue you; therefore gaining a mention in this blog. After that we went To Brandon Murphy's house and and chilled for quite a bit just catching up with a friend and checking his new house.

After unloading and decompressing we headed to dinner at this killer burrito shop that Barberitos and and Moe's should be glad has no existence in Georgia, they wouldn't stand a chance. Then on to a tavern, a few beers, long conversations with random strangers, then back home for the evening.

Meant to get up for church, but didn't make it. I love going to church out of town, for some reason it works for me, except for this Sunday I guess. So, instead we headed back to town. Last night the kindly drunken strangers told of the local land of milk and honey, at least that's what I think Chachi and B-muprh heard when the guy said something about Chaco's on sale for $32, and there's a brand new two-story R.E.I. here. I opted to be left in the city to wander.... ;)

First stop was this really cool bus+ coffee shop place dbldecker.com. What a great idea. Please go to the website and check it out if you are ever in Asheville. Since it was my first caffeine fix for the day, I just ordered a cup of coffee black, it was Yirgacheffe Ethiopia Organic Shade Grown. it wasn't stellar but it was perfect for the moment and to be honest it went wonderfully with the morning's Bali Shag. Hung out here for a while and read a bit then headed on down the street to where I am now, writing this.

The Green Sage. Yet again, you wanna check this out. Friendly staff, delicious coffee, good foods and very "green" for more than trendy reasons. Baristas know what they are doing and if you bring something up they don't know about they are eager to learn (experienced that :P !!!!!). Live music some nights and a clean environment. I got here about an hour ago and started with a Double Cubano Macchiato. The girl behind the counter didn't know what it was but the barista di and she showed it! There was no artwork to, simply perfection. Their espresso finished so well and the raw sugar didn't overtake the flavor. She put the perfect sized dollop of foam on top perfectly marking the drink, and adding just a hint of sweetened lactose: love at first sip. Now I'm off to wander.

ciao- Chris