Early last Saturday morning Susan and I left Atlanta for a weekend getaway to the North Carolina mountains. We went to North Carolina to meet my brother Keith and his wife Diane. They purchased a lot at The Settings of Black Mountain in the summer and were traveling back there to attend the community's annual homeowners meeting. We were meeting up with them in small town of Black Mountain to see the sights after their meeting was over.
Susan, Keith, Diane, and I walked through the small town of Black Mountain. Keith and I checked out the new Black Mountain Running Company store while our wives were in the kitchen place next door. The running store had just opened a week ago and the two guys inside were still setting things up. They didn't have any shoes that would fit my wide hobbit feet. I've decided that I will not be wearing my New Balance 758's during the marathon run at Ironman Florida. They're just not wide enough in the toe box. They're 4E's.
 |
| Black Mountain Running Company |
Later on we went to Asheville to check out the downtown area. Asheville has a clean and trendy downtown with lots of cool shops and places to eat.
 |
| Keith and Diane in downtown Asheville, NC |
 |
| Susan and I in downtown Asheville, NC |
We found Pritchard Park which seems to be the hangout for young folks.
 |
| Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville, NC |
Later in the day we checked out Biltmore Village. We planned to eat dinner at the The Red Stag Grill in the Grand Bohemian Hotel. Well, that plan was nixed quickly. We had no reservation and we were under dressed. It looked a bit stuffy anyway. I expected to see the
housewives of Asheville at a corner table insulting each other, comparing their latest plastic surgeries, and their latest wildly successful business ventures. Really, it's a beautiful hotel but far too upscale for what we were looking for.
 |
| Susan and I in front of the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, NC |
We also didn't have a reservation at The Corner Kitchen, another well recommended Asheville restaurant. With no reservation on a busy Saturday night we decided to try Rezaz Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant located across the street from the Grand Bohemian Hotel. It was packed but we were lucky enough to get 4 seats in the bar area.
 |
| Rezaz Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant in Asheville, NC |
I had the hanger steak with frites in the image below. Though slightly washed out in the images below the food looked great and tasted good too. The menu is listed with items as "small" and "smaller" plates. The portions were not as small as we thought they would be. We ate very well and left completely stuffed. Of course, Keith and I had dessert too.
 |
| My hanger steak and Frites |
 |
| Susan's calamari |
 |
| Diane's mushroom pizza |
 |
| Keith's Salmon |
 |
| Keith's pumpkin cheesecake |
 |
| My pumpkin eclare with caramel frosting tastes better than it looks |
The clean highways around Asheville were devoid of almost all billboards and trash. What a refreshing sight!
 |
| The highway between Asheville and Black Mountain |
Keith and Diane took Susan and I on a tour of their community on Sunday. Starting from the gated entrance, we drove up the mountain along streets overlooking the town of
Black Mountain in the distance.
 |
| The entrance sign for The Settings of Black Mountain |
 |
| The entrance to The Settings of Black Mountain |
 |
| The clubhouse for The Settings of Black Mountain |
 |
| The view from The Settings of Black Mountain |
We missed the really pretty fall leaves by about a week. The storms during the prior week had knocked down much of the fall follage.
Thanks for reading.
