Trip to NC

Most years we get back to Raleigh in the fall to visit with friends and family and catch an NC State football game.  This year we changed things up a bit with a shorter stay in Raleigh followed by a trip to Asheville.  While Asheville was great, it meant that we didn't get to spend as much time with friends.

The weather forecasting experts predicted one day with some drizzle followed by a series of spectacular days with highs around 70.  Morons.  It rained on and off the entire time we were in Raleigh.  No huge thunderstorms, but cloudy and drizzly for five days.  Do weathermen really get paid or do they just solicit forecasts from people walking by on the city streets?

NC State's football team has a new coach and he hasn't had an opportunity to recruit yet.  Given that the last coach got fired for poor recruiting, the new guy doesn't have much to work with.  Still, losing to Syracuse by two touchdowns was UGLY.  Both teams looked terrible.  To prove that point, unranked Georgia Tech beat Syracuse yesterday, 56-0.  Syracuse sucks, but State sucked worse, and at home. And as you might expect at this point, it rained on and off during the game.

We did get to hang out or dine with some collection of family and friends, but there is never enough time.  Darrel, Jason and Steig were all kind enough to take off a day of work so we could play a round of golf.  I can't figure out why I keep trying golf.  It's hopeless. Great to hang out with them for a few hours though.

Asheville was the new piece of the annual adventure.  Before Park City, we had Asheville at the top of the list of where to go after Raleigh.  We wanted to explore a bit and see if it should be at the top of our list for after Park City.

We rented a condo downtown to see what it would be like living in the middle of all the action.  I think we agree that it is great to visit, but we both prefer more of a neighborhood and a lot more quiet.  We quickly got to "be close to town, but not in town".   Asheville has an astounding number of good restaurants and they are reasonably priced.  That makes it hard for those of us trying to lose some weight.  At least with a condo, we were starting each day with a nice healthy breakfast at home instead of going out.

The area around Asheville is gorgeous, with rolling mountains in all directions and lots of beautiful streams and rivers.  Still not sure if or when we might live there, but it was nice enough that we plan to go back and visit it again sometime soon.