As we were deciding where to go on our 2017 traveling
sisters adventure, we received word that our brother Jon was retiring in
June. His family was having a party for
him on 5/18 so we decided it would be the perfect time to see family and get
together for our sister’s adventure too.
So, where to go was the next question.
Since the retirement party was in Augusta GA, it made sense to fly into
Atlanta, take a little side trip, then back to Augusta for the retirement gala.
With a little planning, we decided to go to
Ashville, NC, which is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 3 1/2 hrs from
Atlanta. We planned to stay 5 nights in
Asheville, then drive to Augusta (about the same distance), and spend 3 nights.
Carol and I flew in to Atlanta Saturday May 13th,
arriving about 3:30 or so. We got a bite
to eat at the airport, then went to get our rental car. By the time we had eaten and got the car
Ruth’s flight was arriving. We picked
her up about 6 then got on the road for our drive to Asheville. The weather was beautiful and it was an easy
drive. We stopped for dinner at Toss Pizza Pub in
Greenville, SC, about an hour and ½ before Asheville. Pizza and salad hit the spot,
and enjoyed the fun atmosphere.
We stopped at a grocery store shortly before we
arrived at our Airbnb, The Red Gate Cottage about 10pm. It was nice and cozy with a country feel.
There were 3 bedrooms and two baths which was nice for the three of us. The
beds were comfortable and had beautiful quilts. We had a little trouble with
the TV the first night, but after speaking with the owner the next day we
realized that the remote was programmed a little different than we were used
to. Once we figured that out we could
watch a movie one of the evenings.
Sunday morning we had yogurt, fruit and granola,
then headed out for the day. Our first
stop was the Asheville Visitor’s Center where we got some ideas for the few
days we were staying in town. At the
visitor’s center, we bought tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off tour bus. We had done the same type of tour on several
other adventures and we all felt it was a great way to get to see the different
areas in town. We had a fun driver who
gave us all the history of Asheville and pointed out different historical
locations. After the 1 ½ tour we headed
to the Haywood district and had lunch at Isa’s Bistro. After lunch and a little shopping, we headed
home, stopping at Trader Joe’s on the way.
We bought sweet and sour chicken and rice which we cooked at the house
and watched a movie.
Monday we went to the Biltmore Estate. What a beautiful building with lots of
history. In addition to our regular
tickets we purchased a special tour called the upstairs / downstairs tour which
gave insight into the maids and servants quarters and different workspaces. We also took time to visit some of the
gardens on the estate, although the day was hot so we didn’t see as much as we
could have. We had a bite to eat between
tours and overall we spent about 6 hrs at the estate. Later that evening we went to Zambra, a Tapas
restaurant. We ordered several small
plates including olives, cheese, pork spring rolls, and hanger steak. We enjoyed them all.
On Tuesday we decided to take a drive through the
beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We drove
to Weaverville which was the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway and a short
distance from where we were staying. We
had a bite to eat and coffee at the Well Bred Café before heading up the mountain. We stopped at Three Knobs Overlook (elevation
3875) then went on to Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center. On our way back we stopped for lunch at 12 Bones Smokehouse BBQ. You can't leave town without having BBQ. This place was said to be Obama's favorite and in my opinion it was great! Then we headed back to the house for a restful evening. We ordered pizza from Vinnie’s which was a local restaurant and
was very good.
Wednesday we all had spa appointments at the Omni GroveHotel and Spa. Because we had
appointments we also had day use so we took advantage of that by going over to
the spa around 11:00. We took a tour of
the different pools, indoor and out and ordered lunch by the outdoor pool. The weather was hot but the water was nice
and we were able to get a table with shade.
Ruth and Carol both had facials and I had a pedicure which was so
relaxing and included a paraffin treatment, warm neck compress, a mimosa and
chocolates. Not much like my local
pedicure (however also nowhere near the cost of my local shop!) I was done before them so I was able to rest
and catch up on reading with my iPad.
After their treatments we went over to the Hotel area and had drinks on
the terrace before heading to dinner to Avenue M. 
Thursday we left the house about 10 and went to the
Corner Kitchen which was in town in the Biltmore Village shopping area. Biltmore Village is a series of houses that
originally were for the staff of the Biltmore Estate. They have since turned the houses into retail
shops including Talbots, Chico's, White House Black Market, etc. Before we left the area we stopped for coffee at the Well
Bred Café (Carol was hoping they had the coconut cake that she hadn’t purchased
at the same café in Weaverville, but wished she had – they didn’t…). Then, we were on the road to Augusta, about a
3.5 hour drive.
Once we reached Augusta, we found the condo we were
renting through AirBNB. It was in the
downtown area which we found to be quite a depressed area. The condo was nice
and clean and had a vintage décor with a mix of reds, oriental motif as well as
a bright yellow kitchen and pink bathroom (floor, tile and tub). We had two bedrooms, one with a king bed and
the other with a queen where I stayed.
After getting settled we headed to dinner across from the Savannah River
at the Whiskey Bar Kitchen. We were
surprised to see how much of the area was abandoned/closed businesses with
sporadic restaurants or other businesses.
Dinner was good and the menu included hamburgers and salads. My hamburger was great!
In the morning we had made arrangements with Dave to
drive about 45 minutes up to see Hannah who was not going to be able to make it
to Augusta for Jon’s retirement party due to the imminent arrival of her twin
boys (Miles and Asher, born 2 weeks later on 6/1). It was great to see Hannah and to meet Elle
(20 months). Jonathan (Hannah’s hubby)
came home for lunch so we had a few minutes to visit with him too while we ate
sandwiches. Elle was due for her nap
after Daddy left and I’m sure Hannah was ready to lay down too so we bid
farewell with well wishes for the upcoming birth.
We went back to the house to freshen up for Jon’s
retirement event which was held at the Savannah Rapids Park Pavilion. It was great to see family and to see all
Jon’s patients come out and wish him well.
We spoke with a few and they all had such kind words and that they would
really miss him. We noted that most were
middle aged and older and when we talked to Jon he said that he aged right
alongside his patients the last 36 years, and though he did have some younger
the majority were older. There were
plenty of appetizers and desserts, and tables with mementoes and photos. There was even a proclamation from the mayor
proclaiming June 30th “Dr. Jonathan Reimer Day” in Augusta. It was good to see the respect and love for
him. We left without having much time to talk to him, however
we knew we would have time the next day.
On our way home we stopped at a baby store and bought a gift card for
Hannah and Jonathan for the twins and a book for Elle. We got it ready to give to Hannah’s mom Cindy
when we saw her the next day. That
evening we finished up the pizza that we had left over from Vinnies the other
night.
Saturday morning we met up with Cindy Reimer (Dave’s ex)
for breakfast and coffee at the Inner Bean Coffee Shop. It was good to talk with her and catch up on
things in her life. She is looking forward to helping Hannah with the twins and
Elle in a couple weeks. After spending
time with her we went over to Jon’s house.
Tim, Julie and the kids and Ben, Jeanine and their kids were there as
well as Dave. Cindy came also and our nephew Josh. Josh’s wife Tiffany was helping a friend with
a wedding so was unable to attend. The
kids were enjoying the nice weather and swimming in the pool. Tim and Ben did a “low country boil” which
consisted of crawdads, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob and lots of
spices. They cooked it outside in a big
pot then strained it and poured it on newspapers on the counter. Everyone dished up what they wanted – yum! There was lots of food left from the night
before so we had salads, chips and an assortment of desserts. After stuffing ourselves we visited with Jon
for quite a while before heading back to our place. On the way we decided to stop at Giuseppe’s
for pizza and salad (beginning to see a pizza trend here J )
Sunday it was time to head to the airport for our
flights. We stopped at a local Starbucks
then were on the highway heading toward Atlanta, about a 2.5 hour drive from
Augusta. We reflected on our 8 day trip and started thinking about next
year. Where to go… we all thought it
would be fun to go to New Orleans or Branson… we can have some sister time and
then invite the guys to join us. We have
more planning to do!
