Chad and I spent a long weekend in western North Carolina this past weekend, visiting both Brevard and Asheville. It’s been 30 years this year (!) since we met at Brevard College, and we thought it’d be nice to take a trip down memory lane.
It was surreal walking across the campus again where, surprisingly, some things hadn’t changed. While there were new buildings that weren’t there before, the already-old buildings we lived and studied in, when we were teens, were frozen in time.
What had changed was us.
While I couldn’t help but notice we looked a smidge different (ahem) than we did back then, it was a much wiser version of us breathing in the mountain air. I said the words “meeting you here changed my life” to Chad, at one point, and I was once again so grateful for my husband.
In Brevard, Chad also noticed the air pressure in one of his tires was slowly dropping. He parked to check the tire and, sure enough, it had a nail in it. It worked out perfectly, though. We were just down the street from a repair shop and we dropped the car off while we grabbed a bite to eat.
After Brevard we made our way to Asheville, where we stayed at the Biltmore Village Inn. I could write pages about the beautiful bed & breakfast, where the food was scrumptious and the hospitality was incredibly warm. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to treat themselves to the most comfortable stay. (The fuchsia flowers, in the photo, were planted in pots on the front steps of the Inn.)
Another highlight of the weekend was visiting The North Carolina Arboretum.
I had been feeling overdue for a stroll through a botanical garden, as doing so lights me up like nothing else. I only knew of the Arboretum through a quick google search, so I had no expectations going in. But when we left, my creative cup was filled to overflowing.
Last but not least, we enjoyed dinner, one night, at the historic Grove Park Inn. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit and wasn’t disappointed at its beautiful structure, landscaping, and mountain views.
As incredible as the design was in each of these places, it’s really the simple things that make life beautiful, right? A walk in the sunshine. The colors of a flower. A delicious bite of food. Learning something new. Authentic connection with others.
We don’t have to go far to enjoy these gifts each day. We only need to slow down…and notice what, and who, is around us.
