Did I mention we got to go to Asheville, NC over Halloween weekend? Oh, I did already? Well I’ll mention it again because I really think Asheville is one of the happiest places on earth! BC we used to go fairly regularly. We would go to see live music shows in small clubs, eat wayyyyyy too much tasty food, walk around, snuggle in cabins, eat more food, buy tasty baked goods to take home and drink too much coffee. It’s just so darn pretty and the people are just so darn nice. AC, it’s become a bit more difficult to enjoy. Our kids are really more the, take me to Chuckee-Cheese or McDonald’s playland sort of rowdy bunch then the sit quietly in the adult restaurant while Mother and Father commence to fine dining. We do bring along what we fondly refer to as the “Fog Machine” though and let them zone out to Dora and Word Girl videos while they eat whatever they can identify as the Happy Meal equivilant from the menu. Hey- it’s an indulgence for all of us I guess.

We did manage to find some happy mediums this time though. The cabins we stay in are perfect for little people because the neighbors aren’t on the other side of the wall. The laid-back attitude of most of the employees we seem to run into also helps to make things easier. That drink in the last photo….well it was concocted by my new favorite waiter at the Lexington Avenue Brewery there. Seeing that Zuzu wasn’t tickled about the selection of juices offered he kindly suggested that she could have “The Zuzu” and went on to describe a blend of juices that ended with a cherry splash creating a pink ambience! Well he didn’t describe it quite that…um.. descriptively. But he did call it The Zuzu and made a fuss over how she would be the only person in the restaurant with it.

We also found a wave of new coffee shops that weren’t there the last time we ventured up! And I’ve decided a latte is a perfect stroller fare for a park trip. Mostly because the foam keeps the hot coffee from sloshing out over the rim and onto the baby below!

It was a happy trip for the most part. The girls while excited to be there were a little less then thrilled to not be headed home to their beds each night. The Quail also decided that weekend was prime time to perfect her pulling up skills. Each night after I laid her down to sleep in her pack-n-play I would lay down next to it and then see one pudgy little hand wrangle the rim, then the next and a little wobbly head slowly rise up over the edge. Even when I tried to keep a straight face and closed eyes I couldn’t when she would then start  giggling at her triumph.

It was a quick trip, but I figure better to leave wanting to come back then to overstay your welcome. We didn’t manage to make it to a number of our favorite restaurants. But we did try a few new ones and figured out that arriving on a friday night means a good plan includes ordering take out from one of said favorite restaurants and eating it snuggled in your cabin.