Asheville!

So I am in love with Asheville. It's such a beautiful place with TONS to do! John had to go for work a few weeks ago and I got to go with him!

Originally, I was going to work remotely but we worked the entire weekend before for our big Admin training weekend and so I took Thursday and Friday off and just enjoyed some down time. 

We drove up on a Thursday and were there through Sunday.Thursday we got up early enough so we could make it to Asheville for lunch. The drive wasnt too bad! and the mountains are so pretty. Once we got to Asheville, we stopped by the Grove Park Inn. John has a program there in June, so he wanted to set up a meeting with AV guy there to get his bearings and know what to expect. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! I cant wait to stay there in June! We ended up touring the place and decided to have lunch at the Spa. The food was bird food. lol. but it was good bird food. And honestly, it was really refreshing and we didnt feel too full afterwards. We had spring rolls- not fried and a panini. the panini was DELICIOUS. I was afraid that when we got home from our trip there would be a panini press waiting for us since John liked it so much. There wasnt. I'm only slightly disappointed. lol 

The front of the hotel

The Spa

 The backside

 The view

 I'm a beach girl, but boy these mountains sure are breathtaking

After the Grove Park Inn, we headed to our hotel to check in. We were staying downtown in the Renaissance. It was also really nice. And in walking distance to everything. I'm actually kinda sad we are not staying there in June since it's so convenient to everything, but when do you get to stay at the Grove Park Inn for free? I really cant complain. lol

The view from our room. The cars are not awesome, but the mountains are :D

When we got to the Renaissance, John had to spend some time setting up and then we went with one of his co-workers to Sierra Nevada. Really cool place. The tours were all booked up and the self-guided tour was actually closed too. We went into their big taproom and tried some of their beer and got some duck fat fries. Everything was delicious and I would love to go back next time we are there for a tour! After Sierra Nevada we went back to the hotel so John could finish setting up. Afterwards, he had a social that we needed to show our faces at. They had some hors d'oeurves and such, but it was really awkward so we didnt stay to long. haha. It was pretty late at this point, so we had to find somewhere for dinner. There werent many places still serving dinner, so someone suggested The Vault to us. It was SUPER dark in there, but the food was good. Afterwards, we headed back and went to bed since John had to be up so early.

Friday morning, John ordered room service and we split it. I got to enjoy sleeping in and I caught up on Revenge! John was done about 12:30 and a group of his coworkers were going to lunch, so we decided to join them. I was pretty hungry by this point. lol. We wanted to try out Tupelo Honey's but the wait was ridiculous. We ended up going to Jack in the Wood and it was delicious! Everyone split stuff and we had a great time. Afterwards, most people went back to the hotel to nap, but since we were already close to some of the breweries we wanted to try, we decided to do that instead. One of Johns co-workers, Jeremy, came with us. He is really nice and a lot of fun. We all decided we need to double date with him and his wife. 

I meant to take more pictures of our awesome food, but this is the only one I got. Bison Nachos and a Reuben sandwich. YUM.

Anyway, our first stop was Asheville Brewing Company. It was okay- it was more of like a pizza place that brewed their own beer. Their beer was okay. I wasnt super impressed. After we were there, Jeremy left to attend an event he was helping set up for and John and I went to The Funkatorium. Its Wicked Weed's Sour Bar. It was AWESOME! I'm not a big fan of sours, but I really liked most of the ones we tried. Our next stop was Greenman Brewery. While we were there, we ran into a bachelor party- the guys were pretty nice. The bar was SUPER small and not much of a "brewery." but it was still a cool place. Then we hit up Twin Leaf Brewery. I liked this place too. It was neat. There was a life sized game of Jenga going on, so we stayed and watched until someone lost. It was fun. 

 Greenman Brewery

 The brewery in Greenman- this was it. There was a tiny bar to the right of this picture and 2 tables behind where I took this from. lol

After all of these tours, we went to the social Jeremy went to set up for. It was a big social for everyone attending the event John was working. After the social the night before, we were not to sure about it and planned on just stopping by but it turned out to be SO MUCH FUN. It was in Packs Tavern and the place was gorgeous. They had an open bar, shrimp, pimento cheese burger sliders, mini crab cakes, and just so much fancy delicious food. The social was seriously nicer than most wedding receptions I've been to. John and I decided that if we ever have another one, it will be there. lol. They had a photobooth that we played around in and took some fun pictures and then there was a live band and dancing. My sweet hubby even danced with me! I can get him to every now and then, but hes not a fan. I was really surprised because it was in front of all of his coworkers. BUT they were dancing too. We ended up staying until the party was over. haha. 

After the big party, we ended up heading to Wicked Weed. This was the brewery John and I were most excited about. It did not disappoint. It was packed! The bar itself was really cool and they had a really nice outside seating area with a huge fire pit. We hung out there for a long time and then left to get dinner. We ended up back at the hotel later than we anticipated, but we had SO much fun! 

The next morning, poor John had to be up so early and I got to sleep in. My sweet man sent room service up to me! He is the best. I got all of our stuff packed up. When John was done with work, we went out to lunch. We ate at Wicked Weed since we didnt get food their the night before. Then we went to French Broad Chocolate and got a milkshake to split! YUM! Then we started our long journey home. It was a great time and I cant wait to go back.I'm sorta in love with Asheville. There is just so much to do!!!

Street entertainers

YUMMY!

Here's to counting down until June, when we get to go back!