Sam, Mom and Dad all took a quick trip over to Asheville this week to do a little bit of hiking and sight seeing. It was Sam’s birthday present as he had been wanting to go for a while. The first stop was Linville Falls in the Linville Gorge Wilderness right off the Blue Ridge Parkway (https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/poi/linville-falls/). The hike was listed as easy, but the trip back to the car seemed a lot harder as it was mostly uphill. Afterwards we had lunch at a picnic area (we brought our own sandwiches). Then we stopped at Black Mountain and Sam took a hike on Point Lookout Trail, while Mom and Dad rested. We had dinner at Pack’s Tavern (https://packstavern.com) in downtown Asheville and the food was fantastic. It was also really convenient as it was just a few blocks from the hotel and in walking distance. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for some cookies at the Old Europe coffee house (https://www.oldeuropepastries.com/menus/) before watching a little TV and falling asleep pretty quickly after a long day. The next day we stopped at the Asheville Botanical Garden, just a few minutes away from the hotel and it was pretty nice, but not what we were expecting (We actually meant to go to the NC Arboretum🤦🏻♂️). We managed to squeeze in the Farmer’s Market, a Nursery where Mom and Sam managed to find another plant and a pretty cool Antique warehouse. We, of course, had to stop at IKEA in Charlotte on the way home, but managed to not due to much damage to our wallets. 😀
The Payne Chronicles 