1st Weekend in Asheville - Day 410 (Yr 2, Day 43)

Asheville, NC

We were surprised to learn that Asheville actually has a fairly well-established Jewish community, with synagogues of various affiliations (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad).  There's even a very large, active JCC (Jewish Community Center - equivalent of the YMCA).  We chose to go to Chabad (it's amazing that if you mention any rabbi's name, everyone knows everyone else! I guess that's because they all started out their training in the same place - Brooklyn NY or Morristown NJ - and are then sent all over the world to establish synagogues).  The shul itself is located in a storefront in a tiny shopping strip, but outside looks can be deceiving (isn't that the truth in every aspect of our lives?).  The inside was amazingly spacious and nicely decorated.  There was a very nice turnout for Shabbat services - maybe about 30-35 people, which is a lot for a weekend in the summer.  Some of the tunes they used were a bit different from what we're accustomed to, but I caught on quickly.  One thing they do differently (which I don't particularly like) is that when it's time to read from the Torah, instead of talking & teaching about it at that time, they wait until during lunch.  Ok, on one hand the services end a bit sooner, but on the other hand, I like to schmooze during lunch (which is what I was doing), so I have a choice to either socialize OR learn during lunch.  Still, not something to really complain about.  I'm very grateful that there's a community we can belong to while we're here.

Side note: one day during his inspections of residential meters, Mitch met the homeowner (Morgan) and they were chatting (Mitch loves to chat!).  She was complaining about feeling isolated and looking for things to do.  Mitch asked her if she belonged to church and if they could help.  She replied that she was Jewish (not something he expected).  She also mentioned that she goes to Chabad, so we were happy to meet her there and spend some time.  Very interesting lady!

When we returned from services, after our nap, we sat outside watching, waving and even talking to people who were rowing and floating down the river.  Very peaceful and serene.

Sunday was errand day, so we did a lot of driving around.  I've also been having anxiety attacks all week regarding getting in and out of the campground again, so we not only rode around to try to figure out how to do this, but also checked out 2 other campgrounds in the area.  We found that it won't be that bad leaving and getting onto the highway (there is a left turn we can make), and there are 2 possible places where we can more easily turn around when/if we return here.  I really did like one of the other campgrounds because it was much more centrally located and extremely easy to get in and out of (even had a pull through site).   But it's also very small, the sites are very close and not as spacious as these (they are pretty much only pads with enough room to put a chair on the side.  No place to set up a table for the grill or a fire pit), and nothing to really look at when walking around the campground.  Mitch feels very strongly that the tradeoff just isn't worth it and he's confident getting back here won't be a problem.

Besides shopping, I needed to get a haircut and buy some hair color (CVS).  There is a bathhouse in the campground where I could color it (I don't want to ever do this inside the rig as it makes too much of a mess that stains).  We also needed a Walmart to replace my step stool which was left behind one day when Mitch took it out of the truck.

So all this riding around town, I got to see a bit of the area.  It's a very artsy, hipster area but not at all friendly to driving big trucks. Roads and streets are narrow 1 lanes with a lot of hills and curves; at least the area we're in (called the River Arts district), although the downtown area and past there where the shul is, is pretty much the same.  I really don't know how Mitch manages to bring the truck all over (and I suspect I really don't want to know!)