Fun Sunday - Day 525 (Yr 2, Day 147)

Asheville, NC

No postings this week, as it was all "same old, same old" -- work, work, work.  Saturday was a nice service at shul, but Sunday we allowed ourselves to take the day off for some fun.

At first, we had hoped to go to the Biltmore Estate.  However, when we added up the cost of admission, tour, food and probably wine from the winery (how can you go there and not buy any???), it would have been in the $250-300 range.  We decided that as spectacular (albeit ostentatious, although there's a lot of art dating to the 1500s - I could enjoy the historical aspect) place as it is, we just can't justify that kind of expense.  Even if we kept a tighter budget, it would still be close to $200.  Maybe we'll change our minds and go some time before we leave Asheville, but it's no longer a burning desire.

Our next choice was to do what's called the Urban Trail in downtown Asheville.  Kind of like the Boston Trail, there are 31 historical landmarks, indicated by a plaque in the sidewalk and a nearby sculpture.  There were a few in previous posts (the turkeys and hogs, as well as a girl watering a horse).  We thought that would be a lot of fun to do with our urb-es (and free) but it was the coldest day of the year so far -- 41 degrees with a wind chill of about 38.  It was just way too frigid for us to be out and about for so long.  That's definitely on our list of things we'd like to do soon.  So after doing a few chores (shul for their Channukah boutique where we needed to buy some candles and gelt (chocolate money to use for betting during our dreidel or poker games), Staples, a car wash (they don't do duallies), Trader Joes (nowhere to park so didn't do that either), we spent the afternoon in downtown at the Asheville Pinball Museum.

Now, this kind of place was right up our alley!  It is kind of a cross between an arcade and museum, with paraphernalia and machines dating back to the 1930s.  Best of all, most of the machines were available to play with the cost of admission ($13).  There were all kinds of pinball machines, old time video games (remember Pacman, Asteroids, Breakout?), and a shooting gallery.  They also had a bar that served beer.  We parked about 10 blocks away, so we rode the urb-es anyway.

Afterwards, we walked across the street to the Grove Arcade, where we looked in the windows at the gorgeous craft items, and then purchased some homemade fudge for Mitch and gifts.  We were going to eat at an Indian restaurant, but it was closed, so we went back home, first stopping at Edna's for some sandwiches.  All in all, except for the cold, a very fun day.  Here are some photos: