Access Asheville: Zip-lining, Picnics, and Ghosts

These two cuties set their alarms and got themselves up early so we could get to Broad River Adventures by 9:30. If you have teenagers then you know this is a big deal. I'm afraid of heights so Kat volunteered to video the tour. They got to pick one nature adventure that represented access (see first overview blog post of this trip) to nature in some way. I think this was a great choice and it got me thinking about the other ways we have been discussing accessibility, that I am looking at the term access in relation to what I teach. How are outdoor adventure sports, like this, making their activities accessible to people with mobile disabilities? I found a pretty good article on it here - https://www.newmobility.com/2015/08/adaptive-sports/

According to the article, there are about 250 zip-lines in the US that are accessible to people with disabilities. Not this one, but anyway, it was a good pitch so they win.

While they took the lines, I went into town to put together a surprise for them. We had seen a lot of beautiful picnic spots over the last few days and Kat stated she really wanted to have a fancy picnic. So, I headed into little Marshall, NC to try to come up with some kind of "fancy picnic". Kat is my last of three girls, so I've done plenty of fancy and wasn't real sure Marshall was gonna deliver. In fact, it was 10:30 and the only place open yet was a coffee shop, hardware store, and general store with a random assortment of local hand made crafts.

Pretty town on the French Broad

It's nice when a town can change their jail to a bar.

Entering the happy little general store I found some local pottery and purchased two mugs and a leaf shaped pottery platter. Although I loved them and always try to buy from local artists, it didn't look very "fancy" but I was afraid it would be my only choice. They didn't take a CC soI had to run over to the ATM and pull out a little cash. In checking out, I told the nice owner what else I was needing for my event and she pointed me in the direction of My Sister's Attic thrift store. Well, if anyone knows my sister, you'd be over shopping in her attic in a second. So I headed a block down to check out what was in my sister's attic. Looking around I found two pink glasses, some green glass plates, stained but vintage linen napkins that matched, and a cut glass vase. On checking out, I realized they only took cash as well. Hmm, wasn't sure I was going to have enough cash for all this fancy. "How much?", I ask. The nice lady looked at me with concern, "6$ ma'am". Well heck, I had a whole 20$ left! Sold. Now there was this problem of having to fill the fancy vase with something worthy. I was told to go to the really, really nice florist in town, Shady Flowers or something. I went in and immediately was consumed with a strong feeling of depression.

Looking around I realized it was a funeral store and it smelled like a funeral home and all the flowers were plastic - not fancy enough for my new cut glass vase for sure.

He didn't seem to need my business anyway.

Other stores were starting to open and I was feeling hopeful. I walked into another place that was actually really cute. They had lots of dried flowers which they told me they picked from outside. Oh right - lucky I had my propagation set with me which had my scissors.

I never leave home without this in case I find some great plant I want a cutting of. Now I just had to go find some fancy food. I found Sweet Monkey's Catering a few doors down and asked if she could put together a charcuterie board on the pottery platter I'd purchased. She was delightful and we talked for a bit about what the girls might like and what she had. I told her I'd be back around 1, purchased some drinks, and prepaid for some ice cream. Still needing a place to host this fancy event, I was advised to setup at the butterfly garden. Wow even a gazebo - perfect as it was starting to drizzle a bit.

The plastic makes it hard to see this cute sign but it lists all of the butterflies the plants below are designed to attract.

We have a pollinator garden at school as well as a meadow so I spend some time looking at all the plants and making a list of new ones we might add.

Someone obviously loves on this garden regularly.

After getting the fancy picnic all organized, I still have an hour or so before picking up the girls so I wander into another shop. All the shops have a specialty, but also advertise "other stuff".

Browsing around the used books and other stuff, I laugh after I reach for the 4th book I already have. Maybe I don't need to be in a bookstore. Or better, maybe I should go in a bookstore with a plan. Wanting to plan a trip to Arizona, I look for some Hillerman and grab two. I also add "The Most Southern Place on Earth" to my collection of MS Delta books and an Asheville Ghost book -we've been binge watching Walking Dead again at the house we've rented.

I walk around the town a bit taking pictures and head back to get the girls.

They love their picnic and I'm happy hearing they had so much fun on their adventure.

"Well, it was the best I could do ladies. I did prepay for some ice cream though"

After lunch, we read a few of these and head to find the places listed, happy that one of them is the Grove Park Inn, where we get down to some fancy but we all agree, the picnic was better.