Geocaching at Lake Julian and Biltmore Estates

 I have had a GPS device for several years now and I would say for starters that the Garmin Nuvi or just "Nuvi" as we came to call her, was indispensable for finding ones way around. Yet in this day of high tech revolution what is here today is quite literally gone tomorrow and so the Droid replaced the Garmin as the dashboard Genie providing both directions and communications with the home team. None the less the GPS system, regardless of it's device, is irretrievably indispensable and one manifestation of the GPS phenomenon is something called Geocache. Geocaching, from a layman's point of view, is an Easter egg hunt for adults. Geocaches are neatly hidden little capsules containing a record of who found them. Geocaching is a world wide phenomena of hiding and seeking these neat little stowaways. This Sunday we had the pleasure of visiting with a group of avid Geocachers at beautiful Lake Julian near Asheville NC. I will see if I can be a little more specific by leaving the coordinates. ( Lake Julian is a reservoir in Buncombe County in the state of North Carolina. The latitude and longitude coordinates for this reservoir are 35.4768, -82.5465 and the altitude is 2162 feet (659 meters).
 Anyway it was a great event drawing people from all over the country who competed in a Geocache hunt in Kayaks on the lake. This lovely couple won the competition, locating and recording all 7 geocaches and returning to the pavilion first.

As I said I am a complete novice, but the excitement felt like being in the winning episode of the Amazing Race.
The next day I headed back out to Biltmore Estate to see if I could locate a few of these geochaces myself and  am quite proud to say that I did. Geocaching is a great sport enjoyed by thousands of people. If you are interested in joining the adventure log into http://www.ncmageocachers.com/ to learn more!

Hannah's of Hendersonville

If you've been to Hendersonville, no doubt you've been to Hannah's. The leprechaun greets you on the sidewalk to beckon you inside noon or night nearly every day of the year. Hannah's is Mrs. Reliable with great food, friendly service and the subject of this particular note, Clam Chowder. I cannot come up with adjectives adequate to describe this incredibly rich and delicious soup du jour. It is the Friday Special and it is well worth waiting for. Try it for yourself and then you try to describe it.

Side Street Pizza in Tryon

No, Side Street did not relocate to Hendersonville but if and when you are south of the border in Tryon and need a place to remind you of the Reasons 2 Love Hendersonville and Western North Carolina, Side Street is up on the list. Tess and I stopped in for a Mushroom, Onions and Sausage to go and an hour and two or three slices later we got back on the road. We were pleasantly detained by this lovely couple who asked about my Son of a Peach beer. This is an RJ Rockers, of Spartanburg, specialty beer with a slightly sweet and you guessed it peachy flavor. I like it on special occasions but April decided it was not her brew of choice on this occasion. These two had more stories about cruising the Carolina Coast on their Harley, trading trucks in Conway and taking good care of their family and friends than I can fit on this page but we wish them well and hope to see them a Mezzaluna some day. 

Jump Again!

The next day I just had to do it again. As I said, every day seems better than the last. This time I decided to take a little longer to cruise the neighborhoods and see just who has access to this incredible Prime Real Estate.

 My Realtor once said to me that the economy goes up and down but a thing of beauty lasts forever. I'm inclined to agree. Laurel Park is a place of incredible beauty. Whether you choose to ride, hike or drive it is certainly worth the effort. And if you take take an extra few minutes to explore the the roads that meander away from Laurel Park Hwy (the continuation of 5th Avenue leaving Hendersonville) you will find yourself  in a mountain village wonderland only minutes from downtown. Contacting Rich Cooke, a Realtor resident of Laurel Park, may be just the right person to help you find the home of your dreams.

Jump Off Rock - Sunrise to Sunset - Romeo and Juliet

For those of you who would like to see the route. It runs about 15 miles with spectacular views along the way.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/116302451

Officially open from sunrise to sunset, Jump Off Rock is a visual work of art that is "Must See TV" anytime of day any time of the year. I made it my personal project to ride my mountain bike to the top of Jump Off soon after we started spending long weekends in Hendersonville. Tess and I had Pilgrimed to the pinnacle several times while here on vacation but now it was mine for the taking every weekend and I did not want to disappoint.

Last year I became obsessed with the Sunset. Every evening as the sun started it's decent I started my ascent to the top. Have you ever seen a bad sunset? Neither have I, but some are more spectacular than others. So resulting from my numerous treks and thousands of exposures I captured a few worth sharing.

By the same token, each and every ride to the top of the mountain, about 5 miles and about 1100 feet, represents a few calories burned and dietary violations earned. So every ride is a decision and every ride is unique but yesterdays ride stands out.

 Yesterday I had postponed the decision several times... it's cloudy, it's rainy... it's getting too late but... I put my bike suit on. Now even if you have no fashion sense at all and I don't, you really can't anywhere in that get up except on your bike. As it turns out my neighbors, whom I will refer to a Romeo and Juliet, were just in the right moment to grab their bikes and go. So off we went. R&J know the area much better than I so they chose a more adventurous rout via Davis Mountain Road. Instead of a steady uphill slog to the top, this route took us up, down and all around the mountain. We eventually cut left off of Hebron back into Laurel Park, crisscrossed Laurel Park Hyway on Essoawah onto Roberts Drive and Orchard Drive on our way home. R&J set the pace for me and for each other. I call them R&J affectionately because of their devotion to each other and their mutual devotion to living a healthy, active and adventuresome life together and that, my friends, is True Love.
Well it's another day, the sun has started to illuminate the possibilities so before the excuses set in... it's too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry or the bottom line, am I going to be too damn lazy to get going? So this minute I'm putting the zoot suit back on and start peddling. See you later. Oh, and Yes Honey P&T are the Original R&J.

Sol Y Luna - Mexican Cuisine Perfecta Mundo!

Everyone has eaten in a Mexican restaurant and we have all come to expect a certain staple of menu items we can depend on for a satisfying meal at a reasonable price. Sol Y Luna is in contrast to Mexican, as it name implies, that Day is to Night.

 If you want to take your Love out for an evening to remember bring her to Sol Y Luna. Treat her to a Table Side Guacamole and enhance your romance with a Cadillac Margarita. What ever you choose from the menu will only increase your enjoyment. The food is freshly prepared to your order and the service will make you want to spend the whole night. Senior Ricardo, owner and entrepreneur, supervises every drink, every meal and every nuance that makes this restaurant, Sol Y Luna, beautifully unique. When you think Mexican, you may think Taco Bell. When you want to celebrate an occasion to remember, a family reunion, a birthday, an anniversary or a just special and romantic night out, come to Sol Y Luna.

2 Guys Pizza and Ribs and Salad Too!

You know when you've made resolutions and decided and determined to live a healthier lifestyle and you go to the "Y" and do the reps and you do the cycles and you feel good you burned a few calories and earned.... well at least One Beer, well then there it is, just waiting for you right across the street, at 2 Guys. So in you go and OK, just One Beer but what can I eat? On a day like today when you want to stick to that elusive diet and keep off at least one or two of the three pounds you just dropped hmmm... Have a Salad! As it turns out Melody makes salads too!

So I said just give me whatever you think is best. I sat, sipped my Shock Top and engaged in conversation with the couple next to me who I thought had just ordered the very same thing by coincidence. As it turns out, theirs was Caesar, mine was Greek and between us we were improving international relations. They had moved here from New Jersey and thus far they Love Hendersonville Too! So, if they happen to log in and read this, we may have yet another story in the making. In the mean time however Melody returned with my Greek Salad, I brought it home, shared it with Tess and we just Loved Every Bite!!! My Fellow Health Nuts Be Advised. Don't punish yourself, you can Work Out Hard, then Relax and Eat Healthy at @ 2 Guys Pizza, Ribs and Salad Too!  

Bob and Fran Teach Chi Gong - Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville

I am sure that if you search Google you will find a definition for Chi Gong. But I am not here to provide a definition, I am here to celebrate the teachings of "Bob and Fran, Chi Gong". Speaking for myself, which may very well be the most appropriate title for this entire site, speaking for myself, Bob and Fran are my Chi Gong Experience. They are the living expressions of energy, "Chi", in motion. When you enter the Dojo and bow with respect, "Namaste", "The spirit in me honors the spirit in you", you are entering the moment and milieu of "Now" and you are leaving the world of what happened and what's next, at the door. You are invited to Breathe Deeply, Purposefully and Slowly and to engage in a process of opening yourself up to the energy that flows within you, to gather up and share the energy of the universe through the silent and effortless flow of Chi Gong motion.
Even though I wrote it, that last sentence sounds a little too "woo woo", but that's just me. Bob and Fran are very much down to earth in their firm yet gentle manor of delivery. They explain the purpose of the motions we are about to do. They explain the historical/philosophical background, "The Chinese believe that...." they demonstrate the motion, one modeling the other from a different angle as we, the students, are asked to watch in silence, then invited to participate by doing. The health benefits, mental, emotional well-being benefits and even dietary benefits are woven into your experience with the gentle, yet undeniable validity of their own lifestyle. If laughter is the best medicine, they provide an ample dose of that as well.
All of this, every Wednesday afternoon at 4pm (3:30 for orientation) and again at 5 for only Three Dollars?
And your $3.00 goes to supporting local charities. Where else can you do so much good for yourself while doing good for others? And so Bob and Fran are One of the One Thousand Reasons I Love Hendersonville.
They are out of town right now, so I am filling the void by writing this little tribute, but they will soon be back and you can join them at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville :: 2021 Kanuga Road - Hendersonville, NC 28739 on Wednesdays @ 4 and 5.

Flat Rock Playhouse - Shear Madness

Shear Madness is Shear Magic!!! If laughter is the best medicine Shear Madness will surely "cure what ails ya". The interweaving of double entantra and mystery was spellbinding and to have this level of talent on tap at The new  Flat Rock Playhouse on Main Street downtown Hendersonville is manna from heaven. I am no theater buff but I have had occasion to attend a few plays on Broadway in NYC and the Peace Center Greenville. This, my friends, was top notch theater in the round. You are up front and center anywhere in the theater. Every seat is Box. And You are in the Show. Yes, audience participation is an integral part of the production. But no worries to those of you who may be prone to a little stage fright, you never have to say a word but your will not be able to contain your laughter. They have extended the show through October second so get your tickets now Box Office (828) 693-0731 because to miss this production while it's in Downtown Hendersonville would be Shear Madness!
While at the theater we met these lovely folks who lived from Brooklyn (where he enjoyed the free seats at Ebbets Field as a boy) to Florida and "Halfback" to Hendersonville where they now enjoy their Home.

Mezzaluna on Main

The other night we were visited by our newly acquired son in law, Sam. He was in town for business in Asheville (which will be featured repeatedly in One Thousand Reasons I love Hendersonville). We were watching the Panthers game, first night out for Cam Newton, big game, can't miss a trick, gotta get something to eat so off we go to Mezzaluna. Mezzaluna has 50 beers on tap. 50 beers on tap, need i say more? I needn't but I will. They also have several big screen TV's lining the bar so you can order your oven baked pizza, sip on your IPA brew and watch every minute of the game, Panthers lost but Newton was outstanding and we polished off one Pizza... you know it's not really fair to call this creamy cheesy, sausagey,spinachy (so I can claim it's health food) crispy creation a pizza but it's uneaten cousin did fit in a cardboard box and we got home before my wife finished filing for divorce. So Mezzaluna, it looks like you made it into the number one spot. Let me tell you people, you have got to try it. A beautiful and somewhat cavernous banquet motif where Momma and the kids are happy but Dad will feel like he's found a piece of heaven. Tess and I returned just days later and had the Salmon and the Trout for dinner. Exquisite!!!

After the Show - Back to Mezzaluna

Mezzaluna again? Yes and why not! Is this really too indulgent? Tess and I split a bowl of Soup at Square One, participated in a Broadway Quality Play at Flat Rock Playhouse and then walked a block to split a Rogue Ales Hazelnut Beer (you need to try this!) and yes, the sausage, mushroom, spinach (more health food) pizza @ Mezzaluna on Main. When you're only Two, eating out is cheaper than eating in.... That's my rationale and I'm sticking to it. On today's visit we talked with this lovely person who, as it turns out has the same Cannon Sure Shot camera as I and also shared an interest in photographing humming birds....PetesPics

Before the Show - Square 1 Bistro

Square 1 Bistro 111 South Main Street Hendersonville. A Great Place to relax with friends and family for a wonderful meal. The live entertainment contributes to the ambiance, as does the lighting and art. The whole experience melds into a pre or post theater event that makes your evening one you will treasure.

Gourmet cuisine in a gourmet setting at family friendly prices. New York City is renowned for it's world class restaurants, this much is true. And every major city has it's "restaurant section". But this is Hendersonville and Hendersonville Is The Restaurant Section that you're looking for when you go out of town. And Square One is the very restaurant you may be looking for. Take away the George Washington Bridge, the West Side Hyway and the $40 Parking fee and all you have left is wonderful meal only seconds away from your Off Broadway Show. The Square One menu boasts of home grown beefs and vegetables and breads that you wish you could make and bake at home. They make "Organic" taste good too. And as our enlightened and beloved son in law Sam pointed out. It's like they skipped all the processed post food and went back to Square One. 

And so will we!

The Tractor Shed

These little excerpts, I might add, are not placed in any particular order of importance or preference. It's just the sequence in which I added them. I am not even going to keep a count. It's a Thousand Reasons to Love Hendersonville (who's counting-just enjoy the moment)
The Tractor Shed??? You heard me. The Tractor Shed! This place is "Down Home Cooking" that's worth going down home for. Now before I forget... her name is Drool "On the Couch". (see correction) Yes, and I only had one Margarita, she said her name was Drool "On the Couch" and that was how to remember her. She is a very sweet and interesting person with a family history in Hendersonville going back into the late eighteen hundreds. I wanted to take Sam someplace where we could get some "real" food and I figured this would be the right place. It was Monday night around 8 o'clock, kinda slow, kinda quiet. No Bluegrass band like the nights before but Drool was there and as cheerful as ever and I asked her what we should get. Yes I always ask the waitress what we should get and I always feel like I get the best advice. Now if she says she don't know or she never had that or she don't eat here, then I'm liable to say, well I don't either, so please ladies, please don't say that to a customer but do be truthful. So it was in that vein that Drool told us the smoked chicken was moist and delicious, and it was! and the corn chowder was to die for, and it was! and the rootbeer baked beans, if you ain't never had em you need to and we did and she was right! So the evening was a blast, quiet, but a blast and another reason... Totally unexpected but out of the blue, small world experience, I spotted Melody, the high power powder keg of customer service herself, having dinner with her husband John and friends across the room. I approached cautiously at first but then her eyes caught me and that High Sweety came bounding out to greet me just like I was her long lost friend.
Melody owns and operates the place on Hyway 64 and Oak across from the YMCA called Two Guys. Two Guys Pizza and Ribs. Does that sound right? Pizza and Ribs, kind of like peanut butter and tuna fish. I don't know but in either case Two Guys (and one Wild and Crazy Girl) is a Great GREAT place for either one or both.
To be continued...

Two Guys Pizza and Ribs

Don't start here. Start with The Tractor Shed because I don't want to repeat myself.
Two Guys Pizza and Ribs Melody and John..
I have met John, her husband and he is just as relaxed and laid back as she is wired to the walls. Melody is the Spark that keeps this Flame Burning, I said to a fellow patron one night, as I sat mesmerized just watching her work. She is all things beautiful, all at once. She is greeting customers as they enter the door. Wishing folks good tidings as they leave. Calling out orders to the staff and bussing tables while pulling a Guinness at the bar. Melody make you feel special. That is her gift. If you have ever entered an establishment, I won't name names, like Blockbuster, where you are greeted so urgently that you feel like they just had a staff development meeting in the back room and wanted to make you an example... it's not like that. When Melody says Hi Sweety, you feel special, like maybe your not just that homely little runt you just left in the mirror. Melody is the real deal. She loves her job, she loves her customers and she runs her business like it's a family reunion and your the cousin from out of town she actually likes. The Welcome Sign outside proclaims Hendersonville as the City of Peace (another reason I love Hendersonville) but I love Melody and John for putting it on their front door and for believing it and promoting it. If you want the Coldest Beer and the Best Food and the Warmest Welcome in town, come home to Two Guys.

Why One Thousand?

There may be a million reasons to love Hendersonville but a million is probably just a few more than I would be able to write about in one lifetime. One hundred and one has been used by the 101 Dalmatians and probably a million other book titles so I thought that 1000, One Thousand, was a nice round number, something Monk would appreciate and a number that I most probably can reach within some reasonable length of time at some reasonable level of productivity.
The number one reason for starting this 1000 reasons project is because every day since my, since our arrival in Hendersonville I have felt like every day was an adventure. Virtually every day I come bursting in the front door calling out to Tess, my adoring wife with incredibly good taste, that I just had another Hendersonville Adventure. And She, by shear coincidence is proclaiming the same thing. So it will be my foremost purpose in this blog to provide myself with an outlet through which I can proclaim my crazy, irrational, irrepressible love for this town...and have some fun doing it.
So lets get started right?
Sorry, I've run dry. Can't think of a thing.. oh... Oh, here's one.