An Afternoon In Asheville

Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina
Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina

In all the time we have spent in Western North Carolina, we have spent comparatively little time actually in Asheville.  Everyone knows Asheville, some people know about Brevard, but relatively few people know about places like Waynesville, Sylva, Bryson City and others.

Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Hammered Dulcimer player in Asheville, North Carolina
Hammered Dulcimer player in Asheville, North Carolina

Most of our previous visits to Asheville have been for specific purposes – a visit to a museum, meeting with a photo editor, or a quick stop on our way to somewhere else.  But Asheville is much more than just a place to pass through.  In many ways it is far more cultured than the pseudo-culture of Charlotte, although admittedly there are places in Charlotte that are pretty darned interesting as well.

Accidental Self Portrait
Accidental Self Portrait
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Pictures of People Taking Pictures, Asheville, North Carolina

I have spent virtually no time in Asheville with a camera, so on Sunday afternoon we decided that it was high time we do some exploring.  A quick check of the calendar confirmed that Octoberfest was the previous day, so other than the usual Sunday tourist crowd we figured we’d be OK.  And were right, although the “usual tourist crowd” was still a bunch of people!

Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina'
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
"Before I Die" wall in Asheville, North Carolina
“Before I Die” wall in Asheville, North Carolina

We had a nice few hours in town, checked out a few of the highlights but left plenty of places yet to be explored.  We’ll definitely have Asheville on our short list for places to go back to soon.  It’s even a pretty decent day trip from the Big City, so we just have to make a go of it in the near future.

Balloon guy, street vendor in Asheville, North Carolina
Balloon guy, street vendor in Asheville, North Carolina

4 thoughts on “An Afternoon In Asheville”

  1. Almost thought the last image was Paul. 🙂 I flew with a young lady from Asheville. Sweet girl and good flight attendant. Looks like a good place to walk and explore. I noticed every image has people in it which is a bit different than many of your images.

    1. A very astute observation, Monte. I’d love to be able to say that it was intentional, but I didn’t really realize it until you pointed it out. I will say that for me, Asheville was all about the people, more so than a lot of places we visit. I got a few sideways looks with the camera but for the most part people were happy in their own little worlds and paid little attention to me. I like it that way!

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