Days 291 - 292 (Wed 5/8/13 - Thu 5/9/13)- Asheville, NC

This was as close as we have come to the Northwest yet. Asheville recently topped Portland as Beer City and we thoroughly enjoyed this forward thinking and beautiful town.
Starting our adventure at the Highland Brewing Co. we got to see their brewing and bottling area, outdoor stage which hosts huge concerts and sample their staple beer; the Gaelic. (Interesting side note: they have no actual connection to The Highlands, their owner is Japanese but thought it would be a good gimmick).

Right next door is the Troy and Sons Distillery where we got another tour and more samples, this time two whiskeys and their founding product-moonshine. Nothing like what Troy had received from her neighbors as a house warming gift, this good smelling and tasting liquor did warm up our insides but didn't make us go crazy from paint thinner and radiator fluid. The tour guide took a liking to our travel and ended up taking our picture for their website, as well as unsuccessfully trying to sell us $60 bottles of whiskey.

Hiking the "Urban Trail" through Ashville's lovely and historic downtown we enjoyed many beautiful buildings, but none could compete with the Basilica of St. Lawrence. Every angle of the church was picture worthy and is the only free standing dome ceiling in the U.S.

Ending at the University botanical gardens we saw a lush green scape but were disappointed that the word "garden" was applied a little loosely.

Basilica