Living and Loving in Asheville

Oh, Asheville! How I love living here!! Especially in West Asheville. Right now I have the front door open and can hear the band playing outside at the corner taco restaurant (less than a block away). The guitar playing is quite good. Their singing is enjoyable and they are playing songs from my era and before. 

My adorable husband has just driven up from his visit to the local pub. He absolutely loves the craft beers he can get here. I don't think I've mentioned that Asheville is known for its craft breweries. In addition to loving me, Bill loves craft beer and he loves coffee. 

When we were newly a couple and still living in Raleigh we talked about creating a book on craft beer. It was definitely his idea. We were going to visit local breweries and write a book about what we thought, etc. I remember saying that the idea had so much potential and that we may need to go to Germany as part of our research. His answer was "If we gotta, we gotta". It is classic Bill. Now we say that often. You know, if we gotta, we gotta. We will just do what it takes. I think that's the gist.  

So far we haven't started any writing on this book, but we did move to Asheville where the craft beer scene is. That's sort of a start.

We discussed moving to the mountains from the start of our dating life. Actually, on our second date, he told me that his plan was to retire and move to the mountains at the end of the academic year. Truthfully, I didn't know where that left me. I was already enamored with him, and he was telling me he would be leaving in less than 12 months. In that instant, I decided not to allow myself to be disappointed. It was just our second date, for goodness sake. How could I be disappointed that this guy, who I really liked, was telling me he wasn't going to be around? I decided to ignore (for the moment) the fact that he hoped not to be here come next summer. A year is a long time after all. 

Bill was clear that he wanted to retire, and that he also wanted to move to the mountains. I've often thought about living in the Asheville area. It's eclectic as well as beautiful. It has a good artist community and vibe. Lots of live music, though less so since COVID. But, I had more years to work before retirement. 

Fast-forward and Bill decided to stay and teach one semester longer. Also, I decided I could retire way early. We both had retirement dates scheduled for the end of 2021! --Just over a year after Bill originally told me of his plan. We also confirmed we wanted to move TOGETHER to Asheville and we bought our adorable bungalow in October. We were fully moved in in January of 2022.  What a difference a year makes!

We live on the same block as one of the most visited taco restaurants. --They love tacos here in Asheville. We are a couple of blocks away from a coffee shop that Bill goes to each morning. We are a block away from a pizza restaurant and a craft brewery. We get to watch people as they walk back from their taco experience to their cars. We see people on the way back home with coffee in hand from the coffee shop. 

I promised pictures so long ago. Here are a few.

Closing Day