Exploring NC: 4/25 – 5/7 WRD

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

If you follow me on Facebook (here) you now know that we visited North Carolina. While there was no running, there was lots of activity!

bwrd

I’m joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner and staying active without running.

Workouts update
Walking, Pilates, Yoga, Hiking. I did actually take running clothes. I only took two pairs of shoes: hiking boots and trail shoes (which are very comfortable for just walking or easy hikes).

The roads in Asheville are often very narrow, with lots of blind curves, no shoulders or sidewalks, and hilly. Oh, and did I mention the elevation? It’s not very high but it’s still a lot higher than home. I still wasn’t feeling 100% so I never ran.

Plus Mr. Judy did a lot of driving and I didn’t have the heart to ask him to drive me somewhere to run on top of that.

DuPont State Forest, Folk Art Center, Craggy Gardens & Urban Trail of Asheville
Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville Botanical Gardens (the cabin), Looking Glass Falls, Chocolate Fetish

Favorites of the week
We enjoyed our time in Ashelville, despite a lot of rain. What I didn’t enjoy (but did expect) was the homeless. We really couldn’t find much to do in Charlotte. Of course if you wanted to drive some more, there are some great hiking areas. But almost everything we wanted to do was closed on Monday and Tuesday, the days we were there.

Everyone said you must go to the Market at 7th in downtown Charlotte, and even though I knew it wouldn’t have a lot open (being a Monday), I dragged Mr. Judy there. Let’s just say we were really underwhelmed.

Chimney Rock State Park, Hickory Nut Falls, Lake Lure Flowering Bridge

“The Last of the Mohicans” (which we rewatched when we got home) was partially filmed in both DuPont State Forest & Chimney Rock State Park.

Freedom Park, Whitewater Center near Charlotte, NC Mug

The one great thing we did, which we initially didn’t have much interest in, was go to the Whitewater Center. Despite not taking part in any of the activities, it was a fascinating place and I’m glad we went there! I’ll be getting to Charlotte soon on Facebook.

ICYMI: Another great Yin Yoga practice for the morning after your run (not immediately after!). Show yourself some love and practice with me here. I also introduce you to May’s videos while offering a shorter Hips at the Wall practice here.

Coming up next Week: just WRD. Maybe there will even be some running — we’re going to have some great running weather!

24 thoughts on “Exploring NC: 4/25 – 5/7 WRD”

  1. You went to Asheville!!! I’ve never been there but I want to go. All your photos are beautiful. Interesting that you mentioned the homeless problem- we had the same experience in Austin when we went a couple years ago. It’s an amazing city, but their homeless situation is completely out of control. I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s going to ruin the city as a tourist destination.
    Anyway, your trip sounds amazing. I hope you get beautiful running weather this week!

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    1. Having lived in Austin — and done my research — I was totally expecting the homeless. It wasn’t as bad in Austin when we lived there, but there was already a problem 14 years ago. Any warmer city will have a higher proportion of homeless.

      I still recommend a visit to Asheville though! Charlotte not so much.

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  4. We had a great time visiting Asheville last spring when we did the half there. Seems like everyone had lots of rain last week. Glad you had a great trip despite the weather. Did you tour Biltmore estate?

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  5. Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip! My sister and I have Asheville on our list. It’s just hard to get to from here. I didn’t realize they had a homeless problem. It’s getting bad everywhere. Madison, Wisconsin has a really high homeless population, contrary to your theory about warmer places having more. I feel bad for them but it’s also a nuisance, especially when they are aggressive.

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    1. We do have some homeless here, too, but it’s far less than I’ve seen in the south. I’m sure you & your sister would enjoy Asheville! It was relatively easy for us to get to — a miracle!

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  6. Sounds like a great trip – too bad about so much rain, though. We were just talking about visiting Asheville, Biltmore, etc. since it’s a relatively easy drive from Charlotte when we’re visiting Pablo and his humans.

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  7. I’ve enjoyed all your photos! My MIL used to live near Brevard but I only visited a few times. My husband enjoyed mountain biking in the parks, and we did enjoy a few hikes.

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  9. I’ve heard that Asheville is now the most expensive city in NC. Not sure if that’s actually true, but it would explain the homeless problem. Apparently the word got out about how beautiful it is there.
    I’m not a fan of Charlotte, so you didn’t miss much there. They do have some fun things for kids, and the NASCAR track is there, but to me, it’s just another city.

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    1. Well the cost of living is still definitely lower there than here!

      We flew out of Charlotte because it was cheaper, so we figured why not spend a few days there? Every time I found something that looked interesting it was closed! We did find a few things we enjoyed, but it was work! Considered driving into SC since it was SO close, but I knew my husband didn’t want to be spending that much time driving on our last day.

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    1. I have not yet raced in Asheville (tough place to race!) — this was our first time in NC. We have only one state to visit to finish up the east coast — SC, LOL! We came so close to taking a day trip there.

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