Asheville NC

We left Folly Beach Sunday evening August 2nd, heading to Asheville with no couch lined up and hoping for the best. Asheville is only four hours away and it rained just about the whole time. We were thinking of camping or hoping to find Internet once we arrived to see if we had gotten a reply. We arrived in town around 10:30 pm and I remembered it was Sunday, so I didn't think there would be much going on. Ofri pointed out a camping sign but I by passed and wanted to get downtown to see if there was possibly a chance of night life. As we drove around looking for parking we noticed some bars, cafes and street performers. One that stuck out was two guys, one with a drum kit and the other with a crazy beard. We walked around a bit, noticed all the cafes that might have had Internet were closed, so we walked to the corner where the guys had been playing just as they were packing up and asked if they knew of a place we could get Internet or if there was a hostel around. Daniel, the drummer offered his place right away! Turns out, they lived downtown in a loft type setting Daniel in the basement and David James upstairs in the studio with Tamara in the room off the studio but she was staying at her other place at the time. So we had the futon to ourselves. Everything worked out and we didn't have to sleep on the street. Another couple walked up and requested some Dylan tunes so we got a little show before heading home. Once back at the place, Daniel showed us his skills on the piano and sang us an original. David James, Ofri and I stayed up talking about life and we discovered Ofri knows every Beatles song there is. So her and DJ played and sang until the sun rose. The next morning I got some replies from CS but we decided to stay with our new friends. We had to leave the place by noon because the burlesque dance group comes to practice at the studio. So, David James showed us around Asheville, I ventured into a bead store where I refrained from buying anything but helped Ofri make a necklace out of a shell she found on Folly Beach. We then met up with Daniel, on the street, where I got the chance to hula-hoop while him and DJ played some tunes. As we were heading home a girl chased down Ofri and asked what was in the case she was holding. One of DJs basses, guess she was a local talent, Ash Devine, so she walked back to the house with us and talked a bit. Tuesday we decided to go into the mountains, so we drove south on the Blue Ridge Highway and got off at mile marker 416 and hiked into the forest to a small waterfall with ice cold water. I wasn't going to get in but then a couple came from Tampa and the wife eventually got in, well she was technically pushed in by her husband, and as she got out she said "if I didn't love you and hadn't been married to you for 27 years I would leave you" but then she continued jumping off the rock so I had to jump in. Oh man was it freezing! Later that evening we went to Brita's, one of the burlesque dancers house where there was a small gathering of travelers, a group with some dogs and a rat of course. David James and one of her house mates played some tunes on the guitar and banjo. Banjo boy was playing a bunch of traditional songs that I love. Asheville was a wondrous place that I hope to visit again sometime soon.