- Summer Traveler Home Page
- About
- Iceland
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England
- Day 1 Arrive in London
- Day 2 London and the Royals
- Day 3 London: Harry Potter Day
- Day 4 London: What's English Food?
- Day 5 Travel Day: Shakespeare's Globe Tour
- Day 6 The Lake District: Beatrix Potter's Hill top Farm
- Day 7 the Lake District: Guided Tour and Hadrian's Wall
- Day 8, Travel Day: Tour of Stratford-Upon_Avon
- Day 9, The Cotswolds Gardens and Afternoon British Tea
- Day 10 Exploring the Cotswolds
- Day 12 Bath and the Roman Baths
- Day 13 Stonehenge
- Day 14 Taking a Bath in Bath
- Day 15 Heading Home
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Hawaiian Islands
- Day 1, July 13, 2023 Travel Day
- Day 2, July 14, 2023 Polynesian Culture Center
- Day 3, July 15, 2023 Diamond Head and Iolani Palace
- Day 4, July 16, 2023 Dole Plantation and Northshore
- Day 5, July 17 Pearl Harbor
- Day 6, July 18, 2023 Travel Day 1
- Day7 July 19, 2023, Spouting Horn
- Day 8, July 20, 2023 Spouting Horn and the Lighthouse.
- Day 9, July 21, 2023, Travel Day 2
- Day 10, July 22, 2023 Volcano National Park
- Day 11. July 23, 2023, Chocolate Day
- Day 12, July 24, 2023, Coffee Day
- Day 13 July 25, 2023, Botanical Gardens & Going Home Day
This has been an interesting day. We met at 9:30 to drive to the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. Mom, Victoria, and I left just a few minutes after the other car. We thought the Botanical Gardens were very close to the hotel but it seemed like the GPS was taking us in a strange direction. I began to get a little concerned that I had put the wrong address into my phone. As we started making all these weird turns through the area, Mom finally convinced me to pull over and check. Apparently we were headed in the right direction. Somehow we even made it to the botanical gardens before the others did.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville were on the grounds of the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA). The gardens weren't what I thought of when I pictured botanical gardens in my mind. My mind’s eye pictured large lush groupings of all colors and types of flowers and plants. Don't get me wrong, there were flowers and plants there, but they were all spread out. In order to see everything we had to hike along a trail. Mom, Victoria, and I stuck together for about an hour. Linda H. used the area to power walk 3 miles while Linda C. went exploring on her own walking both the upper and lower trails. Linda K. meandered around eventually finding a place to sit, watching the birds land in a swinging bird feeder. Linda C. then joined her. I did take off on my own for a few minutes after checking out the birds, bumping into Linda H. coming back. We decided to go check out the little creek that was running through the garden. I even got my toes wet.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville were on the grounds of the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA). The gardens weren't what I thought of when I pictured botanical gardens in my mind. My mind’s eye pictured large lush groupings of all colors and types of flowers and plants. Don't get me wrong, there were flowers and plants there, but they were all spread out. In order to see everything we had to hike along a trail. Mom, Victoria, and I stuck together for about an hour. Linda H. used the area to power walk 3 miles while Linda C. went exploring on her own walking both the upper and lower trails. Linda K. meandered around eventually finding a place to sit, watching the birds land in a swinging bird feeder. Linda C. then joined her. I did take off on my own for a few minutes after checking out the birds, bumping into Linda H. coming back. We decided to go check out the little creek that was running through the garden. I even got my toes wet.
We left there and headed into the city for lunch at the Tupelo Honey Cafe. It was suggested that we check it out by friends before the trip. Armored with reservations from OpenTable, we ventured forth. Arriving quickly, we were able to find a handicap parking spot about two blocks away. The other car had to drive around for a bit looking for parking and ended up in one of the municipal parking decks, a 12-minute walk From the restaurant. The Tupelo Honey Cafe was very good. Most of us had the Harvest bowl that was filled with tons of roasted vegetables on a bed of cauliflower rice and sprinkled with honey roasted pecans. I would say we all left feeling very sated.
As we were leaving it started to rain so we ducked into the Ten Thousand Villages shop next door,shopped for a few minutes and then dashed into the Pepper Palace hot sauce shop next door. There, the owner gave us several tastings and suggestions on how to use the sauces and spices. I am now fully armed with enough sauces and spices to try some new recipes on my grill at home.
Mom, Victoria, Linda K. and I walked back to the car. I noticed a sign for F. W. Woolworths across a building. I remember this store from my youth so I had to check it out. Victoria accompanied me. It was an old Woolworth Five and Dime store converted into a collective of artists' booths, complete with the old lunch counter still serving lunch and ice cream.
Mom, Victoria, Linda K. and I walked back to the car. I noticed a sign for F. W. Woolworths across a building. I remember this store from my youth so I had to check it out. Victoria accompanied me. It was an old Woolworth Five and Dime store converted into a collective of artists' booths, complete with the old lunch counter still serving lunch and ice cream.
The French Broad Chocolate Factory was our next stop. We were set for tasting at 4:00. This was a very interesting experience. I've never thought about tasting chocolate like you would taste wine, but there's a whole process to this tasting thing. Our instructor, Eric Fricke, invited us back to the classroom. We walked in to find the table set with mats containing different types of chocolate. Eric described in detail the history of the French Broad Chocolate Company and the process by which chocolate is produced. I think it helped our group to remember some of what we had learned in Costa Rica. Eric then walked us through all the tastings. It was interesting to note the differences in the chocolate produced in the two countries, Peru and Nicaragua. The chocolate from Peru had fruity notes while the chocolate from Nicaragua had more earthy tones. The last part of the tasting was a small cup of creamy chocolate he called a Liquid Truffle: Dark Chocolate Blend. Eric certainly gave us a wonderful experience. The tour ended back in the shopping area with a 10% discount on anything we bought. You know several of us had to buy some chocolate.
Back at the hotel we chilled out in our rooms for a while. When it was time for dinner, Linda C and Victoria decided they weren't hungry. The rest of us, looking for just a little something to eat, set off across the parking lot to TGI Fridays. We thought it would be a quick bite. We thought wrong. It took over an hour to get our food. We kept watching our waitress who was also tending bar, fly around, going back and forth helping everyone sitting at the bar. We saw others receive their orders. We could not figure out why ours was taking so long. The server kept telling us all different stories: there had been a medical emergency, being short on servers,and even not enough staff in the kitchen. I kept getting up,walking back and forth looking very upset. They finally came out with our salads. Linda H hadn't ordered one so no food for her yet. Next, they brought out the dinners for Mom, Linda K., and myself. Linda H. had ordered a chicken sandwich. She even started joking about the fact that the kitchen must have had to catch a chicken, kill it and then clean it before they could actually cook it. It finally was served. At least everything was very tasty. Two hours and fifteen minutes later we headed back to the hotel.
Tomorrow is waterfall day.
Tomorrow is waterfall day.