Travel a block or two away from the bustle and noise of Merrimon Avenue or Charlotte Street and you’d think something major was happening - construction, machinery, even a hovering space ship are three ways I’ve heard this incessant noise described.
But the distinctive sound is actually the 17-year emergence of cicadas, when they invade to mate, lay eggs - and they do it in very large numbers in pockets across the Southeast. This time around they’ve invaded Asheville, but I’ve heard that they hit the middle of the state last time. It’s a pretty cool natural phenomenon, even if they do look a little gross when thousands of them cover the yard, trees, bushes, and plants. It’s been fun for the kids to see them for the first time, and it’s been interesting to find out how many people don’t really know what a cicada is, especially those in their 20s who don’t remember - or haven’t ever seen - an emergence like this! The colloquial tendency is to call them locusts, although they are not actually locusts at all. The wikipedia link above explains a little more about these insects and has a really cool time lapse of a cicada emerging from its shell.
The Grove Park Inn gingerbread competition. Biltmore Estate. Downtown Asheville.
These are all aspects of Asheville that have been featured on various television networks and shows. On Wednesday night, Asheville (and Carolina Mornings!) gets another opportunity to show our stuff. The Fine Living Network (channel 116 in Asheville on Charter digital cable) show All-Girl Getaways will air the episode ‘Blue Ridge Retreat’ Wednesday, May 21 at 9pm.
Here’s the synopsis, from All-Girl Getaways:
Blue Ridge Retreat - Four women on the go who met at the same Sweet 16 birthday party 30 years ago have managed to remain close friends and have stuck through everything together. They want to celebrate their 30 years of friendship by going to Asheville, N.C., for the weekend. They have many activities lined up, including visits to the Rivers Art District and the Biltmore Estate; and they end the weekend at a spa resort.
One of those ladies-on-the-go happens to be the President of Carolina Mornings, Shari Goldstein. After hearing about the show over a year ago, one of her friends sent in an application - and they were picked to film an episode! Fortunately, Asheville was the place they chose for their getaway.
From the FLN Web site, “All-Girl Getaways shows you how women plan their all-girl escapes. From weeks of detailed planning and careful execution to finally enjoying the well-deserved weekend, you’re invited into the inner circle to find out what it takes to have an organized, successful and exhilarating mini-vacation.” See the promo:
This past weekend my cousin was in town visiting. He recently moved to San Francisco and was telling us about his neighborhood. In fact, he put his address into Google maps to show us the location, and we had the option to select “street view.” In this way, we actually SAW his street, his rowhouse, even his garden!
Here’s a funny YouTube video from Google about Street View:
For those who haven’t already discovered it, Google Street View allows those viewing maps of certain cities to ‘cruise’ around a location at street level. So far, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh North Carolina are included in Google Street View.
But wait - Asheville, apparently, will also join this list. According to the Mountain Xpress, Google cars with mounted cameras on the hood have been seen perusing the streets of Asheville. It takes about a year after filming for Google to launch street view content, according to a spokeswoman quoted in the article.
Privacy lawsuits have cropped up due to this feature, and the article notes one in Pennsylvania. But Google cars shoot footage from the street, and privacy laws clearly state that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy on public streets or sidewalks. In other words, as the Asheville resident quoted in the article states, if you’ve got a problem with anyone looking at your windows, close your blinds! Anyone who has looked at Google Street View knows it’s next to impossible to look into a home.
In my opinion, this is awesome for future guests of Asheville. Prospectively, you can see downtown Asheville, clear directions to specific locations, even your vacation rental! Very cool.
Mountain Air Country Club is located at the top of Slickrock Mountain just outside of Burnsville, and about 30 minutes away from Asheville. It is geared towards those who love both luxury and an outdoor lifestyle. This location alone places Mountain Air CC in an area full of things to do, including both art and culture activities as well as those in the great outdoors.
But Mountain Air CC also has a lot going on within the community. Mountain Air CC activities (detailed on the Web site) include a fitness center, swimming pool, hiking trails (guided nature walks are available), a cinema, golf courses, outdoor recreation areas, community gardens, and a spa.
Mountain Air CC is good family getaway because parents and kids can enjoy having fun. There are many opportunities for the family to spend time together, but with so many kids’ activities, parents can also grab time alone - getting a couples’ massage, hiking, or just enjoying a little quiet time.
Mountain Air CC is for anyone who enjoys the luxury and convenience of a country club, but also wants to visit the mountains. It isn’t for everyone, since some people desire to getaway from that lifestyle with a rustic mountain retreat, but others want what a country club can provide and Mountain Air does it better than any I’ve seen.
About half the homes at Mountain Air are lived in year-round, while the other half are vacation rentals owned by those who want to share their mountain getaway home.
Photos from Mountain Air Web site. To view more photos and to see these in a larger format, click here.
The recession and painful gas prices are putting a damper on tourism and traveler’s spirits all over the country, but Asheville seems to offer a balm for both.
Never fear, East Coast travel-lovers! Can’t afford to fly to Europe (man the Dollar-to-Euro ratio is a bummer right now) and don’t want to spend the money to drive great distances? Asheville is a great place to visit when trying to keep your travel cost low but still wanting lots to see and do.
Asheville, for those who don’t know, offers a combination of activities to suit any desires:
Culture - art galleries, performances, festivals, shopping, historic sites
Outdoor activities - hiking, swimming, rafting, Blue Ridge Parkway
Pampering - Tons of spas, outdoor hot tubs in Hot Springs, NC
So, no matter what you are looking for in a destination, a trip to Asheville and WNC can be molded to whatever kind of trip you want to take.
Never fear, Asheville! Looks like the tourist industry is “cautiously optimistic” about this year’s tourist season, pretty much for the reasons listed above (“Tourism will likely stay strong despite economy”). Asheville is a really wonderful place (we know, we chose to live here!) that is convenient to a lot of people in the South East, or even up and down the East Coast.
This is pretty pertinent to those who live here, too. The more money tourism brings in, the more locals get to take advantage of the festivals, traveling Broadway performances, great bands, and other fun things that brought us all to Asheville in the first place. So, if this subject interests you, check out the Asheville Citizen-Times linked above.
It’s been fun for the kids to see them for the first time, and it’s been interesting to find out how many people don’t really know what a cicada is, especially those in their 20s who don’t remember - or haven’t ever seen - an emergence like this! The colloquial tendency is to call them locusts, although they are not actually locusts at all. The wikipedia link above explains a little more about these insects and has a really cool time lapse of a cicada emerging from its shell.
