the present of Asheville

And again, again, in the old house I feel beneath my tread

the creak of the old stair, the worn rail,

the whitewashed walls, the feel of darkness

and the house asleep...

~ Thomas Wolfe, native of Asheville, NC

My gift to Paul this Christmas was a trip to Asheville, a short drive to the west, to stay in a bed and breakfast sans kids. Asheville, with it's thriving, artsy downtown and vegetarian-accomodating B&Bs reminds Paul of his former life in the Catskills and remains one of his favorite weekend getaway destinations. I also threw in a gift card to a delightful indie bookstore to round out the gift. We've spent the better part of today hitting downtown, wading through yarn at a lovely downtown yarn shop, and eating amazing vegetarian food at one of our favorite restaurants.

Yummy vegetarian food as seen by Paul's blackberry camera...not quite as pretty as with a DSLR...but still very yummy!

And the Irish brewpub in the basement of the veg restaurant. Paul's idea of heaven might just include a vegetarian restaurant sitting on top of an Irish pub.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their presents and some post-Christmas family time.