We headed out early Wednesday morning, September 23rd. It was perfect warm, breezy weather. We stopped and grabbed a coffee in Tremont. We also made the last minute decision to buy a growler of toddy, which was super clutch. We had about 9 hours of road ahead of us before getting to Asheville, NC.
We listened to Jordan's road trip playlist, smoked, laughed and drank coffee the whole way down. It was one of the easiest long trips ever. We stopped a few times, and I didn't have any epic bathroom emergencies (which has happened many times on our trips since I always have to pee). We arrived in downtown Asheville to Billy and Geoff's glass blowing studio and gallery, Lexington Glassworks.
It's an incredible space. They built everything themselves. It's an old mechanics garage so it has this amazing modern, industrial feel to it, with steel and reclaimed wood benches, railings and accents. They have only been open for 10 months and are absolutely killing it.
Our time in Asheville was pretty short, being there for only a day and a half. But it was enough to drink lots of beer in their brewery district (Wicked Weed's Funkatorium), get caught in a rain storm, drink kombucha (Rosetta's Kitchen/Buchi Bar) and drive up to the summit of Mount Mitchell. Geoff, Billy & Ashley (Geoff's's girlfriend) are some of the coolest, talented people. They let us crash in their spare bedroom and took great care of us while we were there. Ashley took us to The West End Bakery for great coffee and the best breakfast sandwiches I've ever had.
We plan on heading back down for New Years Eve, which also happens to be their one year anniversary of being open. Although I didn't love Asheville as much as I thought I would (too many crusty, hippies) I loved them and the work they are doing much more than I thought I would. It was just nice to meet new people and instantly feel at home. I also can't get over how beautiful the pieces they create are.
With full bellies and rain falling overhead we left Asheville and headed west for still yet another adventure in Nashville.