7:45am! Sandra: "Time to get up honey or you'll miss breakfast". Huh? "Is it going to be this early everyday"? In Boise, 8:30am is my normal wake-up time, so why is that extra 45 minutes make the difference between a hangover effect or "Mr. blue bird on my shoulder, .." (Sorry, this reference will be lost on anybody younger than 55).
Sandra and Karen had already showered. Or I should say, Sandra already had showered. Karen was still in the bathroom hogging for all the hot water! When I got my turn, I planned for the military 90-minute run through. Soap is a luxury that loses wars.
In the morning you really find out if the house had any guests or were we the only ones in the house where horror movies are conceived. Walking into the dining area revealed "Ahh, it has a full contingency, we're going to be OK". Karen was a bit tardy, and I was within my privilege to start shaming her tardiness and the hot water greed. I was enjoying the fact this time I'm not the late one. There, Karen! You have been burned.
After breakfast, I knew what Sandra and Karen had in mind. It would involve a walking tour through old Asheville Stopping, Looking and Stopping and Looking at old buildings and flowers along the way. I, on the other hand, had a different idea of a tour of old Asheville. Mine involved a fast walk through the old town to get some cash at the bank, and then stopping at a couple of breweries along the way. I've seen old houses before, and I'll I see when we walk by them is "I'll bet they have some really bad wiring and a mold problem". So, we parted about a block from the B&B, deciding we'll compare notes at the end.
I must've walked 10 miles throughout Asheville. The first order of business was to walk and find a bank to get cash. I plumbed in the coordinates told to me by my banking app where I could find a Coop-ATM. One that would charge a $3.00 fee. The closest one was a mile away. No problem. I can walk a mile, and even back--So, off I go. It wasn't the pretties walk. It was along a common thoroughfare, but hey, I'm saving $3.00. Up and down, up and down, and my phone says, "You have reached your destination on the right". I look over. It's a freak'n fire station. There's no bank ATM here. Oh well, let's try another coordinate. Again, this time it says my ATM is 1 mile away. OK. I can walk another mile and back--so, off I go. It's still along a major road, so not much to look at with this part of Asheville. Walking, walking and walking. Then, my phone says, "You have reached your destination on the left". I looked over and it's a freak'n Hospital. What kind of &#%* of a \(^%! Sh\)&@ town is this anyway. There's no ATM here either. Oh, First-Tech Credit Union is going to hear about this stupid app! Oh well, the positive was "Hey, I'm at a semipublic facility, I'll at least be able to use their bathroom before my 2-mile walk-back. Into the emergency entrance and WOW, there must have been 50 or more people in the emergency room. Is Asheville that dangerous of a place to live. Oh well, again. I see the bathroom up ahead.
Now trekking back, I am still listening to my crunchy tunes, but the day is sure heating up. I made it into the downtown area again and decided it was time for a recovery beverage. It doesn't take much effort to find a pub in this town. I found "Packs". It was one of those high TripAdvisor locations. Plopped down at the bar and ordered their finest IPA. Still sweaty from the 4-mile cashless adventure. I did a little coding, and some catchup on the previous day Ugly adventure, and then I was back out on the street.
At this point, I said "Screw it, what's a damn $3.00 fee anyway"? I probably used up $3.00 just on my New Balance soles anyway. So, off again downtown to find an ATM. But Sandra called. She and Karen found a nice bistro which was relayed to me as "Carmens". They invited me to sit with them while the finished their lunch. OK, sure. I've had a beer, and the memory of the Fire Station and Hospital experience is starting to wane. I typed "Carmens" into my phone, and huh? It's like 5 miles away. But Sandra said she was close to my location (We track each other’s location on the cellphones FYI). I see her "Dot", so I start to walk toward where my "Dot" coincides with her "Dot". I get to the corner and the "Dots" are virtually on top of each other. But I don't see a "Carmen..". Hmmm, there appears to be a "Carmels" restaurant, but obviously that's not what I was told. I found them sitting outside finished with their lunch, and they were off to see more old houses. I was still on my cash mission, so we parted ways again. BAM! A bank! With an ATM! It could've been the Book makers Bank for all I cared. I'm finally getting cash I’ve always dreamed about.
When I got back to the B&B, I was able to shower up from the day. The girls came in not to long after. We decided on a nice place downtown called Blackbirds. It was a fancy Dancy place highly recommended by Trip Advisor. The first thing I noticed is a lot of their menu items were "Market Prices". Hoo Boy, it will be an expensive one, but after the walkabout, no fee was too high at this point "Bring me the Filet-Tip and keep em coming". We caught each other up on the events of the day. There's was all about old houses, art museums and shops. They had nothing on me, I visited two pubs!