3:09 PM EDT

I finally made it down to Asheville, NC to see Kelly and John and to see my parents’ new lot. Despite the fact I’ve never been here previously Asheville will likely be the family headquarters in a few years, so coming to terms with Asheville is a long term priority for me. This visit is the first step.

I flew from Newark, which is strangely my favorite NYC area airport, to Charlotte, NC, my new favorite airport, to Greenville/Spartenburg, NC which is a small, quiet airport. It was a pretty easygoing trip as far as single-layover flights go. I’m making the reverse trip as I write this.

Now I’m hearing the final call for the Charlotte flight. More later.

7:43 PM EDT

I’ve been sitting on the tarmac in Charlotte for over two hours now. First there was some sort of weather-related traffic jam here. At 7:00 we learned there’s a “ground stop” in Newark. We’re supposed to get more updates at 8:00. This type of life-wasting situation is the main reason I detest flying.

Better to talk about the trip than to gripe any further. I arrived midday Saturday and it was a low-key day. We visited my parents’ land and I napped a lot (my flight was early). We also reviewed the rough plans (still sketches) for my parents’ home. The place is going to be over 4000 square feet. It looks like we may end up with a family compound.

Looking at the plans I was struck by the similarities between designing a home and designing software. Contraints, collaboration, feedback, visuals–no wonder we software people stole construction terminology.

Sunday was more active. We were out the door in time to eat lunch at a great pizza joint in Hendersonville and then we hiked near Montreat College. We climbed pretty high and the view of the mountains was incredible. I’ll post the pictures in a follow-up post.

Following the hike we headed downtown. I’d built mental pictures of Asheville based on peoples’ descriptions and initially I found the city much different than I expected. People have said the city has a lot of interesting shops, restaurants, and coffee houses and that it hosted an eclectic mix of folks. I found all these things to be true, but the visual was different than I thought. I figured it would be rustic, and instead I found it small-city generic, which at first almost depressed me.

So, the aestetic didn’t seem right, but after about 10 minutes on the street I got a feel for the place and quickly felt comfortable. There’s definitely a good mix of people and the shops are quaint. The two restaurants I visited were excellent and there’s a shoe store, Tops for Shoes, that has the best selection I’ve ever seen. The people are way friendly. In the end I found myself wanting to hang out in the town more than I was able.

All in all my first trip to Asheville is encouraging. Given that Kelly and John already live there and my parents are building it’s the inevitable family headquarters. The full move is still a few years away, but I need to prepare. At this point I’m tentatively comfortable with Asheville as a second home.

I’m not comfortable with Charolotte Airport as a permanent home, though. It’s now 8:09 and I’m waiting for an update. This plane better take off soon.

8:16 PM EDT

We’ve been given a new update time: 9:00 PM EDT. Did I mention I hate flying?

Interestingly I found some wireless networks out here on the tarmac. Unfortunately the one insecure network I found apparently is not connected to the Internet. So, this post won’t be posted till I get home. I’m carrying my lousy Dell, which in addition to other disappointing traits (a screen defect, the lame plastic that has marks where my palms rest) has a defective battery tha won’t run standalone for more than an hour, so no more writing for now.

To summarize:

* A nice, relaxing weekend with the family.
* Asheville looks promising.
* I miss my PowerBook.
* Flying sucks.

Next day, 10:14 PM

The flight yesterday took off sometime after 9:15 and landed about 11:30. I missed the 11:48 train and had to sit around at the NJT station until the next train at 12:41. I got home around 1:30 AM. I was pretty groggy today.

Still, a nice trip. Did I mention I hate flying?

Tuesday, April 4, 2006@9:53 PM
Tagged as Asheville, Family  |   Add a Comment