I will never, ever get too old for a daddy-daughter date.
Yesterday we headed to Asheville, N.C. for one of our adventures. He’s very much into knowing what plants and bugs are edible in the wild. I’m very much into knowing what coffee shops have the best latte. So here’s what we did.
Early Girl Eatery
Our first stop was Early Girl Eatery. I’ve been wanting to go here for a really long time, so this was a must on my Asheville bucket list for the trip. Apparently it was for everyone else too, because we had to wait about an hour to get a table. It was the cutest place! My only regret is not ordering more food. My dad and I didn’t realize how small the portions were. He joked that maybe they looked at him and thought he needed to go on a diet. I’ll definitely visit again, but next time I’ll order one of everything on the menu.
Horse & Hero
Next we hit up the town for some shopping. One of my favorite places to visit is Horse and Hero. They sell all sorts of artwork reflecting the culture and style of the Appalachian mountains. They sell things like prints, stickers and postcards. It’s definitely not your typical art store.
Shady Grove Flowers
Visiting Shady Grove Flowers has always been a must when I visit Asheville. This little plant store is filled with some of the prettiest pots and plants. And if I trusted myself not to kill everything, I would own an unhealthy amount of plants from this shop. The mauve pink pots were my favorite.
Lexington Park Antiques
Warning: you will get lost in this antique store. It’s huge. I have an irrational fear of Santa statues. They literally cause my anxiety to skyrocket, my heart to pound and my fight or flight (mainly flight) response to kick in. I think it comes from childhood memories at my maw maw’s house. She loves those things, and apparently the people at this antique store do too. They scare the you-know-what out of me. So if you’re like me, Lexington Park Antiques is not for the faint of heart. But I definitely recommend it. Limit your time here, because it’s easy to get sucked in.
Flora Botanical Living & Forage Coffee
Flora is one of my favorite new-to-me places in Asheville. Right inside the botanical boutique is Forage, which sells coffee and baked goods. It’s a perfect combination of my love for flowers and the perfect latte. It’s a short drive from downtown, but totally worth the visit. They have everything — coffee mugs, glassware, succulents, flowers, pots and home decor among others.
Craggy Gardens
The last stop of our trip included a hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The hike to the top of Craggy Gardens is only about .8 miles one way so it was an easy, but fun way to end the day. And it was BEAUTIFUL. The air was cool, the bugs didn’t bite and the sun hitting the surrounding mountains was magical. My only complaint was two girls hiking up the mountain in sandals (bad idea) to get way too many selfies. But girl, go ahead — get those Instagram likes.
A few of my favorites not listed are Anthropologie, French Broad Chocolate (can I get an amen?), Duncan & York, Lexington Corner Market and Mast General Store. We went to a few of those too.
People say I get my looks from my mom and my personality from my dad. So much so that my dad said it was a good thing we were father and daughter because if in some parallel universe where we were just friends, it’d be dangerous.
We have the same sense of humor and love for true crime podcasts, so it’s always a hoot when we’re together. And we had the best time.
Where are your favorite places to visit in Asheville, N.C.?
Leave a Reply