Thursday 24th April 2014

Day 3 Meadows of Dan to Asheville

5 hours –  189 miles – 2 States VA+NC

Today began early.  We wanted to get back out on the  Blue Ridge Parkway as soon as possible.  We drove a few minutes  down the road to the downtown area of the Meadows of Dan. This consisted of a gas station, a famers’ market and the restaurant where we had dinner the night before.   To our dismay, well particularly to my dismay, the restaurant was closed so we could not get any breakfast.  Therefore, we filled up with gas and hit the road after stopping to take the obligatory due-selfie in front of the town sign.

We continued our way along the Parkway and continued to come across some amazing views and scenery.  It was only after a while that we realised that we were at an elevation of around 3000 feet!  The altitude had crept up on us and I only noticed once my ears started popping.

After crossing the state line into North Carolina, we eventually stopped for a bite to eat in a small town called Boone before heading to the highway and onto Asheville.  We had somewhere to be!

When we first started looking at the road trip Katie realised that we may be able to tie it in Moogfest.  For those of you who do not know Moog (rhymes with vogue) is a kind of keyboard synthesiser, pretty much the original, in fact.  Moogfest is a celebration of electronic music and all things geeky!  It turned out that tickets were not cheap.  You had to buy a pass which would give you access to all the events, not just for a specific gig, so we kind of put it in on the back burner…that is until Katie managed to score us some free passes.  We wanted to see Dan Deacon and as it turned out, we would not be disappointed.

We arrived in Asheville by 3 to pick up the passes and then went off to find out bed and breakfast, the Lion and the Rose.  It was about the nicest B&B I have ever stayed in!  A beautiful room and the breakfast table looked like something out of Downton Abbey!

Walking through Asheville was certainly entertaining.  There was such a mix of people there.  Travellers busking in the streets, college kids, hipsters, music geeks.  There was such a fun vibe.

Eventually the hour came when we were to head to the venue to see Dan Deacon play.  We made friends with some college kids on the way in, one of whom wasn’t sure if I was faking my English accent or not, and took out places ready for the show.

It was incredible.  Deacon’s show turn into a kind of directed dance/aerobics class!  At one point he had everyone kneel down on one knee and selected 2 people to compete in a dance off.  He had had us form an arch by holding the hands of the person next to us and we all ran though all round the venue, going out the door and back in again from the other side.  The guy is nuts and the experience was incredible.   I highly recommend you see him if you get the chance.

Katie and I made our way back to our accommodation after the show, sat on the porch and partook of a glass of the complimentary port and sherry that was provided for us and then hit the sack ready for tomorrow’s adventure!