If You're a Baby Boomer Looking for Adventure...

When my husband and I were looking for a place to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, we wanted a real getaway. As baby boomers, we weren’t necessarily interested in being in a city that never sleeps but we certainly didn’t want to be in a place that had no life. We didn’t have to look far.

Nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina is a lovely, little town called Asheville. With a population of just over 70,000, Asheville still manages to maintain its small town hospitality charm in a state that is struggling with growing pains.

When you think of Asheville you’re more than likely to associate it with the Biltmore House---dubbed as America’s largest home with its 250 rooms and eight-thousand acre backyard. Or perhaps you may picture the Blue Ridge Parkway, which covers miles and miles of scenic view from way up high.

But the birthplace of novelist Thomas Wolfe is fast becoming known for more than the Biltmore and the Mountains. Asheville has so much more to offer. “Quaint” “family-friendly” and “artsy” are some of the words one could use to describe the downtown area which consists of four blocks of art galleries, restaurants, bars, novelty shops---as well as Wolfe’s childhood home which has been well preserved. At first glance the Buncombe County town kind of reminds you of what UC Berkley used to be like in the 1960s with its mixture of young, old, locals, students and tourists all coming together and enjoying each other’s company in a free-spirited atmosphere.

The one thing that impressed my husband and me the most about Asheville was the fact that we didn’t feel like tourists. We just blended in. Every place we went we felt welcome and easily struck up conversations with many of the locals. It was really difficult to tell who the tourists were. Another observation was the fact that people who appeared to be homeless weren't walking around begging for food or money. They, too, "blended in" and no one seemed bothered by them.

If you feel like venturing beyond Asheville, Cherokee, NC is roughly fifty miles away. There you’ll get a sample of the historic Indian culture and if you have a few extra dollars to spend you can always try your luck at the Reservation-based casino.

If you’re a baby boomer looking for a little adventure flavored with some good old southern hospitality and culture, Asheville is a wonderful place to go.