Asheville, North Carolina
Exactly four weeks ago, I was starting the drive home from Asheville, North Carolina, just days before Hurricane Helene devastated the entire region. I still haven’t heard how my Airbnb hosts in Asheville came through the storm. I fear they could have suffered terrible loss, since their area, Biltmore Forest, suffered bad flooding. I’m really sad about that. The apartment was low, built into a hillside below the main house. And it was such a pretty place. It looked like someone had carefully placed every tile. The knick-knacks were each carefully placed. The kitchen and bath were perfect, and every shelf had a label to explain where things were.
While I was in Asheville, for the first five days, anyway, I had one meal out when I first arrived at a restaurant that probably flooded. It was called Tupelo Honey, and it was good home cooking. They definitely know how to make grits in South Carolina! Then I holed up in that cozy Airbnb Sweet Suite while it rained. It fit nicely into my plan for that week to work on my novel. In hindsight, I wish I’d gotten out and seen more of the region before it was damaged so terribly by Hurricane Helene. And I am thankful that I left before the storm arrived. I’ve been stunned and sad ever since. The only real sight-seeing I did while in Asheville was to visit the River Arts District. I’m glad that at least I did that. That whole area, all the art studios, all the ART was destroyed. I can feel the hurt in my very soul. All those artists who lost their work…
The River Arts District, where all the art studios were destroyed by Hurricane Helene
I went to Asheville for the inaugural Punch Bucket Literary Festival. I moved downtown to the top floor of the Marriott Renaissance, with fabulous views of downtown Asheville.
Punch Bucket was a two-day event, with lots and lots of panels… There were really great key-note speakers, including Lauren Groff and Octavio Quintanilla and Diamond Forde. I hear the other panels were really good as well, but I was stuck in the book fair, where I had a great location near the bathroom, and actually sold a few books.