We finished Ted 2 and fell asleep around 11 pm. We slept pretty well though the ground was hard. We should’ve made our nest more cushy. Oh well. Go up at 7:45 am, cleaned up our area, changed, and hit the road around 8:30 am. Filled up on gas somewhere outside Roanoke, VA for $25!! Got back on the road…stopped at a visitor’s center along the Blue Ridge Parkway so Alex could destroy the facilities around 10:30 am. Damage was done. Drive drive drive…Blue Ridge Music Center at noon for a cheeky visit. Music Mountain Friday was absolutely poppin! Some old time local folks played “Sunny Side of Life” with all their quaint bluegrass instruments. There were about 12 senior citizens in the crowd, so needless to say it was a real riot.

After the Music Center we drove straight for about 2 ½ hours, eventually making our way off of the Blue Ridge Parkway so we could make better time to get to Asheville, NC at a reasonable time. It was food time around 3 pm. Where to go….FATZ’ CAFÉ IN MARION, NC!!! It was fate and all in the name. I had some fried chicken strips and popcorn shrimp, Alex had some burger that was way too charcoal-y. Finished quickly and hit the road (taking the shrimp and fries to go, which Alex wasn’t too happy about).

Arrived in Asheville, NC around 4:15 pm at Odyssey Co-op studio. We walked in and checked everywhere. Beautiful art, but no Gabe. We walked outside to make sure we had the address right. We didn’t – 236 Clingman Ave. was right next door. As soon as we walk in – there’s Gabe Kline! This dude is an absolute legend in every sense of the word. He gave me my tour in 2000 when I visited Wekeela and fell in love with it. He was my first favorite counselor. He brought Alex and I together as friends when he encouraged our soda habits as pudgy 10-year-olds. Not only that, he made time for us while running one of the most successful ceramics studios in the Southeast United States having not seen each other in 12 years on a 1 day notice. Such a good dude.

We caught up about life and work and family and the such. He gave us a tour of the River Arts District which was really cool! Lot of glass, ceramics, and fine arts studios in a small radius. Gabe’s doing amazing work running the studio and school, as well as producing his own work and raising a 2 ½ year old girl with his wife Rachel (who he met at camp and we unfortunately were not able to see – hey Stack!). Gabe took us to All Souls Pizza around the corner for a delicious pre-dinner. Alex snuck away to pay for the meal – awwww. Afterward we returned to Odyssey where Gabe gifted us GORGEOUS clay steiner mugs he made. So thoughtful and so beautiful. We took some pics, said our goodbyes, drove through downtown Asheville real quick – looks amazing btw, would definitely like to return and check it out some more and do the Biltmore and see local concerts – and hit the road to Georgia.

We made it to Dunwoody, Georgia in 3 ½ hours. Alex drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway so I could enjoy the view and to Asheville, so I took over at the NC/SC border. Filled up gas in SC for only $23 – let’s go the south! – and smooth sailing the rest of the way. We stopped at a Chick-Fil-A in Dunwoody for dinner. Alex told the woman that it was his first time at Chick-Fil-A (total lie), and when we sat down she brought us each a free chocolate chip cookie. Let’s go Team Handsome! After our lovely meal we made our way to the Snyder’s house, where Elise and Garrett greeted us with huge hugs and smiles. Chilled out the rest of the night, where we met some of Elise’s friends from college and work who were great.

Tomorrow we’re meeting Leslie Wright and Sam Weiller in Atlanta to walk the Beltline and check out downtown Atlanta. There’s a hurricane on its way to Miami, which is why we went to Dunwoody tonight instead of tomorrow, as to avoid getting caught in the eye on Monday. It’s about 10 hours to Miami so not too much time in Atlanta, but if we’re gonna be here we’re gonna be here.