Our first full weekend is in the books and it went great. We travelled to Asheville, NC to spend a weekend and see our Son play soccer at his college. We have been to the Asheville area a ton of times, but this time we decided to go into Black Mountain instead of Asheville.
We stayed at the East Asheville KOA, and was in D31. Definitely in the quiet area of the campground. If you have kids and are looking for the more busy places to go this is it. But not really our cup of tea, or wine, or coffee. :-) Ton's of activities and things to do, but we are more of the solitude and chill type. We did enjoy being right on the water. This is a feature that we could use every time we camp. :-)
On the way up we wanted to give the Jeep a real test and see how it would handle pulling the trailer, so we decided to go across I-40 and climb Black Mountain. The zone is 55MPH, and a steady grade for several miles. The Jeep had no issues pulling the little camper up. I will have no worries in the future about going into the Blue Ridge Parkway or other areas and knowing we can easily handle the climbs.
Temps for this trip were great. First night was 44 degrees, and 70ish during the day. Second night was not as cold, but mid to low 50's. The heater in the camper worked great, and we learned the thermostat is off so set at 70 degrees we found ourselves waking up sweating. That will be a later fix.
Backing in was a breeze and setup and tear down was easy since I had so much practice moving the camper back and forth to our home for modifications. We absolutely LOVE the new canopy cover we got for the camper. Easy to put up, provides tons of shade and it is waterproof so it kept the dew off everything during the night.
After we set up we decided to run into Black Mountain. This is a great little town, and has a very eclectic scene, much like Asheville. We ate at My Father's Pizza which has a great back deck, and has 5 bones on Bring Fido. If you have dogs but haven't used Bring Fido it is a MUST HAVE.
After that was all about the chill. The neighbors were great, and we met some lovely couples. We even had the opportunity to help the couple to the right get their fire going. As they said several times, they were "Taking Notes". LOL
Saturday we decided to do a little hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) which is only a few miles away. The first trail head provided some great hiking and an incredible overlook. It was Jasper's (The Pitty Mix) first BRP hike. Then off to my Son's game, took him to dinner after, and back to the camper to chill. Jasper's first soccer match! (He had a lot of firsts this weekend)
Sunday morning was chill, watching soccer from my phone, then packing up and heading out. While it was our first time, and I REALLY should have Performed the black tank process myself, but...... The KOA had a Honey Wagon service that came by and did it for you. That saved me from waiting in line, and actually hooking up and draining the black tank. Next time pooper tube, next time...
Here are a few other pictures from our first weekend out. We really had fun on our first trip, and now have many more planned and booked. We are excited for this adventure. Thanks for reading and following!
