This is my follow-up to my short Asheville Trip that I made a little more than a year ago, and about five weeks before Hurricane Helene came through that area and caused major devastation.
I am planning on another quick trip to Asheville, hopefully leaving tomorrow, after two things in Fayetteville. First I am going to try and go to the Diabetes Ed class at 8 am. Maria XXX is supposed to have her helper, who’s first day should be today (10/20/25). Maria is in charge of the class and she is what ever they call those trained persons who can provide education and guidance for those suffering from diabetes. She offers a class, once a month, on “diabetic friendly” cooking, and each Tuesday she offers a training session. I don’t recall the number of sessions but they will restart after the first of the year. But, with Maria being “short handed” she has had to do the work of taking blood samples of the attendees, and so she never actually got around to the training portion of the class. I needed to leave and thought I would come back after she had her new assistant. *If she doesn’t have her new assistant tomorrow (Tue.) I will probably leave early.
After the diabetes training class, I have a doctor’s appointment with Dr. Norem at 9:45 am at Med One. Often Dr. Norem has been running late and I might have to wait 20 minutes before she actually sees me. But hopefully she will be on time tomorrow because… I am planning to go after the doctor’s appointment to Asheboro, North Carolina and eat at the No. 1 China Buffet. I love their food. *I need to remember to bring my “broccoli sprouts & radishes” with me because last visit they went so well with the other food from the buffet. If I get through with Dr. Norem by 11 am, it will still be about 12:45 pm before I make it to the Chinese restaurant for lunch. *It was so good eating there going up that I also ate there one the way back home, and still lost weight. I don’t know how.
It may be 2 pm before I try to go over to the Randolph County Main Library to visit briefly, maybe peruse a cookbook with a diabetic leaning, or read some other nutritionally leaning book. *This library has remained vibrant, post-COVID. COVID broke many libraries and other locations where people congregated, like buffet restaurants and ball games, and several libraries I’ve visited since are just shells of their former selves. Also, this library has a descent bathroom.
So, probably by 3 pm, I’ll start on my way to Asheville, North Carolina an the Quality Inn, Downtown Tunnel Road location. I’ve booked through the Choice Hotels website for a two night stay, checking out on Thursday morning. (Stay Tuesday & Wednesday nights.). *This was the hotel I stayed at, and enjoyed thoroughly, during my last brief visit to Asheville in September 2024. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, it is an old hotel, but the management/owners have renovated all the rooms (according to Prince Patel) in the last few years. I know because I was so impressed by the “quiet flush” toilet in my room, and the other updated sink, and all the amenities that you normally expect. The only missing item was some meat on the free breakfast buffet the next morning. I think I had a waffle and that needs some kind of salty meat (bacon or sausage) for me to thoroughly enjoy it. If I think about it, I might even carry one of the sausages I bought at Lowe’s Foods recently and nuke it in my room’s microwave and carry it to eat with my breakfast.
[NOTE]: I know all the stuff above regarding what I am planning to do may not occur exactly as hoped, or described, but ya gotta make plans, live life as if you aren’t gonna hit a snag, and enjoy up to that last moment. [end]
*I wanted to drive down by the River Arts District, but couldn’t find it even with the help of ChatGPT. Was pressed for time so gave up, but did drive through an old cemetery down in that area.
But this posting is acting as an itinerary or hopeful one so that I can rehearse all the things I might want to see & do in the next few days. Recall that on my last visit, and trip to and from Asheville, I meandered wildly seeing and experiencing from Maxton to Laurinburg, Hamlet and through Charlotte, and on the way back, not a direct route either.
[THINGS i NEED TO DO PRIOR]
Take the following with me:
- Daily Medicine
- I have refilled my entire week’s worth of medications and plan to take that with me.
- I carried my medications, but forgot to take that morning’s pills until I got up to Asheville.
- I plan to take my whole shoebox of “Health Devices or Diagnostic Equipment.”
- arm blood pressure monitor
- blood glucose kit
- thermometer
- I took my vitals each morning in the room and recorded them on a sheet of motel paper. Later transcribed to my Daily Health Stats online. *My first morning home, I weighed the least I’ve weighed in more than a year (or two).
- Should have asked if their exercise room had a scale and I could have weighed myself each morning.
- Food
- Refrigerated (put some ice in the Centerwell cooler)
- Plastic baggies (forgot)
- Cutting Board (small)
- I’ve got plastic knives, forks & spoons.
- Lowe’s Sausage (1 link – microwave in room for two breakfasts Wed & Thurs morning added to the motel free breakfast of half of a Belgian waffle & good coffee.)
- This became a necessity when I needed to cut radishes and sausages for the microwave. *Fit neatly in the top of the carry-on.
- Broccoli Sprouts
- Red Radishes
- Black Mustard Seeds (non refrigerated)
- Bread & Peanut Butter (sweeten with a little more honey or Agave Nectar)
- Bill’s Drink Mix
- 52 oz. plastic jug
- GV Flavor packets for 2 days
- OJ & Cranberry Juice
- Bought on the way at an Aldi’s in Asheboro, but then found that the store brand of Zero Sugar Cranberry Juice was more like cherry Kool Aid. I threw it away, but kept the OJ I bought there. But the OJ cost about $3.99. About 70 cents more than in Fayetteville.
- Clothing
- Rolling carry-on suitcase
- 2 long sleeved shirts
- 2 short sleeved shirts
- 2 long pants
- 1 sweater
- 1 sleeping pajamas
- Grooming
- Toothbrush & Toothpaste
- Razor
- Cotton Swabs
- Deodorant
For Dr. Norem
- Assorted peppers
- Seed sprouting kit
- Mung beans
- Broccoli seeds (sprouting)
- Fenugreek seeds (did not give – her husband doesn’t take them)
- Chia seeds (I think I forgot to take them.)
I want to visit:
- the New Morning Gallery in the Village District. (did it)
- This was the last place in Asheville I stopped by the morning that I left to return to Fayetteville, and this area suffered greatly from the floods by Helene.
- Last place this time too, and took a bunch of pictures & have them available online via Amazon.
- Did drive around the corner and back to where the large storage tank had floated away. All the former businesses were boarded up still. No life back there, and one strip of stores were boarded up gone, back on the street where the large storage drum had floated around and came to rest between a small tree and the side of the building.
- the Western Carolina Farmers Market (did it)
- This has Cara’s Corner in the Market where I bought the various dry beans one time, and some gumbo filé, (bought some more) and one other thing that I don’t recall at the moment, but also digestible. They gave me the bright yellow grocery bag, with Cara’s Corner advertising on it, that I take with me to various grocery stores that require you to “bring your own bag.” I bought a quart of honey for about $21 but then found it at Earth Fare for $3 less, exact same.
- the State Arboretum (more than one in this State – didn’t)
- Depends upon whether I can determine if it is worth it to visit the grounds at this time of year, and how much it may cost to park, because they used to have a free day (maybe the last Tuesday of each month). I saw online that it cost $20 for parking – that’s the Admission Fee.
- The Blue Ridge Parkway on both sides and through Asheville *did it)
- I saw a couple of black bears late in the afternoon crossing the Parkway on my last visit. And maybe there will be wild turkeys too.
- No black bears or turkeys this time. But did see Biltmore from the Parkway and I didn’t know that was possible.
- A bridge across the French Broad River had been damaged and the road completely circumvented, and below that, near the Arboretum entrance they had built a new bridge that crosses the river, but the road goes nowhere on the other side yet.
- the Mangum Gallery in Weaverville (just above Asheville – did it)
- I’ve bought various mugs, coffee cups & plates through the years made my Mangum (husband & wife) and visited this location several times. *Something that impressed me on my last visit was the small public parking area across the street from this pottery shop. It felt good to park safely and walk across to the shop. Parked there again, but had to circle around once.
- I want to drive up “the back way” onto the Blue Ridge Parkway from Weaverville. (did it – open)
- I hope that route wasn’t destroyed by the flooding, but now that I think about it, those low lying areas at the start of the climb may have flooded and little bridges washed out. *They weren’t washed out, no real sign of damage.
- I want to stop in to the “Folk Art Center,” just before leaving the Parkway. (didn’t)
- This tribute to the mountain folk arts has both shops, working artists, and a museum.
- I passed by the back entrance for busses and under the Parkway arch, but when I came back around from Weaverville, I was in a hurry and did not return the next day before going to the New Morning Gallery because the Gallery didn’t open until 10 an,
Bill Gibson, II 