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Dear Reader’s, hello, and welcome to the Book End. It is too hot to live y’all! It is too hot to go swimming in the pool, it’s too hot to go for a hike, it’s too hot to sit out on the front porch, and so what can you do? Take a trip! That is precisely what I intend to do. It helps break up the doldrums of these dog days of summer.

I just got back from a day trip to Asheville, North Carolina; it is a summer trip that I highly recommend. One of my closest and lifelong friends came down from Ohio to see me in the beginning of August. She is a Yankee, but we are still good friends. Ha! She is from Cleveland Ohio. When she is down in my beloved South for a visit, I like to show her the charms and graciousness of the South. So, I took her to Asheville. We got up very early; I drove on highway 26 to Asheville. It is a glorious drive in the early morning. There is something about the early light over the mountain that takes one’s breath. It is flat where Sharlene is from, so this drive just blew her mind. It only took us one hour and twenty minutes to get there from where I used to live in Greeneville.

I have been following a gourmet donut shop on Instagram called Vortex donuts. They use only non gmo flour etc.…and feature some amazing donuts. You might could say I’ve been hungry for one of their donuts for a long time. So, I put Sharlene in charge of the GPS on my iPhone while I negotiated the downtown traffic. What are friends for? Success! We found it! We had so much fun picking out our donuts. I had an earl grey donut, which was made with earl grey tea and lavender colored and flavored icing. I of course practically shoved my whole donut into my mouth, while Sharlene delicately tastes tested and savored her caramel, bacon donut. She had on her glasses, so I took her picture for Instagram. I put a quote saying, “Sharlene inspecting her donut to see if it is up to her specifications.” Fifty years later, after she ate it, I put her picture on Instagram again with her empty plate and quote, “Sharlene’s donut has been eaten, apparently it was up to her specs.” Ha! Needless to say, she and I laughed all day.

After we ate our donuts, we drove around the manicured neighborhoods in Asheville. Oh, my goodness! So extremely beautiful! Then we drove to the antique and famous Grove Park Inn. For those of you that do not know the history, it is beyond fabulous. It was built in 1913. It has an all-rock edifice and is about four stories high. The roof is red Spanish tile. When you walk through the huge antique wooden doors of the entrance you walk into the Great Room. It is huge! It has a vaulted ceiling about 2-3 stories high. All of the furniture is in the craftsman style. To the left of the room, and to the right of the room are the biggest fire places I have literally ever seen, and I have traveled all over the United States. My very favorite president of all time, Theodore Roosevelt has stayed at the Grove Park Inn. I have, as you know from reading this column, a flair for the dramatic, (my daughter Eili would just say drama mama, but I’m not asking her), so as I skipped happily around the great room, I envisioned my dear President Theodore striding through in his manly fashion.

After I had asked every question known to man to the staff, Sharlene and I got a table out on the terrace. We sat perched next to the edge with a breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We stayed for a three-hour lunch; I charmed the waiter, whose service was impeccable, so he didn’t seem to mind that I did not want to leave. Sharlene and I both ate the fresh crab cake with the house remoulade. What words can I use to describe all of this beauty dear reader? Alas, I am speechless, I just have to recommend that you visit as soon as possible! We finally left the terrace. We sat for a little while in the rocking chairs on the front porch where I informed the valet that we would be moving in permanently! Ha! I told Sharlene that we could be Sharlene and Teresa at the Grove Park, sort of like Eloise at the Plaza.

On the drive home we took a different route and drove home through Paint Creek National Forest where I exaggerated bear stories to try to scare Sharlene. But after 30 years of friendship, she knows me too well. Oh well, I tried anyway.

So dear reader that was my answer to the heat! A day trip to Asheville! I hope you can go soon! Until next time, have a good week and have a literary week!