Asheville is great, if you like hippie culture (and I do). This is my third time here and it just confirms for me the sense that Asheville is a hippie haven. In fact, it could probably be marketed that way (and in some sense it already is, or else I wouldn't be here): if you can have eco-resorts, why not have hippie resorts?
You got your used book store, your veggie cafes, your fiber arts store, your vintage clothing stores, your punk/goth/whateveryoungpeoplearelisteningtothesedays music joints, your funky psychedelic head shops--in the same two block radius.
And not too far away is the hostel we stayed in last night called Arthaus. At $60, the "king-size" bedroom was kind of pricey, but it was all they had at 11:30pm and so we took it. It was worth it to hang out with the young crunchy hippie travelers in the morning, sharing the kitchen (and pancakes), listening to them laugh at one of Wallace's stories, and enjoying the art of the proprietress, named Rupa, hanging on the wall (should have taken a picture). And a big, iron-cast, lion-footed, royal-sized bathtub!
A far more enjoyable experience than the Motel 6s we've been haunting, one of which we'll be in tonight, near the Atlanta airport.
Anyway, if you're traveling through, the URL for the Arthaus hostel is (prices on the website look kind of iffy):
http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.php/HostelNumber.7767
And here's the URL for Malaprops Bookstore, where I'm typing this:
Posted by jeb at August 7, 2005 5:10 PM | TrackBackNext time you're there, check out this little restaurant called Salsa. Lots of great dishes with, you guessed it, a variety of salsas to try alongside.
We love Asheville...
Posted by: Jason at August 7, 2005 10:42 PM