Between the ages of 18-21, I used to run out of gas all the time. I was young and dumb and poor (and at the risk of throwing her under the bus, was raised by a mother who was older, wiser, and richer than I yet somehow managed to run out of gas semi-regularly). I’ve run out of gas within sight of my parents’ house. I’ve run out of gas in the backyard of my college house and in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. I remember once running out of gas at the entrance of a gas station. The crowning achievement was when my brother and I (I’m unsure which of us was driving) ran out of gas on the Massachusetts Turnpike in the middle of January (and just to show you that I had no chance, my mother’s crowning achievement was running out of gas with a car full of children just before getting onto the Chesapeake Bay Bridge).
Once I graduated college and ceased being poor, I became the type of guy who fills up when he hits half a tank, a practice that I pretty consistently stick to, except for two weeks when I…ran out of gas, up—out of all the fucking places to do it—on the Blue Ridge Parkway just before a glorious WNC sunset. My excuse? I was busy being a four-star host to my friend Maura.
Maura (my very good college friend responsible for introducing me to Bruce Springsteen, SIC, and the most chaotic head-banging I’ve ever seen) had texted me a month prior after a long Asheville absence—she was my very first visitor 3 weeks after I moved here back in 2020—and said she’d found a flight that landed in Asheville on Thursday afternoon and flew out Sunday morning at…7 AM. Along with being my first visiting friend, Maura’s been to Asheville several times and loves it, but as alluded, hadn’t been here in some time. A lot has changed since she’s visited. Additionally, I’ve become further ensconced in my role as an Ashevillian and so have discovered a litany of restaurants, breweries, towns, experiences, and hikes I knew Maura would love. This is a long-winded way to say there was a lot I wanted to fit into 2.5 days.
The tentative plans were to explore my corner of east Asheville/Fairview Thursday night, go on a hike and hit a new small town afterward on Friday (some options included Johnson City and Burnsville), then do Sauna House Saturday morning, walk around Black Mountain Saturday afternoon, and bop around RAD Saturday evening, crescendoing with some Burger Bar karaoke. It was a packed schedule, but Maura and I are packed-schedule people. Still, I wanted to maximize our time, so went out of my way to ensure I had a full tank of gas before picking her up from the airport…a tank that quickly depleted during our breakneck weekend that said breakneckness caused me not to monitor as stringently as I could.
We had a lovely Fairview evening sampling beers at Turgua and Whistle Hop on Thursday. I’d planned initially on staying on this side of town for dinner—I knew Maura would love The Piazza as much as I do—but I had not planned on having meetings I couldn’t miss from 1-3:30 Thursday afternoon after picking her up, and hadn’t planned on giving her my car, asking her to vacate my apartment for 2.5 hours before we started gallivanting, and suggesting the nearby Piazza for lunch, which she took advantage of (they have pizza and a salad lunch deal for $12.00). Not wanting Maura to double dip on restaurants, I suggested we take advantage of our free time on Thursday to check out my favorite BBQ, Iron and Oak Brisket Company, and Riverside Rhapsody Brewing. From there, we also stopped at Zillicoah, The Getaway, and then ended the night in West Asheville, having a delicious Vermont cider (we’re both obsessed with anything Vermont) at The Golden Pineapple and a possibly even more delicious Hamm’s at Fleetwood’s, where we purchased a polaroid photo to echo the one we took on Maura’s first visit four years ago (we have a nice little collection of three going at the moment).
We had a nightcap at McDonald’s: a McChicken and 5-piece for me and two cheeseburgers for her. We both prioritize organic food and clean eating.
The weather wasn’t cooperating with us on Friday. We woke up, and it was pouring, so the hike went out the window. Instead, after a lovely breakfast at Liberty House Cafe, we headed up to Hot Springs, where we had two beers at Big Pillow Brewing, which I knew Maura would dig. After walking around a few shops in Hot Springs, we went to Marshall and had pizza at Mad Co. Brew House. Again, we walked around some Marshall shops, the highlight being the French Broad Exchange, where I purchased 5 more books I probably don’t need (not one to be left out; Maura purchased four). We were prepared to leave town when we passed Mal’s, a neighborhood bar I’d only been to once before, but long enough to know Maura would appreciate the mix of vintage kitsch, taxidermy, and low-cost regional brews. We had a lovely time at Mal’s and then embarked on a rainy ride back to Asheville.
Friday was our “nice” dinner night, and we went to Tall John’s in Montford. I’ve been once before and enjoyed it, but I suspect it is a tad overpriced. Still, I enjoyed our burrata appetizer and my burger. Dessert was one last Hamm’s at Double Crown.
Saturday was lovely weather, but we couldn’t cancel Sauna House for a hike (we had woken up with the intent to do a sunrise hike, but it was pouring at 5:00 AM), so went for a nice sweat and soak, which after a lovely food truck lunch at Highland, precipitated a nap.
Saturday afternoon included a stop at River Arts Brewing, dinner at the Old London Road food truck (a double food truck lunch), and sitting for a long time at Wedge to soak up the sun. As planned, Maura and I, alongside a couple of my friends we picked up, ended the night (and our trip, effectively) at Burger Bar karaoke, where she sang ____, my friend Dani and I sang Elton John and Kiki Dee’s classic “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” and our friend Taylor brought down the house with a rendition of Earl’s Gotta Die. I make it to Burger Bar karaoke, 2-4 times a year, and it’s always a blast, and true to form, instead of staying “just till 10:30 or so,” Maura and I stayed till well past 1:00, which is both much later than I typically stay out…and not ideal with a 5:00 AM wakeup.
Still, this was neither of our first rodeos, so I took Maura to the airport with a half hour to spare before her flight time. Instead of going home and immediately going to bed like a smart person, I drove up onto the Parkway to see the sunrise, which…was gorgeous.
I went home and tried to sleep after that…but couldn’t. I was up…and it was a gorgeous day, so after grabbing lunch with a friend at Pizza Mind, I read one of my newly purchased books all afternoon at Riverside Park in Woodfin. When it started getting dusky—and I finished my book—I made to go home, but the weather was too nice, and the weekend was too good, I didn’t want to end things, so figured I’d go back up to the parkway to watch the sunset on a very fun weekend. Before realizing I was on E, I passed two gas stations and made a mental note that I should probably get gas while passing a 3rd right before getting on the parkway.
“I should be fine though,” I thought, chalking this decision to not stop up to nothing but pure laziness. I made it up to the Wash Creek Overlook before I could feel my car lose steam and navigated onto said overlook. Thankfully, Taylor was not too worn out from his Dixie Chicks performance to graciously run me a gas can. I thanked him, told him how embarrassed I was, and blamed being a good, attentive host more intent on having my friend have a fantastic trip than monitoring things like gas levels on the whole ordeal.
AshevilleExplorer 