While it was obvious we should have a trip out of school over the long weekend, up till Friday night we still had no firm plans on where to go, because in the days leading up to it we were all pretty much "in our own worlds". Friday night after dinner we were coming up with last minute plans, switching between Washington DC, Asheville and the Streets of Southpoint, a commercial area about 15 minutes drive away [in which I would had been disappointed if we had decided on that].
After many discussions over mode of transportation, accommodation and the number of people going, we finally settled on two rental cars of eight Singaporeans and two Hong Kong-ers to Asheville, a city about 4 hours drive away.
One of the two cars we rented. Although its quite well known that the best way to get around America is by car, we had to be there to realise just how inconvenient it was to be without a car.
Taking photos of the Bell Tower while waiting for the other car. Our two-car convoy didn't start off well when we separated, within school compound >.< The road that we were supposed to take was closed, and we weren't communicating on where we should go instead.
After the initial jitters, we were on our way again. Idea here was that the second car would follow the first car closely, even if the first car made a mistake and took a wrong turn. And we would keep each other in contact via mobile phone.
Left hand drive took the drivers a while to get used to. In the beginning we were making mistakes like turning into opposite lanes of roads. Luckily we never went head-on into another car.
Random scenery shots along the way.
I have always thought that the Magic School Bus was just a cartoon. Turns out, school buses in the States were really like this.
Took a toilet break halfway into the journey, at a petrol station.
Our cars.
Finally we were reaching!
Where we would stay for two nights: Bon Paul & Sharky's Hostel.
One of the rooms where six of us would be sleeping in.
My bed!
It was a nice cosy house.
Dining area.
Living room haha.
Not a TV.
After we had put down our bags we went on to Downtown Asheville.
Nice little town.
Anyone dares to park in a carpark like this?
Vance Monument dedicated to Zebulon Baird Vance.
Heading for dinner.
Dinner was at this superb Indian restaurant as recommended by the hostel owner. A little on the expensive side, but food was delicious. I had the best naan bread ever there.
Quick stop at a nearby supermarket.
And then a shopping mall and a bookstore..which i did not buy anything.
At night it began to snow a little. Was trying to capture the snowing, but wasn't really successful.
The little streaks at the light were the snowflakes.
Excited us braved the cold to try to take photos.
Taking photos on the middle of the road, with the occasional passing car.
After one night of light snow. The blur was actually due to the car window fogging up.
Early second morning we were on a way to ski!
Destination was Blowing Rock, a town near Asheville.
And I thought I had already seen enough snow in Korea.
Road looked slippery to me, but I think my friends drove a little too fast for comfort, especially when we were going up the mountains where one wrong move would send us tumbling down the slope.
We missed a turn, and the recalculated route by the GPS brought us through this snow filled road. For a moment it felt like Ex Wallaby in Australia, except this time round it was all snow instead of sand.
Arrival at the Appalachian Ski Mountain!
Optical illusion: shoe marks made by us.
While I am not sure, I think the snow used here was all real, unlike Jisan Ski Resort in Korea where artificial snow was used.
This was the easiest of the slopes. Personally I think this was way better than Jisan's beginner slope. For one, the slope ended in another upward slope, so one would definitely stop at the bottom of the slope.
The beginner slope came with escalators to bring us up! Another plus over Jisan where we had to walk up ourselves.
Many people enjoying themselves.
Immediate to advanced slopes which I was not confident enough to try.
Unlike Jisan where they gave each person two poles, over here it was up to one whether he wanted poles or not. Many parents were teaching kids how to ski without poles.
Snowboarding was available as well.
Like Korea, it was more of a half day ski. We had to leave early so that we could go down the mountains before the Sun set.
Stopped at the road shoulder suddenly...
...to take photos of the sunset.
Dinner was at Chillies. Shown here were appetizers, which was almost a meal itself.
My main course. Almost couldn't finish it.
Early Monday morning we began our journey back to Chapel Hill.
Stopped halfway for breakfast. This breakfast set cost US$5, where the price looked ok, until one converted it to SGD.
Trucks running down twisty highways were no joking matter. There were signs specifying speed limits for trucks [65mph for us vs 35mph for them], signs telling them to stop by the road shoulder to cool their brakes, signs telling us that if trucks were flashing their lights it meant they were going too fast, and runaway ramps at the side of highways to stop these trucks.
This trip was a nice one, although I think I had spent way too much money. Not enough thought had been put into this trip as well, given that it was so last minute. I guess we could all take some lessons away from this, and the most important one would definitely be: plan early.
 |
| Asheville + Appalachian Ski Mountain, Blowing Rock |
No comments:
Post a Comment