An Asheville Anniversary – Day 2
On Saturday morning, we woke up as late as you possibly can after life with a toddler (7:15 am…) and laid around, which is something we don’t get to do often. Josh went downstairs to get me a little something for breakfast, as we’d be doing our zip line tour and would likely be eating a late lunch.
We took our time getting ready and left at 9:45 to head to Navitat Canopy Adventures Asheville. I found this place while searching through Pinterest for Asheville recommendations. In comparing the two tours they offer, the Blue Ridge Experience looked the most fun and I’d talked Josh into playing along and going with me. 🙂
Before our tour!
We arrived and Josh kept joking about how he’d see me later, but I insisted he’d have a lot of fun. We checked in, emptied our pockets, and waited to meet our tour guides. Kate and Katherine, our two tour guides, met us for our 10:50 am tour and explained what we’d be doing. We then made our way up to get our gear on. Since we’d be flying above the trees, over a few miles, I didn’t have my phone with me – so there are few pictures. I did however, borrow my dad’s GoPro camera*, so we have videos of our zips!
We took the Navitat van up the mountain and close to the top. There was a little hike to the first platform, but it wasn’t all that bad.
The beautiful view from the top!
Along the way, the guides entertained us with jokes and information about the area around us. Since we were celebrating our anniversary, the group nominated us to go first on the first zip line.
Here we go!
Our guides mentioned that if we loved this one, we would FOR SURE love the two to come. I couldn’t wait! After the other six folks on our tour made their way down, we had a little bit of a hike up to the second platform. The guides stopped us along the way to catch our breath and pointed out different plants and provided tidbits of information while we recovered, haha.
Our group mid-hike to platform #2
After beating Josh on the first zip line, he was determined to beat me on the second one. Game on. This zip line was about .75 miles long, the longest of the three we’d be doing. We were the second to go on this one, and were promised beautiful views along the way.
They weren’t kidding.
Coming in from the 2nd zip!
The next hike to the third platform was downhill, so it wasn’t as intense, but I almost slipped on the dirt a few times – no spills though!
On platform three, our last zip, we had a shorter run – but still fun!
Last zip!
Kate, one of our guides, recommended stopping for lunch in Weaverville on our way back to Asheville. She mentioned several types of food, but pizza and brewery jumped out and we decided to stop there – as it was after 2 pm and we were hungry!
We stopped at Blue Mountain Pizza to grab a bite to eat and we were glad that we did! In checking feedback on Foursquare, the garlic knots were an absolute must. We also decided to split a Parrothead pizza (ham, bacon, pineapple). Little did we know how big everything would be!
Our view from the porch
We left stuffed, knowing we wouldn’t need dinner. Upon arrival to the hotel, we rested up for the roller derby match that evening. We were going to go at 5 pm, but I kind of fell asleep… The All-Stars were competing at 7 pm, so thankfully we didn’t miss it all. It was a short walk over to the US Celluar Center where we weren’t sure what to expect.
Program for the festivities
The Blue Ridge Rollergirls were competing against the Charlotte Rollergirls. After introductions of both teams, the match started.
Blue Ridge Rollergirls rolling around during introductions
It was pretty clear early on, that we had no clue what was taking place, aside from the fact that Blue Ridge was putting a hurting on Charlotte. It was a lot of fun to cheer them on, and we finally got the hang of it. Blue Ridge has a squirrel mascot that kept the crowd entertained between jams.
It’s a squirrel!
Blue Ridge won by a ridiculous amount, but both teams seemed to be having fun. We snuck out before the last jam and decided that we’d go to Kilwins to have ice cream for dinner. Because we’re adults, and we can. 🙂
Deliciousness in a bowl.
We opted for waffle bowls so we could take the ice cream back to our hotel. Josh opted for the Georgia Peach ice cream, while I selected the Salted Caramel. Both were yummy!
It had been decided that we were going to go out for breakfast in the morning, so we crashed after an exciting day – ready for our last full day in Asheville.
