Page 24 - The Magazine of AAA Ohio Auto Club – September 2020

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If you’re one of those people that everything looks good, but you are not sure where to eat or drink, consider one (or all?) of the city’s many food and drink tours. This will give you a taste of many of Asheville’s restaurants and then you can return to your favorites for a full meal later. Some of these sell out quickly, so plan accordingly.
HEAD TO THE MOUNTAINS
On a sunny day, take a drive up on the famous scenic Blue Ridge Parkway to get the breathtaking mountain landscape’s full effect, especially during the fall as the leaves are changing colors. The colors will depend
on what time of year you are visiting, but the change starts moving down the mountains in mid-October and reaches downtown Asheville by early November.
The Asheville area is a popular place to hike, with trails to satisfy all levels of hikers, with the bonus of waterfalls to gaze either at trails’ end or along the route. But if you are not into hiking or have little ones that you don’t think could handle it, the folks at ExploreAsheville.com have
a list of six waterfalls that can be experienced from the safety of your vehicle. Head to tinyurl.com/DriveFalls to discover the “6 Drive-By Waterfalls.”
HOLIDAYS IN ASHEVILLE
With its rich and storied history, it’s not surprising that you can find haunted tours in and around Asheville, many that run year-round, not just near Halloween.
You might want to wait a couple of months to visit, as Asheville usually ranks high on any list of towns that go all out for Christmas, as noted in last November’s AAA Magazine.
During the holidays, the Biltmore House is decorated with more than 100 Christmas trees adorned with more than 25,000 ornaments and 11⁄2 miles of garland. You also will see thousands of poinsettias and other plants, 500 wreaths and a 35-foot live Fraser fir in the Banquet Hall.
Photo: ExploreAsheville.com-Dave Allen
Photo: ExploreAsheville.com
Over at The Omni Grove Park Inn, the 28th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition will be held in November. Details of this year’s competition were not available yet at press time.
And while you are in town, don’t miss the North Carolina Arboretum’s annual Winter Lights show, converting the gardens into a fairyland with more than half a million lights. Tickets are on sale now and the display will be up from Nov. 20 to Jan. 2, 2021.
But the fairytale ends at some point, and you have to drive home. Just make a list for everything you plan on doing next time you head on down to Asheville.
AAA’s famous TripTik Travel Planner provides comprehensive driving directions. Contact your AAA Ohio Travel agent by stopping in your local office, calling 888-222-6446 or clicking on AAA.com.
22 | AAA MAGAZINE
Photo: ExploreAsheville.com
John T. Garcia is managing editor of AAA Magazine.