A few months ago, Jim took a vacation to Asheville, NC. He wanted to see the artisans of the quirky town and for the Fall vacation to Hilton Head, he wanted us to stop there.
We left very early on a Friday morning and drove from Ohio to Asheville and got there in the afternoon. We toured the galleries and shops – taking a walking tour of the unrefined parts of the city. One of the stops Jim wanted to make was an artist who worked in clay and made stylized figures that she then glazed with patterns and textures. She called them “souls”. It was his favorite artist in the area and the last stop on our walking tour. It got to be late in the day and we were hustling to make sure we go there before it closed.
In time, we made it to the studio and I got to see the figures and meet the artist. Jim picked up one of the souls a few times – but it was pricey and he kept setting it back down. When we were ready to go, I picked up that same figure and took it to the counter and bought it – then handed it to Jim as an early Christmas present.
He was taken aback, but really happy. And happy surprises are pretty much my favorite thing. So, Jim got his soul.
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We stayed the night in Asheville, then toured the downtown area the next day. Quirky, still, and fun with interesting shops and plenty of people watching. The best was a great bookstore where I bought a trilogy based solely on the author. When I took them to the counter, the clerk asked if I’d read others by the author and we quickly agreed on a favorite.
It was a really pleasant conversation and a far cry from Books a Million. This was someone who was not only interested in books, but interested in the customers. Are the books better for it? No, the books stand on their own and were quite good. But the experience was better, by far. I sort of made a friend – if only for a short while – based on a love of reading.
I also got a sticker that said, “Hell hath no fury like me when I’m slightly inconvenienced and hungry”
Which is very true.
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From Asheville, we drove on to Hilton Head and arrived in the evening. By the time we had groceries for the week and were unpacked, it was late and dark. Jim wanted to take a walk on the beach and while I was tired, I agreed. I took a glowstick with me and marked the entrance to the path back to the condos, but it wasn’t enough.
We got lost on the beach in the dark.
And someone took/stole the glowstick.
We wandered up and down the dark sand looking for a familiar path, but we hadn’t seen it in the light and couldn’t find the right one. Finally, we gave up and picked a path to take us out past the condos to the street and from there, we took the long walk back to the numbered building. We had over-shot the correct path by quite a ways and it was 11:30 before we made it back to the condo. Not the best first trip to the beach, but we got some exercise – and the stars were pretty amazing.