Hendersonville, a very nice mountain town.....with model trains!

I was thinking a day of rest and some laundry and reading were in order for Saturday, but Clem had found a model railroad layout about a half hour  drive away, and he really wanted to see it, so off we went to Hendersonville.  It was actually very neat, not only due to the layout, but because it was housed in an old train depot! 

 He of course enjoyed speaking to the members of the club who were running the trains and providing information, and I got some photos, then sat outside at the G scale layout enjoying the lovely breezes on the old platform.  I keep telling him he should put a G scale through our yard, but I can’t convince him!   

After his third pronunciation that he would be “out in a bit”, I decided to walk up the street to see what I could see, and ran into a bunch of folks enjoying brunch and lunch treats on the sidewalk in front of a bakery, and just in time to witness a woman pull a hand full of birdseed out of her purse to feed the bird who was looking for crumbs!  I asked if she always carried bird seed, and though she did not, by then Clem had joined us and we ended up having an interesting conversation with them.  He was from Alaska, and she originally from NC, and always wanted to live in the mountains, and had recently located there after spending time in a 5th wheel touring around deciding where exactly it was they wanted to be! Though I had been researching places to eat in town, they assured us we had found the best, so we went in.  

I was a bit hesitant, since they had remarked on it being, in so many words, "healthy", but when Clem gets hungry and sees food, there is little to stop him!  And what looked like giant pretzels adorned with melted varieties of cheese sealed the deal, and we ordered lunch, which proved tasty, and quick, so we could be on our way.   


When we found Main Street, and saw the rows of shops and restaurants with sidewalk tables and shade trees, I wished we had waited for lunch!  But we enjoyed walking along and visiting the many galleries.  Clem was looking for tums for his heartburn, caused apparently by the steroids he is still taking for his poison “foliage”, and saw an apothecary sign, but found it to be an adorable building converted to a restaurant that had maintained the soda fountain, with walls lined with memorabilia of the 50’s.  Now I was REALLY bummed that we had had our lunch!  Such an adorable place!  Beautiful court house, huge old bank buildings converted to shops, (why so many banks, we had to wonder?), and just such a pleasant town!  We were so glad we made the trip to see the trains, or we would not have had the nice afternoon there.

In front of Kilwin's ice cream shop, specially commissioned by them, a very special bear!

All through downtown, bears were decorated, from simple decoration, to elaborate designs that matched the business they were in front of. 

Several bank buildings converted, but this one was especially cool with the big columns, and stores symmetrically spaced on either side.  I could not get a good shot of both with all the trees, so shot this angle with one. 

Super cool apothecary!  Wish we had eaten lunch here!

Especially attractive shop from early 20's.  The plaques tell of origin, as well as different businesses that inhabited the space over the years.  Loved the bullseye glass windows. 

 This was a surprise, as I had not noticed this gallery was housed in what was once a bank, but it was obvious when I saw the vault in back!

This little French Bulldog with an attitude was in the same gallery, and apparently miffed that his treats had run out! His collar is made of fresh flowers, that the young woman demonstrating flower arranging out front  had made for him.  

Totally pleasant little town!

We had to pay a visit to the real deal old General Store, and of course stock up on some "penny" candy, which of course costs a bit more these days......$8 a pound!  But some fun!

 I was chatting with a woman who  pointed out  the Moon Pies packaged with RC Cola, which she said was a southern favorite that she grew up with.  I bought a Moon Pie to sample, but passed on the RC.....neither of us thought that much of them!

The only negative we can see to this very neat town would be heavy traffic going toward Asheville.  We saw it going in, and experienced it leaving!  This most likely being our last year for the motorhome, we keep thinking about where we might like to rent a place to spend some time during the hot months, and this seemed such a great place on the surface.  But if frequent visits to Asheville were to figure into the plans, it might be annoying.  Oh well....more food for thought! 

Speaking of food, we had eaten at Tupelo Honey when we were in Asheville with Bob and Judy all those many years ago, and I found they had expanded to two locations in Asheville, as well as other places.  I was craving some good southern food, and I made a reservation and asked Lou and Roberta to join us, and met them at location number 2 that evening.  

At first disappointed at the location, and wishing I had been able to book the original, I left disappointed with my meal.  It was just ok, and not the great southern food experience we had previously.  Sometimes they can’t hold things together when they grow too much, which is a shame.  

So here I am on Sunday afternoon, having enjoyed a leisurely morning, watching Sunday Morning on TV with an extra cup of coffee, and now out at the picnic table while the laundry runs and Clem reads, catching up the blog and enjoying the view and nice breeze.  We have been running around since we arrived, and it was  nice to grill lunch and enjoy the campsite today!   Every day promises the threat of rain, and we have a few clouds moving in, but I wouldn’t mind a rainy excuse to spend the rest of the day with a good book! 

Shortly after taking this, Clem went in to watch Tiger, who is in second place!  He would love to see him win one. 

The outside TV once again fails us, when we can't get the stupid door open to watch it!  They have "fixed" the door more times than I can count!