Saturday, August 19, 2017

Back in Asheville - Updates!


We are back in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. We are drawn to this region for many reasons: the culture, the mountains, the hiking, good food, and most importantly, the climate. Rarely does it get overly hot or cold here. Which must be the reason why real estate this area is so expensive!

It's hard to believe, but when we got to Asheville in March it was snowing out!
Since arriving, we've been very busy. My (Hana's) family came to visit us in May. We had fun doing Asheville touristy things, like visiting Biltmore, exploring the River Arts District, and, of course, hiking. It was great seeing family after so long alone on the road!


River Arts District - Hana & Erin
James and I have been exploring the area on our own, as well:
The Asheville Arboretum. Highly recommend!

Tigerlily, and wild berries picked right off the Appalachian trail.

A lot has happened in the last few months. For one, my job that I had been working remotely for the last two years ended :`(.  It's understandable that they would want someone to work there in the office, and I'm not ready to move back to Michigan now, or ever, probably, so I need to find something new to do. It's daunting, terrifying, exciting, and a bunch of other emotions all wrapped in one. Ultimately, I knew going into this that I would need to find a new career, but I hadn't quite gotten that far yet. 

Luckily, James got a new job in town so we're not out on the street... yet! That leaves us with the problem of only having one car at the moment. 

Our goal in coming to Asheville this time around was to look for a place to stay permanently. We're done with our trip, and need to do SOMETHING else, anything else, as we look ahead to the future. While it would be awesome to keep traveling, it's just too expensive, especially if you don't have jobs that can be done easily online.

As with all things in life, nothing is easy. We've had an extremely difficult time trying to find a place to buy. The real estate market is just as intense here as it was in Ann Arbor when we left (that being one of the reasons whey we left).  We are still looking, but a little pessimistic about the whole thing.

I guess this is not a very exciting or uplifting update, but that's life. Life on the road is not always 24/7 excitement and adventure. Sometimes it sucks, just like regular, boring, live-in-a-house-work-in an-office life does (sometimes). We will continue to post updates. Here's hoping for a little luck and direction!

 

The river that runs through our campground.
We took a day trip to Greenville, SC, which is actually a pretty nice city! They have a beautiful park that runs through the downtown area.

Of course, James has been busy working on his guitars, and business is steady!:


 

See more at our new Facebook page for Cigar Box Gypsy.


Demo of a recent electric: