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A Glimpse of Asheville

DSC00004Located in the mountains of Western North Carolina, lays the beautiful city of Asheville. Whether you come here in the fall to see the leaves change color on the parkway, a spring visit to the Biltmore House to see the flowers bloom, or for a summer vacation to enjoy all the outdoor activities you can imagine, Asheville is the perfect place to visit any time of the year.  

This small city is a great place to be if you’re traveling here with your family, by yourself, or with your significant other. The adventure of Asheville begins as soon as you step foot in downtown. Here you will find some of the best restaurant and small shops. You will not want to miss a trip to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge! Call us here at Wilcox Travel and we would love to set you up a tour of downtown Asheville so that you can learn the history of the wonderful town. While you are downtown make a trip down to the River Arts District to enjoy multiple art studios and experience the culture of Asheville. If you are a fan of the night scene then you will love some of the bars there are, including Aloft hotel where you can go on the roof and see all of the city under the stars.

Just ten minutes from downtown Asheville located in Biltmore Forest sits The Biltmore Estate. The house is one of the biggest private homes in the US and the estate is one of the largest that is still privately owned. Don’t forget to get your tickets at the front gate because you will not want to miss out on the walk through tours they offer of the home. A visit to the Biltmore Estate can last all day and will still leave you wanting more. Surrounding the house are the estates gardens, a pond, and many walking trails, including one that line the French Broad River. Not to mention the many dining options they have from snacks to completely formal, which is great for celebrations and special occasions. You can enjoy a free tour of the winery and if you are of age, free wine testing when the tour is complete! The options at The Biltmore Estate are endless.

After you have enjoyed two of the most famous places in Asheville you will want to continue your adventure outdoors! Surrounding Asheville are many hiking trails, waterfalls, places to zip line, a tubing experience down the river, a drive down the parkway, and much more. The hiking trails range from very easy, something the whole family can do and then there are strenuous ones for the most adventure seeking outdoor lovers! While on your hike or outdoor adventure there will be plenty of opportunities to view the wildlife. There are also great places to horseback ride, or play golf in the valley of the mountains.

If you love to shop there is something for you too! Besides the many shops in downtown Asheville and Biltmore Forest, an outlet mall recently opened up fifteen minutes down the road with plenty of stores for all different tastes.

There are so many activities to do you will want to spend as much time in Asheville that you can! Enjoy your adventures and come see us here in these beautiful mountains we call home. Contact Wilcox Travel so we can help you plan the perfect trip to Asheville, NC.

Asheville’s Southside

Asheville’s Southside

Asheville Southside 1960'sA note attached to one photo of a home on Asheville’s southside in early 1960 calls it an “illegal gambling/whiskey house,” or illegal bar.

“We really have to get beyond the nostalgia to say what was there, what was life really like,” Mathews said.

Interconnected

Many, many more structures in Asheville’s southside housed legitimate businesses.

“Many people who grew up here remember (Southside) and being as vital, if not more vital, a commercial district than The Block,” Mathews said, referring to the historic African-American business district around the intersection of Eagle and South Market streets near City Hall.

Mathews shows photo after photo of Asheville’s southside auto repair shops, restaurants, service stations, beauty parlors and hotels, including one where James Brown and

Asheville's Southside once hosted Aretha Franklin

Cover of Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin once played in an upstairs auditorium.

Some homes were small, but many had distinctive architectural features people would treasure today.

“The preservationist in me is saying I could have done something with these buildings,” Mathews

Article source: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/article/20140222/NEWS01/302220026/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Sierra Nevada gets closer to rolling out beer and opening

While there still is more work to do before full-scale production commences, Sierra Nevada has achieved a spot-on flavor match between its two top-selling brands produced in Mills River and at the company’s Chico, Calif. brewery.

Sierra Nevada Pale AleSierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo Extra IPA — the No. 2-selling craft beer in the U.S. and top-selling IPA in the country, respectively — are now being brewed and bottled at the Mills River plant, but company spokesman Ryan Arnold said they are “still probably a couple of months out before we’re really pushing things out the door.”

Sierra Nevada’s quality-control process is a rigorous one, with up to 150 checks conducted in its high-tech research and development lab. The company says it tests everything from raw ingredients and water chemistry to full-spectrum molecular analysis to determine if its beer “has a potential for off-flavors before it ever makes it out of the kettle or fermenter.” The company also is splitting shipments of malt and hops between Mills River and Chico to eliminate variability from batch to batch and ensure consistency

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140219/ARTICLES/140219855 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Premier Distributor of Outdoor Recreation Products Locates in Asheville

SportHansa
In conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC) and Venture Asheville, Sport Hansa LLC, a premier importer and distributor of European outdoor product brands, today announced its relocation to Asheville.  The firm’s expanded distribution center will allow for continued growth and expansion of product lines that today include Helle knives of Norway, Kupilka camping dishware of Finland, Montane technical outerwear and Terra Nova tents of the United Kingdom, as well as Wetterlings Axe Works of Sweden.  The three-year-old company will locate at 10 Business Park Circle in Arden.

“As we continued to expand our customer base and add further European brands, we looked for a location that offered key attributes such as a business friendly environment and a cluster of other important players in the outdoor industry. After an extensive search, Asheville continually came up at the top of our list,” stated Matt Huff, Managing Director of Sport Hansa. The company is relocating its headquarters and distribution operations from Longmont, Colorado.

Additionally, the firm announced the appointment of a new Director of Marketing and Inside Sales. Formerly with North Carolina based

Article source: http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economic-development/announcements-and-press-releases/premier-distributor-outdoor-recreation-produc-0 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Wildlife spectacle lies just over Smokies

The four of us met in Asheville that morning bound for the wildlife spectacle along the Hiwassee River in southwestern Tennessee. Many of the local lakes were still frozen, so the largest concentration of sandhill cranes in the Southeastern United States (outside Florida) was not in the wildlife refuge but along the shores off the Hiwassee River.

The cranes, along with thousands of ducks, were standing around on the sand bars or feeding along the semi-frozen shoreline.

Hundreds were also feeding in the nearby fields among the cattle — a quite amazing sight really. Not quite the African savanna, but almost. Small flocks of American pipits also fed in the fields, and large flocks of red-winged blackbirds wheeled and landed amongst the unconcerned livestock.

A new visitor center had been built down on the end of Blyth’s Ferry Road honoring the Cherokee removal along the Trail of Tears, which was a peaceful site to spend a little time before heading to the new overlook high on a bluff over the Hiwassee River. The cranes were still distant, so we looked for a closer vantage point on the other side of the river (another part of Blyth’s Ferry Road).

The rest of the late afternoon

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140223/COLUMNISTS/402231002 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Blue Ridge Parkway open through Asheville today

After last week’s snowstorm of epic proportions inthe Asheville area, tThe Blue Ridge Parkway was closed for much of its stretch through North Carolina. But with the rapidly warming weather, a short stretch through the Asheville corridor is open today, Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed today.

Most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed today.

The rest of the parkway, though, in North Carolina is closed for snow, ice, and dangerous road conditions.

The parkway is open at Mileposts 389 at Hendersonville Road/U.S. 25 in South Asheville, through U.S. 74 near the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, up to MP 382 at U.S. 70/Tunnel Road at the Folk Art Center, which are both open today. This is where the parkway is closed, though.

In places where the parkway is gated, you can park off to the side, and access the parkway in most places by foot to walk, hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski, walk the dog or bicycle.

For more up to date road information on the parkway, visit www.nps.gov/blri or call the parkway visitor center at 828-298-5330.

Article source: http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2014/02/18/blue-ridge-parkway-open-through-asheville-today/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

America’s 20 Fastest-Growing Cities








America’s Fastest-Growing Cities 2014



When New York-based research firm Ipreo was looking to expand into a new office, the company searched nation-wide for the perfect location. “The primary goal was access to talent,” says O’Hara Macken, an EVP and managing director, “and the [Research] Triangle was our top choice in the U.S.” Ipreo, which provides data, software,

Article source: http://www.newsfeedmaker.com/article/190558778/7b2910f9 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com