Quick Trip to Asheville, NC

“Every experience is a form of exploration.”
― Ansel Adams

Sometimes, after being home for a weekend or two at a time, I get the urge to be on the move.  I always enjoy a quick trip, even for just the day, looking for things to photograph.

I often view my photography like a scavenger hunt.  I don’t have real expectations, I just go with the intent to photograph.

This was the case at 5:00 in the morning this past Saturday.  I did have an idea of one image I wanted to make as my husband, Randy, and I packed our car with photography gear, our dog, and a picnic lunch including turkey sandwiches Saturday morning.  I had one picture that I wanted to take at a specific location in Asheville to use for a photo project I will be working on in the next month.  Any other images collected along the way would be “gravy”.

We started our morning on the streets of downtown Asheville.  A wig shop caught my eye and I spent some time there making different compositions.

Here was another scene we discovered while in the downtown area.

From there, we drove through the grounds of the Biltmore.  We had our dog, Maui, with us, so we were not planning to spend any time at the house.  We often just go to take a look at the gardens and the grounds at different times of the year.

Once we finished taking a quick look at the Biltmore, I remembered that the gingerbread houses would be on display at the Grove Park Inn.  There is an annual gingerbread competition.  The houses are typically displayed between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There were, in fact, several of the winning houses on display throughout the Inn.

This year’s grand prize winning gingerbread house was spinning behind protective glass.

One of my favorite of the gingerbread creations was this peacock.

I am always amazed by the time and creativity that go into these edible creations.

We were back home Saturday by early afternoon.  Although I did not create anything Earth shattering, it fulfilled my need to be out photographing.  I also got to enjoy a morning adventure with my husband watching Asheville, NC prepare for the holidays.