At the beginning of May I did a day trip to Asheville on a Saturday to explore a few places since I had heard good thing about it! I live less than 2 hours away from it and have driven past it multiple times on my drives to and from Illinois, so it was fun to actually see what was there.
First we decided to get donuts since upstate SC is severely lacking in fun donut places and I love donuts. I did some research beforehand and it looked like Hole Doughnuts and Vortex Doughnuts were two of the more popular places. We decided on Holes because it was closer to some other places we wanted to go, but when we got there we found out that you had to place an order online and you had to pick a time in advance. We got there a little after 10 and the next available time was 11. Waiting an hour for a donut that they probably already had ready inside? No thanks. So we headed over to Vortex Doughnuts instead and were actually able to get inside right away to pick what we wanted. After COVID ends, I would like to go back and try Hole Doughnuts at some point, but not with the set up they have currently. Out of the 3 we got from Vortex, I think the cinnamon sugar one was my favorite, but I liked them all!
After donuts, we went downtown and walked around to look at shops and just see what it was like. We then walked over to Pack’s Tavern after reading good things about it online. It wasn’t too busy surprisingly, which was great. I got a chicken bacon sandwich and fries, and it was really good! Then we headed back into the heart of downtown to visit Battery Park Book Exchange. This was probably my favorite place that we visited in Asheville because of how unique it was. It is a used bookstore and champagne bar in one. You could sit inside at tables set up throughout the books, or outside. They had fun baked goods and teas too, but we just got some wine! It did take us over an hour to get a table, and we had to go back and ask again to actually get a table. But since we could browse the books inside while we waited it wasn’t a big deal! If I went back, I think I might even choose to sit inside rather than outside because of the atmosphere inside! But of course the patio was great on a spring day as well.
The checks also come in children’s books, which I thought was a fun touch!
We then had some time to kill before we wanted to eat dinner, so we found the Botanical Gardens at Asheville and walked around for a bit. It was a really pretty place with lots of cool plants and flowers!
For dinner we went to White Duck Taco Shop, and clearly we were not the only ones with the idea. We probably waited about 30 minutes in line, but it was worth the wait! This location was right on a river, so you could sit outside and enjoy the good views while eating!
The tacos were good, but the queso was what sold me! 10/10 for sure.
We finished the day by getting Whit’s Frozen Custard for dessert. I love a good custard, and was excited to try this even though I think it is a chain in the south. I hadn’t ever been to one before though, and there aren’t any near Greenville that I know of! I wish there was one closer to me though since it was really good! I got the flavor of the day which had marshmallows and chocolate in it, and it was soooo delicious.
That’s a wrap on Asheville! One of my favorite parts of moving to upstate SC is that there are so many day trip options nearby. I am excited to knock a few more off the list in the coming months. If you have any day trip recommendations in NC, SC, or GA, comment and let me know! And if you are interested in previous travel posts I have done, click here!
xo, Scarlett