The new stomping ground

This won't be your typical entry so don't expect anything very interesting.

As most of you know, when I lived in CA my two regular stomping grounds were Berkeley and Haight Ashbury. I felt very much at home in both places. They were my people. They were my environment. They were my home away from home.

Since moving to North Carolina I had scoured most of the state looking for a similar place to get my hippie fix. I went to most of the local college campuses which usually have an eclectic area of shops and cafes but so far, no luck. It's a relatively conservative state and there didn't appear to be a lot of individuality.

Until today.

Allison had read about a fun store up in a town called Asheville which is in the very western portion of North Carolina at the base of the Smokey Mountains. We decided to take a day trip there and it turns out it was the best thing we could have ever done.

Jackpot!

We found it. The home away from home. The Embassy for all people like Al and myself.

My description on FaceBook was this: If Berkeley and Haight Ashbury got married, had a wedding cake packed with steroids and the union was sprinkled with the absolute beauty of Victoria, BC then welcome to Asheville, North Carolina.

It's a place to experience, not visit. It's eclectic shops, quaint cafes, odd ball people, and personality span about 13 city square blocks. It's my new "place". It's my new "fix". It's the final puzzle piece I needed to snap into place to truly feel at home.

In one of the shops, I was looking at some of the things in the front window when I heard Allison laughing in the back. I walked toward her to see what was so funny and she showed me this button. I began to laugh and said, "I HAVE to have this".

I have a feeling Asheville and The Hippie will get along just fine.