Reflections on DC to Asheville & Nashville last month

Half-Time Report

A full weekend in D.C., and now five more days through colonial Virginia, Charlottesville, Appomattox Courthouse and now Roanoke are under our belts. A few reflections so far.

The National Museum of African American History and so much that we’ve seen elsewhere, including the Smithsonian’s US History Museum, Mt. Vernon, Monticello, Madison’s home (Montpelier), Appomattox and the sparkling gem of an art museum here in Roanoke (the Taubman Museum of Art) are poignant reminders of our nation’s original sin and also of the many, varied contributions that the African American community has made to our cultural heritage and identity. It’s stunning that our enlightenment era founders voiced such high minded ideals as they also expressed their awareness of the evils of the system of enslavement (by which they profited) and their awareness that this would tear the country apart in coming generations.

Charlottesville offered more reminders: the unadorned pedestal that no longer supports the statue to Lewis & Clark - with Sacajawea in a subservient position. And, the University of Virginia’s new Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, which was reminiscent of D.C.’s Viet Nam War Memorial Wall.

On the food front, we have enjoyed a stunning array of wonderful food: Italian, Indian and Turkish fare in D.C. Vietnamese and Mexican in Williamsburg. Turkish (again) and Afghani in Charlottesville. And Peruvian food tonight in Roanoke. The abundance of flavors from diverse immigrants, old and new, all across Virginia was unexpected.

Our encounters with colonial and civil war history at the historic sites mentioned above, plus Jamestown and Yorktown, have been enjoyable as well as thought provoking. The numbers of obvious “home schooled” students and their parents at Williamsburg, Montpelier and Appomattox was surprising to me. How much they and their parents learned and discussed is unknown as I did not feel that I should intrude and ask. Re-enactors at Williamsburg and Appomattox were good to superb.

My last big take-away is how stunningly beautiful Virginia is — from Fairfax County, to the Tidewater, and the Piedmont. Lovely countryside and homes everywhere. Lovely historic towns and buildings. Those of us who live with grand mountains in the west think we live in the most beautiful part of America. I’ve learned it isn’t that simple, like so much of the United States.

Final observations. We also enjoyed the National Gallery’s original building with the special exhibit this year on the Impressionist and French Salon exhibitions of 1874 and the inclusion of the Corcoran Collection in the original gallery. Stunning! The current exhibition in the modern, East Wing was disappointing. Another disappointment was how security considerations have restricted access to the Capitol since I interned there 50 years ago and since we last visited 25 years ago.

The Road Ahead

Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville and the Smokies. And then on to Nashville. Thanks to those of you who’ve helped us along our journey.

Second Half- Final Trip Report

From Roanoke - which had a lovely surprise for us (see halftime report above) we slid down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville over two days - with stops at Mabry Mill, the Blue Grass Music Center, Blowing Rock (good food, very overpriced lodging and a total tourist town in Appalachia’s high rent district), Linnville Falls, and the Folk Art Center just outside Asheville. Beautiful, but too foggy to see other sites we might have enjoyed.

Asheville was wonderful - and seemed a little like a place out of place. The River Arts District was a wonderfully diverse community of artists. The art of many artists drew from place and tradition while other artists transcended the regional forms and culture. The neighborhood reflected too much of America’s history of decimating African American communities in the post WW2 era (the 1970s in Asheville’s case). The homes and businesses were razed supposedly for redevelopment … that never happened. Old warehouses, unlike the homes and businesses of the African American community, were not razed and those are the spaces for artists’ studios, lofts and galleries.

We did read the the city council voted in favor of reparations to the A-A community though I did not learn what form that has taken. We also learned from artists in the River Arts District that they now face rising rents. The new condo development going in was evidence that we saw for those fears. We did a little to support the arts community by getting a couple of items to bring home as gifts.

Asheville also provided wonderful dining for us. A Spanish tapas restaurant - La Bodega by Curate - had phenomenal roast chicken. And, we had a lovely French dinner at Bouchon.

Onward ! Next was Waynesville, Great Smoky Mountains NP and the Cherokee Village at Oconaluftee. I won’t bother with a history lesson here. Suffice to say it was all new and interesting, yet familiar. The area is beautiful. The history includes the Trail of Tears and European-American pioneers and their descendants scratching out a living from the countryside. The modern day Cherokee whose ancestors remained here seem to have a supportive and thriving community.

And finally we got to Nashville. WOW. Yes, we knew it is Music City and a Mecca for country musicians. Yes, we knew it is a growing city with a thriving music industry and tourist economy. But the noise, energy and music have been more than we expected, somehow.

I grew up in SF Bay Area with its North Beach neighborhood — where Chinatown, the Bohemian community, the historic Italian community, strip clubs, as well as City Lights Bookstore, the Hungry I and Finocchio’s all converged at Grant St., Columbus and Broadway. Nashville nearly matched that.

A friend of a friend who lives outside Nashville alerted us the Americana Music Fest, other music venues and a wonderful jazz club, Rudy’s. We took in some country music that was part of the ‘fest at Thunder Moon Collective in East Nashville’s Five Points. We visited the Country Music Museum and the National African American Music Museum. Our friend’s friend and his wife took us to Rudy’s where we heard a great jazz group - the Pat Coil Quartet - and.later to a classic, old school steak house from another era. Other than the two Museums, these other treasures were well off the traditional tourist route - thank goodness.

Broadway, around the corner from Ryman Auditorium and steps from the NAAMM was a cacaphony of music that was too loud, with thousands of tourists outside the over-the-top clubs with sidewalk barkers and ropers and not so occasional sirens and revved up engines. Whew!

I live in NC about 90 minutes by car from Asheville. I think how you described Asheville as a place out of place is one of the best descriptions for it I’ve ever heard. It is pretty special and I’m glad you enjoyed your trip & got to see some of its beauty & wonderful arts & food before this happened.

Speaking for myself my heart is broken but it has been wonderful seeing how the community has really stepped up to help each other. Doesn’t matter the political affiliation. We will get through this hopefully with our grit intact but improved.

Hi Fred,

Your report makes me realize once again how beautiful our country is and how much there is to see and do.

I only take one cruise a year and for now, it is always outside of the United States. But I have traveled quite a bit in the USA and now choosing to be more adventurous.

I believe that Seattle has a great music scene and I live in Austin, TX. You probably know that we also have a really great music scene in Austin. If you have not yet been, maybe one day you will check it out. Tomorrow is day one of weekend one of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, a really loved festival, but unfortunately it is going to be 95 degrees.

I am so glad that you got to Asheville and other places later affected by Helene. We just never know what the next 5 minutes is bringing. I remember watching the early stories of Helene and damage done to Asheville. My brain could not compute.

An unexpected benefit of Covid was that we traveled to Cherokee and really enjoyed our visit to the Oconoluftee Village. There are so many interesting places close to home that we don't see because our travels are focused elsewhere.

>>>"Broadway, around the corner from Ryman Auditorium and steps from the NAAMM was a cacaphony of music that was too loud, with thousands of tourists outside the over-the-top clubs with sidewalk barkers and ropers and not so occasional sirens and revved up engines. Whew!"

Whew, indeed. Downtown Nashville is not what it used to be, for sure. Did you see the pedal taverns? The hen parties? Dodge the people on those rental electric scooters? Or trip over a scooter left parked or lying on its side in the middle of a sidewalk? It's not for the faint of heart. Even the symphony players hate driving down there to perform. Locals avoid it whenever possible.

I hope you got to visit some of the nice museums there. Downtown Nashville has a few cultural places to visit that are worth one's time.

Many from the Nashville area (especially natives like myself) who are natives) bemoan the fact that the city has become known as a bachelorette weekend destination.... and we avoid the downtown bar scene This is SO much more to see in and love about Nashville!

It was so nice to hear of your trip throughout some of the Southeast. I am a Nashvillian by birth but spent the other half of my life in Memphis, Atlanta and now North Alabama. I know just about every inch of this beautiful region. and my heart is broken for what's going on after recent storms.

We still keep a place in North Georgia, and I just returned from there last night. I went into a Walmart in Blairsville, Georgia two days ago and the parking lot was full. There must have been 200 folks in line to the self check out stands. These people have been displaced by the Western North Carolina floods and they're driving 100 miles to find grocery stores with electricity and wifi so ATM and credit cards would work. They're also after gasoline to feed their cars, generators and chain saws. We also witnessed church groups loading up at Walmart heading east for as long as it takes.

We keep hearing story after story how slow help has been to get to those flooded out. With so many bridges washed away, it's like they're on islands with no way out. I counted 13 private helicopters in one small airport online that was dropping drinking water, gasoline and chainsaws to the displaced. The military helicopters appear to be staging at the Witheville, VA airport, but they're still pretty far from the worse off communities. There are dozens and dozens of inaccessible towns.

Other than the loss of lives, the saddest thing is that virtually no residences have any flood insurance on their homes. These poor people are going to restart their lives from absolutely nothing--including insurance money.

I have done missionary work building houses for tornado victims and I also worked in Israel 18 months ago at a large church retreat. At the time, we had no idea the horrors of 10/7 was possible.

My sister's home outside Boone, NC is okay because it's up on a hill. Their bridge was washed out, and her neighbors are without electricity or water. They were plucked out by helicopters and are making other housing arrangements for the long term elsewhere. The valley is one big mud pit, and it may take years to recover. My sister doesn't know whenever she can get her cars out.

The response to this fit of nature is going to be monumental. Tennessee's always been the Volunteer State, and there will be thousands of volunteers going to help. We are seeing so much help from throughout the Southeast heading that way to insure safety of the citizens.

Those from the West Coast can do your fair share, and that means send money to the good organizations that will be "foots on the ground." Our churches are already filling up tractor trailer with what's needed as we speak.

@David

I am glad to hear your faith communities are assembling aid. And I look forward to hearing about how I might aid the arts community in Asheville in particular.

Best wishes to your sister and your family.

I’m seeing the Blue Ridge Parkway is not expected to reopen until April 1st. These towns are going to need tourism money big time when things are improved enough for folks to visit. Many rely on the fall season for most of their business. I hope anyone reading this will consider a visit when we are ready to welcome you again.

@Deborah

Thank-you for the facts and news. BRP, Roanoke and Asheville are indeed wonderful parts of our nation’s fabric.

I know many of you are trying to be careful, but it's still political commentary when you have to preface it that you don't want to be political. We still have to come in and clean it out because somebody is going to (rightly) complain. Infusing it risks removal of the whole thread when it's too much for moderators to wade through. Thank you all for keeping politics fully clear of our boards.

And thank you to fred for this detailed trip report!

Glad you had a good trip!

We live near Charlotte, NC, and the devastation to our north and west is so heartbreaking.

Thank you for asking how to support the communities you visited.

Blue Ridge Public Radio has many options listed on their site. Sharing a link to their main page as the situation is evolving: https://www.bpr.org/

Specific to the River Arts District you asked about supporting, here is info from their website:
https://www.riverartsdistrict.com/donate/

Thanks Jolie.

Donation made.

All, let’s see if this forum might help support for the region and its people grow.