Friday was the first day I mustered up the courage to take Thomas to daycare. We knew it was going to be hard so Matt played hooky from work and we took a quick day trip to one of my favorite places ever – Asheville! Upon arrival we had exactly 4 hours to cram in as much as possible before jumping back on the road to get back in time to get the kiddies.
Although Asheville is full of amazing restaurants I always end up at Early Girl Eatery as my first stop of every trip. Normally you have to wait a solid hour or so to be seated but we got right in since we were there on a weekday for a change. This farm to table restaurant uses only the freshest, local ingredients and consistently delivers the most delicious meals!
A creature of habit, I get the Early Girl Benny every time. Grit cakes topped with tomato, spinach, poached eggs, tomato gravy and avocado and served with a biscuit! Matt got biscuits and gravy.
After breakfast we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 30 minutes to Craggy Pinnacle Trail. Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies so this 1.4-miles roundtrip hike with beautiful panoramic mountain views was just what the doctor ordered. Totally my happy place.
And we got a little carried away with our selfie stick.
After frolicking around the top of the mountain for awhile we made our trek back to the car. We still had a pretty good amount of time left so we visited the Grove Park Inn for a drink on the terrace.
Such a pretty place.
We thought we’d need to head back to Charlotte after this stop when we originally planned out our day but to our surprise we still had plenty of time to grab lunch too! We decided not to go to one of our usual spots and instead did a quick Yelp search to find an amazing new lunch spot, White Duck Taco Shop, in the River Arts District. Woah. The 466 rave reviews were spot on.
With more than a dozen taco choices to pick from, Matt and I decided to each get different tacos and share.
Matt ordered the Thai Peanut taco and Lamb Gyro taco (top) and I ordered the two most popular choices, the Fish taco and Bangkok Shrimp taco. We both agreed the Bangkok Shrimp was the winner!
We finished our lunch exactly on time and jumped in the car to head to daycare. It was the very best day date ever and I’m so glad we got to sneak away together for a few hours one last time before I return to work.
All of this food!!! I'm drooling.
Asheville is my favorite weekend spot! It's only about 3 hours away from me so I go often. I've been meaning to try out Early Girl so glad it's good!
You are genius to do this!! Now I want to do the same thing before I go back!
Yummiest post ever!… 😉 ok, maybe is just my pregnancy making me hungry again.
What a fun day! We've never done Asheville, instead opting for coastal Carolina towns for our road trips' it's on the wish list to get to someday though! And those tacos…I wannnnnt!
This makes me want to be in Asheville right now. We only live 45 minutes from there, and we just don't visit enough. I've been wanting to try Early Girl Eatery for so long, but we've never wanted to brave the line. Good to know it's worth the wait!
I love Asheville! The NC mountains are definitely the best! Isn't the Grove Park Inn gorgeous?! I begging my husband to take me at Christmas.
Fantastic quick trip! We tried White Duck last time we were there–it's a new favorite! Must try Early Girl Eatery next time we are there!
Good for you guys!! Sounds like a great 4 hours away just being Matt & Christina, not mom & dad! What a great idea!!
What a fun idea and a great date day.
What a fun day! My hubs and I designate a couple of vacation days per year to doing exactly this – we take the kids to school and take the entire day off to just spend together. We shop, we go to the movies, we have breakfast and lunch… anything we feel like! It's nice not to have to worry about finding a baby-sitter, and it's soooo nice to have the entire day! As a matter of fact, we're working on planning one now!
Asheville is our new favorite spot! We went twice this summer. Early Girl was always packed, but I ate there once 7 years ago and LOVED it. I always want to go back, but we always have kids who can't wait! If you haven't tried Laughing Seed (it's right by) – it's amazing too! I've never been to the River Arts District – putting it on our list for next time!! So glad you had fun!
Wow, I love that y'all did that!!! What a fun and adventurous day date!!
We ate at White Duck after Andrew passed out during our last visit! Hahah! We were impressed!Can we just go back for a redo? Babymoon?
Such a perfect day date! I am drooling at all the food, it looks so delicious. I must try those tacos, mexican food all the way! Glad you enjoyed your day.
So glad you guys got some QT! It's so important to have that alone time to recharge!
How fun!! All the food you had looked amazing!! Love all your pictures too! Gorgeous views!
What a fun idea!! I love the Asheville area – we're hoping to make a day trip up there soon so I am glad you shared a few restaurants you like 🙂 Grove Park Inn + drinks on terrace sounds aaaamazing!!
SO fun! Hubs and I don't have kids yet and we struggle big time to find time alone, I can't imagine how hard it must be once you have 2 youngins. Looks like you guys had a blast! Xoxo
Asheville is the best! Good for you for taking a quick trip sans kiddos. And the Grove Park Inn is one of my favorite places: could spend all day (or week…) on the Sunset Terrace!
That sounds like a much needed and truly fun date! I love the idea of escaping away from your town for a bit to get out and explore. Also, that food! I would have gone just for that. Glad to hear you had a great time, and good luck with this new part of your journey 🙂
How fun was your little day date?? The views looked beautiful and they food looked scrumptious!
You guys are SOOOO cute!! What a great day! Can't believe how much you did in such a short time!!
Er mer gerd those tacos look divine
so beautiful! i really want to take a trip there soon! xo jillian – cornflake dreams
This is so special – and definitely needed when having two young kids x
LOOOOOOOVE the day date idea! Yay for y'all, Mama! And we, too, love Asheville!