Asheville to Greenville | Southern Summer Road Trip

Learning from the previous night, we set an Alarm, to be sure that we were up when we planned to be, which meant that we had time to get breakfast before hitting the road, because as much fun as eating the car is, we weren’t quuuuuuuuite ready to put Asheville in our rear view mirror and get down the road to Greenville.

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Asheville to Lunch in Greenville | Southern Summer Road Trip | Day Three

Breakfast at The West End Bakery

While we were intrigued by Biscuit Head up on Haywood Rd, we opted instead for the West End Bakery & Café, sitting down over breakfast sandwiches and coffee to plan out the day (at least to the extent of plugging in the address of the parking garage in downtown Greenville that a friend of mine who we were having lunch with had sent so we’d have a better idea of what our timing would be, and then figuring out the time that it would take us to get from Greenville to Charleston, where we were stopping for the night.

[Pro Tip :: if you’re getting breakfast sandwiches at the West End Bakery, plan on sharing. They’re HUGE, and they are SO freakin’ good.]

We pulled out of Asheville, cranked the stereo up, rolled the windows down and got to getting on down the highway, excited to see what the day (and the road) held for us. We had no idea what we were in for.

The only hard and fast rule we had for ourselves while we were on the road was that if we saw something we wanted to pull off and see, we’d do it. Didn’t matter if we had to flip around and drive back to it, if we wanted to stop, we would.

Roadside Fruit Stand Peaches

So when we saw the signs for a roadside fruit stand, we didn’t even need to look at each other to know that we were stopping. The smell of peaches filled the air and smacked us in the face as we got out of the car, we loaded up on peaches, eating them as we drove, the juice running down our faces and hands, and it was in that moment that we found that the Carl’s Jr slogan of “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong In your face” is remarkably apropos when it comes to peaches.

The sign out front of this long sprawling building heralded it as a Southern history store.

As we rolled south in the summer sunshine, we passed a store, (that I’m choosing to leave nameless, due to what is about to come out of my mouth, which I want to make VERY clear is nothing more than what my intuition was screaming at me. With that caveat, I’ll say that there is a chance that I’m wrong, which is why I’m leaving the store nameless. But I reallllllly don’t think that I am. You’ll draw your own conclusions).

The sign out front of this long sprawling building heralded it as a Southern history store, of sorts, and we were curious, both like history, and were exploring as much as we could, so we pulled in.

As we swung into the (empty) parking lot, my eyes swept over the building, noting what appeared to be a bar, shuttered and padlocked, but clearly was a bar. Ok. This is starting to look more like a club house of sorts than a museum, but ok, sure, I’m game.
We walked up the porch steps and into the dark and cool interior of what was not a museum, rather a store, that had been set up to snake it’s visitors through and around the racks of t-shirts, the belt buckles, and hats. All of which celebrated Southern roots and heritage. Ok. I get pride of place.

The further we wound along, going deeper and deeper into the store, the more the message began to change, and while a thought had started to form in my mind about the true nature of the establishment we had wandered into, I still wasn’t quite sure.

Until I found myself looking at table of bumper stickers. I know that there were more than two on display that day, but the two that stick out in my mind the most, and firmed up what I had started to suspect, were the ones that said “Don’t ever apologize or being born white” (yup. You read that right. I have never wanted to get gone from somewhere faster than I did at that moment.) The other, “Evil triumphs when good Men do nothing”.

That second, I purchased, knowing that the way I interpret Evil, and Good Men, is likely HUGELY different than that of this shop, it’s proprietor, or its patrons. Keep in mind the layout of the store, there is one way in, and one way out, and the racks and shelves very clearly force you to walk the entire store, snaking in and around displays, the maze ending at the front counter.

As I paid for my bumper sticker, and Alicia her soda that she’d snagged, the good ole’ boy working that day (who was strapped, visibly with one, though I have no doubt there were more that we could not see) immediately asked us where we were from. We were clearly not locals, our accents (at the very least) were dead giveaways. We chatted and explained the road trip, and what we were doing, the loose route that we were taking, and his next question? “Your husbands let you girls go all that way on your own?”

I chuckled, Alicia however, let loose a peal of laughter, shooting back “You think our husbands “let” us do anything? Oh no. That’s not how it works.”

At this point, he’s reaching under the counter, assuring me (the look on my face must have been epic) that he was only going for a business card. As he pulled his hand back, promised card in it, he snagged a pen from the cup on the counter, scrawled a phone number on the back of it, and handed it to me, telling me that “if you girls get into any trouble, this is my personal cell phone number, you call me, and my boys’ll come get you.”

I slid the card into my wallet, telling him that I appreciated that, and should we get into trouble, he’d be our first call.
Here’s the thought process behind that.

While our men (and families) knew the route we were taking, (and you’d better believe that Alicia and I were both in touch with the fellas when we made it to our hotel each evening), I had turned location tracking on on my phone, and shared the location with both of my parents, we were on our own. My parents were on the other side of the country, as was Alicia’s husband, and mine, mine was states away in Ohio.

Had something happened that we truly did need help, this fella was going to be able to get help to us faster than anyone else in either of our worlds, and that, that offer I was willing to accept.

We got back into the Xterra, back onto the road, both staring out the window watching the road for awhile before I finally broke the silence, saying “so…..” Alicia’s immediate response? “oh 100%”.

Travellers Rest

As we got closer to Greenville, we pulled off, taking the scenic route through Travellers Rest, stopping for ice cream (because hello, summer in the south is HOT).

We found the parking garage that Mary had given us directions to, locked the car, and walked down to meet her and her adorable little girl for lunch and an afternoon stroll through downtown Greenville.