We meet up with Lydia and Pete at our hotel in downtown Asheville around 5PM and walk to Bouchon, a farm-to-table French restaurant. Reservations are not accepted and we luck out, quickly getting a table by arriving early on a Monday evening. Fantastic pate, French onion soup, steaks, and fish are served to us by a knowledgeable waiter.
As the evening is young, we find a brewery/bar a few blocks away and continue our conversation over drinks. Then we walk around downtown a bit to find dessert. The French Broad Chocolate Lounge has a long waiting line so we walk down the block to their French Broad Chocolate Cookies and Creamery. There are no tables inside so we take our ice cream, chocolates and coffees across the street and find benches in the park. This also allows us to enjoy the beautiful evening while we devour delicious treats and continue our conversation.
We stroll to our hotel and sit on the patio talking until near midnight. A wonderful evening!
Tuesday morning we’re a little groggy as we have coffee/tea in the hotel lobby before hitting the road. We start the return trip with delays. Yuk! Traffic on I40 through the Smokey Mountains is all backed up due to road construction.
Later in the day as we cross over the Ohio River from Kentucky into Indiana we assess our progress and check the clock. We could make it to Chicago tonight, but we’re already starting to get tired. A look at the Marriott app identities a number of hotels in downtown Indianapolis. We quickly book the Residence Inn on the Canal Walk where we spend a restful night (and have time to go for a nice dinner before retiring).
Our Southeastern USA roadtrip comes to a close after 15 days. It’s been a great time seeing friends, family and this part of the country.