The Asheville Experience

Hello,

I am currently writing to you from Stuart, Florida. I arrived here by bus on the 11th of December. It took about 19 hours to get from Asheville to Stuart. All for the low low price of $54 dollars. And the entertainment is free! I have ridden on Greyhound buses many times over the years, and usually it involves at least one interesting experience. The longer your trip, the more entertainment you will have. After listening to a baby scream for 2 hours straight on the first bus of this trip, and I'm not exagerating, I got onto another one with a guy who liked to make cat noises every now and then...along with an occasional blessing from the Lord. That bus driver was o.k. with it. However, when we boarded the next bus in Orlando, Florida, the driver, with a harsh New York accent, heard one of those cat noises and said, "Who brought a cat on board?! Everyone laughed, except for the driver, when he found out it was a guy making cat noises. The driver said, "I don't want to hear cat noises...real or imagined." Not a minute went by, when another cat noise was sounded. The driver quickly swerved the bus into the right lane of a major road and stopped...not on the shouler, but in the middle of the lane! He got out of his seat and walked back to cat man. He said, "If I hear another cat noise, the bus is going back to the station." I held my breath for the next 5 minutes wondering if this guy was going to test the waters again. My rides on Greyhound in the past have involved everything from Elvis impersonator bus drivers to several times where the police had to get involved! Like the company motto says, "Go Greyhound!" (as long as you don't mind the possible risk of death in your travels)

The weather here is warm...about 75 during the day and 55 at night. I sold my truck, and I happily don’t own a vehicle again. It will be interesting to see how long I can last this time. I have tried not owning a vehicle twice before, and I have ended up buying one again after a couple of years each time. I will not write much about Florida, since I just arrived.

I stayed in Asheville until December 10th. Thank you to Blake for letting me stay with him in his 1 bedroom apartment. I slept on the living room floor on my Thermarest. We got along great. After my roommate problems of the summer, it was great to see a positive perspective of having a roommate. I really enjoyed living with Blake.

I also got to see lots of friends that I had not seen in almost 2 years! That was also a great experience. We had many fun nights of food, drinks, conversation, and board games. I also enjoyed lots of hiking and biking in the surrounding mountains.. Thanks to all of my friends in Asheville. We had a great time together, and I will miss all of them; but I plan to visit again next fall...so I will see you soon.

I did landscape work for several friends in the area. I enjoyed the contrast from working as a Ranger at Yellowstone. Kind of nice not to have to talk with people for a change. I also did some odd jobs, such as dog/cat sitting. I don’t think I’ll do that one again. Now, I plan to spend until the end of March living in Florida visiting my parents, who live here during the winter, and my friends. I will live with my parents until the end of December. After that, I will move in to my friends place down here.

I wish everyone out there a Happy Holiday Season!

As always, tell me what you are up to.

Jason