Asheville............

........an island of blue in a sea of red. day two crossing the great red expanse of appalachia. today saw a moderate drive from the shennadoah valley south into the smokey mtns, and cherokee nat'l forest. stops for waffles and a killer bee intrusion. the countryside is absolutely beautiful. autumn has arrived here ...pumpkins....leaves of color...a few tourists. asheville - where i'd live if i had to be on the east coast.... a really hip, happenin' town...lots of students, couples young and old......weird, no kids......... beers (oatmeal porter from the local brewer) and intelligent political discourse..... a shout-out here to eddie warhol - check out his film at http://www.youtube.com/EDDIEWARHOL. this country really needs more discussions, not the hate-filled diatribes and nuremburg-like rallies the mccain and palin campaign is conducting and condoning..... harvard scholar vs 896th in a class of 900....and how does managing to allow your multi-million dollar death plane to be shot down by a third-world country while bombing their civilians make you a hero? anyway, i could go on.....but, back to asheville.....good beers, good discussion, hometown connection (go phils!?), the best indian food we've had in a looooong time, and a stroll 'round town with ollie rounded out this extremely uplifting day. there may be hope for this country. if not, at least when the proverbial flood comes, islands like this will protect the knowing. the sheeple will drown in their ignorance.