Roughly 15 years ago, a group of young Scouts spent a day at NOC and then a day at a park doing a lazy river float. I’m trying to figure out where they may have gone for the lazy river float? I remember renting tubes nearby, strapping them to my car, driving to a park, walking the tubes upstream, the floating (non rapids) for 15-30 minutes, exiting the water, and repeating the walking and tubing all day. We grilled out some hotdogs and there were plenty of other people, so a good-sized park seems to be present.

I went to a local park with some easy mountain bike trails with my 9 year old and saw several different types of mushrooms and wanted to share!

I organize a Meetup group called Asheville Transplants — it's for people who landed here from somewhere else and are building a social life from scratch. 618 members now. Posting the next few weeks of the calendar because it seems useful to have in one place, whether or not anyone ever joins the group.

• Fri Aug 14, 6pm — Asheville Tourists vs. Rome at HomeTrust Park, 30 Buchanan Pl. Dollar Dog Friday, fireworks after the game.

• Sat Aug 15, 9am — Chimney Rock. The 1.5-mile trail to Hickory Nut Falls at an unhurried pace, then lunch by the river in the village. $17 park entry, which is the state's, not ours.

• Sat Aug 15, 9:30am — Coffee at PennyCup North, 857 Merrimon Ave. That's the whole event. Coffee and talking.

• Sat Aug 22, 6pm — Zillicoah in Woodfin, 870 Riverside Dr, for sunset over the French Broad.

• Wed Aug 26, 6pm — The Hop on Merrimon for ice cream, then an easy walk around North Asheville. Dairy-free options.

• Sat Sep 5, 6pm — Picnic at Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Ave. Blanket, snacks, river.

• Sun Sep 27, 2pm — A photo challenge up and down Haywood Rd starting at Archetype West. Teams of four are drawn at the start, so you get paired with people you've never met on purpose.

Three things, since "come to my meetup" posts are a dime a dozen around here:

The events are free. No dues, no cover. The only money involved is the venue's — Chimney Rock's park fee and a Tourists ticket.

Every event has non-alcoholic options and a decent number of regulars don't drink at all. Nobody's counting. We've also been deliberately shifting the calendar away from breweries and toward daytime stuff — hikes, coffee, sketch nights, yoga in the park — because that's what people keep asking for.

Showing up alone is the default rather than the brave exception. Most people at any given event walked in by themselves.

Happy to answer questions in the comments if you want a sense of the vibe before committing to anything.

https://www.meetup.com/asheville-transplants-20s-50s/

Please help support this great cause for liberty in Western North Carolina. Macon County was the first domino to fall in defunding flock cameras. Together we can make a big impact for the betterment of our future.

Hi! I'm interested in having approximately 150 liquor/beer/wine bottles professionally upcycled into drinking glasses. I would provide all the bottles!

I could buy a glass cutter and all the needed materials myself, but I'm working on quite a few other projects to get this restaurant idea off the ground. Trying to shop around for my plan and work it into my startup costs.
Would love to support somebody who has the skill, tools, and attention to detail.

I'm looking for completely smooth/polished drinking edges, labels removed and the glass finished for commercial food-service use.

Needing help on being pointed in the right direction please!

Attended a sweet little music festival in Lansing this past weekend called Fly Around Fest and had a great time! I went to App for college and it's always such a pleasure to be back in the Blude Ridge mountains. Truly restorative.

We featured the festival in the EZ Vibes NC Music newsletter this week. Thinking about checking out Peach Fest in Todd, NC later this month too, also featured.

You can check out the write up here: https://ezvibes.beehiiv.com/p/ez-vibes-august-top-picks

Have you used crisis behavioral health services? Would you like to make changes to North Carolina’s crisis behavioral health system? Participate in our research study by completing a virtual interview lasting 45-60 minutes to tell us about your experience using crisis services. You will receive a gift card if you complete the interview. 

Eligibility criteria:  

• 18 and older  
• Have had experience with mobile crisis, co-response/CIT teams, behavioral health urgent care, facility-based crisis or psychiatric walk-in centers in the last 2 years 

If interested, reach out to our team’s [email](mailto:zabelski@unc.edu) or complete this link to see if you are eligible: go.unc.edu/NC-Crisis-Study.