I couldn't even tell you the last time I was awakened in the morning by being furiously licked in the face, but it certainly makes one feel welcome!

Well here I am in Asheville. It's a charm factory; I think I'm already in love. I haven't made it camp yet (that's tomorrow), but I've been hanging out with Matt and Angela, which has been totally lovely. Yesterday we went mountain biking with their dog, Ada (who incidentally, is also who licked my face awake this morning; not Matt). Ada is an Australian sheepherder dog, so it was really fun to watch her run up ahead and check everything out on the trail, then run back to the three of us and make sure we were all corralled together and heading the right way. She would run alongside the bikes for a bit, then get bored and run ahead again, then run back. Man, she had a great time. As did I.

After that, we came home and showered, and Matt and Angela gave me the official Asheville downtown tour. It's so cute, I can't stand it. We visited some galleries and thrift store/flea market type places, went to a "sustainable clothing" store with really cute stuff that also has bins in the back of irregular American Apparel shirts for super cheap, but I didn't end up buying any of them, and then a musty old used bookstore that was everything a musty old used bookstore should be. We had dinner at a really hip vegetarian restaurant where I had a spring salad with grilled tofu that was divine. There was a hippy/street urchin/gutter punk couple at the table next to us with a box of RID, and one of whom I saw actually lick the top of the sugar dispenser. I was totally grossed out and then irrationally angry about it, and then I wondered if I was going to be a Republican when I grew up.

Today Matt and Angela are both at work, so I have the house to myself. There's no air conditioning, and their windows are all open and pouring in light and cool breezes and bird songs, and their home is surrounded by trees, and it's the most tranquil I've been in forever. Ada is sleeping at my feet as I type, and I'm drinking delicious coffee. In a bit I'm going to take her for a walk. When Angela gets home I think we're going to go shopping for me to get some last minute things for camp. They have been gracious and hospitable hosts, and their home is truly lovely.