The Pleasures of Asheville

I had heard a lot about Asheville—its beauty, its funkiness, its art scene, its good restaurants—long before Annie and I visited (although we got a lot less warning about the interminable length of Virginia one has to drive through in order to reach it from DC).

And, when we visited, we did indeed encounter all of the above, and it was all very beautiful and interesting. But what really warmed me to Asheville was not any of those characteristics, lovely as they were, but one aspect of the place that I had not been expecting at all:

There are a ton of slugs in Asheville!

We took a walk along the new Reed Creek path after a rain on Tuesday evening, and the slugs were everywhere, gliding across the asphalt with the delicacy and suppleness of blown-glass creatures somehow still capable of liquid movement.

I spent several minutes crouched on the ground with my lens millimeters from their translucent tentacles.

Luckily, I’ve grown quite adept at racing over short distances to catch up with walking companions who’ve grown tired of my photo-pauses, so I was able to enjoy the company of my fellow vertebrates as well as delight in the presence of these lovely little mollusks.

Much as I enjoyed Asheville, I don’t begrudge DC any of its differences from that town—except, perhaps, its sad dearth of gastropods.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}