After our tour of the Biltmore Mansion, we ate at Chestnut for dinner in Ashville. Erik made reservations previously. For an appetizer, we ordered the lobster bisque, which was the creamiest that we have ever had. I ordered fried green tomatoes, and Erik ordered the petite filet. We didn't want anything rich for dessert, so we tried the coconut panna cotta with watermelon and cantaloupe. I enjoyed my fried green tomatoes; it was something different and unique to the south. The coconut panna cotta was really light and enjoyable. It reminded me of a fancy and unique yogurt parfait.
The coconut panna cotta.
After dinner, we drove back to our hotel, Fairfield Inn and I took a short nap while Erik did some work on his laptop. Then we headed back to downtown Asheville for our ghost tour: Haunted Asheville. Our tour guide was a local high school math teacher, football coach, and part-time paranormal investigator. The group was so big that he used a microphone and 2 speakers, which hung from his belt. He told us stories about the author Thomas Wolfe who was at his brother's side in Asheville when he died of tuberculosis. Another story involved a man who convinced the city to invest its money in the stock market shortly before the great depression. As a result, he jumped off the highest building in town. Several other stories involved murders and subsequent executions of the likely-falsely-accused. I enjoyed the tour despite the bugs, but I think Erik just tolerated it. At the end, the tour guide showed us some pictures that some people of previous tours took of what they thought were ghosts. I wasn't convinced, but it was fun to see anyway.
In honor of the story about the man who jumped from this building, the city poured the concrete of the sidewalk in the shape of a bullseye.
To the right of this gargoyle are the symbols of the free masons.
Dinner looks very good! Sad and scary stories must be quite popular.
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