Salute To Saluda And Hendersonville

Our first problem was deciding WHICH Saluda to go to. Apparently, both North AND South Carolina have one, but we needed the one with the art fair. It turned out to be in North Carolina and we headed there without delay.

What could be better than wandering around a small picturesque town with plenty of stalls with jewelry and art and crafts ? A and I were in heaven. Our husbands less so, but they found a bluegrass guy to listen to while we wandered.

Our next stop was the charming town of Hendersonville. It's full of galleries and neat little shops. We had lunch in Picasso's - a place that looked either like a small town antique store or an old lady's parlor. 

   

This was my lunch:

It was 3 yummy scoops of salads - Chicken and grapes, Carrot and Potato. If you don't have mayonnaise running through your veins, you might not have liked it, but I sure did! How we skipped the pastries is still beyond me...

One lesson I learned in Hendersonville was that you don't have to be in The Big Apple to see big apples. They were all over town, just like those cows in NY and Chicago.

 

It's funny how 2 things can go on simultaneously in these small town antique stores. On the one hand, all of the galump together looks just like that - a bunch of old galump. Yet, if you take that one jewel-toned silver encrusted tea glass and set it amongst your other silver, it might look charming. 

But at the same time, why does the old galump look charming when it's surrounded by the other old galump (and there's plenty of lace around)? But in my house, a rusty grater looks like a rusty grater. 

   

All the folks were so friendly and loved to talk about their jewelry or their antiques. I got into a spirited debate with one shop owner on the purpose of a smooth wooden bowl with a handle. We couldn't figure out what it was for. It looked like those old silver "butlers" that you used to brush crumbs into, except that it didn't have a lid. Actually, it looked just like THIS and I still don't know what it's for.  

I know artisans anywhere in the world have a pride in what they produce, but I DO think a craft fair in the Bronx would have a different feel to it. And plus it's different being surrounded by mountains than being a block away from the old IRT.

But some things are the same wherever you go: