This was the Icelandic wool sweater I wore last Sunday when I went with a friend on a day trip to Marshall, NC, a former mill town on the cusp of a bougie resurgence — as noted by the cropping-up of noodle shops, boutique hotels, and ex-pats from the northeast — just 30 minutes from Asheville, along the French Broad River.
To understand how cold it was, allow me to present to you the sweater I wore underneath the Icelandic sweater…
…and the coat I wore over the sweater that was on top of this one.
Also, I wore boots.
And I was still cold. It was in the 50s that afternoon, but there was a chill in the air, and all this is to say that I actually found myself missing the temperate Los Angeles climes, those tank-top-sporting days in February, the Christmases spent sun-bathing on my patio.
My friend and I had visited Marshall together once before, on Labor Day, when it happened to be a spectacular sun-drenched 80 degrees.
On our first trip, we walked past the railroad tracks along the river…
…past the county courthouse…
…and past the old Marshall jail, which is now a hotel and restaurant.
I can’t remember why we didn’t eat at Zadie’s, the hotel restaurant, that day. It must have been closed. But we put it on the “to-do” list, which is why we returned last Sunday. We arrived thinking we’d spend a couple hours walking around but one of us — and I’m not naming names, but it wasn’t the non-Californian — was so gob-smacked by the cold that we took a drive through the countryside instead.
Yes, those are COWS!
I decided a nice glass of wine might warm me up, so we headed over to Zadie’s. I poked my head in the dining room, which was tiny, and since COVID is making the rounds in Western North Carolina, and I haven’t gotten my booster yet, I decided we should take our drinks outside.
As you can see, most of the diners elected to risk COVID and eat inside.
It was coooold by the river. The drink didn’t really warm me up, and neither did the chickpea-studded Rainbow Bowl, although it was tasty. In between shivers, I did manage to take this photo of the local paper’s offices, located in two railroad cars.
The Marshall News Record & Sentinel is published once a week, on Wednesday. My friend wondered how anyone could work in an office with no windows, but maybe the publisher felt that was the only way to guarantee reporters would meet their deadlines? Especially with Zadie’s next door?
Also, here is the only other photo I snapped when my teeth stopped chattering. I have no idea what this is, but doesn’t it look cool?
We left immediately after eating, because at that point I was so cold I’d practically lost the will to live, let alone enjoy the picturesque environs. Fortunately, our next trip is to a hot springs.
When we were driving back, I wondered how I’d survived my first Asheville winter. I don’t remember being cold, particularly. Maybe the sheer excitement of a new start raised my body temperature. Maybe it was the fact that my cousins kept the house at a toasty 75 degrees. Hopefully, it’s not evidence of early onset dementia.
Anyway, for those of you who come alive in cold weather, and in sweaters, here’s a tribute to fall.
Shivering may qualify as exercise and trudging to the nearest warm bar high impact aerobics.
😂😂😂You’ll be fine. You’re also from New Jersey, remember?