Day 4
Hendersonville, NC
Appalachian Coffee Company – Coffee Shop #5 – This quaint little corner place is wonderful! They have their own brews and the thing that I think is cool is that 10% of their proceeds go to help kids go to summer camp. This shop just happened to be the place where I consumed my first cup of coffee of the entire trip (also the first cup I have had in years; tea is more my thing). I bought a bag of their specialty brew for my older brother and got a free cup of it with the purchase. Definitely worth it.
The Bookloft – Bookstore #7 – Found inside an antique store in Downtown Hendersonville (I don’t remember the exact name of it, I’m sorry). It has a wide collection of used books. They even have first editions and signed copies marked so it is easy for those book collectors to find what they want. Not going to lie, as soon as I noticed the marking system I went searching to see if I could find a novel I enjoy in a first edition and/or signed. What could be better than that?
The Fountainhead Bookstore – Bookstore #8 – This place and the employees are wonderful! Excellent collection of novels and it has it’s own little labyrinth (there are signs, I promise). I really enjoyed the atmosphere of it all. The woman who was working when we visited was really helpful and even suggested a bookstore we could check out in the next city we were planning to visit. Probably the coolest thing that has happened on this trip happened in this shop. Something I have noticed in each shop is the collection of posters that promote reading and independent sellers. I love them! They always make me smile. One that this shop had was a Star Wars poster that said “Reading: It’s our only hope”. I made a comment about how I really liked the poster and that it combined two of my favorite things. When I bought my magnets (that are equally as awesome), the lady offered to give me the Star Wars poster. So I now am a very proud owner of a Star Wars poster that promotes reading. Seriously, so cool! A highlight of my day!
Black Bear Coffee Company: Espresso Bar & Cafe – Coffee Shop #6 – This place has combined two things together very well. They do offer some coffee beverages with alcohol in them. I did not partake in any of them, but it is an option if you so desire. They employees were wonderful and offered suggestions of their favorite places in the next city on our list. The ceiling was covered in burlap coffee bean sacks. They had a little stage that appeared to be ready for live music or poetry slam or comedy. The pastry selection was excellent and I definitely took part in that – so good!
Joy of Books – Bookstore #9 – This is the smallest bookstore we have visited so far. Still a good collection to pick from. They have their own little animal mascot that is adorable. I really liked the decor around the children’s books. They had a door painted like the cover of Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.
Greenville, SC
Spill the Beans – Coffee Shop #7 – This is a neat place. It offers more than just coffee and tea and typical coffee house food. It also has the options of ice cream and frozen yogurt. I really enjoyed my Peanut Butter Chocolate milkshake. The location of it is nice too. It is near some small water falls, which adds to the pleasantness of the atmosphere.
Coffee to a Tea – Coffee Shop #8 – So I didn’t actually buy anything here, but there is a story at this location therefore it is being mentioned. Joanna and I just wandered in, checking out any independent shop we could find, honestly. The lady at the register welcomed us and we got to talking about this road trip. It was mentioned that we were from a small town in Alabama. The lady mentioned that her daughter was attending school in a small town in Alabama. Turns out it’s my niece in Color Guard that she was talking about. So that is the story of how I met my niece’s mom. Definitely a highlight of the day!
Fiction Addiction – Bookstore #10 – I think this store is accurately titled. Anyone who has a love of reading truly has a fiction addiction. Excellent selection of novels and has a plethora of signed copies! I bought a signed copy of Scott Westerfeld’s Afterworlds, a novel that has been on my “to be read” list for months. The signed copies thing isn’t something that you see very often in chain bookstores like Books-A-Million or Barns & Noble. I have seen it more often in these independent shops. If that isn’t incentive enough to shop independent, then I don’t know what is.
Something that we encountered a lot today was many of the bookstores not being open. I think that is a little odd for a store to not be open on a Tuesday, but it happened quite a bit in Greenville. Overall, today has been enjoyable and filled with many memories that will stick with me. Just a reminder, you can follow my journey in real time by checking out the hashtag #JKRoadTrip on Twitter and Instagram.
Until next time… Kara