Shell-o there! I know it's been a while since you have seen a new post from me - turns out keeping a detailed record of every interesting thing you do while traveling the country is kind of hard! A lot has happened since I last checked in. Luckily, I've been keeping my blog up to date, just haven't gotten around to posting about it. Thank you for supporting me as I figure out how to balance it all!
This blog post is recounting our lovely time in beautiful Asheville, NC - which has now suffered devasting damage from Hurrican Milton and Helene.
If you wanted to look for a way to support the people of Asheville - I have been a huge fan of this company, Soulku, for years now (I think I bought my first necklace from them in 2021). They are a women-owned jewelry business and they employee stay-at-home moms to make all their beautiful pieces. I wear my Soulku necklace almost every day - you can see the green crystal hanging from my neck in most of the pictures I share. 10% of any purchase made on their site is donated to Beloved Asheville. I have often given their necklaces as gifts and buy a new one for myself every year - even though the first one I bought still lasts. Full disclosure- they aren't paying me to say any of this haha - they don't even know who I am. Just a brand I love that has always done good things. Let me know if you decide to buy one!
Now let's jump to August 15th.
We successfully made it to Asheville! Let’s get crazy!
On the 16th, we had a mission from the marketing team to make content for the impending release of the Special Reserve peanuts (which you can buy here!) They are a special crop of Spanish peanuts that Planters had processed by a small factory. They keep the skins on the peanut, and they're lightly roasted and salted - and they are double the size of a typical peanut! The marketing lead on the project, Kate, requested that we dress up for the occasion so that we really exemplified the energy of the “Premium Legume”.
We started our day driving the NUT to a couple of scenic overlooks - which ended up being a total fail. Turns out a 26-foot long, 8-ton vehicle does do small mountain switchbacks very well! We quickly abandoned that plan and pivoted to the Grove Park Inn, feeling a little defeated. So far we had been out for 2 hours with no content to show for it.
As we pulled into the Inn, we were quickly escorted away from the normal parking lot and told that the only place we’d fit was a mile down a huge hill. But all we heard is that we could park - so we took what we got.
Asheville was delivering a ☀️delightful☀️ summer heat, so the hike up the hill (in tuxedo shirts and a full tux for Ryan) was a journey.
But as we started to film content and capture just the absolute goofiness of our day, the high-stress levels melted away.
It really hit me how 🥜unserious🥜 my job is. I’m complaining about… what? Having to walk up flights of stairs at a resort in the middle of the mountains in Asheville, NC. Like boohoo, girl. This is the dreeeeeaaaammmmm!
I’m shocked no employees stopped us for the several hours we were there, and we got SO much amazing content. We were climbing over rocks, sitting on waterfalls, and pretending to serve one other as if we were butlers… it was so fun and one of my favorite work days.
We were able to avoid interacting with the public too much but to get a group shot of us eating the peanuts, we needed to sit down at one of the table near where people were eating. As a reminder, Ryan is in a full tuxedo and Katie and I are in tuxedo shirts, so we’re not exactly ✨blending in✨.
A table of folks makes eye contact with us as we walk up and one lady says “I have to ask. What are you doing?”
We give them the schpeal, and then ask if they want to try the peanuts. One of the gentlemen at the table goes - “I survived Africa, now let’s see if I can survive a Planters Peanut.”
He turned to look at us, and then said to Ryan, “Oh, I was on Survivor Africa.” (His name is Carl Bilancione, for those who are curious.)
He talked Ryan’s ear off with stories from his reality TV stint, and after our social hour, we finally left the resort.
Another kind of content we were asked to shoot was “Billy on the Street” type videos with random passersby to get their reactions to the Special Reserve peanuts.
We showed up to this outdoor mall, parked the NUT, and started setting up with Mr. Penaut a side entrance away from shops. Right away, this woman came up to us and was like “Ahhhh I’m so excited you're here! Can I get a picture with Mr. Peanut?!” and we told her we were actually filming taste test videos if she wanted to participate. She immediately said yes and seemed so excited, so we were feeling really good!
As I’m testing the microphones and setting up the cameras, this woman foes “Ohhhhhhh wait. I forgot. You can’t be here. You’re not allowed to record anything here. You need to leave immediately or security will be escorting you out.”
Huuuuuhhhhh????
We were so confused about how she could go from so excited to so against us so quickly… but we complied and left. At this point, we were pooped from the day, but Katie had already prepped Mr. Peanut and it felt like such a waste to put him “back to sleep” so quickly. We decided to try one other ~public~ location
before calling it quits.
We pulled into the lot of a local park and tried to decide what to do. Approaching people felt weird, especially because we were so used to so many people approaching us, For some reason, NO ONE had any interest in the NUTmobile and Mr. Peanut now that we needed them for content.
Finally, like a miracle from above, a group of guys on a Bachelor trip pull up and they are PUMPED about the NUTmobile. They agreed to do an interview and gave us some awesome stuff to work with - and just like that, the day was complete. Phew! 😅
(We ended up re-recording some interviews in Arkansas that went really well - and that's what we ended up posting!)
The next day, we were able to explore Asheville, and Katie had been talking about the Biltmore Estate for a while, so we all decided to go together. It was genuinely one of my favorite experiences so far! Our Uber driver, Nabcy, volunteered at the Biltmore sometimes, so she gave us a pre-tour of fun facts.
The estate is located in the middle of the Biltmore forests, and to get there you have to drive up the 3-mile-long Approach Rd. The landscaping around Approach is placed very specifically so that you cannot see the estate until you have arrived at the front gate, which created a really exciting drive as we anticipated it. The reveal of the estate, especially if you’ve never seen it before, is something to marvel at. The whole energy of the place is very American Downton Abbey and I was so excited to tour the inside. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we ventured inside to start our tour.
The Biltmore had a self-guided audio-tour with devices you would punch numbers into and hold up to your ear as you walked along. This was, BY FAR, one of the best audio tours I ever experienced. There was ambiance, music, and directions on where to walk and look thru the audio, and it also allowed for the estate to remain in its most pristine state without an unnecessary amount of signs and plaques. My favorite rooms in the estate were the library, Cornelia Vanderbilt's bedroom, the pool room and dressing rooms, and the gardens.
The rain was impeding and we ended up getting stuck outside under a table umbrella for the worst part of the downpour - but when you're in a place that beautiful, you can't even complain.
The tickets for the Biltmore were 💸so expensive💸 ($115) but that got us access to the entire grounds, the tour, and a wine tasting at the winery a few miles across the gardens. (I did drink the smallest amount of wine - I’m talking 5-6 sips - and woke up with a terrible migraine the next morning… further validating why I don’t drink)
We purchased our souvenir goodies (A hat and shirt for Ryan, Postcards and a Sweatshirt for me, Postcards for Katie) and made it back to our hotel before too late.
The next day, we drove to Winston Salem to drop off Marshell at the SPEVCO so she could get a rest and a fresh coat of paint. We settled into our hotel, ate dinner at the cafe in the lobby, and prepped our bags for a 2-week vacation home to see friends and family.
Woo! The first leg of the NUTmobile tour - is complete!
Let's review how many states so far:
Minnesota
Michigan
Ohio
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania
New York
New Jersey
Indiana
Iowa
Illinois
Wisconsin
Kentucky
North Carolina
Do you think we’ll hit all 48 continental US states before June next year? 👀
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