Asheville travel tips

Travel author Kristy Tolley has come up with great suggestions for fall and holiday fun in her new book 100 Things to Do in Asheville Before You Die.

Tolley, the public relations manager for AAA Carolinas, offers Asheville visitors (or natives) the kind of book that lets you read a page, get an idea, and head out for fun. The list of 100 things includes a variety of suggestions that don’t involve spending money (unless you really want to).

Among the Asheville activities she profiles are:

- Enjoy a cocktail while soaking in the sweeping sunset views with Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours. A tour involves three stops at rooftop bars, some including cozy fire pits or heaters so you can visit any time of year.

- Step into a cozy grotto made of 20 tons of pure pink salt procured from around the world at the Asheville Salt Cave. Customers can lay on the salt floor, relax in a zero-gravity chair, or schedule a massage.

- Hunt for gravestones of noted people at Riverside Cemetery. Located in the historic Montford neighborhood, the cemetery is the resting place of American novelist Thomas Wolfe, James Posey, who was one of Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguards, and William Sydney Porter, who wrote hundreds of short stories, including The Gift of the Magi and The Ransom of Red Chief.

- Hop aboard the historic Gray Line Trolley for a Christmas tour, a perfect family activity featuring an entertaining blend of holiday storytelling and traditional Christmas caroling with an on-board musician. The tour carries passengers through downtown Asheville, Biltmore Village, Montford, and the Grove Park neighborhood.

- Baked Pie Company came into existence after Kirsten Fuchs wanted to stop downtown for a piece of pie and a cuppa joe. Problem was, she couldn’t find a place where she could indulge. So she opened her pie business, which now offers a selection of 15 pies daily from a rotating list of 100 recipes. Call in advance to get a whole pie.