WordCamp Asheville 2014 Weekend

Fresh mountain air. A glass of wine on a large wraparound porch. And a full agenda of learning ahead.

It was going to be a good weekend. It was almost time for Asheville’s first big WordPress event – WordCamp Asheville 2014.

Hubby joined me for the weekend, so we decided to stay at a bed and breakfast – Reynold’s Mansion. After a busy work day, we hit the highway headed straight for the B&B. We were greeted by the friendly innkeeper, Billy, who showed us to our room. There were cookies waiting for us there – white chocolate, oatmeal, and dried cranberry. After settling in, we explored the mansion. We snagged a couple drinks to enjoy while we walked around the inside and outside of the house. The property was pretty big, so there was a lot to see. I’ll post more photos from the B&B later.

We had a great dinner at Billy’s top restaurant recommendation – the Stoney Knob Cafe. Hubby had the duck tacos (another one of Billy’s recommendation), and I had the short ribs over grits with leeks. I tried taking photos, but we had a late dinner and the lighting was really low. Sadly, none of the photos came out. Happily, the dinner was delicious, the decor was fun, and the service was wonderful. We’ll definitely be back!

Saturday morning brought the event I was so looking forward to – WordCamp Asheville 2014. It was finally here! The event took place at the AB Tech Community College, which was only about 15 minutes away from both the downtown area and the B&B.

The whole group gathered in the main room for the key note before we split off for the day’s sessions.

{The friendly Automattician team}

{Day 1 Lunch}

I stuck mostly with the User/Content track, but I did break out for a couple Design sessions, too. The ability to bounce around through the many tracks is one of my big likes of WordCamps, in general. You never know what session you’ll enjoy or learn something to apply to whatever you’re doing with WordPress customization, blogging, or web site design & development.

Wedge Brewery hosted the after party. I wish I’d taken more photos here, because this was such a fun place. There was a large outdoor area behind the brewery with picnic tables all around. It seemed like hundreds were gathered out back chatting, drinking, playing corn hole, and eating. The El Kimchi food truck was parked conveniently in the center of the scene and had a long line for most of the night.

Hubby joined our group, and we decided to get dinner from El Kimchi. He got the hot dog and a quesadilla.

{Chicken rice bowl}

We had plans to visit some of our favorite restaurants that weekend, but it was nice to enjoy the weather, eating casually al fresco and making new friends instead.

After hanging out with our WordCamp friends a bit more, we called it a night.

{Day 2 Lunch}

Day 2 brought more fun sessions.

And I even got to see my friend Zac who led the post-lunch session on theme customization.

He also brought these colorful, new Team Treehouse shirts. I went for the turquoise, of course.

I have some detailed notes to read through, because I’m really excited about applying some of the new learnings to my blog. But, I also learned that I know more than I think I know. There were a couple sessions I attended to learn new things, and I realized that I already knew some of the stuff the presenters covered. It was a great feeling and a reminder to proceed with more confidence.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Thanks for stopping by!