Things to Do in Bristol

Former professional driver and expert instructor Randy Baker and his team have been guiding drivers toward greatness for more than 20 years; past pupils include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jeff and Ward Burton, and the shadowy pit mechanic known only as Racer X. At SpeedTech Auto Racing School, Randy combines a fleet of super-speedy rides—authentic, metal-bodied vehicles boasting 650-horsepower V-8 engines—with a serious emphasis on safety to prepare drivers for any mishap on the track. Gearheads, speed junkies, and people who still sleep in a racecar bed despite their adult children's protestations soak up Randy's knowledge during one of SpeedTech's many race programs, varying in length from 3 laps to more than 100. With the school's built-in HD video feeds, drivers can commemorate their laps or prove to the family car it's been cheating on them with the hotel's valet.

The guides who founded Better Tours of Asheville draw on experience leading excursions in far-flung locations in Puerto Rico, France, and Italy. Now, they accompany groups past the basilica and other historical buildings in the town, delivering stories developed through constant research and an ability to smell fossils. The guides divulge colorful tidbits of local history during pub crawls through storied taverns with group drink specials and allude to haunting tragedies along ghost tours that occasionally yield eerie photos of orbs, wisps, and buildings an inch from where they normally are.

Weather, sports, and the adorable antics of children. Too frequently these topics dominate dinner-table discussions. Seldom do diners dig into the important topics of the day, such as who is sending threatening letters to a famous country music family? How did someone end up dead on the set of an '80s trivia game show? And who could have possibly wanted a Roaring Twenties gangster dead?

These kinds of riveting questions swirl around the dinner tables at the Casbah Theater, where Two Pence Productions inspires intrigue with a lineup of dinner shows, many of which are murder mysteries penned by playwright Eileen Moushy. Her original whodunits follow the classic sleuth framework that begins with a prelude to a murder, progresses to the dastardly deed, and culminates in an epic revelatory scene.

As the actors circulate throughout the theater and among the tables, guests listen in on dialogue to pick out clues and root out motives. Each plot line unfolds in a rich, evocative setting––such as the glamorous '80s or the dapper '20s––and the theater encourages guests to dress in costume, often awarding prizes to those who stay in character and use their cell phones as lie detector devices.

Since 1976, area merchants and knowledgeable experts from around the country have gathered to swap ideas, inspiration, and advice at the Western North Carolina Home Show. Throughout the Asheville Civic Center, hundreds of local businesses and experts set up booths where they explain the nuts and bolts of their industry, whether landscaping, interior decoration, window installation, or furniture crafting. Meanwhile, speakers present seminars on a wide variety of topics throughout the weekend-long extravaganza, from hyperpractical subjects, such as setting a budget, to more abstract topics, such as the definition and history of green building. Visitors to the show depart with rekindled enthusiasm for projects, as well as an arsenal of facts that give them an edge when vetting contractors or performing standup at interior-design conferences.

In the 15 years since its opening, Adventure Rock has upheld its objective of granting guests of all ages and experience levels a chance to learn how to climb. The staff meticulously maintains amenities including 12,000 square feet of textured climbing surfaces, bouldering caves, and custom treadwall. Sculpted arêtes and cracks challenge forearms as intrepid wall-climbers chart a course up colored pathways to seek council with the sentient ductwork at the faux mountain's 35-foot peak. Under the helm of experienced instructors, students learn the ins and outs of ascension via climbing classes. As climbers scramble upward on more than 40 top ropes, air-conditioning keeps faux mountainsides from awkwardly perspiring geode sweat drops. While the indoor facility offers a controlled environment in which to learn and practice, Adventure Rock’s staff also unleashes patrons’ inner adventurers via private outdoor climbing classes held at Devil’s Lake as well as portable rock wall rentals for all manner of party or event.

Balls roll uphill. Surging streaks of water flow upward behind them. People struggling to stand at a 90-degree angle are upright at 45-degrees. Such are the laws of gravity at Mystery Hill's Mystery House, an enigmatic amusement center perched atop a slope that enjoys a stronger-than-average gravitational pull to the north. The same peculiar pull looms over the nearby Mystery Platform, where people standing on the north side always appear larger than those on the south. For more than 50 years, visitors have flocked to the curious hilltop to explore its strange gravitational pull and interact with other science-related exhibits.

Aside from the Mystery House, most of the museum's scientific attractions congregate in The Hall of Mystery, where guests can step inside a giant bubble, flee the chase of their shadow, or learn to beat the moon at rock-paper-scissors. Alternatively, Mystery Hill museums include Appalachian Heritage Museum, which houses antique sewing machines, books, and a list of the personal blog URLs of mountain families from the late 1800s to early 1900s. The Native Artifacts Museum assembles more than 50,000 arrowheads, effigy pipes, awls, and other accouterments culled over 70 years from 23 states.