Just one day?? That'd be a crying shame, but I'd probably take the BRP out of Asheville "north" to Little Switzerland. That'd be pushing the climbing spec, as well as the miles, but the views... If your wife is driving the car, meet her up at Craggy Gardens for lunch after you've climbed out of Asheville (great view back across the city) and up past the reservoir (quiet valley). Take a few minutes to look over the valley from Marshall to Mars Hill and on over to the mountains on the Tennessee line, then cruise to the foot of Mt Mitchell. It's a steep climb that would be too far to climb, so go down and around to look back at the Black Mountains from the east, while getting occasional views of the Catawba Valley to the east. Coast down to NC 80 and you get one more climb up to Crabtree Falls; fill up your water bottles and coast down to Little Switzerland. You'll have earned your ice cream cone and the steak dinner after that! Then you can sit out on the patio and watch the hawks and crows soaring over the ridge as the sun goes down.