Finally, we have taken a vacation! It only took eight years to do it, and even then we had to justify it in our minds and force ourselves to get in the car and actually GO! But once we did...WOW! What a great time!
First we went to visit Wendy and Ron Mayer-Aschoff in VA. Wendy is Melanie Links' sister, so needless to say, I was feeling completely awkward and ill at ease. I know that Wendy was feeling the same way, but we were biting the bullet, so to speak, and going ahead with the visit anyway.
I'm so glad we did. Wendy went out of her way to make me feel even more than welcome and we found that, after not seeing each other in more than twenty years, we had so much in common. Except for this:
Or this:
This is Wendy's husband Ron, who I also knew way back when, but under completely different circumstances. What we don't have in common are the bikes...which would probably cripple me in a matter of minutes. Kudos to them for using them and loving it!
Wendy and Ron live in a beautiful, secluded area, which is completely to our liking! The view from their house is spectacular.
We had an absolutely fabulous time and felt that there hadn't been enough time. They will be coming to visit us next and we are excited at the prospect.
We left their house and headed to South Carolina to visit Mom and Dad, stopping to do some shopping along the way in antique stores and....CONCRETE WORLD!!! Can you imagine? Acres and acres of concrete...stuff, which is where I found exactly what I was looking for to mark Trempers grave...
We took a little detour through a little city that was really nice. Only problem is, we don't have any idea what city it was!
If anybody ever recognizes it, please tell us where we were!
At Mom and Dad's we played pool and bocce, drove around in the golf cart, relaxed, and ate a lot! They live in a really awesome adult community that has all kinds of amenities. It's like living inside a country club.
After about four days, we headed for Asheville, NC to a B&B that was out of this world. If you're ever heading to Asheville, stay at The Lion and The Rose. Jim and Linda have a great thing going there and it is by far the best, most relaxing accommodations I have ever had (even better than the Disney properties, albeit completely different).
We had a sitting room, bedroom, dressing room and bath with a huge shower and whirlpool tub, and our own private balcony, from which you could enjoy the view while enjoying coffee/tea which was delivered to our door at 8 o'clock every morning.
The innkeeper is a gourmet chef, and whipped up breakfasts the likes of which I have never experienced. I would like to go back to live!
The Biltmore was almost beyond words. The opulence was one thing,
but what was most impressive is that the property was self-sufficient.
It's still privately owned by the family and is not federally subsidized.
The front entrance is pretty impressive!
To the left of the front entrance, is the grand staircase, which is a limestone circular staircase going from floor to floor inside. The engineering is quite a feat for the late 1800's. There are no supports. It's just kind of stuck on the outside walls! Those are small balconies outside each set of windows.
All of the carvings were hand crafted right on the building! Scaffolds were erected and the artists stood right there and created the carvings as you see them.
Pretty amazing stuff! I wouldn't want to wash these windows.
The family crest is the acorns in the center.
Off to the left, there is a magnificent veranda
full of wisteria
and offering majestic views of the property, which had been hit hard with the chestnut blight, so everything was replanted according to a grand plan, and the entire property features thousands of species, many of which were grown right there.
Step down the veranda's stairs to a play yard, which had at one time been made into a huge swimming pool, but was subsequently filled in.
Straight down the stairs leads you into a lilly garden full of sculptures and fish!
Veer off a path to the side of the lilly ponds, and you go for a leisurely stroll through various gardens where you can enjoy many of the species of plants...
and eventually end up at the entrance to the arboretum, which you can also drive to.
Speak of a greenhouse!
I could get used to this!
While we were inside the arboretum, it started to rain heavily,
and we had to get back to our car, which was beyond the main house, to make our horseback riding reservation, so we backtracked through the rain, getting totally soaked.
The downpour ceased as we approached the main house
and we were able to catch the shuttle bus back to our car.
The horses were beautiful and we rode through areas of the property that we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
At the end of our ride, the skies opened up again, so we got soaked yet one more time!
We headed for the comfort of our wonderful B&B, took hot showers, and headed out for an exquisite Italian meal in downtown Asheville.
The next day, we focused on seeing more of the Biltmore property.
Is this one of the coolest bridges you have ever seen?
The bricks were all made on the property as the house was being built.
You can find the brick throughout the estate...
...a lot of brick!
Here are some fish nests right off the bridge.
We then continued further into the estate to the duck pond...
where there were plenty of ducks...
...enjoying plenty of fish.
The duck pond emptied into a stream from under a foot bridge.
Further down the road, we came across a series of floodgates,
that were beneath the main house.
We then headed over to the farm, from which to this day, all the produce served on the estate originates.
(More brick.)
Old horse stables.
There was this sundial in the middle of a garden...
...which I intend to duplicate some day!
There are also farm animals and a petting zoo, including chickens, etc. to supply the estate.
We then headed to the winery, which used to be the dairy back in the day.
Pretty nice dairy!
I know some farmers that would kill for a barn like this!
Then we went home.
And slept for a week.
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