~ Beautiful Biltmore Estate ~

 

 

 

I promised a few pictures from our visit to the

beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

 

It was built by George Vanderbilt

in the late 1800's and  the present estate

covers around 8000 acres.

It is still owned by the Vanderbilt family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos are not allowed inside the house,

so I am sharing a few of the amazing

grounds that surround it.

 

 

 

 

Of course, flowers are always my

favorite anyway.

 

 

 

 

Wildflower gardens........

 

 

Formal garden....water gardens....

 this estate has it all.

In the background (with the sun glinting in

the roof) is the greenhouse area.

 

 

All the plants used in the home

are grown here in the greenhouses

on the grounds. Can you imagine having

access to all this to decorate your house?

 Be still my heart!

 

 

 

It is hard to choose a few pictures

to share. It was a perfect day for

a visit and every view was a

perfect picture.

I just love it when that happens!

 

 

 

Shannon & Scott in front of one of the

many lovely trees found on the grounds,

and below, a bloom from the

water gardens near the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a three hour drive from our

cabin to Asheville but we didn't mind.

This is the sunrise over the

mountains we were so blessed

to see to start us on our way.

 

Hope you enjoyed this little mini tour.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit

the Biltmore Estate, don't miss it!

 

Til next time...

                Carolyn

 

 

 

 



 

 

~ Afternoon Drive ~ 

 

 

 

 

The weather was perfect that day.

A cool and crisp autumn afternoon

with a beautiful blue sky.

 

 

When I got home from work, I asked

David to park the lawn mower and

go for a drive and he readily agreed.

 

 

Aren't these clouds just the

prettiest? This is a marina

on Cross Lake.

 

 

 We drove up north a ways to

a little town named Oil City.

It was formed during the oil boom

days has this nice little park

on the edge of town on Caddo Lake.

 

 

Such a peaceful place to spend

an afternoon.

 

 

Kool Point once boasted the

best fish resturant in the area.

It burned several years ago and

has never been rebuilt.

We spent many Friday nights

eating at that place. I am

glad they left the sign as a reminder

of a good thing from the past.

 

 

We are blessed to live so close to

these beautiful lakes.

 We stopped at the DQ for a

chicken basket on the way

 home for supper.

Thanks to my sweet hubbie for

dropping everything to go for a drive

with me. It was pretty much a

perfect afternoon.

'til next time....

           Carolyn

 

(still planning to share our trip to Biltmore in the near future)

~ Blue Ridge, Ga. ~

 

We recently spent a week in

a cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga.

 

The directions to the cabin

were a little daunting, with

the final turn to be made "where

you see the home made name signs on a tree."

 

You just knew it had to be a great place

with "Ole King Coe" and the "Loonie Bin"

 as neighbors.

 

 

  

The cabin was perfect with porches

that looked over Blue Ridge Lake.

 

 Cool mornings greeted us with a view

of mist rising above the water below.

 

 

We spent most of our time outdoors, doing

some hiking and taking a couple of day trips.

Shannon wanted to see Rock City near Chattanooga.

We had taken her years ago and

our son-in-law had never

been .... so off we went.

 

 

It is a fun place with lots of walking paths beautifully landscaped.

 

Here is Shannon & Scott bravely headed

into Goblins underpass.

 

 

 

One of the most photographed

spots - aptly named lovers leap.

As you can imagine, the view is

amazing.

 

 

A view of the swinging bridge from

below. The leaves were just beginning

to color and were so pretty against the sky.

 

 

Beauty everywhere we looked.

 

 

And near the end of our walk,

this rock called the"witch with pipe".

Hmmm.... the face I see...I think they

should loose the pipe.

I'd rather use my imagination. 

 

 

We had a great day, the weather was perfect

and we enjoyed visiting Rock City with

our "little girl" and her hubby once again :))

 

 

The Biltmore estate was also

on our list of places to revisit.

 I will share some of those pics

later.

 

 

Til next time....

           Carolyn