Sunday, October 21, 2012

 
 
~ 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
 
 
 
 


Thursday, October 11, 2012

 
 
~ 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)

Sunday, October 07, 2012


~ 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