A Visit to Ashville, NC

               Oct, 2013

Kyra, Gina and I piled into DJ’s truck for a short drive to Ashville to see some sights. Our first stop was the visitors center..We all decided to do the city tour… and Kyra and I bought tickets to tour the Biltmore Estate…

 

This was a jump off, jump on trolley but we decided to take the ride around to see the city…

When we got back to the starting point, we were hungry so we found Mayfel’s. It is a New Orleans themed restaurant and it looked and smelled good.

We started with beignets…Yum

We all ordered something different and all very satisfied.

Then it was time to walk it off.  We strolled thru Woolworth Walk ,  the newest art gallery and emporium in Asheville. the chocolate shop of course, and a really neat General Store..

Next day,  Gina drove Kyra and I to the Biltmore Estate. She had not purchased a ticket but decided to just roam around outside, while we took the tour. The self guided visit took us through private family quarters, kitchens and servant areas. The giant indoor swimming pool and bowling alley. The art and antiques were breathtaking! It is hard to imagine a family really living here..

After spending many hours on the tour we wandered outside to stroll through the acres of gardens.. We met up with Gina who had spent her time wandering around and loving it..

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There really is no way to express the beauty of the mansion..They do not allow photography inside and I can understand why.

We drove down the road just a bit to the Antler Hill Village & Winery.. Here we watched a short video about the life of the Vanderbilts and their estate.  We stopped in the ice cream parlor for a snack…

After ice cream, wasn’t it time for the Winery! We walked through, to see how they make those award winning wines..

Kyra and I had to do the tasting..

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We ended our day in the wine shop,and made a few purchases..

 

Our final day we all took the trolley around the city again..It was the last time to take in the beauty of this city…

I loved it and would love to visit this city again some day~

Going Backwards..Oct that is

 

Hard to remember this far back..When I left the RVD rally, I followed along with Kyra, Gina and DJ..We really hadn’t decided where we would park,  but knew we were interested in seeing Ashville, NC.. After the ups and downs of the hills, we stopped at a Walmart to make a plan.

  

We found a campground not far from Ashville with a decent weekly rate.  Riverhouse Acres in Canton, NC…

 

After getting set up, it was time for happy hour...

Very relaxing scenery…

We ate outside each night..

Even in the dark…

Of course a campfire followed.. We even found two familiar faces from the rally…Bob and Nancy..they just happened to pick the same park. We got to enjoy some time with them…

The campground owners own a restaurant up the street, so we had to try that for breakfast…

 

The week flew by and in my next post I will tell you about our visit to Ashville and Waynesville…

Heading to the Rally

After many many problems with the RV it was finally time to take it home, pack it up and head out.. My RVD friend Gina had arrived and it was time to pull out. We each had walkie talkies on us and chatted throughout our drive towards North Carolina….

We took our time and took a route I was not familiar with and stopped along the way at Cracker Barrels for the night. We arrived in NC with a few days to spare before the RV Dreams rally.

We checked into Tallulah Gorge State Park for a night, got laundry done, had a campfire, and enjoyed a hike to the gorge and overlook…It is one of the oldest geological features in North America. We also toured the interpretive center and watched the short video.

 

Leaving late morning, we didn’t have far to travel to meet up with another solo friend DJ.. We parked for the night in the Walmart in Franklin and got stocked up on food.

The following morning we headed down the road to  The Great Outdoors RV Resort for the week. We were there a day before the rally,  but started right in with the fun, at Howard & Linda’s campfire…

The following day we cooked breakfast at the Solo Cafe.  Kyra had transported our cafe sign that another RVD member, Mike had made for us. She met up with him this summer in NH. 

That afternoon we helped Linda get things ready for registration and then we worked at helping folks get registered.  We had a wonderful introduction and catered meal that night.   Of course when that ended,we ended the day back at the Solo Cafe with nightcaps and fellowship.

The week progressed with seminars to attend during the day and dinner and fun at night.. 
These are some pictures from the week:

Hanging out with friends

Show and Tell

Lessie trying moonshine (look at the smile on her face) Think this was seconds for her…

Ed trying two different drinks..

Gina making sure the booze for the Bugville’s was all set..

Kyra on chat..

Rob walking Bale..

 

Breakfast at the Solo Cafe..

 

Linda giving a tee shirt braiding class..(after a few drinks, lol)

Lessie and Dan celebrating their birthdays..

 

Cheers as we have some moonshine!

 

Linda performing..

 

We had such a great week. Always learn something at these seminars but the fun and friendships made at them are forever!