North Carolina - the blog continuation...

Yes, once I was able to shake the smell of airline passenger desperation from me, my friend (god love her for driving 4 hours to pick me up in Charlotte) and I headed out of Charlotte and towards Asheville:

Oh yes, remember why there were no hotel rooms the night I landed, missed a connection and had to sleep in an airport for 6 hours? Well, the NRA and Sarah Palin also made getting out of Charlotte quite an adventure as well:

Of course, we could not start our journey to Asheville without the the flavor of a local breakfast:

I kept it light and simply had their french toast (comes with sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, fruit and soda). I was confident that Weight Watchers points cost less back east. (I was wrong). DP was as excited as us to head for Asheville and the Biltmore, and was he surprised to see what Southern DP's had to offer: Aaahhh...America's largest home...we made it!

The "front yard":The, uh, "side yard":

The "other side yard":

Please note the difference between me posing in front of the house and those "tourists" in the background:

of course, DP wanted to be in on the posing as well:

The tour was great. We learned a few things:

- The Vanderbilts were rich.
- You know you are of a lower class when you are impressed with the servants rooms.

- Apparently a child grew up in the house, but no bedroom for it was ever revealed. Photos of the kid, kid paraphernalia, even home movie footage of the kid, but no room. Perhaps she was housed in another house?

- Did I mention the Vanderbilts were rich?

- Victorian people were very tiny.

- gift shops sell the same crap everywhere in the world.

Here I am relaxing on one of the verandas:

oh yes, the "backyard":

Me looking at the backyard and thanking god I don't have to mow THAT lawn:

DP looking for his topless DP friend:

"minor" details that make a house a home:

First prize to the one who knows what movie this line is from...*

*disclaimer - there is no prize.

More small details to bring out a house's charm:

and onward to the gardens! Please note: These flowers are NOT fake:

These frogs are not fake either:

Here's me..."blending in":

Another view of the "backyard" - uh, the backyard fence is BEHIND the mountains, by the way:

The house boasted a lot of art (no photos allowed inside), and there were plenty of statues hanging around the gardens as well:

This fish is not a statue:

I think I like this statue and photo of it the best. This is what I look like when playing with my niece and nephews. Uh, with a shirt on, though:

How'd you like THESE hanging over your head while grilling those hot dogs?

All too soon it was time to bid the Biltmore goodbye. We hit the road for a 4 hour drive back to my friend's (god love her for driving 4 hours to pick me up in Charlotte) house:

The next day, another local favorite for breakfast. Again, I ordered a simple breakfast: Grits. Is it my fault that it came with butter and an egg and sausage grilled sandwich?

oh, I almost forgot...at the Biltmore I happened to see THIS:

Really? Is this considered a safe way to transport an infant????

At my friend's (god love her for driving four hours to pick me up in Charlotte) house, DP was shocked to discover that in NC, houses have this thing called "space" between them:

Sadly, it was already time to return to the land of no space, fog and COOLER AIR!

Here's a last shot of the Biltmore "yard" that I took. I like it!