Plans delayed...trip postphoned...

The plans for this years vacation to the mountains would have had us driving from north of Atlanta to Asheville via Cherokee today. We had planned a tour of the Cherokee Village today with lots of stops to photograph the mountains (like these from last year).


On last years trip we stopped for the night in Chattanooga, Tennessee before driving into the mountains heading for the home of the Eastern Cherokee. The heat caused us to postpone the our tour of the Village after we did a long wander through the museum. We planned this year to make up for that missed opportunity.



Our plans for the night were to stay in Asheville and spend tomorrow at the Biltmore Estate. This is one stop my wife has always wanted to make, she just did not want to drag all of our young ones through the mansion (even though our youngest is 17 this year, it's not an attraction that appeals to the MySpace crowd). I do not know what it is about huge gilded houses that attract women so...maybe it's knowing they don't have to dust and clean the bathrooms.

Wondering about the wonders of this remarkable home?

Q: Where did the name "Biltmore" come from?
A: Vanderbilt created the estate name by combining two words, "Bildt," for the region in Holland where the Vanderbilt family originated, and "more," an old English word meaning upland rolling hills.

Q: When was Biltmore constructed?

A: Ground was broken in 1889, and construction continued through 1895. George Vanderbilt opened Biltmore House to family and friends for the first time on Christmas Eve in 1895.

Q: What did it cost to build the house?

A: As research continues, we hope to be able to find more receipts and documents which will give us at least an estimate.

more faq's

With a second night in Asheville we planned to be well rested before heading north up the Parkway on Wednesday.

I'll continue this Virtual Vacation on Wednesday...

It's Friday the 13th of July and I am NOT in the mountains...

But if you are, check out the Watauga Farmers' Market. This weeks email newsletter has my mouth watering...

Summer's heat has arrived in Boone and the surrounding farms, and with it comes the payoff of traditional warm season crops. Brenda Powers has added a nice harvest of yellow squash and cucumbers to her selection of jams and jellies including red raspberry, peach and grape, and she is also watching her cantaloupe patch for the first signs of ripeness. Jeff Thomas will have sugar snap peas, English peas, summer squash, parsley, basil, kale, and 3 kinds of beets, all grown using organic methods. The folks at Maverick Farms are keeping the tasty spring greens going and will have salad mix, collards and kale and also lots of fresh cut herbs including oregano, garlic chives, sage, cilantro and spearmint. The crowd pleasing pesto foccacia will also be available from the Maverick Farms stand.

Speaking of the mountains this weekend...I wish I was there to be torn by what to do...I wrote about the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in my previous post, but you also have the opportunity to enjoy some great mountain music at the 10th Annual MusicFest 'n Sugar Grove
with Doc Watson. Marie over on her Blue Ridge blog has a great post with photo of Doc...What a day job that lady has...While you're at it check out her dragonfly photos then add her to your blogroll 'cause she always has some great photos for those of us who need that "Mountain Fix".

As my buddy Fred First would say...Y'all get out and introduce a child to nature this weekend, it'll do you both a world of good.