The Biltmore Estate 10-31-14

The drive to Asheville, N.C. was along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mts. that run from Georgia to Pennsylvania.  It was a hilly but beautiful trip.  The fall colors though have almost finished due to strong winds & rain.  I have been told that farther south there might be a better showing.
Today I passed from Virginia through the corner of Tennessee & into North Carolina, about a 4 hour drive.
The Biltmore Estate was built for George W. Vanderbilt in 1895 on 8,000 acres in Asheville, North Carolina.  It has 250 rooms with: 75 fire places; 50 baths; a double bowling alley; indoor pool; gymnasium; it`s own power generating system & large gardens all around.  Here are two views of the front - in the second one you can see my VIP parking spot on the left about half way along the lawn area.  And no that sign does not say "reserved for Bob".

I arrived about 4:00 PM and it was lightly raining so the guide let me park right in front, very cool!
As usual there was no pictures allowed inside.  The next shot is looking back at the house from the large lawn / gravel area on the left & from inside the little covered structure.

This next is a view that I took turning 180 degrees from the one above.  The tree covered hills into the distance.

Below is the view back to where I took the shots above.

These two plaques talk about the grounds and Frederick Olmsted`s hand in the planning of the estate.
You may remember that I mentioned Olmsted`s work at Great Falls, Va.  He really got around since he was the designer of things like Central Park in New York, among many, many others.

 This fromal garden is just off to the left of the main drive - you can barely see my truck under the trees to the left.  Below is one of the formal flower gardens with a large glass greenhouse in the distance.

The last is a closer look (below) at the left side ot the building from the lawn / gravel area. Remember there is still a full basement level to go along with the three floors you can see from the front.  A huge "house" but if you have that much $$$ you can build anything you want.....

I am expecting to wake up to "snow" in the morning and my ticket will still be good to get into the estate again, it ought to be interesting.  Snug in a hotel tonight (freezing temp) I am done....

One last look at the main entrance (just behind that potted plant on the right) taken from the left side of the building  Enjoy!

A Tour of Monticello - 10-30-14

After a great stay in Virginia with family, I am down the road in Charlottesville, Va., which is about 120 miles southwest of Washington.  This is the location of the home of Thomas Jefferson.  It was named by Jefferson "Monticello" & if you look on the back of a nickle you will find a likeness of this house.
It is an impressive structure that is on top of a small hill in the wooded Virginia countryside.  I took a tour of the inside but no pictures were allowed.  But I have pictures of the exterior to share with you.

Does this look like the back of that nickle?  I thought so!  It has some 20 rooms that include a library, greenhouse, wine dumb waiters from the basement, skylights, some dual pane windows & all sorts of artifacts gathered over his lifetime.  The short history lesson on Jefferson, he was: Governor of Virginia; Minister to France; Secretary of State; Vice President & President (1801- 1809).  A very busy man who was also running a large estate with about 200 servants / slaves.

This one of the rebuilt structures that housed some of the trades shops.  I like the joints at the ends of the wall beams - I know it is a carpenter`s thing.....

The house in the background, this is a fine example of the fall colors.

Jefferson kept a large garden (above) to help feed his family & staff.  Right now the gardens are mostly cleared for the winter.  He did have a lemon tree in his greenhouse (which is attached to the house on the south side) that is loaded with nice fruit.  Below is the entrance to the greenhouse off this walkway at this end of the house.

On each side of the house are these long "L" shaped walkways with storage underneath.  The formal entrance is on the right but the image everyone knows is west (left) side.

Jefferson is buried just down from the house & he died on July 4, 1826 which was 50 years to the day from the signing of the Declaration of Independence which he authored.  He lived from 1743 to 1826 to the age of 83 which in those days was not the rule.

This is a list of all the Jefferson family who are buried in the cemetery on the grounds.  (Remember if you right click the image to enlarge, it might be more readable)   I know it would be for me!

I have stopped for the night in Lexington, Va. & am headed for the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow - unless something else comes up to see, you never know.  Enough for now.

Time to hit the road again

I have been visiting with family for the last two weeks in Virginia  now it is time to hit the road & head south.  The weather is cooling off & I have a few people / places to stop on the way home.

I have been helping to install a new front door their house here which is a project that has been on the "burner" for a few years.  A decision was made as to which new "pre-hung" door fit the design.  It was a little out of the norm for me since the weather calls for a steel door which is new to me.  It is installed & my sister is in the process of installing the outside trim.  I was only "contracted" to help with the installation phase so now I can resume my drive south.  Here a few pictures of the old door & the new one.

This is the  original door that is about 34 years old & is also a metal door.

The new door from inside which is more of Craftman style door & less glass.  There is also new inside trim to be installed.

Two of the dogs were out back taking in the almost 80 degree weather a few days ago.  I will miss their welcome in the morning.
Planning on driving to Monticello which is near Charlottesville, Va. tomorrow and then south.....

That is all since I still need to pack and it is 8:00 P M.

Hiking the Potomac River / 10-17-14

I decided to go and see Great Falls which is located on the upper Potomac River.  They are about 15 miles up stream for downtown Washington, D C.  There are several visitor centers along the Virginia side near where my family lives.  I decided to start at the main center & overlooks of the falls.

As you can see it is a national park & so I was able to use my "senior" lifetime pass.  There are two main viewing overlooks right at the falls & these are a few.

These three pictures (above) make up a panorama of this (main) part of the falls.  In the last one, if you look closely, you can see the overlook & people on the  Maryland side of the river.  This flows all the way down & joins the Chesapeake Bay, which divides part of Maryland & all of Delaware from the western part of Maryland.  Sorry for the geography lesson but I am sure several of you have never been in this area.  This is where I grew up and spent the first 24 years of life........
Below is another look back at the falls from farther down stream.

The next is a look at the river a little below the falls as it travels what is called Mather Gorge (pictured below).

Below is my shot of the gorge taken looking back up stream toward the falls which are not quite visible.  It is a weird angle since I was trying to get the picture without falling off the rocks into the river.

Next is a plaque to a very famous early champion of national parks all over the U S.  I have seen this same plaques in the Sierra Nevada Mts. (Calif.) and there is even a "pass" on the John Muir Trail named for him.

I hiked up stream from the falls to another visitor center which was about 2 miles (each way)on the trail which followed by the side of the river. It had great shade cover and was lightly used this day (Friday).

Above is one of the trail signs which is similar to the signs on the Pacific Crest Trail (which runs from Mexico to Canada going through Calif./Oregon/Washington & is 2,650 miles long).

I even found some remaining wall the made up part of the canal that ran from Carter Rock, Md. down to Washington, D C. These wall date back several hundred years but are now longer a functioning part of the canal.  The canal moved all sorts of products around the area for years.

I am now up to date with my travels (so far) but I am sure something else will happen soon, so hang in there.  Adios!

Hiking in Virginia

I have been spending time hanging out with my sister here in Virginia.  Since her husband is still working, we have had the days to relax & play with the dogs.

My sister, her husband & myself all attended the same high school (Woodrow Wilson H S) in Washington, D. C.   Last Friday (10/11) was my sister`s 45 th class reunion & the morning of their party, her class had scheduled a tour of our old school.  It was interesting to see the place after so many years (I graduated in 1966 & my brother-in-law in 1970).  The three of joined a two hour tour from the principal and the changes are amazing.  It is a public school and got $ to make major improvements plus enlarging the buildings.  It had been 48 years since I had been inside.  I hope we have a 50 th reunion for our class!

I know, not enough pictures - so last Wednesday I talked my sister into a hike around some of the man made lake in Reston, Va.  Reston is the nations first Planned Community Zone & was established in the early 1960`s.  It is northwest of Washington & was really out in the country when it was built.  See the plaque, Lake Anne was the first of may clusters that made up this development. 

Next are a few pictures of the building that make up this (still) thriving community.  The design of it really says 1960`s as you can see below but it has a certain charm.  You really need to read at least the first paragraph of the picture above to understand the concept.

 This central area has shops below and living units above.  There is even a church, gas station, hiking trails & boating on the lakes.

This picture above is me turning right a quarter of a turn from the last, to see the boating and common area (notice the bronze statue seated on the bench - it is Mr. Simon, the planner)

One of the "fingers" of the lake showing layout of the water to the homes.  It is a little to dense for my liking but it is nice.

We hiked around Lake Thoreau, one of  larger lakes which took about an hour & then had lunch at a place right there.  Great day & nice weather (not raining for a change).

A little fall color in some plants.

There was also some salad "fixings" by the trail side but I resisted.......

I hope you enjoyed the history lesson with pictures & there will not be a test afterwards.  More another time but since it is now 10:27 P M, I am done......

Visiting Family / actual date 10-6-14

My first stop in a real house - New Jersey!  I got to spend some time with family and sleep in a real bed.  I was fun seeing my great nephew & great niece along with their parents.

A stop in the action for a picture Stephanie, Donovan (age 5), Elyse (age 2) & me.  

They are bundles of energy but so adorable.  I stayed with them for  4-5 days & ended up picking up some "bug".  I was still able to get out and walk around their neighborhood checking out the houses.  I forget about the trees & plants that thrive back here.  Here are some of the homes near by.

This last one is converted old train depot the is now a private residence.  They kept the old depot sign up which really completes the look.
Talk about old, these next few pictures are at a cemetery a short walk away.  I was interested in some of the head stones, as you can see it has been around for a while!

Sorry if those are a little to morbid for you but I found them interesting.

On a lighter note, dinner time is always fun when kids are around!

And so after a great visit in New Jersey, I headed south on the New Jersey Turnpike which is a "fun" drive.  After about 5 hours of that and the Capitol Beltway (around Washington, DC), I landed in Great Falls, Va. (near Dullas International Airport, a little northwest of Washington).  I stayed with my sister, her husband & their three dogs (one border collie mix & two corgis).

Very relaxing and another comfortable (real) bed.  Hanging out and staying up late then getting up late was just right.  Above the two corgis took refuge in my room while the vac. was being used.  they are really good at relaxing.

 These are better pictures of the herd.

More adventures in Virginia next time, so ta,ta for now.