Hanging out in Marietta, Georgia 11-4-14

And your first question is - where is Marietta, Georgia.  Well, it is just northwest of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of one of my first cousin`s & her husband who have put up with me for the last several days.
They took me to Stone Mountain, a park east of Atlanta & the site of a large carving in a granite outcropping.  The carving shows three important civil war figures.  They are: Jefferson Davis; Robert E. Lee & Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson.  The large granite dome/rock that they are carved into rises 825` above the surrounding countryside.  I took the cable car ride to the top & took this picture of the carved area on the way up.

It is the high point in the area & the view on a clear day can be 60 miles.

The carved area is about three acres in size & 75` deep into the mountain.

It is not the best picture but that is downtown Atlanta in the distance, looking from on top of the Mtn.

Now for a few boring stats on Stone Mountain.

On top of this barren rock a few trees have managed to grow.

While here I been having a great visit & doing some hiking near the Chattahoochee River which runs through part of downtown Atlanta.

After seeing the sign above, all thoughts about a swim were off.

We were riding around in their car with their dog Baxter, a 85 lb. Lab.  At home he

thinks he is a lap dog.

 

I am heading farther south tomorrow (Thursday) to Fort Pickens State Park near Pensacola, Florida. It is right on the Gulf of Mexico and was suggested by my cousin in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Baton Rouge will be my next stop after checking out Fort Pickens Park.

Enough for now.  I am now heading in the direction of home but have a few places yet to stop.

Biltmore Again & Snow 11-1-14

After staying in Asheville, N.C. overnight (thankfully in a warm room), I woke up to a little more than 2" of snow.  The weather people actually were forecasting more & they are still getting snow tonight.
This is what I saw out my window this morning.

Cleaning snow off the truck in cold / windy weather was no fun!

Living out west & near the coast, this is a fun to experience - as long as I can leave......

Above Biltmore`s main entrance looked more seasonal than the day before, with the garlands & snow.
The drive up to the "house" is about 2 miles through beautiful landscaping.  Today it looked like a winter wonderland at every turn.

It was a "wet" snow, so it stuck to everything but the temp. kept it from staying on the road (great contrast).

Even one of the lion statues by the front door could not believe this early snow. The snow was blown in from the right, so it was perfect effect (check out the eye, after clicking on it to enlarge).

Even one of the potted plants out front looked like it was "flocked" for the season.  The statue below got the same "partial" coating of snow that gave it an interesting look.

The "front" lawn covered in snow really changed to view of the "house".  The change from one day to the next is remarkable.  Check out one of the shots on yesterday`s blog for contrast.

The greenhouse with all the trees dusted with snow takes on a new appearance.
Below is another view of a tree to show how much snow fell.  I know, for those of you who live in snow country, this is just "ho hum".  For those of us who have to go visit the snow (or in my case having forgotten what it is like) it was fun to see but still cold.

On to the Atlanta area to visit with more family.......  No mas.

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!