Hurricane Season

One of the most feared seasons of the year begins in South Florida tomorrow...Hurricane Season. While the last two summers have been fairly boring, I don't think I will ever forget the summers of 2004 and 2005 with Jeanne, Frances and Wilma. As many of you know, I am a hurricane nut and just love following them throughout the summer. Hopefully there is some excitement this year.

Hey T...there is already some convection out there in the Western Caribbean!! When you gonna come visit for a hurricane party?

Back from the Mountains

As every good vacation always does, this one has come to an end. Cheryl and I got back last night and we both decided to take an extra day off work to get used to "normal life" again. It's gonna be tough, but at least we only have three more days left this week.

We both want to thank Pattymelt for taking a week out of her life to come down and babysit Zach. From what I understand, it was a rather teary affair at the airport today.

As for the trip, we had a GREAT time. We arrived in Charlotte around noon on Thursday without any flight delays. We drove two hours to Asheville and spent a few hours at Biltmore. After a great dinner out, we got up the next morning and spent a few more hours at Biltmore before driving the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few hours. The next three nights were spent at Heaven's Gait...a house rental in the mountains about an hour off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

While pictures never seem to do a beautiful place any justice, I have tried my best to show as much of our vacation as possible. We hope that you enjoy the pictures (to follow)....

Biltmore

For those of you who have never heard of Biltmore, here it is. Biltmore was constructed in the late 1890s by George Vanderbilt in the hills around Asheville, NC. In addition to the four story house (plus the basement), there are gardens, a farm, a restaurant, a winery, and an Inn. While it is pretty expensive to visit ($47 per person), it was well worth our money.

Biltmore (rear view)

This is the view from the back porch of the Biltmore House. In the background are the Blue Ridge Mountains that are just north of Asheville.

Biltmore Gardens

Biltmore Gardens which are adjacent to the Biltmore House. Note the nice classic car driving by when Cheryl snapped this picture.

Blue Ridge Parkway

One of the beautiful views from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Linn Cove Viaduct

This is Cheryl's favorite spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's called the Linn Cove Viaduct. It was completed in the early 1980s and was the last link in the Parkway. Since the Linn Cove area is a "protected" area that is environmentally sensitive, engineers had to wait until the technology was available to build this. It was opened to traffic in 1987.

Heaven's Gait

Front View of our house for the weekend. To say this place was in the middle of nowhere is an understatement. This is literally the last house on the road and about 4 miles from the entrance to the development.

Heaven's Gait (rear view)

Rear view of the house from down the hill. I almost killed myself getting back up the hill to the house after I took this one....

Side Window View

This is the view we woke up to every day from our side window. Not too shabby, huh?

Rear View

View from the back deck. Many beverages were consumed on this deck. We were also very lucky to have three beautiful sunsets to look at on our three-night stay.

Grandfather Mountain

View from the top of Grandfather Mountain. There were about 10 pictures I could have posted here, but this one was my favorite.

Blowing Rock

View from Blowing Rock. Blowing Rock is an actual rock (where this was taken from) , but it is also the name of the town that was about an hour from our house. There is a really cool downtown area where we enjoyed a couple beers after taking in this view.

Headin' to North Carolina...

Yes, I know...I am pathetic. It has been over three weeks since a post and there have been lots of things going on...some good and some bad. The good news is that vacation time is FINALLY here! Cheryl and I are heading out on Thursday morning for some much-deserved rest and relaxation in the mountains of North Carolina. We figured that Zach would be fine with Lucy for a few days, right?

Actually, Pattymelt is flying in tomorrow to watch the big man while we are gone. We are staying in Asheville on Thursday Night at a bed and breakfast and then renting a house in Ferguson, NC for three nights that is on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Talk about fun...we have been looking forward to this trip for months and we are very excited that it is almost here. Unfortunately, we are both sick right now (me a sore throat and Cheryl has bronchitis) so hopefully we will improve in the next day or so. I am hoping to have some good pictures to share with everyone when we get back next week.