Worth the Drive: Two "Bay Sunrise" cocktails at Up the Creek Raw Bar in Apalachicola
Welcome to our spring 2022 travel blog. We haven't been camping since October, so we're very excited about getting back on the road. As you can see from the maps below we will be revisiting some of our favorite spots, but also exploring some new ones too. Based on lots of feedback, I'm returning to my old post format where the text and the photos are from the same day.

Stops on our southern leg:

Stops on our southern leg: -Red Lion Inn -Massena, NY -Martin Guitar Factory -Gettysburg, PA -Monocacy National Battlefield -Richmond, VA -Grimesland, NC -Sunset Beach, NC -Savanah, GA -Skidaway State Park, GA -St. Simon’s Island, GA -Jekyll Island, GA -Crooked River State Park, GA -Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA -St. George’s Island, FL

Heading South

Heading South

Stops on our northern leg:

Stops on our northern leg: -St. George’s Island, FL -Plains, GA -Andersonville, GA -Atlanta, GA -Keenesaw Mountain, GA -Fort Mountain State Park, GA -Smoky Mountains, TN -Asheville, NC -Blue Ridge Parkway -Mount Mitchell, NC -Floyd General Store, VA -Gettysburg, PA -Home

Heading North

Heading North

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Days 24 & 25

 We left our campsite in the Smoky Mountains around 7:30 AM and arrived in Asheville, NC early enough to have breakfast at the Sunny Point Cafe, a funky place in the funky part of town.  We love it and we weren't disappointed.




The Blue Ridge Parkway was built with WPW funds during the Depression to join Shenandoah National Park to Smoky Mountains National Park.  As we head north from Asheville we will attempt to follow this route as much as possible.

The Grove Arcade

The Basilica of St. Lawrence


Monday was Joni's birthday, so we celebrated at Vinny's Italian restaurant.

Spaghetti Carbonara for me


Chicken Parmesan for Joni

Our campsite #21, at North Mills River Recreation Area in the Pisgah National Forest


Our campsite was surrounded my Mountain Laurel, unfortunately it hasn't blossomed yet.


The Biltmore, constructed between 1888-1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt, who was the youngest of eight siblings of Cornelius Vanderbilt's son, William Vanderbilt.  William was the oldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt. (Yes,that's confusing!)

The Biltmore estate required 1000 workmen; it has 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms, 65 fireplaces, 175,000 sq. ft. and it's located on 8,000 acres.





View from the rear terrace looking toward Mt. Pisgah

Monet

Renoirs













4 comments:

  1. SueMay 10, 2022 at 4:36 PM

    I've wanted to visit Asheville and the Biltmore for seemingly forever. Thanks for all the great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 10, 2022 at 6:41 PM

    It’s a very nice city, very liberal & hip, I think you would definitely love it.

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  3. AnonymousMay 11, 2022 at 9:36 AM

    I like the vine covered veranda the best!

    ReplyDelete
  4. jim buRfordMay 11, 2022 at 10:19 AM

    I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow so your well-crafted food images were deeply hurtful. I have friends up in the mountains above Ashevile—Flat Rock (yes, that's right) and Hendersonville, the latter of which is where Carl Sandburg retired to write his five-volume biography on Lincoln. America has pleasant surprises everywhere along the road. Safe travels.

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