Saturday May 28th THE BILTMORE

Today we spent the entire day at the Biltmore. It was so fantabulous. The architecture, the furnishings, the history, and the art work. I could picture myself walking down the halls in a big skirt all layered up. Of course I always picture myself as a guest rather than what I would most likely be...the help. Even the help appeared to be treated well for the period. Every servant bedroom had a window which of course had an excellent view from it. Also it turns out that the Vanderbilts were dog lovers as they had 5 (that's right, 5) Saint Bernard's. One of the Saint Bernards was named Cedric and he has a statue as well as a tavern named after him in the local village. We toured the grounds, gardens, ponds, etc. I took a lot of pictures.

We also went into Antler Hill Village. We saw a farm and got to go through the petting zoo. We also saw a blacksmith at work and he played the anvil for us. It was a much prettier sound than I had expected. The blacksmith was interesting because not only was he making these really cool objects by hand, but his family had been blacksmiths for hundreds of years, he spoke like my dad (but with a southern accent) and he could touch some really hot metal.

After the Biltmore we went back to the hotel to rest a bit and then took ourselves out to the Three Little Pigs for BBQ. It was yet another good meal for us where we were stuffed full of gooey BBQ goodness.

This was the only day on the trip where I developed a sunburn...although a mild one and pretty much just around my shoulders.

After dinner we hunted up a post box to send out our postcards (which will arrive after our return from vacation, but oh well). We then went to bed...until 3 am when Morgan woke us from a dead sleep when she cried out. I thought we were being attacked...Lis thought a mouse was after us...Morgan just wanted the light on. Turns out something had startled her in her dream and no it was not about the ghost tour (which I was relieved by because otherwise she would never let it go that I had made them do that). After this we all went back to sleep.

Friday May 27: Atlanta to Asheville

Today we went to the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. What I found most interesting about the memorial is that they portrayed MLK as a man rather than an untouchable hero. They showed his weaknesses in that he gave up time with his children to fight for what he believed in. They spoke about when he was to the point where he was ready to give up. They also had information about his wife, Rosa Parks, and Gandhi. You got to tour the church he preached in as well as his father and his grandfather. You also had the opportunity to see where he was born.

After we finished up at the memorial we headed back on the road to Asheville. We took the scenic route which in 50/50 hindsight might not had been the best for my tummy as it got extremely upset with me. Then my road partners got upset with me (and me with them) when I had to ask to stop to use the restroom about 10 miles out from Asheville. So we stop, I go into the restroom and miracles of miracles there is a stall open; however, to my dismay there is not toilet seat on the toilet. Now while I will try some new things that is not one of them...so I had to wait for the other stall to come open.

We finally arrived at our hotel in Asheville...the only one that had 2 queen beds. Bless their souls. We went out to dinner at the Mellow Mushroom. We had been seated outside until it started to rain at which point we moved ourselves inside, despite the fact that Lis thought it would just be a light shower. Who wants soggy pizza? We had a lovely dinner and then walked around the town for a bit. We saw a miniature drum circle with people dancing around them. We also saw the crunchy granola-ness of the town. :) Then it was off to bed for the three of us.

Day 8: Asheville - Biltmore Estate

For our final full day of our birthday road trip we spent the entire day at the Biltmore Estate. The house itself is beautiful.  It is a little pricey but if you go get the audio tour since you learn so much more about the house and Vanderbilt family than from the little booklet you get.  After our house tour we walked around the shops where I bought some very yummy rocky road fudge. :)  Then lunch at the Stable Cafe, were we all had Angus burgers that were very large and way too much food.  After lunch we walked around the grounds and gardens.  Then it was back into the car for a short drive to the bass pond and waterfall.  I kept walking on small paths by the lake and getting yelled at by April not to fall in. ;)  At the waterfall I decided to adventure into the water, it was nice and cool and refreshing. 
Then back into the car again we drove to Antler Hill Village. At the farm they had a small petting zoo with cute baby goats and a Belgian Draft Horse all of which I petted.  Also in the village they have a creamery where I got a wonderful tasty Brown Cow (coke with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup), which I couldn't finish.  We spent some time in the shops where I got a key chain made by the blacksmith in the shape of a leaf, which I then later got to watch him make.  He had to have no nerve endings in his hand as he was picking up some very hot metal. At the end of his demo he played the anvil for us nicer than I thought it would be.

After the blacksmith it was off to the wine tasting, found one wine I like which I bought for myself and then two bottles for my sister, which I really didn't think through since I'm not sure how I will get them to her as you can't send them in the mail and she lives in FL.  Thinking she will just have to wait until she is home again later this summer. 
For dinner that night we had BBQ at Three Little Pigs, very yummy and ate way too much food.  Seems to be a pattern on this trip.

Also yes I did wake up in the middle of the night closer to 1:30.  Something startled me in my sleep and I shrieked and asked them to turn on the light.  I was very disoriented and couldn't remember where I was.  All I remember is something fell on me, not sure if it was in the dream or if April hit me since it was our night to share a bed.  Lis thought I fell out of bed at first, haha.

Day 7: Atlanta to Asheville



Our last place to visit in Atlanta was the Martin Luther King Jr Historical Site. The have exhibits about his life and death and the struggles he faced.  Also in the same area is the church his grandfather, his father and he preached all preached.  A short walk took you to the house where he was born which you could tour but the next tour time was 5:30 and we still had to drive to Asheville, about 5 hours.  They also has information about his wife, Rosa Parks and Gandhi.

After we finished there we were off to Asheville.  The route we took was more senic, through the Great Smokey Mountatins.  As April mentioned in her blog this did not sit well with her tummy, I do want to say I was not upset with her for stopping.  I think this was the point in the trip when we were all starting to get on each others nerves.  So once we arrived that the hotel, we all kind of did our own thing until dinner.  April read, I tried to take a nap and Lis went to the pool, where I later joined her to soak my ouchy feet.  For dinner that night we ventured into the town of Asheville at Mellow Mushroom again.  This time I was able to get my gluten-free pizza since we had a small fridge in the room and it only came in the medium 12" pizza which I would never have been able to eat.  It was very yummy only issue was the small rainstorm that forced us inside to eat.  After dinner we walked around town, a very earthy and artsy town.   

Thursday May 26 Atlanta

So this morning we woke up and went to the Aquarium. We took public transportation to get to the Aquarium. On the way while walking from the train stop to the aquarium we had to cross the Olympic Centennial Park. We pretty much hustled through the park because we were running late, but we will come back to this later. We arrived at the aquarium to see that about 5 groups of school children had just arrived and there was a massive line to get into the place. We finally got into the aquarium, which was separated into sections. There were several places that were hands on for the kids, which we fully enjoyed. We touched sting rays, a small shark, starfish, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, and shrimp. We were told be the one attendant that you had to be super fast with the shrimp and catch them unawares. This did not work out so good for me as I was terrified of actually touching the shrimp and would try to approach them gently. However, Morgan touched like 5 of them with her quick draw…of course if you have ever have seen her drive this would not surprise you.

The main attraction and claim to fame of the aquarium other than it is super large is that they house 4 whale sharks and 4 manta rays. There are all in a single massive tank that is truly impressive. There is also a people walker to take you through as you not only get to walk beside the tank but also underneath the tank. We sat in this exhibit for a long time, as it was fascinating and relaxing. They apparently had paid the composers from Disney to write them music because I kept on waiting for “Under the Sea” to start playing.

After spending the morning with the fishes we made our way over to Margaret Mitchell’s House. Or rather her apartment. We got to learn some more about Ms. Mitchell’s personal history such as her stint as a reporter at a local Atlanta newspaper and the fact that she was married twice. We also got to see some of the history from the making of the movie Gone with the Wind. On our walk between the building that houses the apartment and the one that houses the movie history we had to watch for swooping birds. Which greatly concerned us due to our prior issues with birds. However, that apparently should not have concerned us. What should have concerned us was my inability to open doors. Yup it’s true I was pushing and pushing on this door but apparently that one does not open so we had to move to the one right next to it.

After finishing out visit to the world of Tara we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for dinner. This was especially exciting tonight as we were going to the Shakespeare Tavern, which is a place where you eat dinner and watch a play at the same time. Once we were all ready to go we hopped in the car to set out to the theater, which was 4 blocks away. Now you are asking yourself why we didn’t just walk. Well it had been raining like the dickens prior to our leaving so we decided to drive. However, we ran into two problems…1. We turned the wrong way, and by “we” I mean Morgan and 2. We were now driving in the middle of a hurricane. That is right hail, flying miscellaneous objects, traffic light arms swinging in the wind, crazy Atlanta drivers, traffic lights just going out. Despite all of this after about 30 minutes to 45 minutes we made it to our destination. That’s right it took us that long to go 4 blocks away.

The food at the Theater was very good. I enjoyed a bowl of chili and a bread basket that included a slice of zucchini bread (for all those that are shocked by this eating of a vegetable product…remember that it is sweet and you can’t taste the zucchini). After dinner the play began. A Midsummer’s Night Dream was fantastic as they not only stayed true to the play, but also used their body language in a way that the modern day meanings of what they were saying were evident. During intermission we were treated to dessert. I had apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which was dreamy. The second half of the play was as good as the first half and had everyone guffawing through out the theater.

Alas the play ended and we headed back to the hotel with no further mishaps. We had yet another wonderful adventure on our trip.

Wed May 25th Savannah and Atlanta

This morning we headed over to Forsythe Park to walk around and get a better idea of what is included in the park. There is of course a monument in the middle of the park like there is in every park no matter how small in the city. Actually the parks are what make it feel like you are in a neighborhood instead of in the middle of the city. Forsythe Park also has a lovely water fountain and a fragrance garden that unfortunately was not in bloom at the time we were there. The park also includes several play areas for children that include the pre-requisite swings, monkey bars, and slides. The play area we saw was designated for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Morgan in her infinite wisdom decided that she could go down the slide because she is the size of a 12 year old. (yes, she came up with this logic not me) I got a lovely picture of this activity.

After the park we went to see the Isaiah Davenport House, which was the first house to be restored in Savannah. While the house was small it was also the most informational tour we had been on. The tour guide Pat was a northern lady (no southerners for us) who was knowledgeable not only about the history of the house but also the details of the furniture, wall paper, and flooring.

Before hitting the road we stopped at Leopold’s for ice cream. This ice cream shoppe (because if it’s old fashioned you have to add the extra letters) is famous for it’s ice cream. Boring as it may be I went for the tried and true chocolate milkshake. The server made too much so I got a little plastic cup to hold the extra. I did try however, a little taste of the rose petal cream ice cream. It was really good and tasted like how roses smell. Which is a weird description but true. Of course when I said this to the server dude he just laughed at me.

After several hours in the car (with no scenic detours) we arrived in the city of Atlanta. We were going to go to Stone Mountain Park before we went into town , however, it turns out that the mountain closes at 5 pm and we were way too late.

Here we were staying in the uber-chic boutique hotel called Hotel Indigo. Everything is pretty much blue and white. There was a picture of blueberries that was blown up and acted as wallpaper on our walls. With all this luxury the bathroom was the size of a port-o-potty with a little add on for the shower. I literally almost clocked myself on the sink after trying to stand up from the toilet. I really have a hard time imagining a man using the facilities in this room unless he stood in the shower to pee.

We went out to dinner at a little family owned Italian restaurant called Bambinelli’s which was a little out of town and the adventure was getting there. As the highways are 12 lanes and they come together and separate at will. You can imagine that the tourists like us have some difficulty. It doesn’t help that people in Atlanta drive like crazy people. The food at Bambinelli's was excellent. We partook in homemade garlic bread, chicken parmesan, and chicken alfredo. We then went back to the hotel for some well needed rest (without going on the scary highways).

Day 6: Atlanta

So for some reason on this trip I could not sleep past 7 o'clock not sure why but it does make for a long day.  Anyway, after breakfast we headed out to the Georgia Aquarium, the only reason I wanted to go to Atlanta.  I decided to that since they have a pretty good public transport system why not take that and save on parking and driving in crazy traffic.  After having used the DC metro system for the past 4 and a half years, the Marta system much is nicer and smoother ride, no sudden stopping, no sitting and waiting in tunnels for trains to leave the station.  Of course my view might be a little skewed since we only rode on one line and only a few stops.  We arrived at the aquarium just in time for a few school groups to enter in with us and I am not a fan of kids to begin with.  At the aquarium the first thing we stopped at was a touch pool, where I got to touch sting rays and a small bonnethead shark with "two-fingers" only.  As we made our way around the exhibits I realized it's not the little kids that were the most annoying but the screeching tweens and teenagers.  My favorite exhibit of the whole place was the worlds largest tank which holds 4 whale sharks, Yushan, Tarokor, Alice and Trixie.  Also 4 manta rays, Nandi, Tallulah, Billi and I can't remember the fourth one.  It's very peaceful just sitting there watching them all swimming by.  They also had touch tanks where you could touch again with only two fingers, horseshoe crabs and if you were quick and did not hesitate shrimp.  I think we spent probably three hours there and I could have spent more, but it was time to get our dose of Gone With the Wind, since we were in Atlanta.  After a quick walk through Centennial Olympic Park we got back on the train and headed to the Margaret Mitchell house where we had a short tour of the apartment where she lived with her second husband and wrote most of the book.  They also had a small exhibit set up in the building next door dedicated to the movie. 

World of Coca-cola

Centennial Olympic Park

Margaret Mitchell House

Margaret Mitchell House

After the Margaret Mitchell house we headed back to the hotel to rest for a while before going to dinner at the American Shakespeare Tavern to see A Midsummer's Night Dream.  The food was pretty good and the play was wonderful.  Of course our adventure to the Tavern made for an interesting trip there, took 40 minutes to go 4 blocks, see April's blog for her take on that hurricane like adventure.





Day 5: Savannah to Atlanta

So, before heading for Atlanta, we wanted to check out Forsyth Park a little more since it was not really included on either of the tours we went on.   As I'm sure you have read in both Lis's and April's blog yes I did decide that since I'm only 4' 11" I could pass for a 12 year old, sort of, and went down the slide.  It was fun, haha.  After the park I wanted to get a picture of the 100 year old live oak next to Candler Hospital, yes it is haunted, but didn't take any pictures on the night of the ghost tour.  After the park we still had plenty of time before we should leave for Atlanta, we went to the Isaiah Davenport House.  This is a Federalist style house.  Probably one of the most informative tours about the actual house and not just the family like I feel many of the other tours we had been on before.   Before leaving Savannah we decided since April and I didn't get to get our ice cream the night before because the mini bus actually arrived when we called for it, we stopped at Leopold's Ice Cream Shoppe.  I got Honey Almond ice cream, which was really good.

Forsyth Park

Candler Oak, next to the haunted hospital

Garden at the Davenport House

The drive to Atlanta was pretty uneventful for me since I slept a good part of it.  We did have plans to stop at Stone Mountain Park before heading to the hotel, but I forgot to check when the park closed and we arrived too late, oops, lesson learned always check open and closing times.   We arrived at the Hotel Indigo, which has to be my favorite hotel on the whole trip, even if the room was really small and the bathroom could be hazardous if you were not careful.  So we were left with the dilemma of what to do for dinner, April took charge and picked this family run Italian place outside of Atlanta.  After a scary drive on the highway to get there, and I live in the metro DC area and and was slightly scared, we made it there alive.  Of course when I had the oil changed in my car before the trip they forgot to reset the maintenance required light, so I had to remember how to turn that off, which the guy at the dealership showed me how to do once before when they forgot.  Dinner was chicken parm, chicken alfredo and garlic bread all of which was wonderful.  Then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Hotel Indigo

Day 4: Savannah

Ok so now that I have time to sit I'll actually write my final blogs.  After breakfast, we headed out to Bonaventure Cemetery, my request I find cemeteries interesting probably due to my mom, since she would take me with her when I was little and she was doing genealogy work.   Anyway, finding it wasn't too hard with the help of Lee, just a little confusion about if we had to park and walk or could drive through.  With the heat and humidity if we hadn't been able to drive I have a feeling I would have been the only one walking in the cemetery.  Not sure how long we spent there but I was able to find all the graves I wanted to see.  Some of the markers and statues are just so haunting but beautiful.

Little Gracie

After the cemetery, which I'm sure Lis was ready to leave, we headed off to the trolley tour.  Now this tour was listed as being highly rated and had an on/off option which we thought would be great.  Free parking and we could do all the things we wanted to in Historic Savannah with not too much walking.  Well, not so much an on/off trolley tour, we get on and we are told we must take the whole 90 minute tour then get off and call to have mini buses pick us up to go to other points.  Needless to say we were not happy at all about this.  I have not had a chance to but I plan on writing a review and putting it up on the travel site I used to find the tour in the first place.  Anyway, taking pictures on this trolley was next to impossible at least with my older camera.  I would get something in frame and focused and we would fly around a corner and I would end up with a tree instead of a statue or building.  After getting off the trolley at the City Market, we call to have a bus pick us up to take us to the stop near the Mellow Mushroom.  Of course it takes two calls to have someone pick us up and we have to ride back to the parking lot first, wouldn't it have made more sense to take us to the stop in city first then to the lot on the outer edge of the city.

City Hall

Mercer House

Armstrong House

Most haunted house 432

Pirate House

Waving Girl

Finally, we arrive a few blocks from the Mellow Mushroom, loved this place and they were nice enough to check to make sure there was no MSG in the dressing I got on my lunch.  Also loved the murals, Alice in Wonderland, Yellow Submarine and a Salvador Dali like one with the Bird Girl statue.

Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom

The next stop on our walk was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which was beautiful inside and I know thrilled Lis, since it reminded her of the Basilica at Notre Dame.

St. John the Baptist 

Then we went to the Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the girl scouts, home.  We made it just in time for the last tour of the day.  It was a very quick tour and provided a brief history about her, but I thought it focused a lot on her artwork and not as much on the house it self.  The garden area had huge agave plant called "Joe Hoke" according to my plant expert, my mom.  After some purchases in the gift shop we were off to City Market yet again to call a mini bus to take us back to get the car so we could spend more time along the River Walk.  We did make a small detour so I would take my picture of Paula Dean's Restaurant.  

Juliette Gordon Low House

Agave "Joe Hoke"

Paula Dean's Restaurant

After picking up the car we drove down to the River Walk and tested the shocks in my car on the cobblestones.  Since by that point it was after 6 we didn't have to pay for parking we found a small lot near the restaurant, Kevin Barry's.  We walked around for awhile and I of course shopped.  Dinner was good I had Fish and Chips with malt vinegar, yum.  But then the real entertainment began, with a live Irish and other types of music, even a little Buddy Holly.  But the best part of the whole evening would be Lis having to give a demonstration of the hand motions that go with the song Unicorn.  We have video proof, see April's blog.  All and all even with the stupidly run trolley, it was a good day.  Much less spooky in the day time.