On Friday, we got to see how one of the wealthiest families in our nation's history lived. After packing up our soggy tent and belongings at the cozy, little campground near Ashville (we are getting the packing down to about an hour now), we wound our way through the beautiful tree saturated mountains to Biltmore Estates.
If you've been to Europe and seen some of the gothic-style architecture, this was America's closest thing to a royal palace. Instead of describing it to you, check out their Web site: www.biltmore.com. It was a fabulous day. Not only the tour of the enormous mansion, but the gardens and grounds were breathtaking. Take 140 Central Parks, and you get the size of the Vanderbilt's property in the mountains. The designer of Central Park was the designer of these grounds. We wanted to ride our bikes around the area on their great trails, but we ran out of time. It was on to Florence to see the Meyers for Patrick's high school graduation on Saturday.
We arrived in Florence at the best time--meal time! Cevyn and Laurie treated the crowd (I think there were 14 of us) to genuine Southern hospitality with a shrimp (and more) boil. Outside they filled huge pots with boiling seasoned water and filled them with potatoes, polish sausage, corn on the cob, and shrimp. Then poured the cooked pile of food onto a foil-covered table. We just grabbed what we wanted and ate to fullness. It was wonderful.
As we sat out in Cevyn's "man cave" (screened porch), we listened to the rain again. It was great to catch up with everyone. Laurie's family was busy in the kitchen and I knew I would bog down the well-oiled machine, so I played "Mary" and just listened and socialized.
We are in a motel for the next couple of nights, so no unpacking in the rain. As much as I love the outdoors, I am looking forward to a bathroom 15 feet away.
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