Weekend Get-A-Way

Here we come......Asheville, North Carolina

Back in July, a trip was planned to visit Asheville, North Carolina with a couple of college and sorority friends.  Two were driving from Atlanta, Georgia one from northern Virginia and I was coming from southwest Virginia.  We had rented a house in Asheville. We had not all been together in over 20 years....so one can imagine the thrill the night before the trip!

Screaming and hugging on arrival of seeing one another..was only the beginning of a fantastic weekend.

Thursday evening we drove into Asheville for dinner and spent the evening with much talking and laughing.

On Friday, we had tickets to visit Biltmore.  None of us had ever been and on OH MY...if you have never ever been I highly recommend a trip to Biltmore.  It is breath taking.

Please excuse me but I can't seem to rotate the picture.  The construction of this family home took six years.  We had purchased the audio guide and were able to hear an explanation of each room plus a 'little story'.
After touring the home, we went to the gardens.  Magnificent indeed!

 We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Stable Cafe---yes the stables had been turned into a cafe.

 The winds were howling and it had begun to rain....

 but we  had to have another picture with this lion...and few more pics

They were beginning to decorate the home for Christmas.

Also visited the Winery and Antler Hill.  There were more than 20 handcrafted wines and the wine host took us on a wine journey...interesting

All in all, a great trip to the Biltmore.  We headed home and started a fire in the fireplace still talking about our day into the 'wee' hours of the morning.

Saturday we headed into Asheville.  Man was it ever crowded!! We drove for over an hour and a half trying to find a place to park---even the parking garages were full. We did drop off one of our friends to sign in to eat while the rest of us drove and drove and drove.  Finally a parking placed opened!

After eating we thought it was best to walk off some of our food....and of course take more pictures...

Yes, this is an iron wrapped in yarn.  We just thought it was so neat.

and then of course a silly picture....

We thought we were styling and profiling here.....
Shew...we managed to walk a few miles.

 .Sunday came way  too fast!  We stopped for coffee and something sweet before heading our separate ways.

 As we talked we came to this conclusion....you know, we didn't do a lot of nothin but somethin...and that somethin was being together...rekindling our friendship, our laughter, our strength for each other, sharing each other's  trials and burdens.

We left embracing each other....parting was sweet sorrow....and vowing to plan another trip this spring.

"Sweet is the memory of distant friends. Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart." Washington Irving

A weekend get-a-way that was most memorable.