Moving in to Fall!

Pictures as follow:

1. and 2. At a Vista Point in eastern Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains

3. and 4. Harvest Festival at the Biltmore Estate

5. Smithy fabricating iron leaves

6. Biltmore Estate, Ashevillle, North Carolina

7. One of the many Biltmore Estate gardens

8. Monticello

9.Mist clearing at Monticello

10. Our guide through Mulberry Row slave quarters

11. Beer making

12. Sugar Maple tree at Monticello

Hope you enjoy the pictures 1,2,8,9,10,11,12 which should have been posted last night. Blogger fixed the problem, bless them. The rest of the pictures are from today and are pretty self explanatory.

Sunday is no day of rest for the GGG! It was a glorious breezy fall day with the temperatures in the low 70's. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we drove a short way to the Biltmore Estate. It is extremely well organize but a bit pricey. We paid close to $50.00 a ticket but by the end of the day felt we had received value for the dollars spent. The tour through the house is self- guided and we could go at our own pace. It is another one of those elaborate Vanderbilt mansions but we had the feeling that actual people lived there, unlike the Breakers in Newport which belonged to a cousin and seemed like a mausoleum. We have talked and talked about what the difference is and can't come up with definitive answers but there is definitely a different feeling.

They are getting ready for the Christmas season which is traditionally very important at the Biltmore and it must be magnificent when ready for the holiday. Had lunch in the refurbished stables and the stall we ate in had the original white tile on the walls, brick floor with a drain in the middle and steel gratings. Judi commented she wished her bedroom was as nice. Lunch was deliscious and then did a bit of shopping. The Christmas store was incredible!

Our next stop on the Estate grounds was the Fall Festival at River Bend Farm. In the old barn we saw demonstrations of furniture making, basket making, clog dancing, blacksmithing, and a story telling troupe! It was a delight for the children and enjoyable for adults as well. AND! One of the Gotta Go Girls won a prize. When one of the actors asked who knew the opening words to Lewis Carroll's Jaberwocky our very own Lee spoke up with "T'was brilling when a slithy toad" (or something like that) and was awarded a box of Animal Crackers! We were very proud! A Gotta Go Girl makes good! Topped the day off with a big ice cream cone and we drove back to our hotel with smiles on our faces. And we didn't even get lost!

Heading for the coast of North Carolina staying midway in Chapel Hill/Raleigh tomorrow night. Tucking in early. We love North Carolina!

Love, The Gotta Go Girls