Whats Up With The Worleys

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Biltmore Gardens

Tuesday I was a little tired after exploring the house at Biltmore all day Monday so I decided to check out the area around the Biltmore Forest. I ended up going to see Tyler Perry's new movie at a very nice new movie theater. After the movie I decided to go to the Mall. This turned into a huge jackpot. I parked by the Dillards and didnt realize that it was a Dillards clearance center.I got almost $600 worth of clothing for less than $60. Two nice winter coats and a couple of summer shirts. They had a deal where everything you bought was by one get one free. After my shopping trip I headed back to the campground and fixed a nice mexican salad and flautas and decided to sit outside for dinner. I had three interesting visitors during dinner. The first was a man from Massachusetts (thick accent) who was asking about the solar covers I had on the camper. He has a hybid camper with fold out canvas bunks on each end. He had been in Nashville and it was 109 degrees and he couldn't get it cool enough for is coons. I didn't press for information about the coons, but it turns out he has two racoons as pets (I saw them later in the cage outside). I am used to seeing dogs in campgrounds, well I've even seen racoons in campgrounds, but never as pets! The second visit was a couple from Florida who had a new Viking popup camper. They were asking about the bunk supports on my camper. I explained that they were attached and that I didn't know anything about Vikings. (I have researched them a little and am more proficient now). They were concerned because their bunkends didn't have any visible means of support and they sag a little. Apparently that is the design. I however would be scared to death to sleep on a bunk without some sort of pole under it. They had just purchased the camper after downsizing from a bumper pull trailer. The final visitors didn't stop to speak, but rather they releaved themselves on my site. There was a man and woman with six dogs, other than a little color variation in the coat they were all identical. Now I must pause to reflect. How large does an RV have to be to house six dogs and two people? It was a bit unusual and they attracted attention.

The six four legged visitors at my campsite

This is the library side of the house

This is the natural arbor that shades the library side of the house

Looking toward the back of the house

This is a balcony behind Mr. Vanderbilt's private library

There's a big black snake out there somewhere!

This is the green house (Hot House)

Wednesday morning I went to the Biltmore gardens (which are just as impressive as the house) The highlight of the visit was news of a large black snake in one section of the sunken garden. I steered clear of that area. The greenhouses (hot and cool houses) were absolutely beautiful. I met a couple from Hickory, North Carolina,the woman didn't like the snake one bit and thought they should remove it. The man explained that it was eating rodents and pests in the garden. They were explaining that it is not usually this hot in North Carolina and we discussed the Texas climate. They couldn't handle the heat when they got off of the plane in Dallas. If Christa was with me this week she would have reminded me that I am just like my mother, creating conversations with complete strangers and coming back with their life history. I guess she is right ( however I do not feel that I am as extreme as my mother was). I am planning to go back to Biltmore tomorrow even after three hours in the gardens I still havn't seen it all.

This is the stable (now a visitors center with shops and restaurants)

This sleeping porch was added in the 1920s when the vanderbilts moved into the gentleman's wing and would sleep on this porch. Apparently they didn't open the entire house during this period.

This bird posed for me.

The bees were cool. They got into the flower and bumped around then eventually came out.

The front of the house

These statues are duplicated in the dining room. They are Joan of Arc and some saint that protects France. Since this is a French Chateau

This is the gate house to the Biltmore Estate

Monday, July 2, 2012

North Carolina Trip

We headed out the last Thursday in June to get Greerson from church youth camp in Ruston, Louisiana. We left about 8pm and made it to Shreveport about midnight and then got up and left at 6am to find Christa a wifi connection to upload a work file that had to get to the client that morning. We met Greerson at 10am and then went to West Monroe to see Daryl's niece Robin. She has must moved there and is managing several college bookstores. After taking her to lunch we headed to Conway, Arkansas to Daryl's brother David's house. We spent the night with them and enjoyed a great grilled chicken dinner with their entire family. Saturday morning we headed for Crossville, Tennessee. Our air conditioner wouldn't work once the temperature outside got above 95 degrees. We suffered through all the way to Nashville and stopped for dinner and as we headed into the mountains the air started working because it had cooled off outside. We got up and drove on into Candler, North Carolina to the KOA and set the camper up. Then Daryl took Christa and Greerson to the Daniel Boone Scout Camp. They are planning to hike 25 miles leaving Monday morning and getting back Friday night. Daryl is staying in the camper and is touring Asheville. Monday he went to the Biltmore via the Toyota dealership. The dealership said that the engine has a safety switch that cuts the air conditioner off if the engine gets too hot. In other words tough luck, your gonna be hot going home. The Biltmore was awesome! Daryl got a private tour and saw basically every room in the house, he even went into the attic. The house is amazing and was much easier to understand after seeing Downton Abbey. The servants at Biltmore worked basically the same way and the women changed clothes seven to ten times a day.