Holiday Inn Hotel And Suites Asheville

Get your fire blankets out things are getting Smoky! We headed for the hills and wound up in the mountains, the Smoky Mountains. A short-ish drive, only 2 1/2 hours from Chattanooga we arrived in the beautiful Smokys on an afternoon of perfect weather.<br><br>As with most National Parks there are plenty of driving and hiking trails, but only one can be the most visited National Park in the country &#8211; this one! We drove the Cades Cove loop, stopping to explore numerous ...

... riding. <br><br>While Dave golfed, I intended to study for a class I'm taking. Instead, I read and walked Misty. Misty had a blast. I couldn't steer her to the stream. She concentrated on building bases and down spouts (at home, the chipmunks hide in the downspouts when Misty is out). She was most intrigued with a storage shed sitting on top of concrete blocks. My guess is that mice might have made a home under the shed. <br><br>One note ...

... place for vivid fall colors. <br><br>Costs: Real-estate taxes are 4-5 times less than our Chicago suburb, and housing costs seem to be about 2/3 (plus you get much more land). Asheville has a nice bus system with free rides in the downtown area. In the downtown parking garage, parking is free the first hour and 75cents an hour.<br><br>Weather: The average high temperature in February is 50°, average low 27°. The average high in August ...

... decorations. Gene spent over an hour assembling a Halloween lantern. We left for our tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When we returned, six hours later, they had more on display than most houses: A blow-up ball with ghosts, pumpkins, bats and confetti; a table display with pumpkins and scarecrows; a smoking cauldron and a bubble machine (more on the bubble machine later). But their display paled compared to the people across the street ...

... 280 and 276 was as colorful as the parkway, proving that what at first looks bad can possibly be better. Not only was the scenery on the detour a great fall show, we also saw several waterfalls we wouldn&#8217;t have seen on the original route. The Looking Glass Waterfall, pictured, was fairly large. The spray misted us as we neared, and at the base wisps off the fall looked like clouds. I ...

... that he gave (didn't quite follow). But he was an artist and we talked art (as best I could) and encouraged him to actively pursue him art career (and I think he took it to heart. He gave me his website that he claims he would put some of his art on. This way, I can gauge the effectiveness of my motivational speech.) Then back to the hostel, a few words with the hippies, and off to bed. Camping in the smokies tomarrow.<br>

We spent 3 days in the Mountains near Asheville, N.C. The R.V. resort was a small one, about 25 sites but situated high in the mountains with a great view. <br>A visit to the Biltmore Estate and Chimney Rock is a must when in this area. The Blue Ridge Parkway is also nearby.

... place and I'm glad we went. Incidentally, while there I met a woman who was heading straight to Asheville, rather than the east side of NC as my ride was, so I continued the ride up the coast with her, chatting about her yoga teaching practice, her ability to come to accurate personal life decisions via the use of a deciding pendulum, and "Debbie Does Green", her radio show about being a modern life gal living a greener-style life.<br> After this set of lively ...

... photographs inside the house so when you are in the area go and look for yourself. Alternatively check out: http://www.biltmore.com/our_story/ Can you imagine what you could build, money no object (and it certainly wasn't for this family) and every technological invention available to be used. This house is that and more! George Vanderbilt had the house built for his family and friends, it took six years to complete (including building a ...

... feel. There was a Hurrahs Casino as other than on the rivers and a few towns gambling in the US is restricted to the reservations. The weather was sunny but only in the low 70s. We found our hotel and its bijou queen bedroom ok and set down to update the blog, do the laundry and find a place for our week on the Florida coast before we return. The room is small but has been refurbed and has a fridge/microwave and a massive flat screen TV.