north carolina getaway

Hello, my turkeys! We are just getting home from a lovely vacation. It was a jam-packed 5 days of fun in and around Asheville, North Carolina. 

As you can see above, we did the majestic Biltmore. Just walking around the house and gardens and winery and then stopping for lunch was far more than a Gilligan. No three hour tour here!  Try ... drum roll, please ... SEVEN hours! I was a little concerned my Turkey would be bored with touring the house but he was absolutely enthralled. (Score one for mom!)

We also went digging for gems at Hiddenite Gems. This is the creek (or "crick" if you're in the south) where we found some good treasures. Our toes (and butts) were wet a lot, and the water was cool and clear.

Between creeking that day we did some sluicing which was a filthy, muddy, dirty, and fun experience. (Who knew I, the girlie girl, would ever put "filthy" and "fun" in the same sentence?!) We found garnets, sapphires, lots of good quartz, smoky topaz, amethyst, some pretty blue things that I have promptly forgotten the name of, and lots of other gems. Serious fun!

Awww. We took several self portraits throughout our time away and this is one of my favorites. Just had to share. :-) 

Day 3 was all about shopping and exploring downtown Asheville. Lots of great art galleries and craft stores and whimsical places. I am officially in love with the button bouquets found at Kress, and kicking myself for not purchasing one while we were there.

Mid-day we headed to French Broad Chocolate Lounge for some pot de creme and house made sodas. It was a marvelous, yummy and much-needed break. Be sure to check out the Chocolate Lounge if you're ever in Asheville.

And on the last day we did anything but rest and say "it was good." Nope. We headed for the breathtaking Blue Ridge Parkway. Up in the mountains it was 70 degrees and breezy -- gorgeous! We were able to keep the windows down most of the way, rolling them up a bit when we hit 5300 feet and it was really chilly.

After 30 miles or so the Turkey was in the Ihavetotallyreachedmylimitforsightseeing zone so we turned off and headed for civilization. Or what we thought was going to be civilization. It took us a while of twisting and turning and wondering who would live in THAT trailer at the bottom of a mountain before we found the Way Out.

Eight hours later we were home. Our beds have never felt so good! It was a great vacation but great to be home, too.

More pictures to follow, my turkeys!