Warm Greetings of love and gratitude to our dear friends and family now scattered about this amazing country.
The blog has a new face -- and so does our family!
We spent the last few months in Asheville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville has been voted as one of the top places to live, to be alive, for art, for woman happiness, to reinvent your life and to experience ‘new age’. I'm not surprised. It is a very cool place - except for their traffic laws (a story in itself)!
It is home to early art deco architecture and has a history of great wealth ...
with the incredible Biltmore Estate
and the awesome and very historical Grove Park Inn where ten presidents, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, stayed [more later]
and had once-in-a-lifetime experiences!
We made new friends
... Some were dogs
... and then some more
We stayed just south of town at Rutledge Lake RV Park … yet another amazing motor coach park.
Where there were wonderful meadows to meander through
A bridge to .... the other side
Grassy Lawn for the kids to relax ....
... And a lake to walk around
... And adorable children to play with us ...
... and where the kids fell in love with each other!
Here's Downtown Asheville ..
And ... this is how I saw it
One of the many parks ... great architecture in the background.
Amazing basillica.
One of the Biltmore outbuildings
Ponds at Biltmore
Biltmore stables
The Grove Park Arcade takes up one full block
The Country Kitchen where Mr. Obama ate ... and I ate most nights ... incredible food. Definitely the best restaurant.
Another Asheville park ... the locals playing chess.
The following are many beautiful homes in Asheville ...
The only McDonalds in the country with a grand piano!
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| One of the many parks in Asheville |
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| Incredible Stone Estate, previously a sanitorium |
OUR DAY AT THE AWESOME INCREDIBLE GROVE CREEK INN
Grounds of the Grove Park Inn at a distance
Amazing stone work
The entry across the grass
The main entrance ...
Karen, Mary and I having dinner at the Inn
The Girls ... in heaven ...
Marvelous Mary at the gift shop
Lovely Karen, never to be forgotten
"Yup, this is heaven on earth"
Sisters of a Different Mother
... in the fireplace, the main lobby
Stairways down to the most amazing spa ...
The outdoor pool
Waterfall outside the spa
We three about to enter the amazing spa
The spa is a 4000 square foot underground cavern of rock ... You float on the water and listen to music underwater ... the most soothing experience.
The mineral pool ...
The Women's Relaxation Lounge
Outdoor fire pit
And ... this is what you become after the amazing spa experience!
THE MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE
We spent time deep in the Blue Ridge Mountain, drove a hundred miles or so of this amazing road, and hiked some of nature's most beautiful scapes
a stretch of the Parkway (goes on for about 400 miles)
Crabtree falls
Lindville Falls, upper
Lindville Falls
Carolina at Grandfather mountain mile high bridge
The swing bridge on top of Grandfather Mountain is a mile high
The O'Sullivan Family -- Yup, we walked across it!
BACK TO HOME, HILTON HEAD ISLAND
We came back home to Hilton Head ...
and our REALLY fun Hilton Head Family ...
I have been inducted into the Bubble Head club. Formal induction involves wearing a stick of celery on your nose!
And ... having a sun filled, fun filled and joy filled Thanksiving together!
THE KIDS
. Carolina is 12 now, incontingent, and happier than ever (really) with her liitle bro, Riley, who is 10 months
Carolina on Thanksgiving.
Our beautiful Hilton Head neighbor -- the dog lady!
Riley doing his favorite thing ... We call it TWO BALLS!
Life is oh so very good ... tomorrow we leave for Beverly Beach, Fla, where the surf meets the coach ... we will live on the beach again for two months, where dear Jaz will visit for Christmas.
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The traveling pack, The O'Sullivan Three-Sum
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With love ... until we meet again.
The traveling pack, The O'Sullivan Three-Sum
