Visited this winery in my neighborhood. What a gorgeous spot. Open Wednesday- Sunday from 12-5 for tastings of several red and whites.
Tasting House
Grounds
What lucky grapes to grow in this view
Doesn’t this remind you of a Dale Chihuly? On closer inspection it’s wine bottles upside down..
The venue is also available for weddings.
What a perfect spot.
This state trail is a must do and see for all visiting Western North Carolina. It surrounds Lake James and provides boating,
hiking and biking on the trails,
and private beaches near the trails.
Children were playing with electric boats while the rest of the family looked on.
And under The Fonta Flora Covered Bridge
were these gracious butterflies.
What an amazing spot for all to enjoy.
Was told of the nearby Doris Duke Mansion, and gardens by friendly medical personnel during my appointment. Intrigued, as I was aware of Ms. Duke’s horticulture expertise, I followed this tip to discover another delightful North Carolina site.
While the house is open for lodging, tours are not available, however, the gardens were free to explore and this was a true delight..
For those not familiar with Doris Duke, (1912-1993), she was the heiress to the American Tobacco Company, the only daughter of James Duke, her tobacco baron father. She lived a colorful life, and her philanthrophic donations were vast. She was an avid horticulturist, and art lover growing up in Hillsborough, New Jersey, where she has another amazing home with vast gardens which is available for tour, and a must see.
At the time of her death Doris had quadrupled her father’s wealth, and as she was without heirs her vast fortune was left to charities, medical research, education of the disadvantaged, the performing arts, wildlife, and ecology, to name a few recipients.
Let’s take a garden tour…
Butterfly Garden with birdhouse
Adirondack Garden
Herb Garden
Prayer Garden- never saw this before and what a wonderful idea
Children’s Garden
Porch View
What a wonderful visit.
Had an appointment at the Charlotte Skin & Laser with the amazing Elizabeth Rostan, M.D. If you need a bit of a fill or fix up she is the dermatologist to see. Arriving in the area a half hour prior to appointment made a turn and ended up at Thompson Park. Decided to stay and see what the Park had to offer and was glad I did. First seen was St. Mary’s Chapel. What a lovely place for a small wedding.
Next was the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
This Memorial was particularly moving. It described the War from 1959 with Eisenhower’s involvement till the conclusion of the War in 1975.
Etched in the granite was a poem from a local Viet Nam veteran, Lochlin Walker. Following is several lines from his poem..
Viet Nam
So many years have passed
But still I remember
That distant place, hot sunwashed …
Past the Memorial the Greenway begins, where many were biking and walking enjoying(?) the 90 plus degree heat.
Another surprise..
You never know when you make a turn what you will find..
Visited this Center for a private spiritual retreat. It is available for corporate events as well. Found the area quiet, immaculately maintained, and a great spot for all types of reflection. The following pictures say it all.
The Grounds
Many Beautiful Trails to hike
Places to sit and reflect as a group or individually,
Conference Areas
Dining Hall
Guest Rooms
The web site for the Center is https://catholicconference.org/
Friendly staff are available to accommodate both business and spiritual needs.
Visited Biltmore for the change in season.. The summer flowers were vibrant. Enjoy.
Welcome to the Garden..
The Gardener’s Cottage
The Gardener’s Cottage was the home of the first head gardener. It was designed by the Biltmore House architect, Richard Morris Hunt.
Garden Views
Unique Flowers
And not so unique flowers
A Dog Visit – many of the dogs were dressed in finery on their visit. What a hoot..
The renovated Italian Gardens. Breathtaking..
And on to the mansion where orchids are in bloom.
And departing with mountain views.
Biltmore always delights…
This is not a travel blog.
Had several names for this blog, some profane, others not so.
Technology does not reside in a cabin in the woods. This weekend while I should be writing of July 4th fireworks, and the like, (and I may), I am taking the self taught course:
Hot Spot 101
When data is gone from a phone, the internet, texts, and most importantly for me the navigation AP WAZE, is unavailable. I rely on this in my many journeys, and with a Biden sticker on my car in red country where confederate flags, and trump banners still reside on I-40, I am not able to ask directions. In many, if not most of these areas, I fear for my life when I open my mouth with a New York accent. No liberals reside here….. I digress, back to Verizon..
The Verizon prepaid plan I use covers 15 gigs of data a month, and since that was gone in 9 days due to watching 3 Stephen Colbert and 2 Good Fight Shows, I was sunk. Verizon was unable to give more data extensions on this plan. Therefore, for the remainder of the month, internet, text and most importantly WAZE was gone.
To change to regular service and increase data needed to buy a Hot Spot, which is another telephone line.
The device was $200 plus tax, and it was the “cheap” one. With it came a new bill which I am told somehow will be 50% less than this copy?? Time will tell…
After 4 hours in one Verizon store, then 3 hours in another Verizon store an hour away as the first “store” could not handle my issue, I thought all was completed. However, to bill my charge card took another 90 minutes as Verizon was changing billing procedures this weekend.
All sessions were spent with Verizon agents who were charming, however, with all the problems one questions the service??
Once the charge card transaction was completed my hot spot was whisked into a recyclable Verizon bag, and I received 15 seconds of training being told the literature was self-explanatory. Let’s hope the U Tube videos are helpful.
+
After I tweet this blog will proceed to learn more of the Hot Spot and who knows maybe I will get to those fireworks?
This is a non-travel blog.
For the few followers I have, thank you. I write the column to give me something to do, and to have someone read what I write is quite frankly, unexpected. I have no aspirations of a “following,” but nice to know I have helped someone out in a pinch when traveling. As a nurse we are helpers and healers.
A little levity, however, when these guys visit I’ve seen more healing than with antibiotics.
I do these travels on my days off from work. Since I work 3 12 hour shifts I have ample time off once I recover from night shift to travel. I scour the internet, newspapers, and brochure racks to locate things to visit and do. Often, natives offer suggestions which have made great journeys.
The areas I work in can be depressed, and have limited short-term living situations so unique living situations abound. The living situations are more challenging than the work, and enough said on that. That could be a blog all to itself. HA! HA!, as my daughter would say.
Internet access is another conundrum and having run out of “data,” puts one in a pickle. Relying on the WAZE AP for my travels requires data, and since I am technology dork will see what the following days bring.
Next blog: Verizon Store Visit, hopefully travel blogging return soon.
Young Retiree Needs a Life 