Month: November 2016

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, GA

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We spent one week just south of the Atlanta, GA area.

The main reason we stayed here was to make it to the State Capitol Building. It was impressive! Check out that golden dome with the Miss Freedom standing so proudly on top!

And since we’re talking about the dome…I’ll go ahead and show you the inside of it. Now, my favorite domes have stained glass or a mural on it, but this one with the windows all around it was very nice too. Simple and elegant.

Georgia makes State Capitol Building number 31 for us. That’s a lot of SCBs! Some of my favorite things about SBCs (besides the dome) are the staircases. I’m not an architect. I don’t know anything about what style this is…I just know it’s pleasing to the eye. It’s nice and orderly. Check out the statue made of pink marble! This SCB had tons of pink marble that had been mined from Georgia. We like it when the state uses materials gathered from their state to showcase while building the SCB. On the fourth floor there was a small museum we moseyed through. I think it’s a nice touch to include a museum in the SCB that tells some of the state’s history and points out some of the highlights found within the state. We enjoyed this SCB.

Out of thirty one SBCs this was a first for us. We got to go into the Governor’s Office! One of the secretaries offered to take a photo of us behind the desk. We took her up on the offer! It was so nice of her to offer! The boys even got to hold this WWE belt. It was heavier than we thought it would be! I have to mention how nice everyone that we came into contact with at the Georgia State Capitol Building was! We’ve toured some SCBs where we were basically ignored so it was such a nice touch to have everyone we came into contact with treat us as if we weren’t an inconvenience. Perhaps we were getting a taste of that southern hospitality you hear about?!

While we were in Atlanta, we stopped by The Varsity to grab lunch. The Varsity is the world’s largest drive-in. When we were there it was packed! The menu isn’t that big. They’ve got burgers, hotdogs, fries, and onion rings. Oh… and fried pies. Between the five of us, I think we tried everything on the menu. The food was what you would expect. I enjoyed my chili dog with coleslaw on top of it and I really loved the onion rings! Now, would I go back? Um, probably not. lol! Sorry. Once was kind of enough. Not because the food was super bad…it just wasn’t the best. It was your typical fast food. We really prefer to try the mom and pop places and steer clear of chain stores.

I know…it’s a metal fence. But, guys…it’s The Walking Dead metal fence! You’re looking at Alexandria…well, it’s actually in a town called Senoia…but still!! We couldn’t get any closer because all the roads were blocked and guarded because they were filming. Which kind of made it cooler for me. To know they were just…right…there…….filming!!! Sorry. Fan girl moment. I’m ok now.

We did actually get some hiking in this time! We love hiking and there hasn’t been as many opportunities to get some miles in during this year’s loop. We stopped by the High Falls State Park for a quick mile or so to see the falls. Georgia has been in a pretty bad drought since June, so the falls weren’t full and rushing, but they were still enjoyable.

We made our way to Covington, GA…you might recognize it as Mystic Falls from the show The Vampire Diaries. I didn’t realize how many shows/films are filmed in the Atlanta area. We didn’t bump into any of the stars, but it was neat to walk around a town I’d seen on a television show.

We even made it to another hike! This one was at the Arabia Mountain A.W.A.R.E. area. We were rewarded with an awesome view! The weather was perfect for hiking while we were in the Atlanta area. And the opportunity to be outside hiking was appreciated by all of us.

We found this street sign and I had to snap a pic. There’s a big Gone With The Wind theme in the area. I don’t know anything about it…just fan girling again.

When we went to the B.A.P.S. Shri Swaminarayan Mandir while we were in the Houston area we learned that there are actually a few of them sprinkled around different states in the US. We made it to the one in Atlanta. It’s just as gorgeous! And just like the one in Houston, photography isn’t permitted inside or even close to the inside. If you ever find yourself near one of these go in. It’s truly breath taking. The amount of detail on all of the hand carved marble is astounding.

That’s it for the Atlanta area! We didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what there is to do here so I imagine we will have to visit again.

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Oh Carolina…

Oh Carolina…

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Hey Guys!! We spent a week in the Raleigh, NC area.

We didn’t have a lot on our list here to do. Sometimes we plan the week that way to get some downtime and sometimes there just isn’t a ton to do in an area. We didn’t really mind the slower week since it gave us time to catch up on picture editing and school stuff.

We did make it to the State Capitol Building. Most of the North Carolina State Capitol Building has been turned into a museum. They’ve arranged rooms to resemble what they looked like and used for in years past. The room above in the top picture is the geology room where they had samples of rocks from around the state. We really do love it when there’s a museum in the SCBs! Its such a fun way to learn more about the state we’re visiting.

Y’all know we love foodie spots. Let me introduce you to Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar. You can get burgers, sushi, and burger/sushi fusions! There were so many options on the menu that you could eat there everyday for months and not get the same thing twice. We absolutely loved Cowfish!! The owner came out and talked with us while we were there and guys…he was genuinely so nice. Seriously. If there’s a Cowfish near you, go check it out!

We also spent a week in Columbia, SC.

We didn’t take a tour at the South Carolina State Capitol Building, but we did get to roam around. I thought the dome was pretty. Most of the SCBs we’ve visited have a redish/pink color scheme in at least a few of the rooms, but both of the Carolina’s SBCs were more earthy tones with blue highlights. It was a nice change.

We made it to Congaree National Park! I’ve been looking forward to this National Park since I did the initial planning for our whole nomadic fifty state tour. It stuck out to me because there was a caution that this park inhabits six venomous snakes and alligators. Six! Six venomous snakes all in one park. And then they add alligators on top of that! No, I don’t like snakes. Not even a little, but I was curious about what kind of habitat would inhabit so many dangernoodles.

We got there the week after Hurricane Mathew mucked up our plans and sent us fleeing to Asheville. So…we were already irritated with Mathew. When we got to Congaree NP we learned Mathew wasn’t done messing with us. Nope. He’d blown through the park and messed up pretty much all of the trails. Dang it Mathew! We got to walk a teeny tiny bit of the boardwalk trail. We were so bummed. We did get a taste of what the park offers and we’re grateful that we got to see what we did, but we’ll definitely have to go back sometime and see the rest!

Our time in Columbia wasn’t a total loss. We found an all you can eat buffet at Little Pigs Barbecue.

All. You. Can. Eat…BBQ!!!

What?!?! I counted four different kinds of pulled pork! There was also all of the fixin’s! All of them. Oh, and by-the-way…in the Carolinas anytime you hear BBQ they mean pork. Always. It was soooo stinkin’ good! Little Pigs is a no frills kind of place, but that’s ok because it helps keep the cost down. When was the last time you’ve eaten at an all you can eat buffet for $10? That includes a drink. Yum-oh!

We have officially fallen in love with the Carolinas!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

The Biltmore

The Biltmore

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Since Hurricane Mathew interrupted our time on the North Carolina coast, we headed to the Asheville area to escape the weather. Asheville is where you’ll find The Biltmore.

Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, The Biltmore was just one of the Vanderbilt family homes. It’s huge! Let me see if I can remember the details…thirty-three bedrooms, forty-three bathrooms, 250 rooms, and sixty-five fireplaces all add up to a grand total of about four acres of floor space.

There are a few different options when it comes to seeing the Biltmore. We opted to take the ninety minute guided audio tour. We feel like audio tours really add to the experience. In the photo above, you can see the Winter Garden. The Winter Garden is actually inside the mansion. That’s a glass roof you’re looking at and what used to be a working fountain.

On one side of this massive banquet hall is a set of built in shelves with the organ loft up above. The organ actually works. In the basement, there’s a room that has the air pump for the organ. I love all of  the built-in shelves! On the other side of the banquet hall is a wall of triple fireplaces. Because three is always better than one, right? This room was huge! The pictures can’t even begin to portray the true size of it. The ceiling in the banquet hall is seven stories high!

Here you can see the Breakfast Room where the Vanderbilt family ate lunch. Yep, you read that right. They named it The Breakfast Room, but they would eat lunch there. Maybe it was a really late breakfast…more like brunch?

The ceilings in The Biltmore were just as ornate and thought out as the rest of the rooms. Each room had a different design on the ceiling. I think I took just as many pics of the ceilings as I did rooms.

The Tapestry Gallery is more like a wide hallway with little nooks scattered about it. There are three tapestries hanging here that are a part of a set of seven. Each tapestry depicted one of the Seven Virtues. I love how ornate this fireplace we found in the Tapestry Gallery is! Check out the turtles on the bottom of the lamps.

My favorite room in the whole place is, of course, the Library. I took more photos of the Library than any other room at The Biltmore. I mean…look at that fireplace! Can you imagine perusing the books to find that perfect read and curling up by the fireplace to have a quiet afternoon? That would be my definition of a perfect day. Oh! See the big blue and white urn type thing? It once belonged to a Chinese Emperor about 500 years ago. He used it as a fish bowl. That’s quite the fish bowl. Ha!

This was George Vanderbilt’s bedroom. It’s huge! And I love all of the woodwork in it. All hand carved by super important artsy people. I don’t remember all of their names…there were so many different names said during this tour. Can you see the gold colored walls? That’s real gold. It’s gilded 24 Karat gold burlap. Because if you have the money to do it…why not?

All of the fireplaces in the Biltmore were different. Different colors, different materials, different styles. This was done on purpose. The one in the picture was in George Vanderbilt’s bedroom.

This sitting room joined the family bedrooms. There was a small table for food, a writing desk, and a game table. This is where the family would have breakfast while they planned the day’s events.

Edith Vanderbilt’s room was oval shaped and decorated in gold and purple. Edith made sure she knew all the names of everyone working at The Biltmore during a time when it was improper for the family to speak to the staff. She also made sure to send care baskets when children were born. Edith went so far as to start a trade-school that taught weaving and wood working so the servant’s children would be able to learn a craft or trade that they could use to earn a living.

The Biltmore was really built so the family could entertain guests. The third floor living hall was right outside all of the guest suites. The guests would wait to go down to breakfast here as they sat around and chatted. I loved looking at all of the old family photographs. Notice the books against the wall? George Vanderbilt had a 23,000 volume collection of books. That alone makes me like him. I mean, anyone who takes the time to accumulate that many beloved books has to be a good person, right?

This is in one of the guest suites. I really enjoy the way they have the rooms set up. It’s like we’re getting to take a peak back in time. With the dress on the bed and the gloves draped over the footboard…it’s like catching a fleeting glimpse into their lives. There was also a vanity table all set up and waiting. This guest suite was just for single ladies. The single ladies and single gentlemen were kept in separate suits since it was inappropriate for them to sleep in the same area of the house.

Check out this chandelier. It’s three stories high with three chandeliers on it. Can you imagine trying to dust that thing?

In the basement you’ll find the recreation area. Complete with a bowling alley, a 70,000 gallon heated swimming pool that they only kept filled for a few days at a time, and a gymnasium because even back then being healthy was important.

They supplied private dressing rooms because no self-respecting lady of that time would be caught walking through the house in a “bathing costume”. There was a row for the women and a separate row (on the other side of the wall) for the men.

The library is my favorite room, but the pastry kitchen is a close second. Imagine having an entire kitchen solely for the purpose of baking… What a dream that would be!

There would’ve been more than a dozen people in here working to prepare the meals for the Vanderbilt family and their guests. The copper pots hanging above the worktable are actually original. Check out the mortar and pestle! Huge! Nicholas and Alex agreed to stand next to it so you could really get an idea of the size of it.

This was the servant’s dining room. The dining room maid would have served the servants three meals a day here.

There were sooo many pantry rooms. Each dedicated to different things. This one is mainly for the canned goods.

Most people have one room for the laundry. At The Biltmore, there was a sewing room, main laundry room, drying room, and a dying room. Notice the box and bottles of dyes in the top picture?

Welcome to the smoking room. More books. The books were everywhere! It was a book lovers dream! The picture of the stairwell gives you a good idea of the many different levels at The Biltmore. Can you imagine having to walk all those stairs multiple times everyday?!

The view the Vanderbilt Family and their guests enjoyed was beautiful! George Vanderbilt and his architect used a ladder to determine what the best view would be before they began building. The attention to detail extended to every aspect of The Biltmore.

 We got to The Biltmore around 2ish…we didn’t leave until around 8. There are so many things to look at. We took a quick walk through some of the gardens, but we didn’t have time to look at everything.

Here are some of the pretties…look how bright and vibrant they are! I would love to see the gardens during each season.

There was a wine tasting included with the house ticket. If you know me, you know I’m not really into wine. The boys thought it was funny to watch my face  and hand me a cracker as I tasted each wine. The boys all got grape juice to try. They also had their fill of these pallet cleansing little biscuits that were sitting out. It was a thoughtful touch to have things that kids could enjoy too. We ended up getting three bottles of wine! lol! We found two white’s that I actually didn’t mind. Honestly, I think after you’ve tried so many wines…they all start tasting better. I’m a lightweight when it comes to that stuff.

When we left the wine tasting it was dark. There were several hummingbirds flitting between these big flowers and we stood there for a few minutes watching them. The picture’s not the best. It was dark and I only had my phone…but this little hummingbird decided to see what Alex tasted like and flew down to lick his leg. It was pretty funny and such an unexpected moment that I’m sure we’ll talk about it for years!

We had a great time exploring The Biltmore!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

A Time Of Firsts

A Time Of Firsts

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The plan was to stay a week on the outer banks of North Carolina enjoying the Kitty Hawk area and soaking up the coastal life. Mother Nature threw a monkey wrench in our plans with Hurricane Mathew so we were only able to stay for three days. Guys, we crammed everything we possibly could into those three days and somewhere in the process…we totally fell in love with the area.

Our main reason for going to the area was to visit The Wright Brothers National Memorial. In the photo above you can see the original buildings the Wright Brothers lived and worked in while they were at Kill Devil Hills trying to get their “contraption” to fly. Can you see the Memorial up on the hill to the left? That is the first and biggest memorial to be built for someone while they were still living.

It’s not the original, but it’s an exact copy right down to every detail, built the same way the Wright Brothers would have built theirs. The original was destroyed when a gust of wind caught it and threw it around before they could get it tied down after the fourth flight attempt. In the top picture, you can see the stone markers signifying where each of the first three flights landed. You can also see on the sign, a copy of the photo that was taken of that very first flight that lasted all of 12 seconds and went a grand total of 120 feet.

There’s a neat little area set up that shows what that first attempt looked like with the Wright Brothers and the few guys they had helping. Notice it’s on sand? That’s because when the Wright Brothers were there the area was more like a desert. Not much grass and no trees. Go look up a picture of it on the interwebs. You’ll be surprised at how different it looked back then.

On our first morning there, we got up to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. It was pretty spectacular. It was an amazing way to start the day! We even spotted a pod of dolphins playing in the surf!

We made it to Roanoke Island where the first English Colony was formed and where the first English child (Virginia Dare) was born in the New World. You might remember from your history class that the fate of the people of this colony is unknown. The only clue was the word “Croatoan” carved in a tree. No, it’s not the original tree, but it is a fun picture opportunity!

We were only able to make it to one of the area’s lighthouses since our time was cut short, but it was a really neat lighthouse and it was one of the Visitor Center’s for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We didn’t make it all the way down to Cape Hatteras either…but, that’s ok. We’ll just have to go back and visit the area again.

After talking to our neighbors (hi neighbors!) we decided to go to Corolla Beach and try to find the wild horses. We didn’t see them, but we had fun driving on the beach!

We did take time to play on the beach. It was right outside our RV park. We could see it from our door and hear the waves at night. It was pretty fantastic! Nicholas wanted to fly a kite on the beach so we went and found a kite. It wasn’t hard, they sold them everywhere. It was our first time flying a kite on the beach! You’ll notice we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We didn’t mind. We spent the entire afternoon building sandcastles, playing in the waves, finding seashells and sea glass and just…relaxing. None of us wanted to leave.

We tried Duck Donuts for the first time. It won’t be our last. We’ve all declared Duck Donuts as our favorite donut place. You walk in and order your donut with the glaze/frosting you want, add whatever toppings you want, and top it off with the drizzle of your choice. And then you get to watch them pull your donut out of the fryer and make it so when you get it it’s still warm!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!! We’ll be in Raleigh, NC next week…guess what donut place is there! Muuwaahahahaha…I’ll eat one for you.

We also got our very first taste of North Carolina BBQ. We’re fans. It’s quite possibly the best BBQ we’ve ever had…anywhere. We went to a place called High Cotton. Guys, we’ll go back to the Kitty Hawk area again just to eat there. It’s really that good. We got to chat with the owner while we were there and he’s the nicest guy. If you’re ever in the area, you have got to stop in and grab a meal. Then get one to go so you can have “leftovers” the next day!

That was all the time we had. The boys managed to earn three new Junior Ranger badges before we had to head inland. We weren’t sure what Hurricane Mathew was going to do and it’s better to play it safe in situations like that, but we’ll be back! We didn’t even scratch the surface of what there is to do there.

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016