Biltmore Estate Trip April 23-26

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

SuperFreak and her newest accessory - chopsticks!

The front of the house.

A gargoyle on the house. What a set of knockers!!!!

The gardens at the Biltmore.

Most of us, after lunch at the Biltmore.

The Midwest Marauders' new Alcohol Commissioner!

One of the views at Pisgah National Forest from our trip on Saturday.

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

Looking Glass Falls at the Forest.

SuperFreak and her other new fashion accessory!

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

Us lined up for our Saturday drive - note the XLR's in front! WE didn't get lost! ;-)

A view on our Saturday drive

Another view - note the lack of a guardrail!

Us on the drive

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

The Grove Park Inn - our FANTASTIC dinner Saturday.

The view from the restaurant

The nighttime view

The road we were on - see it?

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

Most of us (except Quinn) before dinner. Did I already post this?

Kathy and I - self-portrait.

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

Yes, it was another great weekend! We started by having a great Hibachidi dinner on Thursday night for thoe of us who were there. It was a GREAT dinner with GREAT entertainment (SuperFreak and her chopsticks! I won't post those pictures!) While Bruce and I were washing my car after dinner, Super Freak found out that Karaoke was going on in the hotel bar. You guessed it - she sang "Super Freak"!

The Biltmore is the largest private residence in the country, and is still privately owned. The house is beyond description. They do not allow photography inside, so i don't have pics to share. It was built at the turn of the century of stone and steel - no wood (other than doors, window frames, and the other obvious stuff). There was a nice GAMEROOM in the basement - a ping-pong table, workout area, a bowling alley, and an indoor pool! Some of us also went on the rooftop tour, which gave us spectacular views and an insight on how the house was built, as well as how the staff lived. We went out to dinner that evening - I didn't get any pics there, but it was a great greek/italian restaurant.

Saturday morning, we went for a drive with our newfound Corvette friends through the Pisgah National Forest. The roads were great - fast and twisty! The Vettes got a little lost on their way there - that is why the XLR's are all in front! We had a quick lunch at the top of the mountain, and headed back to the local Chevy dealer, who had a little barbecue for us there. Since we needed more to eat, we went to the Grove park Inn for dinner - WOW! A beautiful dinner, and FANTASTIC food! Shrimp, crab legs, oysters, prime rib, turkey, fabulous desserts and on and on! They also had great drinks - i'll let someone else tell about those! Then we went back to the hotel for a nightcap and to relive the events of the all-too-quik weekend.

I left the hotel at about 8 this AM and got home around 4:30PM. Most of my other Midwest Marauders stopped at the Corvette Museum before heading home. I took the quick way home because Misty wasn't feeling well the day before (she needed a "reboot' after lunch), but she was fine today. She's washed and dry and resting in the garage. She may or may not need to see the doctor before our next trip..... we'll see.

THANK YOU AGAIN for everyone involved in planning the trip and participating in it! It was a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we'll see you all in a few short weeks!!!!!!!!

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Great pictures Rich, thanks for posting them and for the wonderful write up. What a wonderful weekend!!! Supa Freak was too much fun. We got home about 8:00 pm. We are just a little tired. I have started going through the pictures...this is going to take a while. We sure enjoyed spending time with all of our great friends. We met so many nice people the last few days...nothing but fun!

Bruce

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Here's a few pictures

 

[Lola's Mom]

You never fail to disappoint .... what great pictures ..... sort of like lookng at a travel brochure ... verrrrry nice. All of those beautiful cars look like they just belong in front of that house. I know that the rest of us wished we were there with you guys.

It looks like Spring has finally sprung back there ... those tulips look lucious - so does Cubby's new Scarlett ....

So are we going to hear the story about the handcuff? And WHERE is Phil and the funnel?

 

[FLVGuy]

What a trip! Great friends. Great cars. Great food. Great Weather. Great Hospitality and GREAT PLANNING. THANK YOU MEA and all those who helped you.

PLEASE check out the photos from the local newspaper, the Ashville Citizen Times. Of course, they can't compare to those of our own Photo Girl and HomeGrown, but they are worth a look. Check out the one with Linda Parker and her husband Bob. (He looks a lot like our Bob Leonard)

Oh - The TODAY SHOW is going to go ON VACTION to San Antonio next Monday, May 4th. Be sure to set your DVRs.

LIFE IS GOOD...George

Here's the link

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/p...NEWS01&ArtNo=904240804&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Thanks for posting the link George. I hope you had a good birthday yesterday. We enjoyed having you with us this past weekend.

Bruce

 

[FLVGuy]

Oh, Yes - and thanks to all of you for the HAPPY BIRTHDAY serenade in the parking lot at the Corvette Museum. So many great new memories

 

[rleonard]

I was just about to post the link to the newspaper photos when George beat me to it. Happy birthday again George.

We made it home safe and sound. We left about 6:30 and had I40 thru the mountains all to ourselves. I could apex the turns and use the entire road. It was a nice ride all the way home. I have some cleaning to do on the car as we put a dent in the insect population on the bumper and windshield.

I was a bit uncomfortable as my back was fussing about sitting so much over the last couple of days but I am hoping that it works out.

Check the Corvette forum, Mia got a ticket. OOhh and a big one too.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/southeast/2236319-april-23-26-asheville-nc-fun-trip-18.html

Thanks for a great weekend.

Bob

 

[Cadillac Tech]

 

[Tiffany's Dad]

Marion and Mea have something in common. Handcuffs.

 

[Cadillac Tech]

 

[Lola's Mom]

I was just about to post the link to the newspaper photos when George beat me to it. Happy birthday again George.

We made it home safe and sound. We left about 6:30 and had I40 thru the mountains all to ourselves. I could apex the turns and use the entire road. It was a nice ride all the way home. I have some cleaning to do on the car as we put a dent in the insect population on the bumper and windshield.

I was a bit uncomfortable as my back was fussing about sitting so much over the last couple of days but I am hoping that it works out.

Check the Corvette forum, Mia got a ticket. OOhh and a big one too.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/southeast/2236319-april-23-26-asheville-nc-fun-trip-18.html

Thanks for a great weekend.

Bob

Looks like it is a "warning" according to the boxes that are checked on the slip rather than a citation. Warned for excessive speed. Someone must have cut her some slack.

Good thing she wasn't stopped in CA ... Car would have been impounded and she would have been in jail ....

This has to be a trip right at the top of MM mermorable ones ..... Beautiful weather, cars, location and people .... it just doesn't get any better than that! And, hey, looks like mixin' it up with the 'vettes turned out perfect!

 

[Cadillac Tech]

 

[Little Woman]

Cubby and Lil' Woman got home safe and sound last night around 10:00. It was a great trip and Mea did a great job. Thanks again Bruce and Kathy for getting the M&Ms organized. Yes Madam Lil' Woman has handcuffs. Hopefully someone can post the pics of the handcuffs and chop sticks.

 

[Little Woman]

Cubby

Cubby was given another name during this trip. He was called Scrubby. He was told if he did not stop cleaning Scarllett V he was going to scrub the paint right off of her. This was Scarllett Vs first trip and she did good and rode good. The only thing we found out was Scarlett V is going to need to tires.