Road Trip Day 3

I'm speechless . . . well, not really because that would be a VERY short blog. I spent last night in Asheville, NC, home of the Biltmore Estate. I'd heard all about it and how big it is, but words can't describe the enormity of it!! The drive from the front gate to the house is 3 MILES!!!! Unbelievable!

Four stories of house. I have no idea how many bedrooms, but I do remember the brochure saying that the mansion has FORTY-THREE bathrooms! Holy Cow!! That's a lot for today's world, not to mention the 19th century when the house was built - complete with indoor plumbing. The crazy thing, though, was that the bathrooms didn't have sinks. They had flushing toilets and tubs with running water but NO SINK. I asked one of the workers about this thinking that it didn't make any sense. She said that it was a sign of wealth to have a pitcher/basin set up to wash your face and hands. Go figure. I'll stick with the running water, thank you!

One of the rooms on the 4th floor had a door to a balcony so that the owner could show his guests the "scenic vistas" of his property. It was a cloudy day, but the views were impressive none the less. This is the view from the ground floor, so imagine what it was from the 4th floor.

In the basement of the house, there's actually a bowling alley with 2 lanes, a gym with "state of the art exercise equipment" (at least for the 1800's), and an indoor swimming pool (the ONLY way to have a pool up in the mountains if you ask me!). Another thing that I thought was cool was the lampposts in the entry hall. While in DC last year, I spent several hours downtown one day just admiring all the ornate lampposts. (I know, not the typical thing people look at in our nation's capital.) :) I just love that people put so much detail into something so mundane to make it special. The lampposts in the mansion were not disappointing in this regard with all the details on them.

After walking around the house for 1 1/2 hours - honestly, it took that long to see it all!! - I went out to the gardens. (I know you're shocked with that bit of information.) This top picture is of the castle from underneath a HUGE cherry blossom tree. This next one is of the cultured gardens between the mansion and the conservatory. The tulips are just starting to pop out everywhere. They will be absolutely amazing in about a week and a half. Too bad I won't be able to see them! Oh well.

The conservatory was 6 or 7 rooms with all kinds of beautiful plants. One room had about 10 different kinds of orchid plants. They were gorgeous! It was also nice and warm, which was nice since it was SO COLD outside again today.

From the house, I drove another 3 1/2 - 4 miles to the winery/bistro on the estate. Again, I'm amazed at the amount of property they owned. On the way, I passed a lake - complete with a waterfall, a lagoon with geese, and a farm with a small, farm animal petting zoo. I had a very yummy lunch at the bistro before I bought my souvenir bottle of wine and heading west yet again. I wanted a bottle with the Biltmore Label.

So, that was my day for the most part. After getting VERY full at lunch, I got back in my car and drove a VERY WINDY road until I ended up in Nashville. Tomorrow, I'm planning on visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame before going even further west to Little Rock, AR.

Thank you for all the prayers for my safe travel. God is taking care of me!!

Road Trip Day 2

Today was more successful. :) I visited a new church this morning in Raleigh that I've seen several times. I enjoyed the service - especially the music. I'm used to a more relaxed atmosphere at church, and this church had that feel. Happiness!!

When I went back to my hotel to change into 'comfy clothes' for the next leg of my road trip, my room key wouldn't open my door. Interesting . . . I found one of the ladies with housekeeping who could let me in. Anyways, it didn't really delay me leaving.

I only had about a 4 hour drive today, which for me is no different than one of my typical day road trip adventures! (as you know if your a frequent blog reader on my page) I arrived at Asheville, NC, this afternoon about 4pm. It's a very cute little town. The buildings in the downtown area look very German - or at least how I'd imagine German buildings to look from pictures in childhood books. Again, I'm not a history buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm wondering if the Vanderbilt family was German. Their house, or should I say ENORMOUS ESTATE & MANSION, (the Biltmore Estate) is the main attraction here. I'm going to see it tomorrow before I head out to Nashville, TN.

Sorry, I have no pictures for you yet again today, but tomorrow should be more interesting. I did take a couple of pictures of some pretty trees in the parking lot of my hotel, but I forgot my camera down in the car. It's TOO COLD to be running back outside, so I'll just post them tomorrow. I honestly believe it was sleeting on me as I left church this morning!!!! CRAZY!!

On a side note . . . Tonight is opening night of baseball. YEA!! In case you didn't know, I'm a HUGE baseball lover, so tonight starts a joyful season for me. :) President Bush just threw out the opening pitch, as per the tradition. I honestly can't believe people "boo'd" him as he entered and exited the field. How inappropriate!! After spending a lot of time in the DC area over the past couple of years, I know very well the extent that the locals dislike the current administration. But, the baseball field is NOT the place for politics! Okay . . . I'm off my soapbox now. Play Ball!!

Road Trip Day 1

Well, today did NOT go as I had planned . . .

(Nothing serious like car trouble or anything.)

Originally, I thought I'd finish packing, load my car, and turn in my apartment keys this morning so I could go play at the beach all afternoon. Well, God had other plans; He made it cold and rainy today (not my favorite beach weather!!). So, I decided to go to my gardens at Duke thinking that since the rain was headed east, it'd be gone by the time I arrived. Well, no such luck. So, I came to my hotel in Raleigh a little early, got some coffee, and went to the mall.

Oh well. I'm hoping that the weather is a little more cooperative on Monday since I'm planning to tour the Biltmore Estate. We'll see. :~)

Please pray for safety as I'm traveling across the country (at least half of it) over the next several days. Thanks!

Easter Sunday

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday celebrating the freedom offered to us through Jesus' Resurrection! It was a perfect day for playing outside here in North Carolina!!

I visited a new church in a town near here that morning, and I LOVED it!! The pastor took a different approach to the Easter story . . . He started at the beginning in the Garden of Eden before sin entered. Then, he went to the next chapter where the 'fall of man' led to a downward spiral of humanity creating the huge need for a Savior. (enter Jesus) Our Savior came here to Earth to offer himself as a living sacrifice - once and for all time. This one act of His self-sacrifice changed the course of eternity and gave us the gift of freedom from eternal death through Him. Although I've heard and believed the Easter Story all my life, it was neat to hear it presented in this way.

When I got home that afternoon, I looked around at all the chores I needed to get done around here and decided to go play! I grabbed a quick lunch and headed straight for Durham . . . home of my favorite gardens. It was SO CROWDED there!! Granted, I usually go there during the week and not on a holiday, but I was surprised. I actually had to wait for a parking space. So much for my original idea. It was cute to see all the kids in their Easter outfits posing for pictures by all the pretty flowers. I really felt sorry for the ladies who thought they could make it in their high heels!! HELLO - there's not a smooth sidewalk here! It was such a gorgeous day, albeit a little more cold than I prefer. Some families even brought some eggs to hide in the grassy areas of the gardens.

Speaking of hunting eggs . . . my unit at work did something fun for us this past weekend. When I arrived at work Saturday morning, I saw a note posted to the door announcing that Easter eggs had been hidden all over the unit for us to find. Some had money, some had lunch vouchers, and some had chocolate candy! How fun! I found one with a Reese's peanut butter egg - YUM.

Anyways, back to Easter . . .

I got to spend several hours at the gardens that day. It was a great way to spend the day since I wasn't close enough to home to go to the fish fry at my Papa Art & Mamma Granny's house. I really wanted some coffee (more specifically, a Mint Condition from Caribou Coffee) to warm up after leaving Duke, so I decided I'd swing by the mall on my way home. Much to my surprise, it had closed early - or maybe not even opened since it was Easter. So instead, I met a friend of mine for dinner and then came back here to Greenville. I got home later than I had planned, which made for a "fun" Monday at work yesterday, but it was well worth it for the fun I had on Sunday.

So today it's back to the "chores" I left undone on Sunday. I'm working to get all packed (or as much as I can and still work 2 more days this week) before the weekend so I can play around here Saturday afternoon and Sunday before leaving for home.

As you might have guessed, I have another long road trip coming up this next week, so I'll try to post some pictures from my drive from the East Coast back to the Big D. Have a wonderful week!

Pieces of Heaven

Last week on one of my days off, I went out to Duke University to visit the gardens there in hopes that the tulips would be in bloom. I was in luck!

I found a new beach yesterday . . . Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington, NC. It was a perfect day to sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in (while wearing a sweatshirt!!). :-) I was there during high tide, which got much higher on the beach than I had originally anticipated. Needless to say, I got a little wet!

The waves got so high that surfers were able to ride them standing up. (a big change from the 'boogie-board waves' I'm used to in the Gulf!) Pretty cool!!

I don't remember any descriptions of heaven in the Bible that specifically mention tulips and beaches, but I'm pretty sure they're there!!

Spring is near

I love seeing the tulips arrive at the grocery store because that means that spring (a.k.a. warmer weather!!) is coming soon. Very exciting! :-)

On a side note:

When I logged on tonight, I found out that my previous post (my 'Mema Tribute') was my 100th post on here. I can look at that two ways . . . 1) I've wasted many hours typing to no one in particular over the past 18 or so months just in case someone cares to read my random thoughts. 2) How cool that it worked out for her blog to be my 100th - kind of an ending as well as a beginning. I'm choosing to view it as scenario #2!! Have a great day!

Good Memories

Eva Lorae Poe

a.k.a. My Mema

Mema & Me in New Bern, NC. (Fall, 2007)

In case you never had the opportunity to know my Mema, I wanted to share a little about her with you. Some of the things I loved about my Mema:

1. Beautiful hands: For those of you who don't know, I LOVE hands! Always have, always will. In fact, it's one of the first things I notice about someone - second only to their eyes. My Mema always had large, strong, beautiful hands. She always took the time to have her nails shaped and polished. Even when she could barely see out of her one good eye, her nails were always done.





2. My Christmas Guru: My absolute favorite time of year was also her favorite time of year. Each year, in July, I received a Christmas card from her stating that it's "time to start decorating!!" :-) I love to celebrate Christmas throughout the year and proudly listen to Christmas carols whenever I desire - whatever month it might be.

My "mini Christmas Tree" while I was working in Virginia during Christmas. (Winter, 2006)





3. Great Cook: I remember watching her cook at family gatherings each year in amazement. She didn't use recipes and almost never used a measuring device. Everything was by look, smell, feel, and/or taste (yeah, even if raw . . .). I've never been a good cook, and can only bake things when I have a detailed recipe to follow! I will miss her famous cream peas!





4. Loved to Laugh: Anyone who met her knew that she was joyful and loved to laugh. In fact, it was one of the points the preacher mentioned at her funeral. She had a great laugh and was always willing to share it with everyone!!



Mema at her 75th birthday party. (summer, 2007)



5. Strong Faith and Conviction: She had such a strong faith in God, and it became even more evident in her last 6 weeks here on the Earth. When faced with such pain and certain death, she had a peace knowing that she was headed to Heaven. Her faith was not shaken.



6. Caregiver: She worked as a nurse in a hospital and a doctor's office. After retiring, she cared for her mom in the nursing home - paying attention to details like having the TV Guide for her or her favorite magazine, making sure she had nice gowns/robes, and making sure her hair was done.



Mema's nursing hat and stethoscope on the left of the table.



7. Dessert for Breakfast!: Growing up, my Papa Joe and Mema invited all the grandkids to their house for one week during the summer. It was such a fun time with the cousins & something that the younger cousins looked forward to when they reached the age to join in. Exciting times? - Definitely . . . Crazy? - possibly. :-) We ALL had a blast with the Spoons Tournaments, badmitten games in the pasture, croquet in the yard, feeding the fish in the tank in the back of the pasture, and most of all . . . the M&M's!!!! During this one week each year, we'd get dessert for breakfast! (what more could an M&M loving child hope for?!?) After breakfast each morning, we'd get a few M&M's in the dixie cups before starting the games for that day. Good times!!



8. Creative & Talented: My Mema was a great seamstress! For many years, all the granddaughters would receive a homemade Mema Jumper or Mema Dress for Christmas. This was a Sunday dress she made for each of us. It was always amazing how she could make them to fit us without us being there to measure. I still have ALL of my Mema Jumpers, and I will always treasure them!

Papa Joe & Mema on Ocracoke Beach, NC. (Fall, 2007)

It's hard to believe how quickly life can change. I'm sad that she's no longer just a phone call away, but I'm so glad she's not in pain anymore!

" 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' " -Revelation 21:4

She will be greatly missed!