Asheville trip - continued
Friday

Friday after we unpacked at Tapps R.V. Park we headed into Asheville, one of our favorite cities. First we ate at our favorite pizza place for lunch. Our grandsons would love the Star Wars murals. This place has awesome pizza and home-brewed beer. Can't go wrong there!

Then we headed into the city. It was certainly packed for a Friday afternoon. We assume there were a lot of vacationers around plus students out of school for fall break. It was also a little warmer than we thought it would be - almost 80. We headed to Mast General Store. Then checked out the Biltmore Arcade shopping center.

We also saw a street performer. Hey California family - check it out. This would rival the performers at San Francisco!

We love Asheville. To us it's a transplanted West Coast city. Or it's been transformed into one!  Friday night we stayed in our motorhome. It's really cozy and comfortable.

Saturday we took a 20-mile road trip to Chimney Rock State Park and Lake Lure. On the way to Chimney Rock we took a nice drive through mountain roads and through the town of Bat Cave. We've seen the sign for Bat Cave many times on interstate 26 and now we've been there. It's a small town in the hollows of the mountains and it seemed very shady and a little gloomy in places.

There is an elevator that will take you over 20 stories to the top of Chimney Rock. However, there is a $15 a person charge to enter the park and Saturday in the fall it's very crowded. Plus Ben is the only one of us who would have dared go to the top. There is also a scary staircase and bridge that is another route to the top. Wow. So we hung out in the shops and had a bite to eat and took some pictures instead.

Since Lake Lure was only five miles down the road, we decided to check it out as well. It's a man-made lake and there isn't alot there besides boat tours, a resort and restaurants. But there is a pretty walkway by the lake and a paths for bikes. There were quite a few people there. There was some sort of metal detector contest going on at the beach.

After a busy day out and about, we went back to the camper to freshen up and headed to Grove Park Inn. 

There were displays of winners from the pumpkin carving contest from earlier in the day. Again, there was quite a crowd at the Inn, including a wedding party.

We had the most wonderful dinner buffet ever! It was awesome. We had smoked trout and salmon, crab and shrimp salad, prime rib, and other tasty items. We were so full when we left. Hey, we dress up pretty nice!

The weather was starting to get cooler. It was almost 70 for the high on Saturday and by the time we got back to the camper it was probably in the 40s. But we stayed nice and warm in the motorhome.

Sunday it was on to Biltmore. We had purchased tickets in advance and so we pretty much drove straight through the gate to the parking lot. It was fairly crowded for a rainy, rather cold day. There were already some Christmas decorations up in preparation for the official opening of the Christmas season at Biltmore. All the bedrooms as well as some of the sitting areas had decorated trees on display. New (to us) were displays of clothing worn during the era that the first Vanderbilts occupied the house. There was also a temporary display with additional information about Biltmore on the second floor. It took us about 2 hours to tour the house. After the tour we were starving so we ate lunch at the Stable. Food was great as always. I had a yummy stew and Ben had chicken salad sandwich.

We left the house and headed to the gardens. The mums were really pretty and there were still roses in bloom.

On to the winery and Antler Village. Now the rain was coming down in earnest. We toured the Vanderbilt friends and family display and learned even more about the family and the type of life they lived. They did some really wonderful things for the community. They were really people to be admired. This includes the present family as Biltmore has helped to keep Asheville thriving. My dream retirement job is to work at Biltmore, at least for a few months. I could give tours or help decorate!!

This was the weekend that hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast and it was getting ready to blow snow into Asheville on Monday so we got out of there in the nick of time. We had a pretty calm drive back home. Riding in the big motorhome does take some getting used to but it turns out it's quite fun!

Over the mountains to Asheville NC we go!

An uneventful trip up and over the mountains. Serenity-Now took those mountains and sneered at them. Miriam only had to apply her air-brakes a few times. :)

First stop at Pride RV Resort nice RV park right off of I-40 with large pull through sites.

 Not Very crowded this time of year. There is a snack bar and pool but both were closed.







                                       Some Happy Campers!!

Next stop was Tapps RV Park on Tunnel road in east Asheville. It's the park closest to town. It's small but nice and all sites have a concrete pad to pull on to and a small privacy fence. It's mostly just a place to park while visiting Asheville. Rented a car from Enterprise right down the road. Plenty of fast food and groceries nearby.

Kitchen Back splash upgrade

Small quick and easy project to upgrade and modernize the look a little. All it takes is some Bondera from Lowes which is some super sticky stuff. It is like a roll of tile thin-set mortar with protective film on each side. You measure how much you need (note I included extra for the edge molding) cut it with a knife and a straight edge, peel one side of it off, press it to the wall, peel the other side off then add your tile sheets. I preferred the small square tiles because they are easy to trim into any shape you need. I then bought a small tub of pre-mixed grout and smoothed into the cracks with a rubber grouting float tool. It's worth the cost for the tool! Then I added some resin decorative edging to finish it off. Only took a few hours and made a huge difference!

Before

After

First camping trip - Townsend Tennessee

We made our maiden voyage to Townsend TN. All went well except for at night when the acorns would fall. We called it "The rain of terror" Just as you fell asleep another one would ping of the roof top and would sound like a gun shot!

For our first voyage we camped for three nights at Townsend at Tremont Hills campground the last week of September (2012). We had a very nice spot by the river. The spot included our own little balcony overlooking the river. We made good use of this balcony as we sat out and read books, played games, or just rested. The chipmunks were regular visitors - scurrying around the campsite and feeding off acorns. One even walked across the balcony while we were sitting there. It didn't seem to be afraid of us at all.

We made our trip during Townsend's annual fall and music festival. There was quite a crowd at the festival Friday evening and all day Saturday. Friday we rode bikes down to the festival but didn't stay. Since we were already sort of tired and a little rusty on bikes, we rode a little ways past the festival and turned around to head back to the camper. It's still a good bike ride. There are plenty of hills to test the muscles. We had a nice chicken dinner Friday night and had a relaxing evening on our balcony.

Saturday we drove to the grocery store and on to Nawgers Nob to check out the craft festival at the other end of Townsend. We usually ride our bikes but since it rained all morning we decided to drive instead. Then on the way back we checked out this new Cuban restaurant. This place has really good food - all traditional Cuban fare. We split a plate of saffron rice, cuban pork (the best I've ever had!), black beans and plantains. We still had enough for lunch the next day! Then we ordered a dessert empanada (smores!) which we devoured when we got back to the camper, as well as an appetizer empanada to go split with our lunch the next day. The empanadas are made by hand and they are delicious.

Saturday afternoon we the rain cleared and we rode bikes down to Sundown resort, where we ran into some acquaintances from Tansi who had just purchased camper lots in Sundown. Sundown is a very nice campground resort where the lots are purchased. We have thought about buying into it but would have to sell our lot in Tansi. Drawbacks to Sundown are the prices (lots go for 35K and up), no sheds or park models allowed, and not open from November through March. But the fees include all maintenance, water, electric and cable, and all the lots are very well kept. It's gated so it is pretty safe. And there are two pools, a recreation area, playground and of course the best part is the location - the Smoky Mountains. Still at Tansi we have our lake, lots of room to ride golf carts, access to three swimming pools, a golf course, and a community center. Plus the location there is pretty nice - close to two state parks.

After Sundown we rode on to the festival and walked around and listened to bluegrass music for a bit. We also brought some wonderful Apple Butter that one of the local church demonstrates and sells at the festival.

Saturday night we had a yummy steak dinner and watched the UT football game. Another relaxing night.

Sunday we did a more aggressive bike ride - the entire length of Townsend. We stopped at the Apple Barn at the halfway point for our traditional break of splitting a slice of apple pie with ice cream. They have wonderful apple pie. Then we rode it off on our return bike ride. This took about two hours. Rest of the time was spent talking to neighbors, reading, walking around the campground. We had talked about going to Dollywood but nixed the idea in favor of a relaxing day. Ben read two books (he's a speed reader! ) and I read a wonderful Sherlock Holmes book by Laurie King - I highly recommend this book. It's the first in a series and I plan on reading them all.

Then Monday we headed back home - the pretty much wonderful weather over the weekend gave way to heavy rain on our way back.

All in all, this was a wonderful first trip in our Adventurer.

Serenity-Now is home at Crossville TN. We will be slowly getting her ready for the road. Small trip to Townsend in the Fall is planned for a maiden voyage.

Hoping to pick up our new to us 2003 Journey DL soon! Only 28k miles on her and loaded to the gills with options. Some new lipstick and she will shine!

Class A is the Way

We decide on a small Class A after renting a Class C for the Rally. We really like the Winnebagos!