We enter the infamous Biltmore House, and start up the grand staircase. This is the first time that I’ve actually been inside the home, and my eyes are amazed with what I see inside. Yet today is not about the grandeur of the rooms within Biltmore, but about accessing the roof. We enter a side…
Tag: Travel
The Inn on the Biltmore Estate
Driving along the winding road, following the signs to The Inn. I’m not one to usually stay in a place with four star elegance, but every once in a while I’ll make my wallet cry out as I fork over my hard earned money for some luxury. I can imagine the Vanderbilt’s lounging in the…
The Biltmore grounds…
“This is hallowed, sacred land.” From the moment I passed through the large stone gate and onto the Biltmore Estate, I knew I was somewhere uniquely special. Autumn was only a stone’s throw away, the leaves just starting to turn colors before dying. Farmer’s fields were showing the last of a bountiful harvest. I joyfully…
The Biltmore Winery
Earlier in the week I survived an HR nightmare that could have resulted in me losing my job. The stress of that experience is slowly melting from my consciousness as I take in the beauty of my new surroundings. The grounds of the Biltmore in the afternoon October sun is stunning. I take in the…
Finding Zen on Whidbey Island
It was a perfect Sunday to walk aimlessly along the beach on Whidbey Island. He’d eaten some happiness and found himself in a State of Zen. He forgot about clocks, days of the week, even his own 21st century thoughts. He moved back in time with each step. Closer to his own true nature and…
Useless Beach
Sea Bee was probably most excited to travel to the Seattle area, as it was one of her Grandma’s favorite places. The ghost of her is with me as I cross the Puget Sound to Whidbey Island. The ferry zips across the smooth Puget Sound, and minutes later I’m exiting my vehicle onto the island….
Tijuana
My seemingly never-ending list of places to visit and things to experience includes driving to various locations in Mexico around Baja California. First though I needed to test my will to see if I could even survive a solo drive from the USA into Tijuana. So last August, I take a weekend to get out…
Glacier’s Trail of the Ancients
It’s our last evening in Glacier National Park. The wildfire smoke is being blown out by a late summer storm. Rain patters the car as we find the trail of the ancients…. I carry my bear spray on my hip pocket like an old gunslinger as we make our way along the old growth forest….
Rafting the Flathead
“Though she be but little, she is fierce.” -William Shakespeare I could tell my niece was nervous as hell, but she wanted to be brave in front of her older cousins. Her Dad and Step Mom took her two younger sisters for a nice and leisurely day of shopping at Apgar Village in Glacier. As…
Lake McDonald
It was easily ten degrees warmer than normal due to the surrounding forest fires. The smoke was reeking havoc on my sister-in-law and her asthma, as well as the little ones lungs. Regardless though, we wander around Apgar village for a place to rent some paddle boards for an afternoon on Lake McDonald. The surrounding…
Welcome back to Glacier…
As I landed at Glacier International Airport last August, I couldn’t help but think about the last time I was in this area with the family, which was in the summer of 2004. We drove up here from Utah, and had one grand kid at the time, and she was two years old. Fourteen years…
Biking Biltmore
Across the country I go in October, first from a plane, then to a car which gets me to my final destination, the Biltmore Estate. The beauty of the Carolina mountains has me salivating for some outdoor time, yet little did I know what that would all entail as I checked into my hotel. I…