Trip North - Asheville - Arboretum

Monday, April 8, 2019

We check out the NC Arboretum

 Small Garden just starting to bloom.  Tucson could have walked with us but rain looked imminent.

 The quilt garden had been planted

 Dogwood, Viburnum and Redbud are staring to bloom.

A shower came so we stepped inside the Museum area.  Gary is in a pitch black room testing his night vision putting an oval block in the right hole

 A small scale train village

 The Bonsai Garden - but they don't get put out until May

 It starts to rain pretty good

I step inside the Art Institute and check out the Fiber Art exhibit

 Gary being the chivalrous gentleman that he is brings me an umbrella so I can take some pictures on the way back to the truck

A Hedge against Extinction - Are the green tips on the brown branches all that is left or are they the beginning of new greening?   The answer is in the hands of those who tend the garden. 

Couldn't resist this shot

 We are hungry so we stop for lunch on the way home

 A great deal - 1/2 rack of ribs, baked sweet potato and cup of she crab soup for $9.49

We stopped at the Biltmore to make sure we could get in with the 5th wheel on our way out tomorrow.  We were assured we could get in and the nice girl at the ticket office down below let me get the Tuesday Senior rate tickets today so we wouldn't have to stop with the 5th wheel in the morning.

Trip North - Asheville - Pisgah Ntl Forest

April 7, 2019

We arrive in North Carolina

 I get the crazy feeling we are being watched.

We finally arrive at the Campground in Pisgah National Forest - about 25 minutes from Asheville - North Mills River

 This was the site I reserved which was nice and big - but the Host suggested the site across the way which was an easy back in. 

 Why make things difficult - we took the easy back in site.  We were the only people on this side of the campground.

 Nice site for $11 / night

There were maybe only 1/2 dozen campers on the other side of the road

 Nice areas to walk around

 and of course the North Mills River

 Tomorrow we will check out Asheville

Trip North - Columbia SC - Weston Lake

Gary's sister's husband is retired Army so they get us a spot at the Weston Lake Recreation Area again.

It is a camp for active and retired military and is within Fort Jackson

Nice large sites with concrete pads and full hook ups.  It is a beautiful location and very peaceful in spite of occasional artillery fire.

Last year we were here a week later and the lake level was much higher.  These docks had boats launching and people fishing from them. 

The only un-exploded shell I could find.

I had hoped to see one of these

but I came up empty

Gary's sister rented one of the cabins for the weekend.

Gary had a nice visit

 Gary with his sister and brother-in-law and their daughter and grandchildren.

 Enjoying S'Mores

It was a nice visit to Columbia 

Next stop Asheville. NC

Trip North - Columbia - Museum of Art

It is a gloomy morning so we head to the Museum of Art

This Dale Chihuly Chandelier hangs in the Atrium.  Hope it is secured well.

1,600 pounds, 14 feet long, 11 feet wide. 

Read more here: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article14382377.html#storylink=cpy

 The wood statues coming out of the floor represent the artists conception of purgatory for corporate America.

 This mosaic of died felt looks random upon close examination . . .

Sometimes you just have to step back to get a good perspective.  The artist has a condition called face blindness which prevents him from recognizing people.

This chandelier was created by Giuseppe Briati in 1750.  Amazing it has survived all these years.

 Paintings, sculptures, furniture

and even Anchor Hocking

 I even made a virtual pot

 Afterwords we had lunch and walked a bit of downtown.

 Our meter ran out as did our quarters so we headed home and drove past the world's largest fire hydrant.  Tucson would be so disappointed he missed it but the signs say no dogs allowed.   That's just cruel.

I'm guessing that Hootie and the Blowfish may have been from here.

 Wisteria is blooming everywhere but this one is the largest one we've seen.

A nice day in downtown Columbia