A Good Time Had By All

What a great trip to The Biltmore!  Our prayer from day one; show us things we don't get to see and wow us with Your creation.  Let me tell you, God did not let us down and answered our prayer over and beyond what we ever thought we would see. Seeing Billy Graham and wishing him a happy birthday was the icing on the fake, I mean cake.  OK, we didn't see Billy Graham, but there for a moment....Even as great as that would have been, creation singing was just about the best show out there.  Beautiful autumnal colors, bright white snow and some of the most majestic night and morning skies that changed so quickly, you didn't want to leave the show.  We experienced warm temperatures to extremely cold temperatures, bright sun-filled days and eerie clouds of the front moving in.  In between the daily shows we also had great snacks, meals, shopping, meaningful conversations, laughter and wonderful visits with family and friends.  Add in converting Dena over to Burger King and the beginnings of her work to convert me to CW music...all in all the trip was just what we both needed individually and again gave us the opportunity to be so thankful for the friendship we share.  God is good!

I think Roy was anxious to have me home.  He does a fabulous job of taking care of things around here when I'm gone but the added attention from Buddy puts him over the edge. When I'm around he doesn't nearly get the demand, except in the early mornings while getting ready for the office, from Buddy.  He has been promoted to the privilege of lap provider which impedes any productivity he might have in the evenings.  But Buddy attention aside, it was so good to see him.

Thursday morning I had written a great blog post only to find out that I lost my connection and while I thought my work was being saved, it was not.  After that, it was just too difficult to want to come back and blog, so the iPad went into the suitcase.  Thursday, we took a leisurely time of reading by the fireplace in the library and in the early afternoon we visited with Vivian at her house...next door to the cottage I stayed at in August.  Oh my goodness!  She made apple thingy for us and it is delicious!  We sat out on the back screened in porch and had a delightful time.  Vivian and I became instant friends this summer and I love to introduce friends to friends and Vivian and Dena are friends now too.  Love it!  When we came back to the Biltmore, I dropped Dena off at the front door of the house so she could see the tree all decorated that we had watched being raised on Wednesday.  The long standing time on Wednesday had made my knees a bit sore, so I opted out of the house and drove straight over to the Inn where I began the process of packing my suitcase for our Friday departure.  Dena got back rather quickly because at 3:00 in the afternoon there are hardly any people left at the house, so she got a front row view and was also able to have a private shuttle ride back to the Inn.  We once again ate dinner in The Library and then settled in getting geared up for our Friday departure.

Friday morning we left around 10:00 am EST and hit the road with great memories to talk about once again.  Since we weren't able to take the back way to the Inn, we took the back way from the Inn to Chattanooga.  Traffic was great, the scenery, spectacular.  Just two slow trucks to deal with and my missed turn for the shortcut to I 40, but we were on schedule.  We stopped for lunch in Gadsden  and realized we could continue going if there was a room available at the Brookhaven Holiday Inn Express.  There was, so we booked it and canceled Meridian and got to Brookhaven a little after 8:00. We must have gotten the last room because we had the handicap room.  Let me tell you, I welcomed that room with the easy access shower.  We didn't even turn on the TV.  It was lights out and we were up early to get through Baton Rouge on game day.

In the days ahead, I will add things here and there about the trip, but it was a great trip and probably my last extended stay at the Inn, noticed I said extended.....