Living in Excess!

Our Location today is Marion, North Carolina, USA.

At least I didn’t waste my time setting the alarm last night because it had been sounding off for a couple of minutes before we woke up this morning. Again I emphasize that having to get up early in the morning just doesn’t have the appeal it used to in a past life. Yesterday Kathy and I went Zip Lining with a group of people from the RV Dreams Reunion Rally so that was almost acceptable. We had no problems sleeping throughout the night.  

Kathy and I Zip-Lining yesterday. 

This morning we were gathered at the pavilion with a larger group of rally attendees that were heading to the Biltmore House and Gardens. Again people were carpooling and we lucked out having our friends Gerry and Sandy riding with us today.

One long driveway.

The Biltmore Estate covers over 8,000 acres and the drive from the Ticket Sales Center and the house is three miles long. The entire estate is covered with natural and imported vegetation in the forms of trees, shrubs and flowers. The house itself covers three acres and was the dream of George Vanderbilt that showed how the affluent lived and showed their wealth. Today the estate employs over 2,000 employees. 

Biltmore House.

The front lawn.

The moment you see the house you are in awe and could never imagine what you are about to see. Unfortunately there is no photography of any kind inside the home. We chose to purchase the audio guide which helped us to understand everything we were seeing. Again today we got plenty of exercise climbing the stairs to the bedrooms than going down to the basement where the pool, exercise room, bowling alley and servants work areas were located. One thing that I liked was George Vanderbilt was a fair employer treating his employees with respect and paying them a wage that they could bank for their own financial freedom. 

A small portion of the gardens.

Part of the rally group had opted to dine at the Deer Park Lodge on the Estate. That alone required you to use your vehicle to drive the three miles from one location to the other. The group of twenty-four were given our own wing of the lodge to dine in and what surprised me was that it was a buffet style meal. The foods were well balanced and nutritional but once you’d finished eating a single serving you were well satisfied. 

Our dining area at Deer Park Lodge.

With the luncheon over we took more group pictures before many returned to continue exploring the house. Most others like ourselves went to check out the Winery and then the Gardens. We also had a laugh when we finally decided to leave that by following certain Exit signs brought us back to the Winery. We had to use the powers of deduction to find our way off the Estate. 

Hot Dog and Hamburger with Brownies for supper.

Finally we managed to find our way back to the highway and on the return trip we discussed having a light cookout back at the trailer. Maybe some hamburgers and hotdogs. Once we were home I started working on the computer when Gerry knocked on our door. He had the Rally Itinerary which said tonight was a Catered cookout of Hotdogs and Hamburgers. We had a laugh and attended the cookout and sat at the campfire for a while. When the sun set we were tired enough to head for home. 

Campfire Entertainment.

Tomorrow’s Rally Activity is leaving the park at 5:45 in the morning. Thank goodness we’re not part of that group. We have the day off and will run some local errands. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Why do you keep doing the backstroke?

I've just had lunch and don't want to swim on a full stomach.