Jul 25, 2012 - Days are dwindling down to a precious few.

Today is the last full day for the Hickey clan to be together. Doug and Mildred left about 5 this afternoon, headed for Missouri. Part of the family went to Black Mountain to check out the quaint shops. Glen, Gary, Evelyn, and I went to Camping World in nearby Hendersonville, NC. After finding more than was on the shopping list for CW we went to the Mast General Store. The Mast is filled with anything and everything you could want or didn't know you want/needed. There were Burt's Bee products, kitchen items, Rawleigh seasoning, post cards,...

Jul 24, 2012 - New tires on pick up

Oh, my, highway tire noise inside the pick up prevented conversation. We had hoped to delay the purchase of four truck tires for a month or two; but the noise level inside the pick up was increasing every trip. It needed to be done now. Glen searched the purchase on the internet. What did we do before internet? He found a "Discount Tire" shop that had the tires cheaper than Sam's by $30 per tire. "Discount Tire" is a chain that is found in several states, including Texas, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a location for rotation...

Jul 23, 2012 - Hickey Clan White Water Rafting

It was a great day to white-water raft on the French Broad River...yes, that is spelled correctly. The section of the river that we rafted contained falls rated 1 (the smallest), 2, and 3. Just enough excitement for lots of fun. Glen was the only one in our raft that went overboard. He wasn't hurt but pulling him back in the raft in the swift water was exciting. After he was pulled back in the raft wedged between rocks. Eventually three from our raft were transferred to another raft before our raft cleared the rocks. Our guide did a great...

Jul 22, 2012 - Mt. Mitchell: Highest point East of the Mississippi River

It was a fun day for the Hickey clan! We--all 14 of us---drove north of Asheville NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Mitchell State Park. The scenery along the Parkway is beautiful. LOTS and LOTS of trees. The "smoky" clouds along the valleys and near the tops of the mountains is ever-changing. The thick, white cumulous clouds in the blue skies were always moving. Suddenly, the clouds might change to dark and thick, and there would be a 15-30 minutes rain shower; but blue skies would appear again quickly. Mt. Mitchell is the highest point...

Jul 21, 2012 - Day of Rest

Some of our group were lots more energetic than others today. We were in the "not so energetic" group. Some went to Chimney Rock where they climbed 485 steps to the top of the granite rock called "Chimney Rock" and a 1.5 mile hike to a waterfall. Others went to the Arboretum and hiked around the landscaped gardens. Gary and Evelyn, Fred, Glen and I stayed home and did nothing. I guess our excuse could be we are the oldest here (except for Myrna who went to the Arboretum)! :} Plans are being made to go to Mt. Mitchell tomorrow which is the...

Jul 20, 2012 - The Biltmore Estate and Family Time

All fourteen of the family left this morning for a tour of the Biltmore Estate. I feel sure you are familar with the Biltmore. It was built under the ownership of George Vanderbilt who was a bachelor at the time; is the largest private home in the USA. It contains over 100 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms. It took six years to build. Today a grandson is the owner of the Estate.In 1930 the estate was opened to the public in an effort to increase tourism in the area. Today there are 1800 employees that assist the family in the preservation of this...

Jul 19, 2012 - Follow the Leader-----"Mamma Gertie's Hideaway Campground"

Our caravan left Townsend, TN this morning, with Glen as the leader! We drove through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains for several miles, going through small towns and green pastures. One of the most unexpected things we saw was the huge "Bush's Beans" complex! It was at the unincorporated village of "Chestnut Hill". There was even a visitor's center. If we had known it was on our route we would have made time for the stop. We are in the small town of Swannanoa, just east of Asheville, ten miles from the Biltmore exit. Glen's...

Sep 11, 2011 - Miles Motors RV Campground Swannanoa, NC

We are in Swannanoa as it is close to Jeremy's house in Asheville. Since Jeremy has move to Overland Park, Kansas we have put the house on the market. There are a couple of minor things we need to take care of on the house. I also have to setup an appointment with the VA for my annual physical.

Apr 28, 2011 - North Carolina

North Carolina: Friends, Del and Delores, recommended this a must stop in order to see “The Biltmore Estate”. All along the trip we have been seeing the homes specific to those areas. Everybody hold onto your hats, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This stop we set up camp in a town named Swannanoa which is referred to as “The Front Porch of North Carolina”. It’s small town living, it’s got colorful views, It’s got friendly folks but not much else to say on this sleepy town except that it is located just a few miles from the town of Asheville...

Apr 27, 2011 - Asheville, NC

Our friends Doug & JoAnn Dubrouillet wrote extensively about Asheville, NC. Enough to tell us we needed to visit this area as well. The nearest reasonable campground was Miles Motors Center & Campground. This is not a destination park. It is a little strange. They sell low end 5th wheels and small trailers and are a service center with a campground on the property. It is convenient for our purpose of visiting Asheville. It is located in a small town called Swannanoa. I really don't know any history of this town, but is has seen better days....

Oct 21, 2010 - Noting changes with lattitude

Nice campground, but when we called for reservations the clerk said it would have to be “up on the hill” because they were fairly full for the week. As it happened, that “up on the hill” was toward the back of a very large campground with 2 lakes, large numbers of sites, and heavily wooded terrain. Linda’s only problem was jumping every time acorns fell and hit the roof! They were loud, and frequent! The difficulty with the site was not having any wifi, so this is a “make up” posting made several days later. Another beautiful drive, this...

Oct 21, 2010 - Leaving Asheville With Fond Memories

Today was our last day in Asheville for a while. We both have remarked on separate occasions that if we had to live in a stick and brick home again, we would probably choose this area. It fits our lifestyle and our mode of living. It offers everything we need and yet is not a "big" city. Jo called it Awesome Asheville and we think she named it aptly. We loaded up with groceries for our three week jaunt across country this morning. Then we went to Black Mountain for a dodder in Montreat. Black Mountain would be where we would look first for...