granddaughter coraline

granddaughter coraline

grandson mason

grandson mason

grandson jaxson

grandson jaxson

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

23-26OCT09 - Waynesville, NC (crossing paths)

On Friday, 23OCT, we arrived in Waynesville, NC, and set up camp next to our good friends Anneke & Chuck Guldenschuh. See the below BLOG entry about our last visit with Guldenschuhs.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/01/11-13jan09-perry-navarre-fl.html

After setting up camp right next door to them we got together for the first of several informal hors d’oeuvre, drinks & dinner together. Even though it has been over ten months since we had lasted visited; that’s the beauty of RV’ing, you can cross paths down the road and instantly catch up. Two nights were spent playing Mexican Train Dominos. It is amazing how four very well educated adults can read the same rules (supposedly written in English) and come up with 4 different interpretations!

The next morning, 24OCT, all of us headed into Asheville for a walkabout. Turns out several festivals were occurring, along with a walk for Alzheimers, and a Halloween costume contest for dogs. Lunch was at “Jack of the Wood Public House & Brewery”, which featured excellent Irish pub grub.


http://www.jackofthewood.com/

Next we headed to Grove Park Inn. The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort hotel on the slope of Sunset Mountain in Asheville. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style. It also features a $44 million, 40,000 square foot, modern subterranean spa. E.W. Grove owned Paris Medicine Company, originally based in Paris, TN, before moving to St Louis. Its primary money making product was Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic which was an elixir containing quinine. This formula supposedly would help tame the raging chills brought on by malaria. At one time the number of bottles of Chill Tonic outsold bottles of Coca Cola. After touring the Inn the women head to Arts & Crafts Center, and the men headed to the Antique Car collection.












http://www.groveparkinn.com/

Trivia – what automobile is featured on the back of the old ten dollar bill?

Sunday we headed to the Stompin’ Ground in Maggie Valley for the Hall Fame Clogging Championships. Turns out the Stompin’ Ground is home of the American Clogging Hall of Fame and this was the last weekend of the big competition.

http://www.achf.net/index.html

Next we headed to the town of Cherokee on the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The town is located in the heart of the Cherokee Indian Reservation; unfortunately it is one big tourist trap, with countless shops selling fake Indian items, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. The reason we were heading into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was to complete our drive of Blue Ridge Parkway (see our preceding BLOG for details). The Park is at the southern end of the Parkway allowing to us visit the Park, while completing our drive of the entire Parkway.


Monday, the Guldenschuhs and us did pretty much nothing, taking care of some small errands and lounging around the RV park. We did play putt-putt golf at the RV park’s course. Both ladies made hole-in-ones on the eighteenth hole; and if we had been playing football, they would have been flagged for excessive celebration! That evening we headed to the Casino in Cherokee, where Corrie won $85 and Dan lost $20. See the Guldenschuh’s BLOG for their “view” of our time together. Tomorrow back on the road.









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