Heading For Home
So we finally got chased out of Shenandoah because of the weather. Too bad .... we were looking forward to a couple more days of hiking, but the fog, drizzle, and (finally) the snow & colder temps persuaded us to pull up stakes and head back toward Atlanta and Cindy's family.
On the way down we stopped off in Asheville, NC to tour Biltmore House ... the largest house in the U.S. ... only a 170,000 square feet. We are not too oriented to do the tourist stuff, but this was a good stop. Lot's of history, and very unique. Built by the son of George Vanderbilt with some of his inheritance.
Almost as impressive as the house, was the landscaping around the estate. This was outside the conservatory, the picture below is one of many orchid plants that were growing inside the conservatory (I couldn't resist, but wish I had brought my tripod and macro lenses.
Here is Cindy's family ... from l to r ... Bobby (Cindy's nephew), Cindy, Bill (Cindy's brother), her Mom & Dad, and Hope (Cindy's baby sister). We also had great smoked pork BBQ at Bill's, visited with Cindy's other nephew, ate way too much, and caught up with what has been happening with everyone.
So then we left to go down to our favorite beach spot, St. Joeseph Island State Park. We were concerned about the storm damage down there but they were open. We did see lots of signs of the damage though, breaks in the dunes from high waves, some damaged houses that were washed out, etc, but it could have been worse.
This was our camp site setup at St. Joseph Island, right by the dunes. Temps were mid 70's to 80 in the daytime and 50's at night. You know, it's a tough life!
And this is why we love this place ... there aren't many people around!! ... just the sugar white sand that the Florida Panhandle beaches are famous for. Our typical day was to walk 4 miles or so in the morning, read in the afternoon, and maybe another 3 miles or so in the late afternoon (followed by rum drinks and a great meal). Mostly just us and a few old farts except over the weekend when some local families came in.
From Dallas we finally returned to Austin. After being on the road since July 8th, it seemed strange to be in our "other house". After cleaning the trailer from top to bottom, we returned it to the storage lot, and are now beginning to plan our next adventure. At this time we are thinking we will try making a trip to Alaska. So many places to see, so little time ......!
Finally we headed back to Dallas to see Carrie and her husband Matt, and also to visit with my sister who had just moved to the Dallas area. Here is a picture of Carrie and one of her cousins (Bonner) who lives in Los Angeles and just happened to be in Dallas.
So one last sunset picture from the trip as we head back toward Texas. But we will return to this wonderful place.
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