CHRISTINA'S DAY TRIPS
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historic holiday - james and dolley madison's montpelier

1/6/2014

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Friday, December 27, our first stop. 
The home of James and Dolley Madison near Charlottesville VA.  James' family had lived on this land for six generations.  Note the slave quarters on the right, close to the house.  In this peaceful place he wrote our constitution. 
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The house was sited to take advantage of the spectacular landscape.  The beauty of the rolling hills of Virginia was an unexpected bonus of our trip.  Coming and going from Montpelier we traveled one-lane-each- direction roads with no other vehicles in sight.
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James monroe's home, ash-lawn woodland

1/6/2014

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Friday, Dec. 27 our second stop.
Thomas Jefferson found the property and even designed the gardens to persuade his friend, James Monroe, to live nearby.  The home's exterior and the estate show Monroe was not born to wealth.  But the home's surprisingly spacious interior reflects his rich life of service to our country starting at age 17 when he enlisted in the army to fight the Revolutionary War.   We arrived to the calls of the estate's cattle returning to the barn for their dinner.
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We left after dark, driving along narrow, unlit rural roads until we found our Charlottesville lodging for the night.
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Candlelight christmas at the biltmore estate

1/6/2014

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Saturday, December 28, we arrived in Asheville, NC.  A buffet dinner of local foods prepared with a Southern slant at Biltmore's Deerpark Restaurant was followed by a Candlelight Tour of the Biltmore House.  The holiday lights were particularly festive on extensive grounds enveloped in true country darkness.
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Biltmore - daylight tour

1/6/2014

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Entrance of the Biltmore House, the "little mountain escape" of George Washington Vanderbilt of Midland Beach, Staten Island.  By the time we finished our tour, the sun was out.
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Frederick Law Olmsted's last great landscape project

1/6/2014

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A glimpse of the 8,000 acres designed by Staten Island's own, Frederick Law Olmsted.  The original estate was about three times the size of Staten Island.  Today it is larger than any SI neighborhood.
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blue ridge Parkway

1/6/2014

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Again the scenery was a bonus. Ken, our step-on guide took our huge bus on the narrow ribbon of asphalt along high ridges called the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fortunately he knew of a road that met the highway, where we could turn around to return to Asheville!
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Ken took us to a cooperative of local artists and artisans.  This magnificent quilt is a hint of the quality of beauty and craftsmanship we found there.
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champagne and books

1/6/2014

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Mary Bullock, Helen Sigman, and Mary's sister, Susan Provanzano enjoy the bubbly ambiance of one of Asheville's many unique hangouts.  Books from pricey first editions to "free-take one." Champagnes for every taste and snacks.  Dogs welcome.
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our final taste of Trendy Asheville

1/6/2014

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  • Welcome
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