The Wandering Disciple

The All-New Hyundai Elantra, a perfect choice for your summer roadtrip. Well it was new and it was a perfect choice for our 2017 road trip through the mountains of western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 2017 Elantra was our first brand new car and the trip North Carolina was the first extended road trip in this car. Today the Elantra continues to go strong with over 130,000 miles on the odometer and plenty of memories made along the way. (Photo: June 13, 2017)

Braves minor leaguer Randy Ventura rounds second and digs from third during a South Atlantic League game in 2017. Signed as an international free agent by the Atlanta Braves in 2015, Ventura has spent five seasons in the minor league system, split between the Braves and the Cincinnati Reds organizations. Prior to the COVID-19 hiatus Ventura was with the Daytona Tortugas, the Advanced-A affiliate of the Reds in the Florida State League. (Photo: June 12, 2017)

When George Vanderbilt II envisioned his mountain getaway, he envisioned a grande mansion in a park like setting. So he set forth to make his vision a reality and entrusted Frederick Law Olmsted with developing the landscape of the Biltmore. Olmsted, the architect of great projects like Central Park in NYC and the US Capitol in DC, developed a stunning lanscape of manicured forests and colorful gardens that continues to impress visitors to the Biltmore to this day. (Photo: June 12, 2017)

Asheville has always been known for its unique style, this little mountain town has something for everyone. But they quirky little city in the mountains takes on a different feel after dark. While craft beer scene heats up in the many pubs, the haunted history comes to life as well. One way to experience this side of Asheville is through the Haunted Asheville walking tour. One of the stops on the tour is Church Street where they paved over a cemetery enhancing the paranormal energy in the area. On Church Street sits the Central United Methodist Church, where a ghostly nun still roams the church. (Photo: June 11, 2017)

After commanding 25 missions in the famed Memphis Belle during the European theater of World War II, Asheville native Robert Morgan decided to put on a little show for his hometown. During a publicity tour in his hometown of Asheville, Captain Morgan lined the B-17 up along Patton Avenue in the heart of downtown Asheville. He pitched the wings 60 degree and split the middle of the Buncombe County Courthouse and Asheville City Hall, a mere 50 feet apart. This feat is memorialized in a monument located between these two building. (Photo: June 12, 2017)

A bright colorful flower in full bloom lightens up a path at the Biltmore Estate.  The country's largest private residence, the Biltmore has thousands of flower in gardens and along paths.  All year long, guests to the Biltmore can see flowers in bloom including a rose collection with more than 250 varieties of roses.  (Photo: June 12, 2017)

The Memphis Belle, a US Army Air Force B-17 had a storied history.  During World War II, the crew of the Memphis Belle flew 25 missions with the crew intact, a major feat during the war when the bombers were sitting ducks to the faster fighters of the Luftwaffe.  However one little known story of the Memphis Belle occurred in downtown Asheville.  While on a world tour to generate sales of war bonds, the crew of the B-17 decided to do a fly-over the city.  They brought the aircraft down low to entice the crowd but failed to realize how close the courthouse and city hall were to each other.  With the buildings only separated by 50 feet and the 103 foot wingspan of the B-17, pilot Robert Morgan turned the wings down and  successfully flew the aircraft between the buildings at a 60 degree angle.

A brightly colored Rhododendron flower provides a splash of color on a dreary day along the Blue Ridge Parkway.   Mother Nature paints a colorful picture each summer when the Rhododendron come into full bloom.  (Photo: June 13, 2017)

Overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of downtown Asheville is the largest private estate in the country.  It is here where George Vanderbilt built his little mountain escape.  The Biltmore is anything but little featuring 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 33 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces.  (Photo: June 12, 2017)

Asheville, North Carolina:  There is no better way to see and learn about a city than by taking a ride with a local.  That's exactly what Asheville Trolley Tours does, gives riders a glimpse into the local culture of Asheville.  Cradled in the mountains, Asheville is a quirky town with something to offer for everyone. Your trip on the bright red trolley begins at the Asheville Visitor's Center, stop one of the tour.  Park your car here in one of the many free parking spots and hop aboard the trolley for a day filled with interesting stories and amazing sights. There are ten stops along the route, each with something new and exciting to explore.  During the summer, there is a trolley every thirty minutes giving you time to explore the area around the stop.  If you choose to stay on the trolley, it takes about an hour and a half to complete the entire circuit.  We chose to stay onboard for one entire circuit to hear the history of the area and get ...

When they came up with the old saying of having your head in the clouds, I don't think this is what they had in mind.  While traveling up the Blue Ridge Parkway during last week's road trip, we truly did have our heads in the clouds.  While at an elevation of around 5,200 feet, we met the clouds as the clouds began to envelope the parkway.  (Photo: June 13, 2017)

When Dr Carole came to town to run the Highland Hospital, he needed a place to live. Homewood was the answer to his housing needs. The stone manor in the prestigous Monford area of Asheville was built in 1927 for Dr Carole and his family. Homewood would a centerpiece in the Asheville social scene as Dr Carole and his wife entertained the Vanderbilts, F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and many other prominent residents. Today the Homewood is still entertaining as it is one of the premier wedding venues in the country. (Photo: June 11, 2017)

Asheville, North Carolina:  The final day of our trips are always bittersweet, you say good-bye to the amazing adventures of your trip but return home to your friends and family back home.  While I would have loved to stay in the mountains and escape from reality a little more longer, life back home was calling and we needed to answer the call. Today was a very uneventful day in terms of the past four days.  Today was spent in the car from 12 hours driving back to the sunshine state.  We got to take back life long memories made in these great mountains to share with friends and family and in the days to come you readers as well. Over the course of the past four days, we traveled almost 2,000 miles and crossed 5 states.  We got to see some amazing sites while we were in town but we only scratched the surface at what the Asheville area has to offer.  My wife had made a comment last night that still sticks to me as I write this, Asheville was the first ...

Asheville, North Carolina:   Our wonderful summer road trip continued into day three with a horseback riding adventure.  This too had been a bucket list item for my wife and she was really looking forward to riding the mountainside. The day began with breakfast at the hotel before hitting the roads to nearby Marshall.  The drive to Marshall was very scenic.  There were some two-lane roads on the trip that we a little hair raising for a family used to flat Floridian roadways.  There were amazing views around each turn making the drive just as exciting as the destination. We arrived at Sandy Bottom Trail Rides a little early and sat on the front porch for a while making friends with their cat and dogs that roam the farm.  We were then paired up with our horses which would be our transportation for the next three hours.  My wife was paired with George, my son with Drifter and I got Twinkie,  Yeah, kinda ironic that a fat guy would be paired up ...

Asheville, North Carolina: The Asheville Tourists gave the home crowd a show on Monday night as they shut-out the Rome Braves 7-0 at McCormick Fields. The win helped the Tourists avoid a series sweep and snapped a three game losing streak. The Tourists wasted no time getting on the scoreboard by scoring in the opening frame. Manuel Melendez led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single. He later scored on an RBI double by Colton Welker to give them a 1-0 lead. The Tourists increased the lead by scoring a pair of runs in the third. Melendez got things started with a double to right. Melendez stole third and then scored on a wild pitch. Later in the inning Welker singled to center and then scored on an RBI double by Vince Fernandez to make it 3-0. Asheville added three more in the fifth inning. Carlos Herrera homered to right to lead off the inning. They then loaded the bases following a double by Jose Gomez, a single by Welker and Fernandez getting hit by a pitch....

Asheville, North Carolina: Today we had a big day exploring the Biltmore Estate.  The crown jewel of Asheville, the Biltmore has been a place we have wanted to visit for a while.  It was also a bucket list thing to do for my wife so we were pretty excited to visit. We started the day with breakfast at the hotel.  The free complimentary breakfast was a lot better than we had expected.  It had omelets, waffles, biscuits and gravy, sausage and much more.  Much more than the standard cereals, toast, etc you come to expect at a hotel complimentary breakfast. After breakfast, we headed out to the Biltmore.  To say the grounds and estates were awe-inspiring is an understatement,   During our trolley tour yesterday, they told the story of the Vanderbildt's and described the immense size of the property, but it doesn't truly sink in until you arrive at the estate.  From the gate, it is still a 2 1/2 mile drive to the Biltmore House. We decided to...

Asheville, North Carolina:  With a city as steep in history as Asheville, it would only make sense for there to be a rich paranormal history as well.  This historic town nestled in the mountains is home to many ghost stories and we decided to learn a little more about them by taking the Classic Walking Tour by Haunted Asheville. We have gone on ghost tours in some of the most haunted cities in the country and were really looking forward to hearing what haunts lie in wait in Asheville. We met our guide Tadd and the rest of the group in the alley behind the Masonic Temple.  This is where our ghostly adventure would begin. From there, we hit the streets of Asheville to listen to tales of hauntings in this great city. Tadd gave us a brief overview of the city and a history of how it became one of the more haunted cities in America before taking us to our first stop, Pack Square and the Jackson Building.  The Jackson Building is one of the first skyscrapers...

Asheville, North Carolina: After a great trip in the mountains last year, we decided to return to the mountains again this year for our summer vacation.  We had originally planned on going to New Orleans, however the great advertising package run on television by Visit Asheville guided us to changing out venue to North Carolina. We departed for North Carolina early, hitting the road by 3am.  The original plan was to leave early and reach Columbia, South Carolina in time for the Columbia FireFlies matinee.  However, my wife had woken up early so we decided to hit the road earlier than planned.  As a result, we were going to be passing through Columbia too early for the game so we decided to head straight to Asheville instead. While on the way up, my wife checked on the rates at our hotel and found that the room had been reduced again.  Over the course of planning this trip, we have saved considerably since the original booking.  When we changed the t...