Exploring North Carolina with KathieyV

I have always been fascinated with the gingerbread house.  It is so much fun to come across the occasional gingerbread house competition during the holidays.  The amount of talent and patience that goes into building such a creation is impressive to me because I have neither. Have I ever built a gingerbread house?   I guess you could say yes, I have tried.  The house I created had walls and a roof, and of course windows.  To be more accurate I would have to call my house a shack to give you the proper feel for the level of my creativity. In North Carolina a  National Gingerbread House Competition is held at the Grove Park Inn  in Asheville.  They began this tradition in 1992,  and it has become a seasonal attraction. I noticed on the official  website there is a Gingerbread hotline.  I wonder why you would call them? Here is a sample of the entries for the 2017 event from  romanticasheville.com  Amazing! I have been...

It is the Christmas season.  There are many ways to enjoy the holidays in NC.  One that I have heard about but never experienced is the NC Executive Mansion Holiday open house.  Stephanie, Maggie and I decided to visit this year. Below you will find some photos and quotes from other sources...enjoy:-) "Take a tour of the N.C. Executive Mansion this holiday season. Visitors are invited to tour the home, take in the decorations and enjoy seasonal musical entertainment by local performing groups. The first floor of the Mansion will be decorated with N.C.-grown Christmas trees, floral and mixed evergreen arrangements, a whimsical gingerbread house and ornate mantle displays. Reservations are not required." Visit Raleigh NC "At 35,000 square feet, it is the third-biggest Governor’s mansion in the country." Walter Magazine "The Executive Mansion was completed in 1891 and remains one of the state's finest examples of the Queen Anne style of Victor...

It's fall, my favorite time of year.  Now is the perfect time to travel up to the Blue Ridge Mountains to experience the crisp mountain air and hopefully see the colorful fall leaves.  Erica and I decided to stop at a few of the many wineries in NC on our mini vacation.  On the way to Blowing Rock we took a slight diversion to  Shelton Vineyards in Dobson NC . Here is what they say on their website... "Located in the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area, the vineyard shares a similar climate and growing season to that of some of the best wine growing regions in Europe. The vineyard is one of the largest on the East Coast." One thing I like about Shelton Vineyards is the fact that they have a restaurant. We decided to eat lunch and enjoy some of their delicious wines.  First stop was the  Harvest Grill.  We decide to try their wine flight.  It came out in a tiered display.  You may choose five wines.  As they...

One place I knew I had to visit while I was in the Lake Lure area was the  Lake Lure Flowering Bridge Here is a quote from their website.... "Officially dedicated Oct. 19, 2013, the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge blooms on the historic 1925 Rocky Broad River bridge in Lake Lure, NC. When the bridge was closed to traffic in 2011, the Friends of the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge came together to create gardens on the 155 feet of the bridge and along a pathway at both ends of the three-arch span itself. With an emphasis on native plants, the Friends mission is to create a “Gateway to Somewhere Beautiful” for the enjoyment of the public. Lovely view from the bridge... Love the doors decorating the garden.. Attention to detail is seen in this family of owls... Just a few of the plants along the path... Many lovely things to see... Bricked paved garden walkway... An invitation I could not pass up.... I really enjoyed my leisurely stroll on the Lake Lu...