Sandy visited 2 gemstone "mines" in Franklin, NC and had fun searching for rubies and saphires


When we arrived in Asheville we were happy to discover the city was throwing a party. After joining in the fun, we did a little sightseeing.
10) A monument to Thomas Wolfe and Look Homeward Angel.




The Biltmore Estate is still privately owned, but is now open to public.

Pictures are not allowed of the interior, these were obtained via the web.

The estate still owns 8000 acres and has some beautiful gardens. And there were ruby-throated hummingbirds!



We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway for more than 300 miles - from Asheville into Virginia. Eventually it becomes the Skyline Drive in Virginia, but we left that road for another time.




Mt. Airy was Andy Griffith's hometown and he based Mayberry on it.



The Natural Bridge


The Luray Caverns