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For many years Betsy and I hav celebrated Christmas by attending Biltmore’s Candlelight Christmas. The decorations are always marvelous, and seem to be the perfect way to celebrate such a festive season. This year was no exception, and we very much enjoyed visiting the house and seeing all the decorations. This is a photo of the library — I think I could spend many happy hours there!
eWe celebrated Betsy’s birthday this year by going to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We traveled part of the way along the Blue Ridge Parkway, also a favorite drive for us. I got this picture of My Beautiful Bride at the Raven Fork Overlook. August 5, 2025..
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On our way back home from Asheville, North Carolina, in June, Betsy and I drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Along the way we stopped at the Charles A. Webb Overlook on Newfound Gap Road where I got this picture. The clouds were as beautiful as the mountains. June 24, 2025.
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Betsy and I consider “Christmas at Biltmore” to be our main gift to each other. We’ve been attending their Candlelight Christmas for nine years now, and always find it to be delightful. We were not sure what to expect this year because of all the damage caused by hurricane Helene, but everyone at Biltmore did a superb job of cleaning up and repairing the damage and getting the decorations in place for Christmas.
All of the rooms in Biltmore House are decorated for Christmas, with each room having one or more decorated Christmas tree. (The were 69 decorated trees in the house all together.) This is the Breakfast room on the main floor, pictured in a photo taken two years ago,
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I really don’t know which is more impressive at the Pisgah Inn — the mountains or the sky. Every once in a while the two come together to create a stunning scene. That’s what happened this past June 24. We can’t see the setting sun from our room, but the sunlight caught the little cloud in the center of the photo and colored it with red and gold. Is it any wonder the we keep going back?
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On our visit to Biltmore last month, Betsy and I roamed the grounds of the estate as we went from the Italian Garden to the Walled Garden. It was a beautiful day, and during a rest stop on our walk I snapped this picture of the house.
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For several years Betsy and I would visit Ocean Isle Beach in May as well as after Thanksgiving. One year, on a cloudy, rainy day during our vacation, Betsy and I headed toward Wilmington to see what we could see. One of the places we visited was Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson Historic Site.
Brunswick was a major pre-Revolutionary War port on North Carolina’s Cape Fear River. It was razed by British troops in 1776 and never rebuilt. Colonial foundations can still be seen on the site of the village, as well as the ruins of St. Phillip’s church and its graveyard.
During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop the old village site, and served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy. Remains of the earthworks of Fort Anderson can still be seen. Some of the huts built as winter quarters for the Confederate troops are on the site as well.
Some of the batteries of Fort Anderson could still be seen, although the artillery that would have been in them was not there.
All-in-all it was a nice way to spend a rainy day.
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Looking Glass Rock is a prominent landmark in the Pisgah Forest of North Carolina. The rock — really a mountain — rises to an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet above the valley. The granite surfaces of the mountain reflect the sunlight, which gave the mountain its name.
I got this picture of Looking Glass Rock from an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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When Betsy and I visit Pisgah Inn, the early mornings are often foggy or very cloudy. But this year we had a morning on which the sky was mostly clear at dawn. I was able to get some pictures of the color in the sky, even though there was some for in the valleys below. O, What a Beautiful Mornin’! June 24, 2024.
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For the past several years Betsy and I have been celebrating our wedding anniversary at the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, North Carolina. The inn has a wonderful restaurant, and the views from the rooms are absolutely beautiful. And it helps that we’re high enough in the mountains that air conditioning is not needed. I imagine we’ll keep going back for more years to come.
Senior Moments 