Trip to North Carolina

Without Emily the RAGE group is just RAG so in celebration of Emily's 50th B-Day - Amy and I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina on April 24th to meet up with our dear friend Emily. Before we spent time with Emily we had a couple of days to drive to Asheville, North Carolina. With our trusty GPS guiding us we arrived in the lovely city of Asheville. Amy and I checked in to our motel about 8pm and then headed downtown to find a place to eat. After a great meal and drinks we started walking outside and noticed commotion up the street. As we headed that way we became aware that Hillary Clinton was speaking and there was quite the buzz. We quickly got swooped up in the Hillary frenzy. We heard a bit of her speech and got caught up in all the Hillary madness. Whether you are a supporter or not this was history and fun to be in the mix. The next morning we headed to the Biltmore Estate. It was beautiful and more than we expected. We spent nearly the entire day doing a walking tour through the expansive house and the gardens. The tulips, azaleas and other flowers were in bloom and the colors were fabulous! After all our walking we drove to the Biltmore winery and sampled various wines and champagnes . The next day we meet my dear friend Peggy who drove up from Tennessee. We decided to explore a state park called Chimney Rock. It was quite an adventure. We hiked up through the eye of the needle and to the top of Chimney Rock - incredible views. In the middle of the walk we encountered a tremendous rain storm. We got absolutely soaked but was such fun and added to the adventure. We definitely were not prepared for what we experienced. We then traveled back to Charlotte through torrential downpours and lightening storms. It is very scary driving when you can't see anything in front of you. We arrived in the lush green city of Charlotte where Emily and Spence have made their new home. Their community is absolutely perfect for them. We had a blast riding the mini Nascars and then actually getting on the Nascar race track, and seeing Emily's new life. Love it!