Thoughts & Prayers

In light of the recent event at Virginia Tech University, we would like to send our thoughts & prayers to the victims, relatives, students, faculty, & community in Blacksburg. Even though we have been removed from college life for a few years, its still fresh in our minds. We cannot even comprehend the tragedy that has occurred on that campus. It will be a struggle to return to any amount of normalcy there, but judging by the stories all over the news -- The Virginia Tech community seems to be one that will join together in strength, unity, & support to accomplish just that -- a return to normalcy.

Our hearts are with you.

New designs??

Hey everyone! As you can see, I'm messing around with some different designs & such. No, I didn't make these myself or anything -- I've looked around for them. If you get a sec, check it out and let me know what you think. I'll prolly change 'em around from time to time.

Holla!

Biltmore Estate

Mel & I took a much needed vacation this past week with her parents as well as her aunt & uncle. We went to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. If you've never been, I highly suggest it.
This Estate is magnificent! The house is an enourmous 175,000 sq. ft. monstrosity that is decked out with nice sculptures, woodwork, tapestries, & paintings.
The first night we arrived, we ate at a restaurant on the estate called The Bistro. It was a great dining atmosphere!
The next day, we ate breakfast at the hotel, then we toured the house. It was nice because we had a few options to tour:
1-just walk around the house on our own with a booklet that gave information on the rooms.
2- Rent an audio player that allowed you to take as much time in each room & hit a number associated with the room to hear audio about it. (this is what we chose)
It was really cool to go through the 60+ rooms on the tour & see all the details of the rooms, as well as the way the people lived there.
After the tour, we ate lunch at the Stables which they converted the old horse stables to a restaurant. Following lunch, we toured the vast garden area on the house property. While everything wasn't quite in bloom, most of the tulips & some other flowers were....just beautiful!

Day 3 brought on tours of the grounds of the estate. Legends of the Land was a bus tour that took us around the property to tell some of the history of the land, some of the intricacies of the land, & fun facts as well. We also went on a horse carriage ride around some of the "backyard" of the Biltmore House which gave a pretty realistic ride around as they did back in the day. Ending the day with a tour of the Winery & dinner.

Day 4 was basically pack up & check out day.

Overall, a great time had by all. We had a nice relaxing time with family & we highly suggest everyone go & visit the Biltmore Estate!