She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain...

My mother blew into town a week ago Tuesday - literally. She had a bumpy flight and when they were getting ready to land the pilot aborted the landing and went back in the air and circled for awhile before trying again. The woman sitting next to her was throwing up. Fortunately, they were able to land on the 2nd try. I guess they only try twice then move on to another airport. Don't know if she'll fly into Asheville again any time soon.
Wednesday we took her to Black Mountain for lunch and we hit the quilt stores. After a tour of the town and Montreat we went out to our house. Highway 9, the road from Black Mountain to our house, is REALLY curvy. Some stretches of the road are just a series of switchbacks. It's only about 8 miles but seems alot longer. The first half you're winding and climbing up to the Eastern Continental Divide (about 3,000 + feet) then the last half you're winding down. I was in the back seat and all I could see was my mother leaning WAY over toward Robert like she was on a bobsled as we rounded the curves. I guess that kept us from going over the cliff.

Thursday Robert had to go to Toronto (yeah, right) so Mom and I went to the Biltmore Estate. We toured the house then had lunch in the Stables. After lunch we strolled through the gardens for bit. After Biltmore we found a fabric store to browse through.

Friday I had to run an errand so we started out on the Parkway at the Folk Art Center where they display (and sell) crafts made by local artists. They also have souveniers of the Parkway. Mom bought a few things then we drove on the Parkway for awhile. After running my errand we had lunch then went for a driving tour of Asheville. I showed her the downtown then some of the beautiful and historic neighborhoods. We ended up at the Grove Park Inn for a drink (ginger ale) on the lower terrace. Friday night we went to Old Fort to see the mountain music. We missed the first group but stayed to see a few others. The cloggers weren't dancing but everyone else was.
That night Erin came in on the 11:00 flight. Luckily, Robert was on the same flight from Toronto so I didn't have to pick her up from the airport.