A Mansion, A Double-wide & A Steakhouse

On Day 781...

Well, the three really don't have much to do with each other, besides the fact that I was at each one on three consecutive days... but I anyway... here is a recap from the weekend :)

The Mansion
Some of you know, and some of you may not know, that Asheville is home to the largest single family residence in the US, the Biltmore House (built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s). It is something like 150,000 square feet of living space, 225 rooms, and absolutely gorgeous. But even more than that, it sits on thousands of acres filled with trees, animals, hotels, shops, walking paths, fields, ponds, waterfalls, benches and restaurants. On Saturday Jonanthon (Drew's brother) showed us around and Drew and I used some Christmas money to buy annual passes. It was a gorgeous day and we spent Saturday afternoon walking around the pond, and through the greenhouse & gardens, and we also walked through the house. I can't wait until it gets a little warmer and I can buy a kite and take Drew up for a picnic lunch and kite flying. :)

The Double Wide
Now, for those of you who have been to NC, double-wide trailers are FAR from sparse. However, have you ever been to church in a double-wide??? Well, we hadn't either... until Sunday. Andrew and I have been looking for churches in the Asheville area, and someone had recommended Blue Ridge Bible Church. On Saturday we found out they met at 10:45, and even mapquested the address to make sure we made it on time. On Sunday we set out a few minutes late and arrived one minute late, and between the double-wide trailer with a cross nailed to the side, the 5 cars parked outside and the orange curtains on the french doors (is it wrong to use double-wide & french in the same sentence?) and being late we almost left right then. However, as fate would have it, someone opened the door and invited us in. I should be used to it by now, but NOTHING starts on time around here, including church. I think that church finally started around 11:05. When there are only 17 people in the church, 2 new ones is the big excitement. We were bombarded by people and cards to fill out. We were even embarrassed... I mean introduced by the pastor at the beginning of the sermon. (During the sermon the pastor said that next week they really needed to start on time... no one in the congregation, not even his wife or mother, knew what time that was.) The music could best be described as painful, and although the pastor left a nice outline in the bulletin, and I was opened to the right passage in the Bible, neither Drew nor I had any idea how what he said, and what we read had to do with each other. Needless to say, I think we will be trying another one next week.

The Steakhouse
When Drew came home last night, he had brought me a BEAUTIFUL vase of long-stem roses. He then informed me that there was something more and to sit down at the table and close my eyes. I followed the instructions. After about 5 minutes he finally told me I could open my eyes and I was met by the stare of the most hideous, despicable creature I have ever seen. It is a 3 foot tall wood-carved statue of some sort of gargoyle, gremlin creature. It had huge wings and evil eyes, and spikes down his back. As I sat in horror Drew just howled with laughter. Well, to the chagrin of Emily Post, I rejected the gift immediately, and it is gone forever, never to return. Andrew made up for it by taking me to a Japanese Steakhouse, where they make all the food in front of you. The food was great and so was the show. All in all, it was a great Valentine's Day.

L

P.S. Happy Anniversary Mike & Rachelle!