Our travel to Asheville, North Carolina took us through Cherokee Village and Maggie Valley. Both places were nestled in the mountains and had pretty vistas. We did not linger in either place as we wanted to hurry on to The Biltmore Estate.
View of river in Cherokee Village Danny with a carved bear in Cherokee Village

Cherokee Village, North Carolina

Scenery between Maggie Valley and Cherokee Village

Just had to have this pic!

View of Maggie Valley
We arrived at The Biltmore and spent all afternoon touring it an being amazed at it grandeur! It is truly amazing that one man's wealth could construct such a beautiful palace and gardens. We ended the day by touring the winery! We had been on our feet for 8 hours and were definitely tired but content.

Biltmore Estates

Danny on the veranda of the Biltmore

Here we are at the Biltmore Estate

Danny enjoying some Biltmore's ice cream from its dairy.

Beautiful bridge and lake in the Biltmore garden

The grounds surrounding Biltmore were lush and beautiful.

Gorgeous hydrangeas in the greenhouse.

The gardener's cottage on the Biltmore grounds.

A touring car on display at the winery

Wine vats at the Biltmore Winery

Charleston, South Carolina

Wednesday and Thursday (May 18 - 19) found us in Charleston, South Carolina. We really enjoyed our stay there! We crossed the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Bridge as we entered Charleston. It has 8 lanes and was opened in 2005. Really impressive!!

Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Our resort, The Lodge at Alley Inn, was in the heart of the historic area. Great location!! The third suite on the bottom floor was ours, and it was just a few steps to the fountain and the lobby. It was a lovely spacious suite with a lot of character!

The Lodge at Alley Inn Resort was built in an old warehouse.

The living room of the suite had a mini kitchen to the right of the fireplace.

Our bedroom had a beautiful rice carved four poster bed.

After checking into the resort, Danny and I drove to Patriot's Point to take the ferry to Ft. Sumter. On the way we saw a pod of dolphins swimming the ferry. A couple of interesting facts we learned were that it was built on an man made island at the mouth of the harbor and even though the fort was almost completely demolished, no one was killed in that first Civil War battle. One Federal soldier was killed after the battle when during a 100 gun salute was being given, so the the salute was stopped.

The ferry boat that we took to Ft. Sumter.

Ft. Sumter as seen from the ferry.

Ft. Sumter's exterior walls were thick and housed the cannons.

From the top one of the structures in the fort looking over the fort wall toward Charleston.

Within the fort there was a five story building that housed the federal soldiers and officers.

Here's Danny taking in the sights at Ft. Sumter.

Late that afternoon, we strolled through the Waterfront Park which had a long pavilion on the pier with porch type swings, lots of fountains and a walking path along the waterfront. We enjoyed watching huge tankers and a cruise ship sail into the port. Then we walked down the "Battery" which is a street of beautiful old homes across the street from the sea wall. Some of the old houses were painted pastel colors and were nicknamed "The Painted Ladies". Most of the old mansions had their own private garden.

The next day we took in the Charleston City Market and bought a few souvenirs. One of the local specialties was basket made of some type of marsh grass. Very pretty and very expensive!

We also toured The USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier. There was so much to take in there!

We enjoyed dinner a great restaurant named Hyman's and then spent an hour or so strolling the streets of historic Charleston looking at the great architecture of the buildings, churches and shops. I found Charleston to be filled with fascinating photo opportunities!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Our drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Monday morning was pleasant, and we enjoyed seeing the wild flowers blooming along the highway. We arrived at Shore Crest Vacation Villas a little after noon and checked into a nice two bedroom condo with a "View" - not much of a view, but we could see the Atlantic Ocean and the beach if we stepped out on the patio and craned our necks around the corner!!

This is the interior of our condo at Shore Crest. Nice place! This is the pretty view of the Atlantic Ocean and the beach from our patio. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us for our "Beach Time!" It was cold, windy and rainy!! BUT, we walked on the beach wearing hooded sweat shirts and with our beach towels wrapped around us! After all, this was our "Beach Time" for the year!!

That evening, we drove down to the Myrtle Beach Board Walk.
Here I am .... notice the heavy clouds overhead and the flags (and my hair) blowing in the wind! Below is another shot of the Board Walk.

There were lots of tourists and traffic in that area and there was a feeling of excitement was in the air!

A new "Sky Wheel" was to open on the Board Walk in a few weeks. The cars were large enough to accommodate a group of people who could have dinner while on the ride. I bet there are some great views from the top! There is always an arcade on any board walk!

The next day, we slept in, went to the resort pools, shopped and watched a Red Box movie in our condo. We left Myrtle Beach the following morning, and as you can see below, the day was going to be beautiful.... sunny and warm! Oh well, we had fun anyway! We pressed on to Charleston, SC for the next leg of our vacation!