Broken, dead branches tossed into living shrubs.

No surprise red is more popular here in Athens, I suppose.

Headed west to Birmingham for a visit with some relatives, had some downtown time.

Leave town for a few days and our garden runneth over.

Our trip was short but worth it. Our last morning was spent wandering a bit more in the downtown area and exploring the River Arts District. We met a man early in the day with a very cool painted van and he encouraged us to hit the arts area.

Which means we did come home with some art … which is good, we need more art.

I’ve been wanting to visit Biltmore for more than 20 years, ever since I did a piece on the 100th anniversary of the Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1995. I don’t know why the Gilded Age fascinates me so much, but it does.

I was unaware of how technologically advanced Biltmore was for its time – fully plumbed and electrified during its construction, it also has a steel understructure designed to make it fire-proof.

It’s still pretty ostentatious, but the views are … well … yeah, I get why he built this here.

It too us a while, but we finally made it to Asheville, North Carolina, for our postponed anniversary trip. We had scheduled a trip up here several years ago, as well, but didn’t make that one, either.

Nice to finally be here, wandering the streets. We were told it’s like an adult Athens … not far off, the feel is similar with cleaner light and less trash.