Ride along The Great Smokey Mountain Railroad

This was my second vintage rail road trip this fall. The Skunk Train in N CA this past September with Betsy, Paul & Jane was Lot's of fun and riding the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad with Frank in October was also fantastic. We boarded the train early in the morning while the fog was still lifting off the lakes. Hot coffee in the Parlor car warmed us all up.

The open air observation car made viewing the fall colors up close as we glided along a river and various lakes. A stop after a tasty lunch was served on boar allowed for a short hike and some picture taking along side a river with rapids.

Buddy & Hiro in The Blue Ridge Mts & on top of Mt. Mitchell

What could be nicer than a cabin with friends in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains during Fall Foliadge Season....having Buddy & Hiro with us!

A drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway lead us to the top of Mt. Mickenley approximately 6,800' above sea level so for about an hour or so, Buddy & Hiro were the highest puppies east of the Mississippi.

Visiting Bruce & Chris in Ashville NC

Bruce Steele & Christopher Oakley were House mates on Fire Island in the 1990's and are two great super talented guys. Bruce has worked at Out Magazine and Advocate where he was Editor in Chief. Christoper is an Artist and has done cartoons & commercials for National TV and was an Animator for the Walt Disney Group. Currently Christoper has embarked on a project entitled "Faces of Change" (Facesofchange.net) painting leaders in the community who have forged a better world for LGBT people. A national tour of Christopher's project starts touring the country in 2011. We were excited to see some of this project on display at a gallery in Ashville. (see below) Bruce & Christoper hosted us for cocktails as the sun set at their lovely home and in the meadow outside their home in Ashville.

The Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC

The Biltmore Estate in Ashville NC is incredible but if you go try to avoid a Saturday during Fall Foliage Season when tens of thousands of other tourists seem to have the same idea. The House itself is magnificent and the grounds are spectacular. We had a lovely lunch in "The Stables" If time permitted we would have loved to visit the Biltomore Winery but we enjoyed plenty of their wine at lunch.