Java's day out

So I went to Biltmore Estate in Asheville. I have wanted to go there for a very long time. I love architecture anyway, and Biltmore is, well, fabulous. The day was comfortably cool up in the mountains.

This first picture shows the mechanism that opens the high windows in the horse stable area. The rod to the left leads to another rod that is turned by a crank. The rods turn, engaging gears that lift the window frame. I was fascinated. I'm easily amused.

This is a vine. Or it started out as a vine. OK, some vines. Somewhere in the center of what is now a trunk is a metal post that holds up a pergola. These particular vines are wisteria, which when in bloom display a grape-like bunch of pale purple flowers that have a delicious sweet fragrance. These wisteria have bloomed already, so we missed the flowers here. The gardens, on the other hand, had lots of flowers, so I hear. I didn't go down there, but the other guys did.
This is the outside of the grand staircase. It might be my favorite part of the house. It's hard to tell, though, because I liked most everything in and about the house.

But the best part was meeting my blog buddies! We were gathered together thanks to the efforts of Larry (who no longer has a blog), who with his husband Greg came to Asheville for a bit of vacation. Also in attendance were "Joe" and David. Here's David, winner of the Miss Congeniality award.

This is Joe, who is a very sexy bear, and a truly wonderful man, but didn't seem toasted to me.
And here are Larry and Greg, a very handsome and jocular couple. Lovely people, both of them.

I had a wonderful time. It was the first time I'd been out for a fun day in a long, long time. I needed it. I need to do that sort of thing more often, really.

And here's a quote I found today.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do. -- Benjamin Franklin

and so it goes