Biltmore...A Magical Garden

I've talked about different things at the Biltmore House.  Things from the house itself to the winery.  Today, I'm going to talk about the garden.

This garden is the best garden that I have ever seen in my years past.  This past time that I went to the Biltmore House, I didn't get to see it because it was in the middle of February, but the part that I did get to see was greenhouse!

There are a lot of pictures that I took, not only because the flowers that they had, but also because my sister had the camera at some points.

These flowers have a lot of different things about them.  They all have their own uniqueness in them, just like people.  I don't know about you, but for me, flowers always have been known to catch my eye.  These are just a couple of pictures of some of my favorite flowers:

Inside of the greenhouse, on one side, there is what they call the HOT HOUSE. 

On the other side of the greenhouse, they have what they call the COOL HOUSE.

There are many sidewalks that you can take to get down to the greenhouse.  My favorite is the one that has the awning over it.  There is one spot in particular that you can see through the trees and you can see the Biltmore House through it.  This is what it looks like.  Can you see the Biltmore House in the background?

The following are some of my favorite flowers that I found.

This is my favorite.  I think I will call it a pumpkin flower. :)

I thought that this was the prettiest, because they were all lined in a row!!! :)

If you like some of these, don't worry in the basement of the greenhouse is the greenhouse store!  They have people in there that are willing to help you with any of your questions also!!

Hey guys, I won't be back on until March 13, 2013! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog and until next time as always safe traveling!

- Bekah Grace

Biltmore...The Most-Visited Winery in America!!

On Sunday, February 17th, I went to the Biltmore House.  I told you in my last post that I was going to write about the Biltmore the next couple of times I post a blog.  This time I am posting about the Biltmore Winery.

They have over 40 wines that they make there, on the Biltmore Estate.  This winery is the most visited winery in America.

 I am more of a wine drinker than any other kind of alcoholic drink.  I don't drink a lot just an occasional glass after a stressful week (which isn't that many).

I took a tour of the winery, where the tour guide told us that they get 80% of their grapes from California.  Now, don't think that all of their grapes are imported and they just make it there.  The history of it is this.

Seven years before the winery opened, William Cecil (George Vanderbilt's grandson) planted a lot of the vineyards himself.  After the seven years, everything had gone great! There weren't too bad of storms were they were out of business and the grapes were looking wonderful.  Until...there was a bad winter the year before it was suppose to opened.  In May of 1985, it opened with 80% of the grapes imported because the storm of 1984 had knocked down and killed a lot of the grapes.

The tour was very useful (I thought), because it showed me that there are many different things that are being put into the work of the wine making business.  The tour guide also told us that there is a clock tower that is what everyone followed.  Now, I know, if you are at the house and the clock tower is at the farm, how are you suppose to see it.  The Vanderbilts got a clock smith to synchronize all of the clocks together.  The clock only have 3 sides that show that clock.  Why? Because the 4th side of the clock tower faces the pasture, and as our tour guide told us, "They didn't think the cows would care what time it was!"  This is that clock:

Since I am 21, I got to wine taste.  They were all so good! My favorite that I had was the 2011 Chardonnay winner.  It didn't have a bite like all of the others did.  When I say a bite, if you have ever had any type of wine, you know what I'm talking about.  After swallowing my win, I always have the back part of my cheeks that turn up and kind of make me make a face (like a sour face).  I love wine, even though it does make me look weird!

I would suggest that you try the winery.  The people that work there are always kind, and always have great smiles on their faces.  It's an experience like non that I have every had.

Until the next post, have a fun and safe travel!

-Bekah Grace

Snap Snap - Picture Time!

A club at my school recently threw a winter formal party, and normally I just take pictures at the dance and dance.  This time, my boyfriend's family and I decided to go out and take pictures.  

My very first thought was, "Where are we going to take these pictures at?"  

Then it hit me, we could take pictures at a very popular church and his sister wanted to take some photos at the train depot station.  

There are many different places that you can take pictures at! It was so much fun, because if you have different people holding cameras, like we did (Thank you Johnathan and Lois!!) you are always going to be caught off guard!  

The fun thing about getting caught off guard is that those almost always turn out to be the best pictures because it doesn't look like you are posing!

The following are some pictures that we took at the church.

The following are some pictures that we took at the train station.

If you don't have a party or anything to attend, just dress up one day and go out with friends and take pictures.  Just because you have a party to attend, doesn't mean that you HAVE to go take pictures.  That day was the first time I had went out to take pictures and before the party, I think that it was so much fun!

Stay tuned for the next blog coming up Wednesday!  

Until then, stay safe and have fun!

- Bekah Grace

Late Night Run - Hunger Nights

Hey Everyone! Sorry that I couldn't get the post up on last Sunday, I was too busy watching the Superbowl!

Today, I'm going to blog on fun nights in college (hunger nights!)

There are many times in college life that you can be up late and you get hungry.  I don't know how many times that has happened to me.  Actually, I have done this currently.

This past weekend, I was doing homework and I had a steady pace going.  Next thing I know, it hit me!  I wanted a Cook-Out milkshake.  Now, if you don't know what Cook-Out is, it's a hamburger joint, that has other things, but I go there most of the time only for the milkshakes.  I called up a group of friends and asked them if they wanted to go on a Cook-Out run.

They said, "Yes." This is when the fun began.

I went and picked up the girls, the first thing that we did was go to Cook-Out and got milkshakes.  Then we decided to just go on a run.  For us, this means we run to different resturants and get things to eat.  Next, we went to Taco Bell.  Then we went to Sonic. 

Can I just say that we are a group of females that go to a college, and when we get hungry we go out and eat.  But because we have difference taste buds we go to different places! 

Having a hungry nights isn't fun until you go out with your girls (or guys) and you blast the music in your car and everyone starts singing (on key and not on key)!!

I hope that you will now experience a hungry night like this and enjoy having Simply Fun Outings!

- Bekah Grace

Out & About On A Saturday Night

WELCOME BACK!! 

How many times have you had a weekend where you don't know what to do?  I currently had this problem this past weekend.  I was so bored, my friends were so bored.  So we decided to go shopping.

Since we normally go to Concord Mills, we decided to go to Winston - Salem, NC.  This is where our adventure starts!

Are you from the Salisbury area? If you are, you know how long it takes to go from Salisbury to Winston - Salem.  If you are not, let me tell you!  Normally from Salisbury, you hit interstate 85, and go for about 45 minutes; then you are in Winston-Salem.  No, not me and my friends.  Somehow we got lost. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to go from Salisbury to Winston-Salem.

When we finally get to W.S., we decide to go to Ross.  Ross is my store! I love it.  You can always go in there and find anything.  It's like a cheap but great Wal-Mart (minus the food).  Since we have a dance coming up at the college, we decided to go ahead and get dresses that we are going to wear.  

I found a couple of dresses that I liked, went and tried them on and then I had a hard time trying to figure out which one I really wanted to wear.  I finally picked out a strap-less black dress.  The best part of it is, THAT IT HAS POCKETS!!!

Next, we decided to eat.  We have the hardest time always trying to find a place to eat.  We finally decided on Chinese.  

The fun things about going out and about on a Saturday Night is that you don't have to worry about curfew, homework being due the next day, etc.  Having a fun night with your girls on a Saturday Night, reminds me of the fun times that we have always had.  

Always remember that you deserve to have a fun night every once in a while, the tricky part is, don't get to carried away.  Remember that you are you, you know what you have to do.

Signing out for now,

- Bekah Grace

Welcome to Simply Fun Outings!!!

Welcome! My name is Bekah Grace.  I am currently a senior at Catawba College.  My major is Communication Arts.  I am outgoing, fun, and can be shy.  I try to make friends with everyone.

I am going to be writing on fun outings that are not only simple, but can be very cheap.  Now, not all of the events that I write on are going to be cheap.  I am going to be writing on fun events that me and my friends have done not only recent but in the past too.  Also, I'll be writing on places like the mountains, the beaches, and the Biltmore house.

I love to travel.  I love to tell people about my travels.  If I had it my way, I would travel the world.  Since I am currently in college in North Carolina, I will only be traveling near my schools' hometown and telling you all of the fun and interesting things in Salisbury, NC.

Sometimes, I will have some posts that seem a little out there and sometimes I'll have some posts that seem to be on point.

If there is a place or event that you want me to ever check out, let me know by commenting on a post, and I'll make sure that I try to get to it!

I will post every Sunday and Wednesday by midnight.  So, stay tuned, and come along and enjoy the ride!!!

-Bekah Grace