Fortune smiled on us this morning - we got 4 new Bridgestone tires at Discount Tire. It took only 1/2 an hour and once on the highway the vibration has gone -- Yippey!!

With all mechanical issues settled (at least for a little while) we could concentrate on sightseeing. We headed to the Biltmore Estate the largest home in North America with 250 rooms. Built in the 1890's by George Vanderbilt it is situated on 8000 acres of land and is modeled after a European castle. The setting is beautiful with a winery and elaborate gardens. The rooms were magnificent, the main dining room had a ceiling 7 stories high, there were 45 flushing bathrooms, amazing for the 1890's. The entertainment area has a 2 lane bowling alley and a huge indoor swimming pool with high diving board, the pool is 10 ft deep at the diving end. There are at least 12 individual changing rooms of ample size next to the pool and a gymnasium with an old fashioned rowing machine, parallel bars, Indian clubs and medicine balls to throw.