We did the trolley tour, Mike, Brooke and I. Mike is my nephew, Brooke is his wife and as far as I am concerned my niece. Loved having them. It was soooo damn hot. The bank said 94, but I think it was wrong. We had a great time though.
This is Brooke and Mike standing in one of the fire places at the Grove Part Inn. Aren’t they cute?
This is them outside with Asheville in the background. Did I mention it was hot?
Inside the trolley
How dare they put my likeness on the side of a building….humphhhhh!!!
Whenever we drive by this gas station, Ann says, “This is where the prostitutes hang out.” I have yet to see one, but I keep looking.
Asheville High School, not the one I teach at, but it is actually listed on the National Historic Registry.
The gravestone of William Sydney Porter aka O’Henry. There is always change on the tombstone, symbolic of the first line in “Gift of the Magi.” “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies.”
July 26th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
i love it when you take tours. They’re always interesting, and you always add something new. And, yes, they’re very cute.
got a question, though. I know i have seen O’Henry’s grave before, and i’ve read the gift of the magi, but i don’t think i ever paid much attention to this- if sixty cents was in pennies how can it possibly add up to a dollar and eighty seven cents? I mean- there needs to ba an odd amount of pennies to get there, you know?
i am no math whiz for sure, but that just doesn’t work for me.
i think the fireplace is amazing- it’s huge. I mean you can almost picture that heating up a whole room you know? And i think it’s pretty interesting that they’re often designed to really heat better- I mean all the stone around that one absorbs heat while there is a fire and continues to radiate it after the fire has gone out- and you can tell that even though their technology was limited those early builders were pretty smart.
July 26th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Lovin’ Asheville with the aunties! laughing, relaxing, learning and eating…now that’s a vacation. Thanks Kathie! oh, and I’m doing those exercises now, without a piece of equipment…:)
July 26th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
haah That was Brooke’s comment. Love her.
Pam, Ann says it means there was at least sixty cents in pennies. I found the quote on line, and I had thought it was a dollar eighty four cents. I could not find the true text on the internet. I will keep looking, because you are right. If it is sixty cents, and the total was $1.67, than it could not be. We must figure this out.
There is another fireplace on the opposite side of the lobby. It is really cozy there in the winter. Come visit and we will take you.
July 26th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
I found the text of the story on line. I guess clearly O’Henry is NOT a mathematician. My personal opinion is that if he was going to make a point of the pennies he should have been exact, though.
And one of these days maybe i’ll make it up to visit- although why i would want to go where there is snow in the winter is beyond me. I didn’t like snow when i lived in it, and i doubt i want to see it now. Actually we went to Connecticut in the fall a couple of years ago- and when we did i realized i actually no longer own a coat.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Look what I found: “The two-cent coin was produced in the United States from 1864–1873.”
That would explain the coins.
July 27th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Love the pictures of the tour, especially the lady on the building, that was funny, lol. Your nephew and niece are adorable!! Sounds like you both had a GREAT time visiting with each other.
July 27th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
two cent coins would explain it, yup.
you know, i have this habit of taking my loose change and tossing it into a container- although these days i guess i don’t really get as much because i tend to use debit cards more than cash- but it amazes me how it adds up over time.
the fun part of that is that over the years now and then a store has annoyed me- and when that happens i’ll take the change, dump it in a baggie- and take it to the store with me next time i go. They always want to tell you they won’t accept loose change for purchases- but legally- and they know it- they have to…it’s kind of fun to watch them painstakingly count out forty or fifty bucks in nickles, dimes and quarters. I toss the pennies in a separate can and only use them when i get really pissed- or when it’s Burger King
July 27th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I had a dream that you drove up in a white truck for a visit, Pam. We ate pizza. I have no idea what it meant.
We save our change and then cash it in, and it does add up. We often comment how we have not carried cash in a week or so, using debit card all the way.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Yes, it does add up quickly. I have 4 coffee cans, so I sort mine change as I clean out my wallet. It seems like I clean it out a few times a week because I hate to carry change. Now the vehicle is another story. I keep change there and when there gets to be a few dollars, I clean it out and put it in the coffee cans. The large 3 pound cans are heavy when half full.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I am heading to the podiatrist tomorrow for help with awful fungus of the toe nails. I should take pictures for all to see. If he removes a nail or two, for sure I will take pictures. Ugh.
July 27th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I used to roll my husband’s change and cash in the rolls at the bank for ready cash….like found money. But now my bank takes it all loose, puts it in a big, clear plastic bag with handles, seals it up and it gets picked up by the armored truck. 4 days later, the amount gets deposited into our account. It’s NO FUN anymore!
Kathie, you do not need to lose a nail. That will not cure the fungus. He will give you this topical liquid to apply on the toenail and voile’, in 6-9 months you will have a nice new nail.
July 27th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
well, you know since i have a six pound poodle who insists that i cannot leave home without her- and her neurotic brain damaged slightly larger sister who shrieks if my little dog an i leave the house without her- it’s infinitely more practical for me to drive up there than fly.
the white truck- well, we donated that to a charity when i bought the Lincoln. The air conditioner never worked. Too bad, though, i actually really miss having a truck.
Jan’s right- there are all kinds of ways to treat toenail fungus without ripping off the nails. If they DO rip nails off, though, you really DO need to get pictures.
and at my bank they take your change- although you have to first dump it into a tray that fits under the bullet proof glass thingy- and run it through a machine that counts and rolls it. They have those machines in grocery stores, too- only there they charge you like 10% to count and roll it.
July 28th, 2010 at 5:45 am
Did you really have a white truck? That was in my dream, but I had no idea. You can bring your dogs, Pam. All of them.
We have those things that count the money but take ten percent. I think our credit union has a free one. I love the sound as it counts. Makes me feel rich, for a minute.
Pam, tell Patti I will do a batch of grape jelly for her before the end of the summer. Peaches first.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:20 am
no, i cannot bring all of my dogs. What kind of vacation would that be? They’re all pretty good in the house together, but if you put them into a car some of them tend to brawl. Angel cannot ride with Chip.Greta will not ride with Jack. She won’t even get IN the car with Jack. If chip gets in the car first he growls at anyone else who tries to get in. Anyway it is not fun to drive with two little dogs trying to kill each other and shrieking like girls on the seat beside you.
and yeah, i sure did have a white truck- had a king cab and a sunroof and everything.
i said “after the peaches” to Patti and her eyes got real big and kind of glazed and crazy looking. “peaches?”
July 28th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Well, I still have ten toes and ten toenails. He convinced me to try the oral medication for three months. He wants a liver function test in four weeks, and then four weeks later. I had pedicure, but the nails look pretty funny. The nail technician used what looked like a dremel on my toes. I would hate her job.
He said they were so far gone it was a guarantee that this would even help. He also said my toe itching was all related.
Now that you know more than you really wanted to know, be glad I did not go to the proctologist. lololol
July 28th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
yeah, the woman who drives across town rather than using a public restroom is going to give us that kind of detail about a proctology visit. ha! there are some things even i would rather not discuss- and i really don’t have many filters, you know.
i remember getting a manicure once- they used a dremel. Of course dude barely spoke English, and i had no clue what he was asking me,so i ended up with acrylic nails. They were too damn long and someone told me you can’t just go home and cut acrylic nails, so i got out my own dremel and dealt with it.
July 28th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
I cannot imagine you with acrylics! Pink polish?
July 28th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
you know, dude asked me if i was an american, you know?
how was i supposed to know that was like a kind of manicure???
so yeah, pink.
i was still living in texas- got a manicure because i was flying down here for a week.
So Patti takes ONE look at my hands, realized what i had done, and nearly died laughing. I mean her face got so red i thought she was going to have a heart attack- and the tears were streaming down her face.
the full impact didn’t hit me until the damn things started to grow out- and i found out how hard it is to remove them.
July 28th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
I have gel’s on my nails and the Asian places always use the dremel tool. They last 2-3 weeks and you don’t need to have them long so they do look natural. They just don’t chip, crack or break. And I get bright fire engine red!
July 29th, 2010 at 6:15 am
I have acrylic nails and they don’t use a dremel on them. I get them done every 2 weeks because my nails grow fast. Right now I have a clear blue french. Same on my toes except no acrylic. My nails do not chip or crack unless I am doing something and hit them real hard. Then they might chip.
July 29th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
did someone say change….we have a gallon jug we put all our coins in because we never use it and their is a machine at one of the local banks that counts it and then you get your money. This past time we went we had saved our coins for a very LONG time and ended up with $300.00. Not bad just from change, lol.
July 29th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
When my kids were little (a zillion yrs ago) we had a glass water cooler jug in their playroom that we threw all of our pennies in. We had it filled almost to the top and someone (who shall remain nameless) was a little too over zealous with the vacuum cleaner, smashed into it, and it shattered all over the carpet. Do you have any idea how awful it is to try to reclaim 100’s of pennies mixed in with the glass while my kids were bawling their eyes out since my husband wanted to just vacuum up the whole mess and be done with it? We finally saved close to $100 in pennies w/o getting cut.