Travelog for: Dancing Dolly

Hello my dear sweet friends
It is me your lovable little lamb heading out for another big adventure to the wonderful Biltmore  Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The whole family is going to see this huge estate. We are just getting on the road to head up there but we have not had breakfast yet. Papa decided to stop and get breakfast at Starbucks. I really don't know what he was thinking. So I had to get the liquid candy bar with triple shoots of espresso. I am so jacked up that I can't even hold my tail still. He should have know better. Are we there yet????? Are we there yet?????
Love yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Dolly

Hello me dear friends
I am finally here at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina and I am still hyper from my liquid candy bar I had at Starbuck's. All of my family is pretty mad at me for driving them up the wall in the car. I honestly could not stop talking about traveling. I am here and now I can run and burn off that caffeine. wee Mom is stopping me now to have a picture taken with my older pain in the ass brother, my cute little sister and of course me in front of the Estate. Photo is below Now mother can I finish my blog please. More photo of me to come soon and I will also tell you about the Biltmore Estate.
Love
Dolly

Hello my sweet friends,
I am much more calmer then before thank goodness I got to run around a little before my parents took me into the estate. I don't think that would been so good if I went in all jacked up with all of that caffeine. I wanted to take some pictures of the inside of the house but they would not let me. I even gave them the sad eyes look which really works great on papa but they said I could not take pictures inside the house. So the next best thing was to buy a few postcards to show you the inside. The photo is below. Papa thought it was best to get us something to eat at the Biltmore because my brother was becoming a real bear all growling and things. I thought I would get Carolina style hot dog. Carolina style hot dogs comes with chili, slaw, onions and mustard. I don't like mustard so I told them not to put it on my hot dog. I added a photo for you. I have a very full little stomach now. On my next post I will tell you about the house.
Hugs and Kisses
Dolly

Hello my wonderful friends,
It is me your lovable sheep finally here to talk about the Biltmore Estate. George W. Vanderbilt, youngest son of William H. Vanderbilt and grandson of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, enjoyed visiting western North Carolina for its mild climate and spectacular scenery. During a visit in the mid-1880s, Vanderbilt was inspired by a view from Downtown Asheville so spectacular that he purchased 125,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains for his summer estate. His legacy is the Biltmore Estate, embodying his vision as well as that of architect Richard Morris Hunt, supervising architect Richard Sharp Smith, and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The centerpiece is the Biltmore House, a four-story French Renaissance manor designed by Hunt and completed in 1895. Exterior walls are Indiana limestone brought by rail to the site. Its steeply pitched roof has a copper roof line with Vanderbilt's initials repeatedly inscribed along the crest. Said to be the largest private house in the United States, the interior floor area of the 250-room house covers four acres. It was designed as a country retreat for Vanderbilt, his family and friends, and to showcase his vast collection of art and antiques gathered in world travels--a collection that remains intact today. At a time when bathrooms were virtually unheard of, Biltmore House had 43. There are 65 fireplaces and three kitchens, along with 34 bedrooms, a grand Banquet Hall and a Library containing 10,000 volumes. There is also a swimming pool and a bowling alley. Talk about luxury. I hope you can see it some day.
Love always
Dolly

Hello again my dear friends,
One of my favorite things to do in the Biltmore Estate is go to there formal gardens. The gardens are truly amazing. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the estate's gardens with the immediate gardens in the Garden à la française style, beyond those in the English Landscape garden style. Talk about taking time to smell the flowers. I think I stayed in the gardens longer then the house. My hay fever is killing me now but it is so worth it. Get out there and smell the flowers.
Hugs
Dolly

Hello my dear friends
It is me your tired sheep again. I have been lounging around most of the day at home due to the Biltmore Estate  kicking my little butt. I am so tired I did not even want to go on a hike with papa. My hay fever is killing me and that should teach me a very good lesson to not smell every flower in the garden. To much of a good thing can hurt you. I did go out for a little bit to see my girl friends but all we really did was talk about boys. We really should get a life. I add a picture of my girl friends and myself.
Kisses
Dolly

Siyu Dohitsu ,(Hello Are you well? In Cherokee)
After taking it easy yesterday papa decided today to treat me to something very special. Papa knows how I love to dance so he wanted to show me how some of his ancestors danced. Papa is part Cherokee Indian and he is very proud of his heritage and want to share it with me and also you. Papa is taking me to a powwow at  The Eastern Band of The Cherokee Nation in Cherokee North Carolina. Powwows are the Native American people's way of meeting together , to join in dancing, singing, visiting, honoring fallen warriors, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. It was so much fun being there. I even got to dance and I made a lot of new friends at the powwow. Below are some of the neat dancing like fancy dance, traditonal dance, grass dance and jingle dance.
Donvdagohvi (Until we meet again in Cherokee)
Love ya
Dolly

Tsilugi (welcome in Cherokee)
It is me your Indian maiden lamb again. I just wanted to tell about lunch at the powwow. Papa and I are having Indian Tacos for lunch. It first starts out with fry bread. Fry bread is a Native American quick bread that's fried. Next you will add chili on top of the fry bread. The chili is made with ground beef or buffalo, spices and beans. Next the following items will be add to the top of the chili lettuce,cheese, tomatoes and onions. It is wonderful to have a neat meal like that. In life you need to try new things so don't be scared.
Love and Kisses
Dolly

Hello all my sweet dear friends,
It is me again your lovable sheep Dolly in Cherokee North Carolina. I got a wonderful night of sleep in my hotel room in Cherokee and now I am raring to go and see some more cool things out in this big world. I am going to get all fancied up so I can run around town. This is me getting all dolled up. I will post more photos later in the day.
Love and Kisses
Dolly

Hello my dear lovable friends,
It is your favorite little sheep again with big adventures ahead. yeah We are going into The Great Smoky Mountains National Park starting at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and  the  Mountain Farm Museum. The Mountain Farm Museum and Oconaluftee Visitor Center is located at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park  at Cherokee North Carolina. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains and is a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Biological diversity is the hallmark of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which encompasses over 800 square miles in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. No other area of equal size in a temperate climate can match the park's amazing diversity of plants, animals, and invertebrates. Over 17,000 species have been documented in the park: Scientists believe an additional 30,000-80,000 species may live here. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a major tourist attraction in the region. Over 9 million tourists and 11 million non-recreational visitors traveled to the park in 2010, more than twice as many visitors as the Grand Canyon, the second most visited national park. I will tell you more as we drive threw the park. The Mountain Farm Museum includes farm buildings, most dating around 1900, that were moved from their original locations throughout the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to create an open-air museum. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived 100 years ago. This is our first stop with photo below.
Hugs
Dolly

Hello my traveling friends,
I am still at The Mountain Farm Museum in the Smoky Mountains and I sure need to use the bathroom pretty bad. Papa said to use the bathroom in the outhouse what the outhouse I don't think so. If you don't know what a outhouse is it is the structure over a pit toilet. yucky. I told Papa that there is no way I would ever use a outhouse because I am to civilized. I guess I will try to hold it for a little longer. 
Love Ya
Dolly

Hello my dear friends,
It is me your mountain climbing lamb Dolly here with more adventure for you and me. I am not really climbing mountains but having Papa drive me up down mountains. lol We are still in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and we are only half way threw the park. The road that cuts the park into half is called US Highway 411 and runs from Cherokee North Carolina to Gatlinburg Tennessee.  One of the quickest ways into Tennessee  from Cherokee is the Newfound Gap Road (US Highway 441).  This 33-mile, paved mountainous road climbs all the way up to Newfound Gap, 5,048 feet above sea level.  Newfound Gap Road offers several pull-offs with mountainous panoramic views. These are a few of the pictures from the top of Newfound Gap. It is pretty high up there. lol
Kisses
Dolly

Hello my dear friends,
We have made it safe over the mountain to stay the night in Gatlinburg Tennessee. Surrounded by the Smokies, the small community of Gatlinburg, TN is only two miles long by five miles wide, with just over 3,500 people who call the mountain burg home. The city is a popular vacation resort and is packed with numerous restaurants and attractions galore. I only got a few picture at Gatlinburg due to a thunderstorm. We will be staying the night at Gatlinburg. So I will blog to you all tomorrow morning. Good Night and Sweet Dreams The photos below are of Gatlinburg before I got soaked because of the thunderstorm.
Night Night
Dolly

Good Morning
I guess it is morning. I had a really bad night of sleep last night. It was total awful. I had the worst dream ever. I am sorry for being such a drama queen but it really scared me baa baah bad. I almost had to climb in bed with Papa but I am a big sheep and I can handle it. The dream started as soon as I went to bed. I was dreaming that I was hiking in the mountains all by myself when everything got very quite and I felt like something was watching me. In my dream I kept going up the little path only to hear noises behind me so I had to look what was following me. When I turn around there was nothing there. So I continued up the little path filling like something was moving so very close to me. I swear I could fill his stinky breath on my furry neck. When I felt his sharp fang around my delicate little body. Oh the nightmare it was hideous. It was a big bear that had attacked me. I don't like bears!!! Bears are mean!!! Even my older brother is mean to me and he is a polar bear. He might love me a little but he can be mean to poor little me. I sorry for complaining to you but I had to let someone know. I sure hope I will be safe today. I better stay close to Papa so nothing will hurt me.
Love from sleepless in Gatlinburg
Dolly

Hello my best friends,
I am doing a little better now since last night. Papa and my little sister Butterscotch has tried to cheer me up. We are still in the Smoky Mountains Park because Papa wanted to go on a hike. We where on the hike for about 15 minutes when I heard a sound in the woods and the first thing I thought of was a big bear trying to eat me. I was scared to death. I am sure glad Papa was with me. Thank goodness the noise was not from a Bear but from a family of Elk. Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains and elsewhere in the eastern United States. They were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat. The last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s The Great Smoky Mountains National park is where the park service started an experimental release program of North American Manitoban Elk in a never ending quest to preserve native plants and animals of Smokies. Between 2001 and 2002 a total of 52 North American Elk were released in to the GSM national park. There are about 150 Elk that live in the park now. I am just glad it was not a bear.
Hugs
Dolly