Just thinking...
If I would try to describe our RKT vacation in one word, there would be many to choose from. Wonderful, exciting, heartwarming, memorable etc. But on this day I would like to choose: Contrast.
For example, the ways we traveled. From six-lane interstates to 
one-lane
winding mountain roads. The food we enjoyed. From a wonderful home cooked dinner, to a simple, but delicious picnic lunch, to fine dining, to "leftovers". And I could go on.
But what struck me most in this category of extremes were these two homes.
And once again I quote from other sources:
"Neighbors helped each other. They sometimes made social events out of work: cornhuskings, beanstringings, molasses makings. They gathered for church "dinners on the ground", and spelling bees at school, for there was no one's home large enough to accommodate these gatherings of friends and neighbors."
Cades Cove Guidebook
"Finding a way to put everything to good use, that was a way of life in the Smokies. It wasn't just about taking care of what we'd been given. It was about survival, about trying every day, every minute to make things a little bit better." Dolly Parton as told to Guidepost magazine.
"Successful living consisted of using whatever resources were available, in the most efficient and skillful way. The people here operated on that principle and their buildings tell us that, and that is why we preserve them. Roaring Fork was and always will be a 'place of being', a place to get lost for a few moments, while regathering human strength from its original sources." Roaring Fork Guidebook
"George and Edith Vanderbilt welcomed their guests to relax and enjoy all that the estate offered. The 102-step Grand Staircase stretches to the fourth floor....The main floor includes the Entrance Hall, A Winter Garden, Billiard Room and Smoking Room, Banquet Hall, which because of it's mass dimensions, had special furniture designed for it, including two built-in gilt-trimmed throne chairs, and an oak dining table with 67 chairs . On this floor are also The Breakfast Room, Salon, Music Room, Tapestry Gallery, and a Library that housed more than 10,000 volumes in eight languages. The second story was home to the Vanderbilt's private bedrooms and sitting area, as well as a series of guest suites. On the third floor we find guest bedrooms that are named for their location, works of art, or for artists whose works are displayed. House parties often lasted for days or weeks, and plenty of bedrooms were needed for their guests whose calling cards could be posted on each door--lest visitors lose their way among the many bedrooms on this level. Both of the floors that housed guest rooms also had "Living Halls" where guests could go to relax, listen to music, write letters, and unwind after dinner."
Your Guide to Biltmore House
I must stop here and share a comment overheard at this point of our tour. "I don't understand how anyone with this much money needs to 'unwind'."
Something to maybe ponder...
Don't get me wrong. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to work and raise a family under the challenges of the folks who lived in Cades Cove or Roaring Fork.
And although I realize that the families who lived in the mansions of this era played a big role in the growth and expansion of this nation, living in a place with over 250 rooms wouldn't suit me at all.
Maybe there's an in-between sort of place for me...say a place like "The Hill"...where God and family are held dear, where church and school are at the center of community life, where people came and worked hard to make a better life for themselves and their children. A place where people sit on their porches and passers-by stop to chat, or you visit over the back fence or even in the alley. A place where neighbors help each other and gather sometimes for festivals and good times. A kind of "old-fashioned" place in a "big city" setting. Maybe that's the place for me.
It was such a wonderful week, and I will never forget it, but it's good to be "home".
Have a great weekend....and remember we are all "blessed".
This year, Mother Nature has chosen to "upholster" the garden bench with this beauty. If you sit very quietly, a hummingbird will come up and feed on the tiny red blossoms, flitting from one to another until it gets it fill. What a delight!
