They even supplied a little heat for the wait:
After having a wonderful breakfast, it was off to Deal's Gap to drive the Tail of the Dragon. The Tail is a stretch of road 11 miles long with 318 turns also known as US 129. The actual road is about 103 miles from the hotel, so we had to line up:
Yes, Virginia, that IS a ZR1!
Then we caravanned to the start. Of course we had to stop for the "necessary room" and to allow for those who forgot to fill up their tanks beforehand:
After the brief stop, it was off through the countryside. What a sight to see in your rearview mirror:
Of course we wouldn't have known the way unless we followed our leader, Andy:
As we approached the "run" we noticed a slight amount of droplets falling on our windshield and decided to pull off and put up the top:
As we stopped, so did everyone behind us even if they didn't have their tops down:
As you can see, Gary did have to put his roof back on:
Then it was off to Deals Gap for the ride on "The Dragon":
After a spirited drive, we all stopped at the top to discuss how much we enjoyed the run:
I even touched the new battery and was greatly surprised to find it "cool to the touch":
We then all went back to our cars and down the return run:
.. and, with a police escort, headed off to the Biltmore for our chance to get a picture of all our cars in front of the mansion. We went through the gatehouse:
.. then drove the road to the house:
Along the way we passed under the Blue Ridge Parkway:
After going through another gate, we were greeted with a stupendous view of the estate house at sunrise:
The rest of the cars followed along:
.. and we parked to help the others find their spaces in the picture:
Placing the first car is the key:
.. then the line can be built from there:
.. and it looks good to me:
Andy Cochran, President of RTP Corvettes gets the word from the "official photographer":
.. and it's time to move in the last few cars:
Our camera has only a narrow lens, so this is the best Jackie could do:
We decided to drive up to the front door and even though we heard someone reminding us that we should not stop, Jackie got out and snapped a few pictures:
However like all good things it had to come to an end:
It was off to the B parking lot:
.. and a buffet breakfast:
We had to wait for more food; I guess they did not know about the appetites of Corvette drivers, but when it arrived it was very good.
Then it was off to the mansion for a tour. There are no pictures allowed inside the home, but I did not know that until I had snapped these two of the indoor atrium:
We did take the "behind the scenes" tour and here is the outside of the atrium:
Along with the tour we got to see a few of the gargoyles on the outside of Biltmore:
We were scheduled for dinner at Deerpark Restaurant and decided to go to the winery to see if they had anything we might like. As you can see, we were not the only people to have that idea:
.. so we went to an outdoor grill and had wine for all:
From there it was a brief trip to the Biltmore Hotel to see where we could have stayed (for a lot more money):
This is a wonderful place with great views:
On our way to the dinner, we found this horse and buggy:
As with almost every Corvette function, the ending is usually around food:
Many of you may recognize that Data Dan and his wife Gail from the C5-C6 Registry were in attendance:
Hopefully there'll be a story in the Registry Newsletter!
Again, we wish to give our "Thanks" to Andy and his lovely wife, Alina:
.. for planning, setting up and giving us and everyone else a simply wonderful weekend.
We then toured the Biltmore with candle light. It was quite a moving experience and, as earlier, we could not take pictures inside. I did see a lion with a wreath:
.. and the tree in the front garden was very festive:
Jackie & I awoke early on Sunday morning and packed the car:
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