|
April 2012
|
Vol 5, Issue 1
|
|
 |
 Doug & Jodee Sellers
www.bentcreeknc.com
877-231-6574
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
|
We just had a little blip of winter
 weather but I am sure we will be back to those great spring temperatures in no time. You may have noticed it has been a while since you have heard from us. As usual for the last few months we've been working on our winter fix up projects. We managed to refinish several table tops, the bar and redo the kitchen counter.
We also added wainscoting to
the Fern and Mountain Rooms.
We've weeded, planted, and put out new pine straw on all the flower beds and wood chips on all the trails. We added pump shampoo, conditioner and soap dispensers to our showers to keep all those little individual containers from ending up in a landfill. We even replaced four more of the standard toilets with those guaranteed to make a bucket of golf balls disappear in a single swoosh. (I'll spare you the photo on that one).
 Our tried and true helpers, Lisa and Sydney, are still with us (thank goodness) to help make your food yummy, your beds comfy and Jodee happy!
Andrew, a recent arrival from Alaska, has also joined the team to help out with the grounds and maintenance. So we are all ready for things to crank up again. The mountains are beautiful, Asheville is buzzing with things to do. So make your plans soon to see the area in spring and stay with us at Bent Creek Lodge.
|
|
 |
|
Going Ons
| |
The Trout fishing has been great. J.J. Luhn caught this beauty on the French Broad River on 4/15.
 The Blue Ridge Parkway going south from us opened 4/15 after a long closure to repair a tunnel.  After about four months of challenging construction, Chimney Rock reopened the Outcroppings Trail on Saturday, April 14! They expect the new elevator to open in May or June.  The Hunger Games, filmed at DuPont State Forest, made it more popular than ever.
|
|
|
|
Outdoor Activities at the Biltmore Estate
| You can't think of the Biltmore Estate as just a Museum of a "big" old house. They are offering more and more fun outdoor activities. I was recently lucky enough to be invited by Andy Spradley, the head of safety at the Estate, to try out their Sporting Clay shooting range. We met up with our helpful instructors at the Outfitters shop in the Antler Hill Village. I even picked up a great deal on some river shoes there. We loaded up in one of the Range Rovers they use to teach off road driving and headed across the Estate's new bridge that spans the French Broad River to the western section of the property that few people get to see. Looking out from our first stand we saw several wild turkeys gobbling away. I thought it was a better time to go hunting than shooting clay pigeons but Andy said he would have a ton of paper work to do if there were any deaths involved during our shooting. The instructors started out explaining the difference between skeet, trap, and sporting clay shooting. "Unlike trap and skeet, which are games of repeatable target presentations, sporting clays simulates the unpredictability of live-quarry shooting, offering a great variety of trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations, distances, and target sizes" - Wikipedia. In other words, its harder! I'm not a hunter, I don't even own a gun so it was a real challenge but also a lot of fun. I managed to hit some of the clays at all the stations except the "Running Rabbit". That disc rolling and bouncing along the ground was just too fast for me. My last two shots were dead on so after two hours of shooting, instruction and camaraderie I left with a grin and a slightly sore shoulder.
So the next time someone in your group wants to go to the Biltmore Estate and you have already seen enough of the house try the Sporting Clay shooting, or the Fly Fishing, or the Segway Tour, or the Land Rover Experience, or the Biking, or the Horseback Riding. You are sure to have some fun!! |
|
Add Veggies for Breakfast with Jodee's "Green Wonders"
|
Everyone seems to be telling us to eat more fruits and
 | | Spinach Cakes Breakfast |
vegetables to be healthier and Jodee is a true disciple of that belief. However, her Spinach Cakes have been a big hit lately with even the sausage and egg crowd. In fact, their texture with the mixture of cheese and spices could almost pass as a sausage patty. She usually serves them with a splash of her tomato gravy beside a plateful of eggs and a biscuit. They also work well as an appetizer, a warm hors d'oeuvre, or a side dish at any meal. Guests have asked for the recipe so many times Jodee added it as a bonus recipe when she recently printed the second run of her cookbook, "Bent Creek Lodge Favorites". Click on the image to see the full recipe.
|
|
|
|
Sincerely, 
Doug & Jodee Sellers
Bent Creek Lodge
Remember our mid week rates save you over fifteen percent and don't forget our Gift Certificates & Jodee's Cook Book. They make wonderful gifts. See the details at our website www.bentcreeknc.com or send us an email bentcreek@ioa.com |
|
|
