Field Trip Update

We're back!
It was a field trip that will go down in history, mine anyway. It started out great, The Biltmore house was AMAZING!!! Unbelievable, really! I had never been before so this was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I wish you could take pictures of the inside because you just can't imagine the hugeness of it. HUGE!!!
Since we were a school group, we couldn't really take our time like I wanted but it was great.
And no, I wasn't able to go to the winery. (BUT I REALLY WANTED TO)
The group of kids that I had also managed to make the trip memorable. There were a few who kept getting in trouble. Over and over and over. But they were the least of my worries.
The first day we were up at 5 to get to the school at 6. The day was pretty full to say the least and we were on the bus for a lot of the time. We left Biltmore to go Gem Mining. I have to say the kids thought this was WAY better than the Biltmore. It was fun, everyone found some pretty good stuff.
My daughter found a good size Garnet, I am going to see if I can find someone who cuts rough stones like that. One of the moms' on the trip said she has done that and it turned out pretty good.
Anyway, after the Gem Mining, we went souvenir shopping in Cherokee. Lots of Indian, some even dressed in real Indian clothes. Like a headdress, and everything. Very Cool. I liked the whole heritage stuff they had.
Once again, my group got in trouble. I think it's safe to say I won't get asked to help with any more field trips because I apparently wasn't doing a very good job. My daughter said she thought they were mad at me at that point. To which I said, "So what, it's not my fault they aren't listening." So, herein lies the problem.
After a series of shops, with my group being stalked by the owners because they were afraid they would take something, we proceeded to the hotel.
Oh boy, the hotel is a post in itself.
1st clue the hotel wasn't exactly 5 star: NO TOILET PAPER. None, not even a shred on the roller!

2nd Clue: Staff looked to be the age of our school group. (The young man whom I asked for TP actually looked embarrassed.)

3rd Clue: The bathroom smelled like crap. People, we didn't check in until 6:30 or 7, there was no TP, and they staff again looks like teenagers.

I know we should have taken a vote and left, but we had 45 kids, no one else would take us, but the fun doesn't stop there. We were suppose to be given a continental breakfast the next morning.

Guess what it was? Guess? You will love this. Cereal, with no milk. Maybe a few SMALL sugar donuts. When I went downstairs to take my luggage, our Tour guide said to me, Don't expect much, in fact, Don't expect anything, they said they were going out to get something but that was an hour ago and they are not back yet.

And the fun doesn't end there. Late in the night my daughter got sick, Throwing up, Diarrhea, the works so to speak. So in the morning the last thing she wanted to do was ride on a bus for another 8 hours. So I called my wonderful Hubby to come and pick us up, and believe it or not, he did. The wonderful man drove 3 1/2 hours to get us. I drove some of the way home, then he took over and drove the rest. WHAT A MAN!!

I do have some pictures to share, but I haven't had time to download them yet. I will share though, because I really want you to be able to enjoy the full experience.