Day 1–Greenville, SC Trip (Saturday, April 20, 2013)

The purpose of this trip was to pick up our new BMW from the factory in Greenville, SC.  BMW has a great program where they put you up in a hotel, feed you dinner, and give you a day at the plant.  At the plant you tour the factory, drive a vehicle similar to yours on their track, go through their museum, and get a full explanation of every detail of the car.  And then you get a road trip home in your brand new vehicle.  So we decided to make a little vacation out of it.

Today we drove from our home to Asheville, NC.  We rented a 2012 Mazda 3 from Hertz and got an amazing deal on it through AAA!  For three days we paid only $179 with unlimited miles!

So today we drove 767 miles which took us 13.5 hours.  We started bright and early (about 4:15 a.m.).  The drive was quite beautiful especially the second half. 

We went through three tunnels and I wish I had pictures to share with you but there was no where to pull over and take any pictures and the camera was in the trunk.  The first one was the Cumberland Gap Tunnel at the border of Kentucky and Tennessee on Hwy 25E.  The second two were on Hwy 40 in North Carolina between mile markers 4 and 9.

While in Tennessee we stopped at a beautiful scenic overlook called Veteran’s Overlook on Hwy 25E just south of Springdale, TN.  Here are a couple of pictures.  The purple flowering tree is even more spectacular in person especially against evergreen trees and trees with light green baby leaves.

Our day ended with a stay at Aloft Asheville Downtown which is a very modern hotel.  Because of a stay my husband had at a Sheraton for training last fall, we had a lot of points that we could use for a free night.  Additionally, he had stayed enough nights to become a platinum member and so we got a free upgrade to a suite and will get free breakfast in the morning.  Here are a few pictures of our suite which is amazing:

As you can see, our suite includes:

• A separate bedroom with TV, desk, bench, and huge closet storage
• A bathroom with a whirlpool tub and separate shower
• A living area with a huge TV, table for 4, couch and chair
• An entry way with sink mini fridge, microwave, and storage
• The entire plan is an open concept with sliding doors, so you can watch TV in the living room while soaking in the whirlpool tub (or close that sliding window for privacy).

To bad we can’t stay here longer but we are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures and seeing my aunt and uncle.

Day 3–Greenville, SC Trip (Monday, April 22, 2013)

After breakfast with my aunt and uncle, we headed back to North Carolina to find some more waterfalls.  My mom had lent us a map of waterfalls in North Carolina.  We didn’t even scratch the surface of the 301 waterfalls listed on that map.

The day started with Whitewater Falls which boasts a 400’ waterfall.  There was a $2 charge per car but well worth it.  Here are a few pictures but first a picture of a view from that park:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch at Subway, our next stop was Connestee Falls Park.  Unfortunately, the stairs and path to the base of the falls was no longer open and permanent barriers had been put up to keep people out.  I imagine the view would have been even more incredible had we been able to descend. 

Our last waterfall of the day was Pearson’s Falls.  This park also had an admission fee of $5 per adult but I felt it was really worth it.  It was a short walk without too many steps along the river until you got to the falls which were beautiful.  They also had identified wildflowers currently in bloom for you to look for on your way.

Woodland White Trillium (Trillium Simple)

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisema triphyllum)

By the time we were done with those three waterfalls, it was time to turn the car in to Hertz.  We dropped it off at the GSP International Airport and were amazed at the process.  Before we had the car in park two Hertz employees had approached the car and scanned the barcode on the window.  They were very friendly and were able to immediately print out a receipt from the car so by the time we finished getting our belongings out we were set to go.

There was some confusion with the shuttle to the airport.  I guess they usually pick you up in a BMW but it wasn’t made clear to us so we after calling in we got on the next Marriott Shuttle we saw.  So we missed out on the BMW but they did a great job giving us the VIP treatment. 

So far we have been very impressed with the Marriott Greenville.  BMW paid for the room as part of the Performance Center Delivery.  They also paid for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning plus Marriott gave us two drink vouchers.  So we sat in the bar and had a before dinner drink and then moved to the dining area for a fine dining meal with an attentive waiter. 

We both started with Caesar Salads.  I then had Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi and Paul had Amanzi Chicken Risotto.  I then finished off the meal with Lemoncello Crème Brulee which was the best crème brulee I have ever had and Paul had a Chocolate Riccoti Cheesecake.  Everything was really good.  Now we look forward to a great day at the BMW Performance Center.