Critter at the Castle

Would you like Critter to visit YOUR hometown? Check out the end of the post for info on how that can happen!

(side note: I switched to the updated editor in Blogger, but for some reason can't get pics to post correctly. Sorry that some are centered, some aren't.)


Well, as you all know, I was graced with a visit from Critter recently, via PJ Hoover, via Christy Evers (whose great idea this project was). There's not much to do around here in rural Appalachain country, but one thing my area does have to offer is, you know...

...a castle.

So, I took Critter for a day out at the finest of American homes and castle, the Biltmore House.

Critter was thrilled! The Biltmore House is *huge* and there are lots of other critters for him to meet and become friends with.

Critter went straight to the front door. After all, this was *his* castle, at least for today!

First friend: the lion guarding the entrance.

Bad lion! Don't eat Critter! Noooo!

Come on, Critter, don't hide!!

After his first traumatic event, Critter took some time off while Corwin and I went exploring in the castle. You can't take pictures inside the castle, but here's some outdoor shots we took while Critter cowered behind oversized leaves.

The gargoyles are lovely in the morning, aren't they. Side note: I WANT GARGOYLES.

See that black tower/walkway thing? Yeah, so, at the turn of the century, they were so worried about the naughty boy servants meeting up with the innocent girl servants and making them not-so-innocent any more, that they built that black tower/walkway thing for the stable boys to come into the servant dining hall without running into any of the girl servants.

This is from the roof. That big glass and metal thing right there hangs over a huge INDOOR garden where the Vanderbilts would have parties and drink and be merry and such.

This is from the outside, the tower in the front. You know what's inside the tower? AN ELEVATOR. A real, working elevator. How many castles do YOU know of with an ELEVATOR? (Oh, and PS: on the outside, on the left, that's Joan of Arc. I think the other guy's King George, of dragon fame, but I can't remember for sure at the mo).

Can't you just picture a Disney princess coming from that door, going to the fountain, and bursting into song?

What? This post is supposed to be about you, Critter? Oops! I almost forgot!!

OK, well after touring around the castle for a bit, we decided it was time to see if we could try to make friends for Critter again. First Corwin spotted a lovely young woman.

Unfortunatley, she was *TOO* friendly and had her top off before I could snap a picture.

We tried her son, instead.

Then I noticed the horns on his head. See 'em? They're tiny bumps now, but I wasn't taking no chances with Critter. Horns on your head = riffraff in my opinion.

Next we moved to the arboretum, where we met a friendly fish.

WAIT!!! He's not friend at all! He's trying to eat you!!! RUN CRITTER!

Fine, let's NOT make friends here. Between the nekkid women, horny boys, and Critter-eating fish, I think we'd be better off looking elsewhere.

How about a nice garden?

Oh, that IS nice. Let's take a moment to...

...smell the roses.

The outdoor gardens didn't have much, actually--it IS nearly fall, after all. So we went to the greenhouses next.

While there, we saw these exotic flowers.

There was a little old lady walking around while we were. She saw me looking at these big flowers and started chuckling. When I looked up, this kind, sweet grandma looked me square in the eyes and said, "We always used to call those little boy flowers."

So, of course, as soon as she said that and I knew what she meant, Corwin *had* to take this picture:

(Oh, the indignity.)

After the greenhouses, I thought it would be nice to take a nature walk out to the bass pond.

Isn't that lovely? Unfortunately, there weren't too many friends for Critter here in the wild, either.

Goose says: DO NOT WANT!

And...there you have it! Critter's adventures at the castle!

Now, Critter is ready to move on. He didn't have much luck with friends or flowers here, but maybe he can find something better at YOUR house! If you'd like Critter to come visit you, then why not sit a spell and tell him about your hometown and the adventures you'd like to take him on?

Would you like to host Critter next?

Leave a comment below telling me what cool place you'd like to show Critter--and, of course, take picture of and post on your blog!

THE RULES:

1. I will select a winner from the comments below. This isn't a drawing. I'm going to pick the person who I, personally, think has the best place to show Critter. It's totally up to me :P
2. The winner MUST have a blog, and MUST show pictures of Critter doing things on your blog.
3. The winner gets to sign his/her name on Critter, as well as add a link to his/her blog.
   
4. The winner will then host a contest on his/her blog, select a new winner, and mail Critter off to the new Critter host. The winner needs to pick someone reliable who will keep the Critter-chain going--it would suck royally if Critter doesn't make it back to his original home.
   
5. For more information on the rules of Critter, go to ChristysCreativeSpace.blogspot.com

The winner will be selected on Friday! Let me know what a good time you'd show Critter, and he'll be heading to YOUR home next!!!