Asheville, NC

Our trip into Asheville only started to be two nights and one day, but after spending an entire day at the Biltmore we felt that more exploration was needed.  The first night we went in search of our favorite brewery in the area "Greenman" and found that they have opened a public house in the downtown district, well of course this is where we stopped for dinner and a beer.  We were treated to a wonderful bluegrass band that let an adorable little boy spend a few minutes on stag.  From there we stopped into the "Thirsty Monk"  they have two bars, one upstairs and one downstairs, different beers in each, my favorite was definitely the downstairs.

The Biltmore is an absolute must see for anyone that is in the area, this home is amazing.  I use the word home, because George Vanderbilt opened the home to his family on Christmas Eve 1895 even before he was a married man.  When he purchased it, it encompassed 125,000 acres, but today is only 8,000 acres.  He married Edit Dresser and made this beautiful estate their home.  They had one child Cornelia and she grew up on the estate,  George died in 1914 from complications of an appendectomy and Mrs. Vanderbilt ran the estate with Cornelia. Mrs. Vanderbilt sold acreage to the National Forestry to fulfill her husbands wishes to build the Pisgah National Forest.  Cornelia married John Cecil in 1924 and they called it home until Mrs. Vanderbilt-Cecil opened it to the public in the 30's, her sons inherited the remaining property and their decedents live on and keep the estate preserved today.  The fact that the decedents live on the property and oversee all that is done to the original home is amazing.  These pictures below will show you the beautiful grounds of the Biltmore unfortunately they do not allow pictures inside the house.

 This lovely home has only 43 bathrooms!

 One of the many trellis' outside the home

Water lilies

 These lovely lily pads were at least two feet across

 The walled garden

 Pretty view from the trellis in the walled garden

 The conservatory

 Orchids grown in the hot house.

 Lovely bridge on our long hike to Bass Pond

 The view at Bass Pond that was well worth every long step we took.

 On the Vista with the statue of Diana

 Diana looking over the Vista to the Biltmore.  Cornelia's swing used to be up her close to this statue.

 View of Biltmore from the Vista

Enjoying a glass of wine and a beer at the winery on the estate.

The next day, we decided a nice drive North on the Blue Ridge Parkway would be wonderful.  We weren't wrong.

 Storm rolling in over Pisgah National Forest

 This was the first hiking trail we took, hoping to see waterfalls, but we pooped out before we could get there.

 Lovely little daisies.

 Trey & I at the highest elevation east of the Mississippi.

 This is the grave of the man that explored this mountain, he was hoping by being buried here he would be closer to his Resurrection.

Second hike of the day, this one took us down from the peak to the parking lot via a treacherous beautiful trail.  Would have much rather come up this way instead of the very steep sloping walkways!

Well in the morning we are headed to Tennessee to see my Mom.