The Biltmore and other places

"America's Castles" was an old PBS show that was popular in our house in the 1990's and the episode showcasing the Biltmore Mansion was one of our favorites. I had it in the back of my mind for years that, one day, I would visit this estate. When we were planning our interim stops between wintering in Virginia and summering in Wisconsin, Asheville (the home of the Biltmore) was on our route - how convenient! Some time ago, it was suggested that we consider Asheville as a permanent stop since it offered many of the things we decided we liked (water, mountains, moderate temps) so it was a good time to see what makes Asheville so special.

We had found an rv resort that had private decks on a small stream so we pulled into Mountain Stream RV Park on Wednesday afternoon and found a nice, shaded spot with the promised deck on a nicely noisy stream. We quickly set up and relaxed with the sound of the water. Little did we know that, later in the weekend, our little stream would become a torrent after the area received the most rain in 24 hours (over 5"). We were assured by the campground owners that they had things under control and, while the water did indeed get higher, it never overflowed the banks - at least, where we were. Other spots in the Asheville area did have flooding problems.

Long before we arrived in Asheville, I researched and purchased timed tickets to tour the Biltmore. My information showed lots of things to do on the multi-acre estate, so we also booked a room at the hotel in Antler Village. That is a shopping district on the estate grounds, with wineries, shopping and restaurants. We planned on spending the morning of the first day touring the mansion, then enjoying the afternoon on the grounds and, finally, doing some wine tasting and having a nice dinner before driving back to our rv the next morning.
The Biltmore is a HUGE mansion, dozens of rooms dressed up to look like you're an invited guest to a house party in the early 1900's. An audio tour was part of our ticket price and we followed the hallways through the house, visiting bedrooms (many!), parlors and music rooms, swimming pool and billiard rooms - even the kitchen ("smellevision" announced that turkey was on the menu that evening!) - before exiting out through one of the many patios. Circular staircases, servants quarters, smoking lounge - all the rooms had mannequins dressed in period clothing and jewelry. The dining room was especially beautiful, set up for a formal dinner with beautiful china and fresh flower arrangements adorning the dining table. Through the audio tour, we learned about the Vanderbilt's of the time and how they loved entertaining friends and family in their spacious home. The house and estate grounds are still owned by descendants of the Vanderbilts, some of who live in a more private section on the grounds. Finally, we toured the gardens and green houses just starting to be in full spring bloom. The azaleas were especially beautiful this time of year.

The rest of the day was spent strolling the grounds in the beautiful (i.e. HOT!) pre-storm weather. We wine-tasted twice, played a swift round of corn hole on the hotel patio, and ended the day with a dinner "al fresco" and an overnight at the on-site hotel. For once, the weather man was right and the heaven's opened up overnight - like I said at the top of this chapter, the rain started and didn't stop as we drove the half-hour back to the rv park.

We also drove a long portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a twisty-turny bit of loveliness! Stone bridges, sweeping vistas, scenic overlooks - it had it all. We visited a brewery and had the best fried chicken ever at a local restaurant recommended to us. And, we did our favorite thing, an impromptu picnic at the back of the truck. We also relaxed in the sun on our river-view deck and read a book. This retirement traveling thing could grow on me!