Day 21 & 22 - Goodbyes, The Biltmore, and travel

Wednesday us northerners started to make our way north. Rich got off before anyone else around 8AM and around 10:30 Gabe, Cass, June and I got in the Serenity Falcon and headed north.

We dropped Gabe and Cass at ATL around 12:30 and continued north.  June and I decided to head towards Ashville, Tn, so we would have an opportunity to visit The Biltmore.

We were unsure if we were going to take the time or just sprint home, we arrived in Ashville around 5PM and decided to spend the night (at CB) and go check it out in the morning. It was my birthday so we splurged and had dinner at Applebee's...yahoo.

We had sticker shock when we went to Kennedy Space Center, we had double sticker shock at The Biltmore, $75 per person, at least kids under 16 are free.  We were there, so we thought we would take a few hours and be on our way.  We spent 4 hours, the place is captivating.  We hear everyday how the gap between the wealthy and the not so wealthy is widening, I don't buy it...The Biltmore is opulence over the top.

I took very few pictures of the interior mostly because it is something you really need to see in person to grasp, we were both awestruck. It is expensive, but it is a checklist item, one's imagination can't match the real wealth of the Vanderbilt family, it is just mind bending. The place was built on a 8000 acre estate, has 200+ rooms, with 43 bathrooms (rare in 1890s). The basement had the servant quarters, gyms, a pool and bowling ally.  Anyway, we stayed longer than we planned and enjoyed the tour.

After the inside tour, we walked the grounds, there are many gardens.

 Bass Pond, another creatation for the Vanderbilt's pleasure.


We walked and walked and saw only a small portion of the estate.

It is a place worth visiting, expensive but you will not forget it.  We got there at 9AM, it was not at all crowded, when we left the building about 11:30AM the buses were pulling in and it was filling up.  I asked a crossing guard how many visit in a day, he said 10K, I googled it, they get over 1M visitors a year. That is some serious cash, but after touring it, it would be hard to put a number on the expense to maintain the estate.

After touring the mansion we drove another 5 miles, all on the estate, to Antler Village. Your $75 admission includes a free tasting at the Biltmore Winery.  It was just a bit after 12N so why not.

Once we walked through that door, it seemed like a mile through tunnels before we arrived at the winery, I think the building used to be a dairy barn but I am not sure. We enjoyed the tasting and did buy a bottle of wine.









After we left the Winery, we pointed north and drove until about 8PM stopping in Winchester, Va, another CB. I woke up at 2:30AM and we were back on the road before 3AM, poor June could not sleep with with the rough roads, but she does a pretty good job of napping in the passenger seat.

We arrived home about 12N, it was a long day of driving but it is always nice to be home.  We lit a fire in the fireplace, and I promptly took a nap.

It was a good trip. We leave Monday for a week in Ireland, with June's 2 sisters and their husbands, no rest for the wicked.  We did not plan back to back vacations, but that is the way it worked out.