Asheville Road Trip

 

After all of our traveling in Japan, Glenn and I were feeling a little restless that a three day weekend was approaching and we didn't have travel plans! We had passed through Asheville on our way from MN to Norfolk and decided that we wanted to return.

The Biltmore Estate has always been on my list of places I wanted to visit. Giant, old house? Check! It doesn't hurt that Asheville is a college, foody, hippy town that Glenn and I always seem to like. It reminded me in parts to Austin or Madison.

We hit the road around 1:00 on Friday afternoon which was great to avoid the tunnel and general traffic on a Friday afternoon. It took us about 6 1/2 hours to get to Asheville, but we kept busy by listening to the Steve Jobs audio book (side note: we listened to the abridged version which is 9 hours long, the unabridged is 25 hours!). We both enjoyed the book and were able to finish it on our way home.

We went to a cute restaurant near Pack Square our first night. We were staying in the Downtown Inn, a former Comfort Inn I believe, but at only $53 a night (including taxes!) and walking distance to a lot of the bars and restaurants, it was a perfect location. I think next time we go, we'll bring Stella because Asheville is a very dog friendly town. We saw dogs everywhere including at the Biltmore Estate (in the gardens, not the house).

On Saturday, we went to breakfast at a local shop and then headed to the Biltmore. Since it is their off-season, they don't open til 9:30, but tickets are only $45 ($35 with a military discount!). I think during the summer and Christmas they approach the $60-$70 range. The gardens were obviously not as pretty this time of year, but it is still worth going since the crowds are smaller.

We toured the house in about 3 hours. The audio guide is also free this time of year so we listened to that all the way through. If I were to go back, I think I would take one of the guided tours just to learn different things.

After the house, which was pretty amazing, we toured the winery. Free wine tastings! As many as you want! Always a bonus. There are also tons of shops that we walked through and picked up a few things. The Estate also has a hotel, a dozen or so restaurants, horseback riding and tons of other things to do. You could easily spend 2 full days here. We were there until after a late late lunch until 3 or 4.

We hit up a few shops in downtown before they closed on Saturday evening and then went to the Thirsty Monk for dinner/drinks before heading back to our hotel.


On Sunday we planned to drive part of the Blue Ridge Scenic highway on the way home. All of the things I had read said it is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. Unfortunately after about 10 miles, we encountered this:

 Boo. So we made u-turn and headed home on our original route. I guess we'll have to make the drive in the fall when the leaves start to change. I guess that's my favorite time of the year anyway!

We still had Monday back at home to relax and get a few projects done. A great weekend, though! I'm excited for our next long weekend when we head to Maryland to visit some friends.