handsful

I’ve lived in NC (with the exception of years 2004-2010) since I was a year old, but I’d never been to Asheville to visit the Biltmore Mansion. Randy had gone as a child, but didn’t remember much.

This past Thursday, we made the 2 hour trip.

We started with a yummy dinner at Vinnie’s, and then relaxed at the hotel till bedtime. The next morning, the kids had to take a quick jump into the hot tub…I grumbled about being “late” to the mansion, but I got over it.

Kids showered and changed, we made it to Biltmore around 11:30. After going over what the day-admission fee would be vs. the cost of a year’s membership, we went with the latter. We actually spent less money on the membership than we would have a day ticket, since members 16 and under are admitted free. I guess we’ll be doing Biltmore a lot in 2012!

Outside pictures. Did you know, you can’t take ANY photos inside?!? I was miffed, but then realized that I would have spent so much time taking pictures that I would have missed the details of the tour.

We decided to take a self-guided tour, using the headsets with recorded messages for each room…so much better than listening to a tour guide.

The tour took about 2 hours and we were starved afterwards! We walked straight to the Stable Cafe next door…

This restaurant used to be…you guessed it…the stables back in the day. It was just gorgeous and I loved thinking about the people (and animals!) that lived and worked where I was currently eating lunch.

Yes, that’s my lemon-overloaded tea in the foreground.

After we were pleasantly full, we headed to the shops nearby. Christmas decorations, books, toys, etc. The Confectionery was a favorite stop, and helped top off our lunch with a little something sweet. Payton had his eyes on something a bit bigger…

Before we knew it, night had fallen and the place started to really light up. We walked down to Antler Hill Village, where there is a farm (we missed it…it was already closed…we’ll visit that FIRST next time) and the kids goofed around a little.

A statue of George Washington Vanderbilt’s daughter, Cornelia, and her dog Cedric.

How you doin’?

We rode back up to the house, had some pastries and hot chocolate, and then headed home.

Can’t wait to go back…we’re told January is their least busiest month (with December being the most), so I’m hoping we can make another quick trip to Asheville soon!