We headed south through the Smoky Mountains and arrived in Asheville, NC. Wow! Talk about views. It is never ending. We are here visiting family but also toured some of the sites while here. I apologize in advance for some of the blurry pictures. My camera sometimes doesn't cooperate.
Below is the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. It was built from granite boulders from Sunset Mountain. The Inn opened in 1913. Many famous people were guests here, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, Eleanor Roosevelt and Henry Ford. Many Presidents also stayed here. In 2012, the hotel underwent an extensive renovation which included updating and refreshing the guest rooms and public areas of the hotel. Today, it is the Omni Grove Park Inn. The fireplaces are amazingly huge. You could walk into the fireplace without bending over at all.
Looking out the back of the hotel
Lighting fixture
Then on to Hendersonville, NC where an Apple Festival was going on. Took a picture of this house that was near where we parked. It has beautiful porches on it. On the way back to the car, a wedding had just been done across the street at the church and the reception was being held at this house.
Apples everywhere!
And Donald Trump was there! haha
We also went to the Sierra Nevada Brewery where they brew various beers. Didn't care to much for the tasters we did. Dennis liked one of them but only got 1 oz. They used a lot of wood from the trees they had to clear to build the brewery, in the benches and woodwork. Below, you'll see a picture of one of the benches they made.
On one of our rides around the area, we went to Sliding Rock and Looking Glass waterfalls.
Sliding down the rock
The falls are rather hidden by the trees.
Our next big place to go was the Biltmore Estate that was built by Goerge Washington Vanderbilt, completed in 1895. It took 6 years to build. He was a single man at the time and this was built as a summer home but he later moved into it permanently after he was married in 1998. His Wife, Edith, did not see the house until after their 4 month honeymoon. They had one daughter, Cornelia, who in turn had 2 children. These 2 Grandchildren split the 16,000 acre estate with Grandson getting the house with 8,000 acres and the Granddaughter taking the other 8,000 acres. The one Granddaughter, I was told, did not want the house due to the high taxes and maintenance. The Grandson kept the house and opened it for tours to create income to pay for the taxes, high maintenance and renovation costs. There are 2,200 employees that maintain the property. The 2 Grandchildren still live on the property.
Talk about a Banquet Hall! This impressive room with a seven-story high ceiling and Flemish tapestries, was the scene of dinner parties and celebrations, like the annual Christmas party for the Biltmore workers and their families. While the largest dinner held here seated 38 people at the oak table, the Vanderbilt's and family members often enjoyed a 7 to 10 course meal at the smaller table near the triple fireplaces. Dinners were elegant affairs, with fine linens, family silver, china and as many as 5 crystal wine glasses per person, illustrating the elaborate dining traditions of the time and George's interest in fine wines.
Three fireplaces!
Despite its name, the breakfast room was also used for lunches.
Talk about a view of the landscape and mountains! Before he built the house, he had scaffolds put up so he could see what the view would be like from the height of the Loggia.
The Oak Sitting Room was located between his and hers bedrooms.
This corridor was on the third floor. The third floor was mainly for guest bedrooms, which there were 33 of them and each named for the decorating theme. When guests came to the Biltmore, they normally stayed a few days or weeks. Each bedroom had a sitting room and a bathroom. There were a total of 43 bathrooms in the house. It was amazing that in 1895, this house was built with indoor bathrooms that had running hot and cold water at the tap, when most homes at that time did not have even 1 indoor bathroom.
The stables
Jacqueline Kennedy was a cousin by marriage to the Vanderbilt's. Her cousin, Mary Lee Ryan, married William A.V. Vanderbilt, one of the Grandson's of George and Edith Vanderbilt. The veil that Jacqueline wore in 1953 to her marriage to John F. Kennedy, was also worn by Mary Lee Ryan at her wedding in 1957.
The winery area that is a couple miles from the Biltmore house. There are now hotels and shops next to the winery.
The farmyard next to the winery
