Asheville Overnight

Josh and I went on an adults only overnight to Asheville. Many thanks to our outstanding sitter & grandma mimi. On Saturday we finally made it to the Grandfather Mountain Profile Trail.

It's rated as one of the areas best. So Josh has been wanting to hike it for years. The trail near the top has ladders and cables, and really steep obstacles.

But we unfortunately didn't make it to the top. It started to thunder and rain near our half way point.

So we turned around. Sorry Josh! By my calculations, we weren't going to make it back to the car by dark if we continued to the end.

The trail conditions were tougher than expected. It was the most challenging I've ever hiked! At one point there were boulders to climb up while a flowing stream of water was coming down. Still lots of pretty scenery. We'll definately return on a better day.

The next day we visited the much anticipated Biltmore Estate. It's the #1 attraction in Asheville on Trip Advisor and I've been wanting to go for years.

I was not disappointed and Josh unexpectedly loved it too. Thank you AGAIN Joyce for this wonderful Christmas gift!

I took so many pictures it's tough to pick favorites. Every square inch of this place was a work of art. This is the grand entrance with gargoyles & sculptures at every corner.

The formal dining room. We took the self guided audio tour. The story it told was so interesting. We both thought Jackson would've loved seeing all the animal heads displayed in most rooms.

The back patio with this view would've been where Josh and I spent most of our time if we lived here. Just spectacular.

The library was another room I wish Jackson could've seen. The ceiling was a masterpiece painting and there were 2 stories of books.

I was most impressed with the staircases. From the top it was scary to look down.

A fancy stone hallway in the basement. I just kept thinking how much fun a game of hide and seek would be for my kids if they lived here.

The indoor swimming pool. There were ropes because most people couldn't swim back then. There were also dressing rooms nearby and a bowling alley.

Josh and I both love playing pool so this would be our 2nd favorite room of the house.

The back view of the place. A French inspired castle with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms & 65 fireplaces. Can you imagine all the wood that had to be chopped & hauled to keep that many fireplaces going all winter. Ugh!

The kitchen was in the basement near the workers rooms & laundry. I was exhausted hearing about all the work that went into running this place. Phew! These are the original cooper pots & pans.

We spent even more time outside. The gardens & conservatory were amazing.

The colored balls are part of the special glass sculpture exhibit. There were several of them by the famous artist Dale Chihuly placed around the house and grounds.

What an interesting history lesson. George Vanderbilt found the perfect place (Asheville!) to build the largest residential home in America. Then he died just 19 years later, at the age of 51, when his only child was 14.