My Trip to Biltmore!

Yesterday, my hubby and I took a trip to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It's only a couple hours away, and we had free tickets from a dear friend. (Thanks Brenda!!!) I packed a lunch, and took along a few knitting projects. The ride was smooth and easy, with my hubby at the wheel. :)

When we got there, we rode in a shuttle to the estate. Look how happy we were!


The weather was absolutely PERFECT! The sky was a beautiful blue, and the temperature was just right. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Marvin bought an audio tour for each of us, so we walked around the mansion with headphones on, listening to everything with rapt attention. This was our second trip to Biltmore....our last visit was on our honeymoon in 2001.

After doing the first floor of the mansion, we were a little hungry, so we went to the stable shops and had our lunch. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, homemade sugar cookies, a purchased pretzel with mustard, and a couple bottles of Coke from a vendor there. Yummy! When we finished eating, I balanced our camera on my purse, set the timer, and took this photo. That's the side of the Biltmore Estate mansion behind us. Gorgeous!


After lunch, we went back into the mansion, and finished walking through the rest of the mansion...all four floors. My poor knee was ACHING after all those stairs. I could have taken the elevator, but my doctor has been telling me to exercise my knee more. I figured this was as good a chance as any to get some exercise. And exercise it was!! Golly! I was absolutely exhausted after all that walking. But the tour was amazing, and the audio tour really added a LOT to the experience. Definitely worth the money.

When we finally got back to the entrance of the mansion, it was closing time. I think there were only two or three visitors left in the mansion when we left. We rode the shuttle back to our car, and it was the ONLY car still in the C parking lot. (tee-hee) That's what we get for being so slow and thorough on our tour.

The shuttle driver told us that we would be driving past the mansion again as we left, and we would pass by the formal gardens and winery as well. Way cool. :D

Here's a view of the curving driveway, which goes on for MILES before you finally reach the highway.


Here's the gateway into Biltmore Estate:


And a view of the gorgeous mansion in the late afternoon:


(You can see a very large view of it here)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3341224468_30a9ba5050_o.jpg

As we drove away from the mansion, we were able to see it over and over again as we followed the curving driveway. Here's a view through the trees:


It was a great day, and I was able to get some knitting done as well! Almost finished one sock, made with worsted weight wool. :)