Asheville, NC

July 27, 2006





We have finally started heading west, so far we have made it about 200 miles to the outskirts of the city of Asheville in western North Carolina. Nestled along the Blue Ridge Parkway near where the Appalachians and the Smoky Mountains converge, Asheville is a cool small mountain city with a lot going for it.

We found a great campsite along the Swannanoa River, which runs right through the center of our campgrounds 10 miles east of Asheville, before heading past the Biltmore estate and through town. For some reason there are very few tent campers here and we pretty much had a pick of choice campsites and there is no one in our vicinity which is great.

After settling in and setting up camp, we drove the short distance into town where we explored the many cool shops and galleries before selecting a place called Barley’s Tap Room which we picked out of a wide variety of excellent restaurants due to the fact that they had a huge selection of local microbrews and they had live bluegrass. The band, Boss Hog, was made up of kids from Asheville & Boone and they were great.

Yesterday we were up early and off to explore more of the Asheville area, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway into town, stopping at the Folk Art Center, which was somewhat disappointing in that it was not what we had expected. I would call it more a traditional art center, because it was full of things like pottery & quilts etc, which though nice can be found at most any folksy art gallery in the Country.

We spent much of the rest of the day at the Biltmore House & Estate. This huge home, the largest private home in the USA with over 250 rooms, is amazing. Built in 1895, by George Vanderbilt, the mansion still contains all of the original furnishings, including an incredible art collection. The massive 8000+ acre estate also is home to huge gardens, a working farm village, one of the largest Wineries in the Country, and a massive luxury hotel and resort.




We toured the house, which took literally hours and was somewhat overwhelming in its incredible excess. Afterwards we had a delicious lunch at the Stable Café, which is located in the former stables, which have transformed into fine dining. Next we explored the huge gardens, designed by Frederick Olmstead, the same person who designed Central Park in New York. Lastly we took the tour of the winery, complete with a nice wine tasting of the current offerings. It was a long day and there was still a great deal we did not get to. In the evening we returned to the campsite, went swimming and relaxed after a long day. We considered returning today, but have opted against it, in favor of getting back on the road.