We had a wonderful day today. We arrived at the Biltmore Estate around 10:00 a.m. and spent the first couple of hours seeing the gardens and walking down to the Bass Pond. We're sure the flowers are much more impressive in the spring (especially the azaleas), but even in September, there was plenty to see.
After a picnic lunch, we went to tour the house. We did the self-guided tour and spent two hours seeing the spectacular mansion and getting some insight into life in the Gilded Age (for the very rich). We learned a lot about the design and building of the house, the gardens, and the rest of the estate. We also learned about the painstaking process of restoration and renovation.
After touring the mansion, we drove to Antler Hill Village, also located on the Biltmore Estate. First we walked through the small farm animal petting area and then around the octagonal barn, which now houses shops and exhibits, mainly of antique farming equipment.
Next we walked to the Biltmore Legacy building, which currently houses an exhibition of Tiffany lamps. The display is not just a collection of beautiful lamps (though it is that). It also gives some of the history of the Tiffany lamp business and enlightening displays showing how a lampshade is designed and put together. The main focus of the exhibit is on how Tiffany drew from nature in his designs. We were glad that we had the opportunity to view this exhibition. (No photos were allowed, so this one is from the web.)
Next we took a tour of the Biltmore Winery, located in the former dairy buildings. We learned something about the cultivation of wine grapes in a climate not always suited to them. We also learned that the winery has two winemasters, one French and the other American, with rather different orientations and preferences in winemaking. The French winemaster leans toward French traditions and makes mainly dry wines. The American winemaster favors more experimentation, including sweeter wines and rosés.
Then we went to the tasting room, where friendly hosts pour as many wine samples as guests wish. Ken and I both found a couple we liked, so of course we ended up buying some, although not too much because of the limitations of our storage space. I was really happy as we were checking out to find some packable reusable shopping bags of the type I’ve been hunting for the last two years. Yay! They are large capacity and have handles long enough to be carried over the shoulder, and they pack into their own attached bag. ("Collapsible Eco-Totebag Reusable and washable, 100% polyester, holds up to 25 lbs.")
When we left the winery, we decided to sit down in the nearby courtyard and listen to the Nuance Jazz Duo who were performing in the bandstand. That made a relaxing and enjoyable break.
Then we drove to Rosetta’s Kitchen, a vegetarian/vegan local foods restaurant I found on Yelp. When we got there we found that it was only open 11-3 on Sundays for brunch.
Fortunately, Ken had identified another restaurant on Yelp, so we switched to Plan B and drove to Nine Mile, a Caribbean restaurant, which turned out to be nearby. The neighborhood reminded us of Madison. The restaurant itself appeared pretty unimpressive. If we hadn’t found it well recommended on Yelp, we’d have passed it by—and we’d have missed an enjoyable meal. We shared a jerk chicken and squash pasta dish with “natty bread” (garlic bread) and nice salads made with local produce. We ordered the jerk sauce medium hot, which turned out to be just right. It went well with the Bell’s Amber Ale.
Since it was my birthday meal, we ordered dessert—a truffle chocolate creation that was stunningly delicious.
We stopped on the way home to pick up some groceries at Earth Fare, a regional chain of healthy/organic food markets. The produce was largely local and mainly organic, with a great selection. I also scored a reusable insulated shopping bag to replace one whose zipper had recently broken. Three great shopping bags in one day!
By the time we got home, we were tired but happy. Tomorrow we’ll leave the Asheville area and move on to the GSMNP. As usual, we will have plenty to do in Asheville when we come back for another visit.
We left Powhatan Lake at 11:00 a.m. and headed towards Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We took I-40 to Hwy 19, figuring it would be a better route pulling a trailer than taking the Parkway.
However, we noticed that no 18-wheelers are allowed on the section of Hwy 19 we were taking, so when we stopped for fuel, we asked for advice. A local told us that we were headed to Soco Mountain and the road was very curvy, but she assured us that we would be fine if we took it slow.
The grades were steep and long, so we geared down, using the transmission to keep our speed in check. We’ve done this regularly before, so we felt pretty confident. But then the truck started a constant dinging warning and displayed a message that the transmission was overheated and we should idle the engine. Good advice, but on a curvy two-lane mountain road, we didn’t see anywhere to pull over.
Finally we came to a business and pulled off the road, breathing a sigh of relief, but the dinging continued for a while. When it stopped, we still thought it would be prudent to wait a bit before continuing on our way, but the business owner politely asked us to move because we were blocking a customer in. We headed out, moving more slowly, and had no further trouble.
We stopped at the post office in Cherokee to pick up our mail being held at General Delivery. They had a large open parking lot behind, so we pulled back out of the way and ate lunch. When we got back on the road, we quickly came to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, so we stopped to look around and pick up some info. Then we continued on to Smokemont, only three miles further.
With no hookups, we had to fill our fresh water tank before proceeding to our site. The water pressure was extremely low, so this process took a long time. Before we were finished, two more rigs had pulled up in line. We took advantage of the opportunity to chat.
The folks in the first rig, Charley and Marla, were from Pennsylvania. They had just come from Townsend, on the Tennessee side of the park. They told us they had stayed at the KOA there, because there was construction on a bridge leading to the campground that they had intended to stay at. They recommended the KOA, especially the waterfront sites, and we got the contact info. We don’t have a place to stay after we leave Smokemont on Saturday.
We are in site F-42, a wonderful site backing up on Bradley Fork, a stream flowing into Oconaluftee River. The only drawback is that it is well shaded, meaning our solar panels won’t have much to work with, so we are being extremely conservative with our electricity. Also, there is absolutely no Verizon cell phone signal, so we have neither phone nor Internet. But we do have peace and quiet and a babbling stream.
Tomorrow maybe we’ll have time to sort through all the photos we’ve taken the last few days and pick some to put in the blog (when we get a connection and can post).
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