North Carolina Vacation

My mom and I got back last week from a mother-daughter road trip to Asheville, NC.  We had a wonderful time being in the mountains, looking at crafts at The Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and visiting the Biltmore Estate (which I had never been to).  I loved learning about what life was like at the turn of the 20th Century and about family life for the Vanderbilts.  But most importantly, I had a wonderful time sharing, laughing, and having fun with my mom.

"Heather, lean your head out of the window to take that picture!" and "Mom, you are going to see things you never saw when we get home!" These are some of the quotes we had on our trip!

We started Tuesday by going to the Folk Art Center where we looked at pottery, jewelry, glass, paintings etc.  The work was amazing, so well done and the craftsmanship was of high quality.  I love looking at things that are hand-made because the creativity, inspiration, and hard work show through.  To me, there is something spiritual in making and sharing in something that comes from you - part of your memories, your heart, and your spirit.

We decided to pick up a few sandwiches and pack a picnic lunch and we arrived at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The temperature dropped to 68 degrees, and the fog and clouds were so thick we couldn't even see the picnic area or pavilion.  In fact, we didn't even know there were other people there!  But we set up our picnic anyway and watched the clouds roll over the mountains. 

 

We wandered around the parkway stopping at every overlook (and sometimes not even at an overlook!  Particularly when we spotted some unusual wildflower or a blue butterfly).  We decided to make our way to Mt. Mitchell - the highest peak east of the Mississippi  I was surprised, I thought Mt. Washington was the highest, but Mt. Mitchell apparently beats it by a few hundred feet.  It was such a majestic view.

We decided to eat dinner at the small mountaintop restaurant and had "real Carolina barbecue" and coleslaw.  Delicious!  On the drive back, we were slowly going around the curves, and what should appear right before our eyes?!?!?!?  A big black bear!  I shouted "BEAR!" at mom and by the time she looked, she saw his back end go down the mountain.  Amazing!

Tuesday we went to the Biltmore Estate.  We decided that it was already getting warm, so we did the gardens in the morning and by 10:30 went in for the tour.  Luckily they had recently renovated several new rooms and we were the beneficiaries!  The luxury and extravagance, but also the ingenuity, engineering, and fore-thought involved in the design, architecture, and building of the estate were astounding.  I did not know that Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park and many other famous landscapes designed the land - he said that he made it such that no matter where you were, you could hear the water - the babbling of the brook, or the trickle of a stream.  I enjoyed looking at the portraits that John Singer Sargent did of both Olmsted and the main architect Hunt.  Olmsted looked like someone you would want to be friends with - he had a scraggly beard and a walking stick in the woods.

We had lunch at The Stables - which were in The Stables!  It was really neat the way they set it up!  We finished the tour after lunch and went downstairs to see the swimming pool, bowling alley, kitchen, and servant quarters.  I learned so much about what life was like, and I enjoyed talking with the guides, looking at the furniture and all that decadence!

On Wednesday we set off for Chimney Rock State Park (which cost a ridiculous amount of money to enter a State Park) but the view was amazing and we definitely saw a different side of the mountains - much more rocky and barren and a whole lot warmer!  By the time we left it was 94 degrees! 

We ate lunch in a nice picnic spot by Lake Lure and took a leisurely drive back to Asheville, and by "leisurely" I mean curvy and round-about - but it was an adventure!!  Before dinner we went to the Antler Hill Village to see the Legacy museum and listened to a storyteller describe the cast of characters that visited the estate.  We bought some wine at the winery and then walked over to The Bistro for dinner.  Dinner with mom was so wonderful.  We had delicious food, (she had roast chicken with garlic and herb mashed potatoes and vegetables, and I had a pork porterhouse with apricots, polenta, and vegetables - yum!), had a chance to reminisce about our trip and all the exciting things we did and saw, and had a chance to talk.  It was a lovely time and I will always treasure the time I spent with mom on this trip.