Visiting Biltmore Estate

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  The original owner who oversaw the construction was George Washington Vanderbilt II.  Construction started in 1889 and ended 6 years later in 1895 and is still the largest privately owned house in the United States.  With insane specifications like 178,926 square feet of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area), 34 individual bedrooms and 43 bathrooms, guests are given maps of the houses floor plans with directions on which way to proceed through the house.  

I really enjoyed how each room had a different and unique theme that the Biltmore’s had decorated with antiques and artwork from around the world.  The estate also includes a huge indoor swimming pool, full size gymnasium, and bowling alleys in the basement level.  With all the different rooms and hallways to wander, its recommended you give yourself 5 hours to fully see the estate.  

After walking the inside of the mansion for a few hours, I was ready to go outside and see the garden, which turned out to be one of my favorite places on the property.  I was simply underprepared for how enormous, yet well manicured, the different gardens were.  There are companies of landscapers who only work in the Biltmore gardens.  You can see why when if you walk the 30 miles of paved walkways through 8,000 acres of beautifully managed gardens and woodland. All of this boarders the property’s 250-acre deer reserve.  

I enjoyed taking in all the sights of excess and beautifully crafted architecture, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of such obscene excess of wealth in what I thought was used to create this mans personal castle, a shrine to his families heritage and wealth.  It was a very different time back in the late 1800’s, but I still can imagine a lot of ways the Vanderbilt's could have used their wealth to help others who were not as fortunate. And I think actually seeing the estate in person reinforced this idea.  That being said, I would recommend touring Biltmore estates just to see such a magnificent achievement of human architecture.     

Visiting Wrightsville Beach

            This week I wanted to talk about one of my favorite places to go during the summer months in North Carolina.  I have been going to Wrightsville Beach for years now with my family, and have had lots of great memories there.  The beach itself is 2.5 miles long with inlets on either side that lead to the intercostal waterway; that stretches across the entire Eastern seaboard.  Wilmington is only five minutes inland, and is the largest city in the region.  UNC Wilmington also uses Wrightsville beach as its main hang out spot when not in class.  With such a close proximity to the city, the island of Wrightsville beach fills up with people and cars during the peak seasons.  The population on the island fluctuates from 400 residents during the off-season, to over 2,500 residents during the Summer.  

            There is a variety of things to do while visiting the island.  The “downtown” section of main street (Lumina St.) offers great food choices during the day to hungry beach goers, then offers a lively night life after sundown.  The best hotdogs I’ve ever eaten come from the “Trolly Stop” Hot Dogs stand on Wrightsville Beach.  There are a few restaurants and bars that have been in operation for so long they have become a part of the beach community.  Most notable is Robert’s market.  It was the first commercial establishment on the island in 1940.  It is still owned by the same family who owns and operates it.  They source all of their fresh produce and meats from local NC farmers, and even have gotten their famous chicken salad into Harris Teeter supermarkets. 

             

             The main attraction of course is the beach, it stretches for 2.5 miles and has a long fishing pier on one end, with another smaller pier with a restaurant on the other end of the island.  During holiday weekends like Memorial day, Labour Day, and the 4th of July, Wrightsville beach gets so packed you can hardly find a space to lay a towel out.  The beach itself is wide thanks to multiple dredging projects by the local government and the Army corps of engineers.  The water has higher than average visibility compared to other NC beaches.  And most of the time you can find small offshore swells generating decent sized waves (3-5ft).  That being said, Wrightsville beach is a safe beach with lots of visiting families who bring their children to experience the beach.  It’s one of my favorite vacation destinations that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a relatively inexpensive weekend retreat with the family.  

What Asheville has to offer

             This week I wanted to keep talking about popular attractions in NC.  One of my favorite cities in NC is Asheville.  It has some of the most diverse culture, music, and art in the region, earning itself the nick name, “Paris of the South”.  Downtown Asheville has over 200 locally owned stores and boutiques for those who enjoy browsing and shopping.  Every weekend you can find live music at Pritchard Park, with a wide variety of artist and attendees.  If you are a “foodie”, then you’ll love downtown Asheville’s selection of restaurants.  I like how all of the restaurants use local, in season produce and fruit when sourcing their ingredients for their unique menus, it makes the dining experience more memorable.  Another great reason to visit Asheville is it’s beer brewing industry.  Asheville has earned the name “beer city” from experts in the industry since 2009, winning every year since.  It has more breweries per capita than any other city in America.  With breweries like Highland brewing Co., Sierra Nevada brewery, New Belgium, and countless other breweries, each with its own unique focus on the craft.       

One of my favorite places I visited was High Adventure Center of Asheville.  It’s a huge outdoor ropes course with zip lines, suspended obstacle courses, and even a mountain biking circuit with jumps.  It was a great way to build teamwork skills, have a fun while exercising, and enjoy the Asheville skyline from the tree tops.  If you looking for more activities to do outside of the city, there are some beautiful waterfalls in the area.  A short drive on the blue ridge parkway will lead you to DuPont national forrest.  There you can find sights such as the Triple Falls.  A waterfall made famous by being featured in films like Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games.  There are other great water falls in the area like High Falls, an exciting spectacle of fresh mountain spring water, sliding 150 feet down an inclined plane of granite. The falls can be viewed from a picnic shelter, or from a slippery trail to the bottom of the falls. 

Regardless of where you choose to go in Asheville, you are sure to have a great time and experience something you never have before.  With Asheville’s relatively close proximity to High Point, it makes it one of my top weekend getaway destinations.