Asheville, North Carolina is such a beautiful area. It was pouring rain the day we arrived. The next day we enjoyed the view from the RV looking into the trees and clouds. There are so many things to see and do in the Asheville, North Carolina area. We were lucky and the weather cooperated.
Mama Gertie’s Hideaway Campground
This is a great location, high on a hill, and overlooking the mountains and trees. Its located in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Nearby, there is an Ingles grocery store, Walmart, CVS, gas stations, and plenty of pizza. The pads are gravel, cable is clear with a nice selection, and wifi good enough to surf the internet, but could not stream Netflix.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Its at a higher elevation so the trees were just starting to bud. It was only in the 40’s. We were in and out of thick cloud cover making it difficult to drive faster than 25 mph. No views because of the clouds, but nonetheless, stunning.
There were plenty of dogwoods amongst the bare trees.
A flame azalea blooming.
We went though a number of tunnels.
A Trillium beat up by the rain.
We came across many small waterfalls.
There were many abandoned homes. Blue violets carpeted everywhere underfoot.
Switzerland Inn
We were very lucky because they just opened a few days earlier for the season. Sandy ordered freshly caught trout and I had a prime rib sandwich. There were only a few people staying at the Inn. Loved our waitress and lunch.
Linville Falls
We attempted to visit Linville Caverns, but they were flooded because of the recent rain. We decided to go to Linville Falls instead. There was an on and off again drizzle and the ground was muddy, but that kept the other tourists away and gave Jake a great chance to stretch his legs. The river was at its high water mark. Don’t fall in! A beautiful azalea on a rock outcropping with a waterfall in the background.
Bright orange jelly fungus.
Biltmore Estate
This is a large 6950 acre private estate and tourist attraction near Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House, the main residence, is a chateau type mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. He died at age 51 from complications following an appendectomy. Since he died in 1914, there was a greater than 50% chance he would not have survived the surgery. Although appendectomies were done at the time and morphine/ether were used for anesthesia, the procedure was not very successful. Pulmonary aspiration and surgical site infection were major concerns. Penicillin was not discovered until 1928.
The Biltmore House is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 178,926 square feet of floor space. It is still owned by descendants of the Vanderbilt family. The Vanderbilt wealth was from shipping and railroads. Some have named this the Gilded Age, which is a term used to describe a time of materialistic excesses combined with extreme poverty. The term comes from a lessor know novel by Mark Twain which satirized the promised golden years after the Civil War, portrayed as an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion.
We took the audio tour of the house. Pretty amazing for the early 1900’s. Reminded us of castles we saw in Europe. They had tapestries, sculptures, lots of rooms, stables, large dining rooms, artwork, and the usual wealthy people things. Kinda thinking this painting would look better hanging above a bar in a western saloon. Sleeveless dresses became popular in the United States around 1915, which is when American women started shaving their armpits.
There is an indoor swimming pool in the basement. Back then no modern pool equipment, so they would fill it up with heated water, then drain it after a few days. The ropes were for inexperienced swimmers to hold on to. Unfortunately, it now leaks. But still, very impressive in Asheville, North Carolina at the time.
They had a bowling alley. An attendant would stack the pins, roll the balls back, and quickly get out of the way.
They even had a flush toilet!
There was a gym, a trophy room, and a billiard room. Vanderbilt had a selection of rifles for his guests to hunt deer. Unfortunately, no golf course.
Loved the kitchen, laundry room, and dumbwaiter.
The gardens were huge and very impressive. Fredrick Law Olmstead was a landscape architect who designed the grounds around the Biltmore. Olmstead was involved in the design of New York’s Central Park.
They opened Biltmore to the public in 1930, responding to requests to increase area tourism during the Depression, and to generate income to preserve the estate.
There are underground tunnels were wine was stored. A relatively newer addition is Antler Hill Winery and a very large tasting room with a good selection of wines made on the property. Some grapes are grown locally, and many are imported from around the country including California.
