Visiting Asheville has been high on our list of must-see places ever since discovering that the Vanderbilt's Biltmore mansion is located there. We are pleased to discover that Asheville is also one of the country's top places in which to retire. Christmas season is a perfect time to visit this lovely city. Our first evening is spent at the Asheville Community Theater for the opening night of 'Dashing Through the Snow', a comedy about a B&B in Tinsel, Texas, which is decorated for Christmas 365 days of the year.
We are delighted to discover that the National Gingerbread House Competition which attracts contestants from across the country with their architectural masterpieces is being held at the Grove Park Inn! We try to view them late one afternoon, but the crowds and no place to park make it an impossiblity.
Thanksgiving morning turns out to be THE perfect time for viewing the creativity and imagination shown in these sugar-and-spice creations.
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| The Grand Prize Winner! |
We take a casual stroll through the competition with very few people around.
Then, a leisurely breakfast of eggs Benedict await us in the restaurant overlooking downtown Asheville and the surrounding mountains.
The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, since the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style. Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927) with the help of his son-in-law Fred Loring Seely (1871–1942) dreamed up the idea of this unique resort hotel. Its rapid construction, which began in 1912, and was completed in a mere 11 months and 27 days, was accomplished by paying high wages to the dedicated workers. Circus tents were erected on the job site to house them!
The Inn opened July 12, 1913. Built of rough granite stones, the gigantic lobby is known for its enormous granite fireplaces and expansive porch with its scenic view. The Roycrofters of East Aurora, New York, one of the most important designers and manufacturers of Arts and Crafts furniture, metal work and other accessories outfitted the interior.
The hotel has hosted numerous celebrities over the years including William Jennings Bryan (who spoke at the hotel's opening), Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, John D. Rockefeller, Gen. John J. Pershing, Jerry Seinfeld, John Waters, David & Amy Sedaris, Sanjay Gupta, Charles Schwab, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Enrico Caruso, Harry Houdini, Al Jolson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bobby Jones, Wiley Post,
Will Rogers, Bill Tilden, Billy Graham, Barack Obama, William Shatner, Don Cheadle, and many others.
Biltmore House is a Châteauesque-styled mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. At 135,000 square feet and 250 rooms, it is the largest privately-owned home in the United States and is still owned by one of Vanderbilt's descendants. It is one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age with its expansive gardens in the Garden à la française and English Landscape garden styles. In 2007, it was ranked eighth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architect.
In the late 1800's, Asheville was a popular health resort in the southern Appelachians known for its mineral springs, fresh air, and pleasant climate. George and his mother were frequent visitors and he fell in love with the area and its rugged appeal.
He hired two of the most prominent designers of the day, architect Richard Morris Hunt (Metropolitan Art Museum's main facade and pedestal for the Statue of Liberty) and landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead (NYC's Central Park and the nation's Capitol grounds) to accomplish the herculean task of designing a home to reign over the 125,000 acre estate.
Limestone from Indiana, marble from India, 32,000 bricks per day from an on-site kiln, and oak and walnut flooring and paneling from a wood-working factory nearby were transported to the site by a 3-mile long rail spur. After six years of construction, Biltmore ('Bildt' for the Dutch town of his ancestors and 'more', an old English word for open, rolling land) was open on Christmas Eve, 1895.
It was not only used for entertaining, but was truly a home. After George married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in Paris, 1898, they returned to the estate to live and start a family. Their only child, Cornelia, was born there in 1900 and grew up there.
The couple was known to be kind and generous, paying good wages, providing nice living quarters and hosting a big Christmas party for the staff every year. One story that impressed me was the one about a young teenaged servant girl, who upon dropping a piece of china at dinner one night, was surprised when George helped her clean up the mess. Another, told of the two young sons of one of the gardeners, who cut down one of George's two prized pines to use as a Christmas tree. The father, horrified at their carelessness, marched them up to the big house so that they could apologize to George, but instead of being furious about it, he kindly forgave them and said to enjoy the tree for the holidays.
The Biltmore is an experience that we enjoyed immensely, taking advantage of the audio self-guided tour. Lunch in the Stables Restaurant was top-notch! We plan to spend more time on the Estate next visit, peddaling around on our trikes!
Not far from Asheville, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Touring the park by truck one day, we get the chance to see panoramic vistas, clear, rushing mountain streams, and magnificent forests stretching as far as the eye can see in this most visited national park in the US.
The park offers a variety of outdoor activities for bicyclists, campers, fishermen, hikers, horseback riders, picnickers who have the chance to see the best collection of over 80 log buldings in the US.
Waterfalls, wildflowers, and wildlife including elk, black bear (over 1,500) and white-tailed deer are plentiful.
The Roller Derby is in town tonight and we are so excited since we have never been to see one up close and personal! As we prepare to leave for a late lunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe on College Street before the event, there is a knock at the Chalet door.
One of our neighbors has a couple of tickets she can't use for tonight's Roller Derby, would we like to have them? she asks! How serindipitous is that! We have to wait almost an hour for our table at Tupelo Honey, but it is worth it!
The evening of roller derby featuring the Blue Ridge Rollergirls
is fun, fun, fun!
Chimney Rock State Park is near Asheville, so we take winding, scenic Route 74 to get there. Its signature precipice, Chimney Rock towers to a height of 2,280 feet above sea level and provides visitors with a 75-mile view of Lake Lure, Hickory Nut Gorge and the Carolina Piedmont. The rock can be reached by the trail system or ride a 26-story elevator inside the mountain (which was closed for renovations, of course!)
Mike braved the climb while I watched from the base since my vertigo went into overdrive with the myriad of steep, steep steps! With its dramatic scenery, the park has become a popular backdrop for Hollywood movies as well as commercials. 'A Breed Apart' with Powers Booth, 'Firestarter' with George C. Scott and Drew Barrymore, and 'Last of the Mohicans' with Daniel Day Lewis and Madeline Stowe were all filmed here.
The Mohicans is one of my favs, having viewed it multiple times! To see the sheer stone cliffs where the final fight scene takes place is thrilling!
We have fallen in love with Asheville. It is a picturesque, lively and progressive city with diverse people and viewpoints, making us homesick for our beloved Austin, Texas. The University of NC at Asheville offers an extensive adult education schedule that intrigues us.
Asheville is going to get a closer look from us as a possible retirement destination, once we sell our townhouse in south Florida!
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