March, 09, Asheville, NC & The Biltmore Estate

These little fellows were a bit of entertainment for us and particularly for Mango and Pearl at the campground where we stayed in Asheville, NC. Woodchucks, also called Eastern Marmots are in the squirrel family and are prolific in NC and VA. They're very cute to watch and Pearl especially would position herself in front of the window and shake like crazy as she watched them run around. She'd rather be chasing them of course. Nice teeth eh?

We drove up to the Cherokee Indian Reservation near Asheville and enjoyed touring their museum, then drove on the way down to Asheville we drove through a bit of the Smoky Mountains which were beautiful. Asheville is a charming town with a very liberal and artistic feel nestled in the mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway. They have wonderful restaurants!

I guess the highlight of our stay there had to be the visit to the Biltmore Estate. What a beautiful place. If you click on the picture below you can see the line we had to wait in first thing in the morning and it was quite chilly.

Interior photography estate is not allowed so no shots of the incredible rooms .....it's a fabulous place. Although there was quite a crowd there..on a Tuesday...the tour is well organized and they all seem very used to handling so many. I did take a few pictures from the inside looking out and didn't get my hand spanked so I guess it was ok.

She was perched on top of an entry gate.

Believe it or not Mango did not fall in the pool.

We visited the Biltmore on March 20 which is a little early for showy flowers but there were some and the grounds were beautiful. We walked around the walled garden and took a walk along a path through other gardens to a pond. The following pictures are from that walk.

Looking at the Biltmore from the gardens.

The greenhouse and walled gardens.

The Forsythias were definitely in bloom.

This may be Chinaberry. Does anyone know?

There is a photographer inside the home positioned by the Atrium to take your picture as you walk through and you can buy it or not as you leave. We liked it!

Besides the actual estate home there is a Winery, a Petting Barn and Farmyard (not my favorite thing but good for families perhaps), and Inn and several restaurants, and excellent walking paths all over the estate. Quite a place and well worth the visit.