Babymoon

David and I wanted to get away one last time before we become a family of three and took a weekend trip to Asheville, North Carolina a few weeks ago. Tickets for the Biltmore house were cheaper in September than October and I saved $30 by ordering tickets online. Friends all said the audio tour was well worth the extra cost and I'm so glad I went for it. The house tour is self guided and the information in the tour booklet is sparse.

We drove up Saturday morning, stopping at Starbucks in Asheville for a pumpkin latte that was heavenly and worth every penny. We spent about three hours touring the house in the morning and returned to our car for sandwiches. In the afternoon we returned to the house to take pictures of the exterior and explore the beautiful gardens. The morning haze had burned off and the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was spectacular.

We headed over the the new Antler Village where a large collection of Tiffany lamps was on display. They were simply stunning and it was such a treat to see the vast touring collection. I was getting pretty tired from all the walking and my poor choice of shoes but I buckled down and figured we're only here once and I wanted to enjoy everything. We then toured the winery and bought several bottles of wine to enjoy after I'm no longer pregnant!

Hickory Nut Falls 

We headed back to our hotel which I had booked on Priceline and got ready for dinner. I need to write a whole entry on how to bid for hotels but for now here's a short article from Clark Howard. I saved fifty percent on our hotel, it had a super comfy bed plus breakfast and just happened to be about five minutes from the gate to the estate. We had a delicious steak dinner in Asheville and returned to the hotel to catch the end of the Texas game.

Lake Lure

On Sunday we ate breakfast at our hotel and drove about an hour to Chimney Rock State Park. I knew the elevator was closed but was told you could take a short hike up to the rock instead. By a short hike what they really meant was a vast series of staircases. I got my workout in that day! It was a cloudy fall day but the view from the top was still beautiful, especially after all those stairs we climbed to get there! We also took a "real" hike to Hickory Nut Falls which was sadly just a trickle at this time of year.  

We then headed to a apple orchard in Hendersonville to pick apples and enjoy the cool fall weather. We picked half a bushel of Mutsu and Golden Delicious apples and bought a pumpkin for the front porch as well. After dinner in Hendersonville, we headed home. It was a whirlwind trip but I am so glad we were able to get away before life gets just a bit crazier next month!