Autumn Escapes

Friday Fall Color
Josh and I had a wonderful time on our weekend getaway. Both our drive up and back down could be described as meanders. We got off the Interstate as soon as we could and spent our time on state highways that wove through some gorgeous country. Our favorite spot was in NW South Carolina where the color was still in peak. On Friday we saw it from a distance on I-26, and then on the way back we tooled through the color, driving down Caesar's Head. (I didn't take that pic either. In fact, it's probably of Hwy 11, which we also drove, but this is really what it looked like!) It was glorious! Unfortunately, that road didn't have any stop off's that were convenient, so the views will be kept only in our mind's eye. We also saw our future retirement/vacation home spot -- Lake Keowee. Check out some more pictures that I didn't take. Lake Keowee. The backdrop of the mountains on the bluegreen water was quite breathtaking. Unfortunately, we left the brilliant fall color behind immediately as we crossed over the North Carolina line. It was as though the trees knew where the state line was.

Wine & Grape Juice
Once in Asheville, we drove directly to the Biltmore to enjoy a wine tasting and culinary show. Josh found some tasty vintages and learned a little bit about tasting wine. We didn't buy any wine because it's much more difficult for him to take out a whole bottle of wine by himself (I'm sure my parents will be glad to know this). Late afternoon at the Biltmore was really relaxing. The sun gave that extra glow to fields and few yellow-leaved trees. We checked into our hotel which, incidentally, was NOT right across from the Biltmore. We did make it to the Early Girl Eatery (not particularly early, though) for dinner. Very delicious!

Saturday Walk
Saturday we attempted to take it easy, but I think both Josh and I were somewhat wiped out. We toured the Asheville downtown area, lunched, and then headed over to the Biltmore Gardens for a little walk. The views were wonderful! Mr. Vanderbilt enjoyed them quite a bit, too. In fact, his vistas were very important. He bought all the land that his eye could see, all the way to Mt. Pisgah! I believe the total acreage was 125,000. Some of the land he purchased for only $2/acre, but some of it cost a few $100 per. He also built an observatory in the house that featured views of the estate instead of the typical views of the stars. The weather was a little bit chilly, so we took haven in the Conservatory. We finally made it up the stone walkway for the obligatory Biltmore photo. Josh was holding our camera bag, so he must have looked like a really expert photographer. He was asked about 5 times to take pictures of other people.

CandleLight
The real highlight of the day came a little later. Josh and I had reservations at the Stable Cafe. I think this is the first time we've ever had a fancy meal like that together. Both of us ordered Prime Rime which just melted in our mouth. The entire dessert menu was lactose FULL, so the chef whipped a little something special just for me. I couldn't believe it. While we dined, night fell, and a thousand little Biltmore Gnomes scurried around putting up hurricane lamps around the entire drive and upper stone walkway. Quite a sight! The interior of the house was gorgeously decorated and lit up with candles and Christmas lights. The audio tour was tailored for Christmas time, so we got to find out about some of the Biltmore Christmas traditions. Edith Vanderbilt made it her job to buy Christmas presents for every person on the estate -- 1500 presents. She did much of her shopping at the local Biltmore Village, but she also ordered some of her special of toys from FAO Shwarz. Imagine wrapping all of those gifts!

Another neat feature of the Candlelight tour was the live music in the Winter Garden, which is in the center of the home. The entire first floor tour keeps returning to the center, so you have a lot of opportunities to hear the music. While we were there, they had a chorale, a quartet, and a harpist. Finishing the tour was a real feat for me -- really. My FEET were killing me! Even Josh's feet were killing him. I took a long soak when we returned to the hotel so that I could jump straight into bed.

A Sunday Drive
Since I walked off my feet the day before, we decided that our day would be spent on all four wheels. As I mentioned at the beginning, this did not limit our sightseeing in the least. We had the most enjoyable drive home on Sunday through the Blue Ridge Parkway, down Pisgah Ridge through our favorite area of Caesar's Head. We stopped at a neat little roadside waterfall called Looking Glass Rock. I will admit I did have some concerns when we finally made it down from the mountains and my brakes were giving off a really encouraging odor. Thankfully, there was no real problem with the brakes, they just got a little overheated on their long trip down. We let them rest while we lunched at Pumpkintown Cafe. As usual, vacation with Josh was all about finding neat spots to eat. I'm sure that when we have kids this will cease to be quite the adventure that it is these days. We also did quite a bit of talking, and I think I even told Josh a few stories he hadn't heard! Now that's truly amazing. We did a little bit of name calling (just kidding -- we talked about baby names), but we didn't come to any middle name conclusions.

P.S. The next post is freshy fresh as well. So, keep scrolling! Or save it for another afternoon of blog fun!