Ryan and I were up early Saturday morning for the long drive to Asheville, North Carolina. We decided to rent a car because Ryan didn't trust my car to get us through the mountains, and he didn't want to rack up over 1,000 miles on his car. The rental car turned out to be a newer Ford Escape, a nice change from my 2009 Honda Civic that's seen better days. I should mention the only cars I've had up until now have been slightly older, where you have to actually press down on the brakes for them to catch. Poor Ryan probably got a little whiplash while I got the hang of using brakes that work when you breathe in their direction. Ryan drove most of the time because I wasn't a driver on the rental agreement.
I have always brought things to do in the car on long road trips. Motion sickness has never been much of a problem for me before, so my road-trip activities are usually reading. I brought a book and some schoolwork to look at on the drive for this trip, but what I didn't anticipate was how sleepy this drive made me. It seemed like the drive went by rather quickly because I was in and out of sleep the entire time! Thankfully, once we crossed the state line into North Carolina the weight on my eyelids lifted. We were driving through a gorge in the mountains when it struck me just how small we really are. Looking at those magnificent mountains and their brilliantly green leaves swaying in the wind made me feel closely surrounded by God. It was an incredible view and feeling.
The mountains of North Carolina host an abundance of trails with views of the landscape or waterfalls, which is one of the reasons we chose to travel to Asheville; the other being the Biltmore, of course. Sunday night as we were laying down to go to sleep after a long day in the car, we decided to try two different hiking trails, Chimney Rock and Craggy Pinnacle. Chimney Rock is more of a moderate hike and led to a waterfall, which Ryan was very excited about seeing. Wanting to miss the rain that was scheduled for that afternoon, we headed out a little early to drive out to Chimney Rock. As we got closer to our destination, a road sign said the road was closed ahead, but didn't say exactly how far ahead the closure began and we wanted to see if we could make it. I have never driven through hairpin turns like the ones leading to Chimney Rock, that left me white knuckled and Ryan perfectly poised and calm as he maneuvered through ancient road. Our GPS told us we were only a few miles away when the bright orange Road Closed sign blocked our path. Driving back through the nerve-wracking twisting, turning road we finally made it out to the Craggy Pinnacle information center tucked away on the side of the road with parking spots extending away from the building on either side. At the end of the parking spots another big orange sign loomed ahead saying the road was closed beyond the information center.
Walking up to the information center we spotted a trail head for Douglass Falls, which looked promising, however, when we inquired about the trail from the park ranger he said it was 8 miles round trip (4 miles in both directions). 8 miles seemed ambitious, so we decided to follow the other hikers walking the half mile from the information center to the Craggy Pinnacle trail beyond the road closure. The trail itself was easy enough being only .7 miles long to the amazing views at the top with simple foot work and a steady increase in elevation. Check out some of the photos we took here:
The photos are organized showing our drive up to Craggy Pinnacle all the way to the top. Hiking up mountains isn't something I get to do often, but it was incredible being at the top (and that's not even counting the temperature drop and low humidity). Before leaving the mountainside for lunch, we hiked another fairly short trail to make up for Chimney Rock being closed due to mudslides and weather damage.
This trail led to the garden picnic area, which was supposed to be blooming with beautiful rhododendron plants, but none of it was in bloom during our trip. We did pass these little blue flowers that seem to be more like weeds than flowers but I thought they were lovely. This is the rhododendron lined path that led us back down the trail from Craggy Pinnacle to the closed road. I can only imagine what it would have looked like in bloom, but when we came through none of it was blooming except in one spot on the side of the road.
After eating lunch at a Panera Bread and seriously considering just staying in the mountains of Asheville forever, we found a cozy little coffee shop called High Five Coffee. One of my favorite things about traveling is finding local coffee shops, however, this was not a just-for-fun coffee run. Our trip was a working vacation for me while I continue to keep pushing toward the end of my masters degree. Typically, I'm not a latte kind of person because they're too sweet and have more milk than coffee, but this coffee shop made a fantastic caramel latte. They asked what I usually like to drink and I explained I prefer most of my fancy coffee beverages with less sugar or sweetener, and the barista kindly offered to cut the house-made syrup in half to make my latte. Ryan got their special for the day which included a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of his cup!
Monday morning, wearing a sundress and flowered hat, Ryan and I drove to the famous Biltmore Estate, where we took an audio tour through the main house. I was glad we opted for the audio tour because they had some interesting facts about the 250 room house but didn't require sticking with a larger group of people. It felt like stepping into an American version of Downton Abbey and into a period of time that fascinates me. What really sent me back in time was walking into the kitchen where I could just imagine all the people rushing through that room. They even had a coffee grinder at the end of the long table where the copper pots and pans hung from hooks. Can't you just see the cook preparing a meal and the other servants rushing in and out carrying trays of food to the dumbwaiter?
Before going out to the gardens Ryan and I enjoyed the view of the rolling hills behind the house and the accompanying breeze, which was a welcome change from the Memphis heat.
We walked for miles, strolling through the gardens and conservatory adjacent to the main house before driving over to Antler Village and the Winery. The gardens were full of beautiful flowers and plants that transformed the garden into a wildflower meadow.
I loved these purple, bell-shaped flowers and wished there was a way to grow them in our backyard. The flowers we planted a few weeks ago are still hanging on but are looking a little wilty, which is most likely the result of being in the hands of an amateur gardener. I am proud to say that our vegetable garden has sprouted leafy, green shoots! I can't wait until we have actual vegetables growing on the vines, but I am terrified of picking them because I know how many spiders live in that back corner.... But that's information for another blog post.
Parts of the gardens were laid out in these immaculate designs using triangle shapes. A famous glass blower created a variety of designs for the estate that are featured inside the house and in many places in the gardens. There's even a long stretch with a koi pond in the center that's surrounded with the colorful, abstract designs.
Here is a view of the triangular design of the plants with a little view of an abstract, glass-blown creation on the side.
Here are some views from inside the conservatory, which housed plants from all over the world. They even had a baby pineapple growing inside the building! One part of the conservatory had white, antique chairs with matching tables that brought to mind sipping on a quiet cup of Earl Grey tea scribbling in a notebook. The room is meant for listening to small concerts surrounded by flowers, trees and shrubs, where the light coming through the ceiling casts a comforting glow that, like many parts of Asheville, makes you never want to leave.
One thing I learned from this trip is checking the weather before traveling to an unfamiliar place is very important. While I enjoyed the cooler temperatures, they did come as a surprise. Every morning when we walked out the door and down to the continental breakfast, I was slightly shocked at how cool the temperature felt. It did rise throughout the day to a warmer, almost hot, feel in the afternoon, but in the mornings, evenings and in the mountains it became clear that I did not pack the right type of clothing for the occasion. So, before you decide to take a trip to a new place, check the weather and make sure you pack the right type of clothing, and make sure that Asheville, North Carolina is on your bucket list of vacation spots! It is well worth the 7-hour drive!
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