The beginning was interesting. I-40 coming out of Asheville is a lot more winding and downhill than I’m used to. You know the road is mountainous when there are signs instructing trucks that they can use the shoulder to cool their brakes. They also had a 35mph limit on them. And the absolute best was the ramps for out of control trucks…. uhm… I saw enough of those to make me think that they must be for a reason… They amounted to a lot of small dirt hills leading to a large one… One would assume the small bumps were to slow the truck and the last big one was the final stop… brrr….

And here’s a random observation, you know you’re not in Georgia anymore when all the rest stops have ONLY Pepsi products. I stopped at two stops in North Carolina and one in Virginia…. nothing but Pepsi… bleh… Oh well, when you’re desperate, you’re getting what they sell… well, at two of three stops anyway…

I’m going to have to examine the maps a bit before I leave, especially once I settle on where I’m stopping over on my way back. I followed the AAA map that I got before leaving and once I got off I-95, I figured I must be close… oh, try at least 30 miles away… I mean, the scenery was beautiful, a very rural way in, but after 7 hours on the road, staring at the map constantly and watching for the next turn was absolutely no fun. Maybe if you had a co-pilot, but solo, I think there has to be a perhaps longer but more interstate oriented route out of here…. I hope…

Speaking of solo, I had expected to pick up a friend from deviant art on the way up, but he had to back out because things came up to keep him in Charlotte. I had planned this trip solo anyway, but it would have been nice to have had some company on that long tedious drive, let me tell you. Maybe another time.

Once here, I checked into the hotel and then headed over to the Welcome center to get my tickets. I’m paid up for my whole stay in Williamsburg for entry to the colonial village and to Jamestowne and Yorktown. That also includes the shuttle buses to those attractions. After that drive, I think I’m going to let someone else do the driving for the next few days. I’m more or less in walking distance of the village. I walk at a good pace and it’s about 10 minutes away.

I also booked a couple of tours and some evening activities in the village. It’s kind of nuts how busy they are. I had thought to be a little less schedule oriented here, but the lady at the counter advised against that. In fact, as I went through the schedule of things I wanted to do, for three of the four, I snagged the last spots on those tours… yoiks! So, looks like all day tomorrow is Colonial Williamsburg, I have a tour at 10am and another in the afternoon and one more that night. Wednesday is probably all day at Jamestowne. And then Thursday is probably part day here and part day in Yorktown.

Williamsburg was already pretty much shut down when I got the tickets done and drove back over here. But I tested out the walk and got some evening shots of the village. Beautiful warm light. When I have the energy to actually go through these shots….

So, back here, grabbed some dinner, and now it’s time for TV and bed…

Aren’t I exciting as all get out?

I arrived shortly after opening and got my tickets. I ended up shelling out the $45 for the entrance plus an audio guide (the audio guide was only $3 extra….). There were no tours of the house proper today, but all the side tours were on. They had garden tours, motor coach tours of the property, and various tours behind the ropes of the house. Continuing my climb to the top of all large structures pattern, I chose to take the roof top tour. You saw that coming, right? Okay, it wasn’t nearly as strenuous as Climbing either St. Paul’s or St. Peter’s Cathedrals, but it was a lot of fun.

Despite the fact they were expecting in excess of 5,000 people today at Biltmore Estate, I was one of only three people on our tour. So, we had lots of time for questions and I think we got a little more out of our tour than most. The guide was awesome and told us a lot of tidbits about the house. The rooftop tour isn’t just of the roof, as it includes various rooms and corridors otherwise off limits.

That tour complete, I had yet to take the proper self-guided tour of the home. I had wandered around the outside a bit before the roof tour, but the estate was doing “timed entry” today to try to control the crowds, so I hadn’t been able to go in before hand. It was about 11:30am at this point, so parched and a bit hungry, I decided to go pay $10 for a coke and a sandwich. Oh well, at least it was a healthy sandwich…

The audio guided tour of the house was probably in excess of two hours. I mean, I got my money’s worth. I went in every room and I listened to every audio commentary there was for that room. And the house is just amazing. Well ahead of it’s time, a home from the late 1800′s with electricity and plumbing (43 bathrooms when hardly anyone of the day had one), and it’s original. And the grandeur…. Wow, when I saw the banqueting hall, it was like deja vue. I could have been back in any English castle I’ve visited before. And the victoriana is evident everywhere you look. Ornate moldings, elaborate carving, gargoyles and grotesques (and I’ve been trying hard to remember where in England I last saw examples like those). It really was a feast for the eyes if a bit unforgiving for the feet.

After leaving the house, I wandered through the gift shop for a bit and then began to tour the gardens…. yes, more walking…. and more… and more… And I never saw them all. I tried, believe me, I tried. If one lived near here and likes gardens, that alone would pay for the $80 or so it costs to be a season pass holder. I mean, this is a garden designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the father of American landscape architecture and the designer of Central Park in New York. While the greenhouses and formal gardens were just stunning, it was the woodland gardens (still Olmstead) that really spoke to me. I so wished I had been here to see that Azalea garden in bloom!

I walked the gardens for about three hours before dragging my sad feet back to the house to catch a bus back to the parking lot. Driving out, I passed all the other attractions I failed to get to, the winery, the farm, and the other garden paths. Nevermind Biltmore Village that I drove through but never got to see on foot.

It was just a side trip for me. The real goal is Jamestowne area of Virginia, but now I think I may have to come back here some day and allow myself a few days. There’s so much more here. Art museums, a nightly ghost walk (that my feet would shoot me for, nevermind that it’s now raining), galleries, parks, the mountains, etc., etc. And this is just what I discovered in the day and a half I’ve been here.

And tomorrow morning, I head on to Colonial Williamsburg and the next stop on my trip. I had thought about going to see X-Men III tonight or maybe Why We Fight at the art theater downtown. But I’m just exhausted. Between being on my feet for most of the day and the oppressive heat (which according to the guide at Biltmore is unusual), I don’t have the energy to get back out or be up late. I want an early start in the morning.

Hate to think how hot it is at home right now. The heat here feels like what I left… But the real killer for me is something that is in bloom here that we either don’t have or has already passed bloom at home. My allergies have been havoc since last night. Watery red eyes and all. Luckily I packed the allergy pills!

Oh, and here’s a photo from the streets of Asheville that I particularly liked:

Where’s The Fire

I loved these yellow fire hydrants with the red and green accents.  I’m sure it has something to do with the water pressure or some such, but I still think it was artistic of the city, which is known to be artsy.

Got an early start this morning (for me), leaving Alpharetta around 8am.

The stretch to Greenville got pretty monotonous. Shift right to pass, shift back left, shift right again… joy…. There’s not much of visual interest once you pass the lakes as the Georgia border.

But in Greenville, the path AAA had plotted out leads to a bit more scenic roads, mostly not interstates. Mountains started blossoming around me, but soon it was pretty much the same sort of road. And making good time, I decided I should take a side trip. I saw a sign that said “Bat Cave” – cool, I’ve never visited caves before, I thought. I figured that it was some sort of national park. About halfway there, the thought crossed my mind, what if it’s a place named Bat Cave?

Well, guess what… it is… But it was on a scenic byway, so it was worth it. However, I’m glad to see Georgia isn’t the only place where scenic byway means, “winding road of death with no place to pull over and linger on a view.” I saw the most beautiful mountain valley totally filled with yellow flowers of some description. It positively glowed, but there was nowhere to pull over and document the moment on “film.” Alas… I’ve come to realize that by and large, I’m a flat lander. I definitely don’t enjoy driving on roads that whip back and forth the way they do up here, or even just a tad north of Atlanta for that matter.

At any rate, before I sound like it’s a bad trip, it’s not. Asheville is beautiful. The downtown is practically overflowing with awesome old architecture, obviously influenced by the Vanderbilts. I’ve yet to see the estate itself, that’s on tomorrow’s agenda.

I got to the hotel around 2pm and got settled in. It’s probably about 15 minutes from downtown, near Biltmore Mall (if that’s the only mall here, it’s not saying much, I’m assuming there’s more elsewhere). Afterwards, I drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway for awhile. Not quite as curving as the stretch to Bat Cave at least! Scenic overlooks frequently and mountain tunnels which lead to an interesting discovery.

The tunnels have signs asking you to turn on your headlights… so, I attempt to… hmmm… nothing… weird… but the lights do flip on automatically as always (which is the only way I normally turn them on). The problem is, it takes half a tunnel for them to flip on…. After two tunnels like this, I pop open the fuse box at the first scenic overlook, and I find the one that’s supposed to be for the headlights… empty… I don’t mean blown, I mean, empty… So, I popped a spare into it… problem solved, but what, I’ve had this car since 2001 and never been able to operate the headlights manually if I wanted to? Strange! It’s not like I ever tried…

So, after meandering down the parkway for awhile, stopping periodically, I headed back into Asheville and went back to downtown, this time having time to park and wander since everything else was squared away. Tons of photos, but too exhausted to do much with them tonight. I had thought I might go see a movie at the theater around the corner, but I know I’d just go to sleep.

Oh, downtown I had a fun vagrant experience. I seem to be required to have one of those per trip. I was taking a picture when he walked up… curse me, I made eye contact… I keep saying I’ll work on that… So, he saw his chance and was trying to sell me something electronic… I wasn’t paying attention, except for his story automatically had holes in it. First he had found it, then he had bought it but needed to sell it for food… yeah… “I’m sorry, no thanks…” Again with the preamble, this time with the addition of a hungry wife… “I’m sorry…” And his reply, “I KNOW YOU ARE!” And off he stomped… I did not just get called sorry by a panhandler did I?? Okkkkkkkkayyyy….

But don’t let this color your perception of Asheville. Lovely place. The architecture I’ve covered. There were also street performers all over the place. Live music echoed through the streets. There are art galleries and stores all over. I may try to take some of that in tomorrow.

So, off to bed now… try to get a good nights sleep but I want to get to Biltmore estate early so that I can take in as much as possible.