When we got to Asheville the first thing I wanted to do was drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a 469-mile scenic road winding through twenty-nine counties in the beautiful southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. We clocked 92 miles on our trip. I told Walt that it would be fun to take Gypsy II and start at the northern most point and staying a few nights along the way do the entire trip. Then we read that one of the tunnels would not be high enough to allow her through. Shot that idea down.
Most of it is along the Blue Ridge Mountains. They are named the Blue Ridge because from a distance they appear blue. This is so true. The Parkway was a product of the Great Depression of the 1930s and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to stimulate the economy and put people to work.
Work began on the roadway in 1935. Construction was halted during World War II. All but 7.7 miles was completed in 1966 and the rest opened in 1987. No commercial vehicles are allowed and the maximum speed limit is 45 mph. And usually you are going slower either because of curves or climbs or just to enjoy the view.
Since 1946, the Blue Ridge Parkway has been the most visited site in the entire national park system. More than eighteen million visitors travel parts of the Parkway every year.
The views were so pretty but it led my imagination to think what it would be in another month or so. Green, green and all those rhododendrons on the roadside would be in bloom. Spectacular.
The Parkway has 26 tunnels. Only one tunnel is in Virginia and the remainder are in North Carolina. We went through several. The tunnels were constructed to reduce excessive landscape scarring that open cuts would have produced. They are used in areas of steep terrain where ridges run perpendicular to the roadway alignment. They are all constructed the same with attractive arched rock work.
There's that Blue Ridge. Such a beautiful day. The mountains and trees are so different than what we are used to in the west. Mother Nature paints in different pallets.
The next day with the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains above us we went to the Biltmore Estate. This house is so big that there was no way I would be able to get all of it in one photo without crossing the lawn and climbing the stairs to the hill and I thought that would take a chunk of time and I wanted to spend HOURS in the gardens.
It was so crowded and the shuttle driver told us that there were about 4000 visiting the day we were there and they consider that a quiet day. Biltmore House is the largest privately owned house in the United States. It is 178,926 square feet inside. To put that into my understanding that means 80 average sized U. S. homes would fit inside it.
The French Chateau styled mansion was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It has a steep pitched roof, a four story stair tower, and impressive gargoyles and spires that decorate the roof of the estate. No wonder it took 6 years to construct. Those stone cutters must have been worn out.
George Vanderbilt was only 25 when he decided to build Biltmore House. George W. Vanderbilt II inherited $1 million from his grandfather and received another million on his 21st birthday from his father. Upon his father's death, he inherited $5 million more, as well as the income from a $5 million trust fund. Biltmore cost $5 million and Vanderbilt paid little attention to the family business or his own investments, and it is believed that the construction and upkeep of Biltmore depleted much of his inheritance.
The entire estate originally covered 125,000 acres but now it has been reduced to 8000 acres. 87,000 acres was sold to the Federal Government after Vanderbilt's death to become part of the Pisgah National Forest. His widow, Edith, overwhelmed by the financial responsibility sold additional holdings. The house remains in the family and the estate is completely self-sufficient and receives no outside funding. It is open to the public and there are over one million visitors annually.
The house has 250 rooms, 34 are bedrooms, with 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. This massive iron chandelier hanging from a single point in the center of the house served as the main focal point of the manor. There is no flash photography inside the house and between that and the crowds I did not take many photos inside. Many of the rooms are quite dark. The self guided tour covers three floors and the basement. With it crowded as it was you just line up and follow along. Between the house and the gardens there are hundreds of steps. There is minimal provision for handicapped people but they do offer a discounted ticket for those who can't visit all of the tour. I was one tired lady at the end of the day.
The Vanderbilt's opened their home to family and friends. The dining room could accommodate dozen of their closest family and friends.
The dining room has a massive triple fireplace.
I think I prefer the servants dining room.
Many of the rooms and hallways were filled with books. Mr. Vanderbilt had a collection of over 23,000 books.
Mr. Vanderbilt's bedroom was furnished in red.
Mrs. Vanderbilt's was purple and gold. They had a large sitting room between their bedrooms.
I was surprised that the bathrooms I saw were not very luxurious.
Family and guests could enjoy the bowling alley.
They could swim in the 70,000 gallon, heated, indoor pool.
The men could exercise in the gymnasium.
There are 3 kitchens. I can't imagine how many servants they had on staff.
The tour of the house was interesting. I loved the art, the shelves full of books, and many of the fireplaces were amazing but it was too much, too dark, too Victorian for me to be lingering. I couldn't wait to get to the gardens. Next up..................the glory of Frederick Law Olmsted's design of the grounds.
"Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world."
Cesare Pavese