Cogitations and Reflections: Asheville Day Two (July 11, 2009)

Day Two was both busy and relaxing. We were off to the Biltmore where we had anticipated we would spend several hours. We weren't wrong. The Biltmore is a 250 room "house" built by George Vanderbilt (son of Cornelius) on an estate of 8000 acres. We acquired tickets for a 12 noon tour of the home and by the time we had finished the in-house tour we were almost 2 hours into the afternoon. Of the 8000 acres a portion (a large one at that) is dedicated to gardens. The truth is that the a large part of the property is landscaped and the actual "cultured" gardens are, "themselves," many acres in size. A good portion of the acreage is forested but there is a sizable farming operation, a winery and most everything else imaginable to make the "House" self sufficient. Almost castle like in appearance on the exterior and such on the inside that one could easily be lost in the corridors; maybe for days. Of the 250 rooms, 43 are bathrooms. The accommodations were not just for family and guests but also for 40 servants. The "house" was built in 1895 and then opened by the family in the 1930s to the public. Still owned by the family it is now solely for public access and viewing. Who could pay the utilities? There is a generous charge (generous for the family) to enter and no photography is permitted inside the home. It has to be expensive just to maintain the grounds, let alone the "house."

It was a little warmer today and the "house" is not air conditioned. It was crowded and the lines moved slowly. Fans were used throughout the home and the ice cream shop outside was a nice touch after the tour. We wandered about some of the closer gardens after the tour and then drove the property before leaving for downtown Asheville for church.

When we returned to the GP Inn we were just in time to freshen up a bit and ready ourselves for our 730 PM reservation for the Blue Ridge Dining Room and a buffet (all you can eat) feast. It became a flirtation with gluttony. Did I really say that? Well, Saturday nights are the prime rib specials but the buffet doesn't end with beef. I think we both had 4 plates before we were finished (remember, no lunch and the ic doesn't count.) My first plate included hickory seasoned prime rib, grouper (a mildly seasoned fish dish), cornbread dusted catfish, sweet peas cooked in butter with almonds, and something else I can't recall now. The second plate included the regular prime rib, more catfish, a piece of Asian seasoned (again mild) plum soaked pork (or something like that), more peas and asparagus spears. The third plate was all fresh fruit. My fourth was for dessert which included a small piece of key lime pie and a small piece of a raspberry almond torte. Without exception each of the dishes I had and each that Sheila had were outstanding. We just looked at each other with each bite and smiled. Back to Wendy's tomorrow.

This pic shows the Asheville skyline from the Sunset Terrace where we "dined" last night. Open air with a view and with music in the background. We thought last night was great and then came tonight...