A Visit to the Biltmore Estate

The City of Asheville is pretty much synonymous with the Biltmore Estate. Most folks that visit Asheville make Biltmore a number one priority. So, it's crazy that we have lived here for 6 years and have never made a journey to this famous house. For those of you who don't know, the Biltmore Estate is the largest private residence in the US. It was built in the 1800's and is now, largely open to the public. There are a few sections of the house that remain private. It is amazing, to say the least.

The main reason that we have not made a visit before is the cost of admission. Luckily for us, the park that I work for has an agreement with the Biltmore and several other attractions. We get into some great places for free. It's a pretty sweet perk of the job....besides hiking and getting paid for it!

This is a side view of the house. I didn't get a pic from the front so you can't tell how big it really is. Grady didn't like the house. He said it was, "a little scary". I think it was the massive gargoyles that threw him off. We didn't take the kids in the house. I know they wouldn't appreciate it. Plus, I can't afford to pay for any broken items! It would be like releasing a bull in a china shop. Josh and I will go on our own sometime.

We headed to the Gardens and the Conservatory. The boys loved running around the gardens. The flowers were breath taking. (almost as pretty as my mom's garden!)

Myles was all smiles when he saw all the colors.

Me and the boys in the gardens.

Can you spot G? He is camouflaged in

all the bright colors.

Grady had to find the bass pond and see if it was full of fish.

Myles loved the guitar player in the Conservatory. He even played a few special songs for Moo.

After the gardens we headed over to the farm. They had a petting area where the boys terrorized the animals.

Myles really wanted the chicken to peck his hand. He chased them around the entire time. I know those chicks were happy when the Scala boys left the farm.

We stopped off for a bite of ice cream. They have a little village inside the Estate with shopping, restaurants and a winery. Josh and I are going to come back another time for a wine tasting. Yummy!