Headed West
The sixth day of our trip was spent mostly in the car. We packed up some on Thursday evening, and then finished getting ALL of our stuff together on Friday morning. We took off from our Cabin at Willow Winds just shortly before the required check-out time, and headed west towards Memphis. Nicholas and I both dreaded making Eisley sit in the car seat for another long stint, but she was amazing and made the trip very smooth. We traveled for about 4 hours, and then stopped off in Monterey, Tennessee for lunch at The Cup and Saucer Diner. The food was mediocre, but it was food, and the people there were very hospitable. After lunch we made the last part of the drive to Memphis and found a hotel.
We unpacked the car yet again, and rested for just a bit before doing some research on our dinner options. We found Leonard’s Pit Barbecue, a local restaurant that has been around since the 20’s. The food was pretty good, and we got our fill of the whole Memphis barbecue scene. After dinner we went back to the hotel and settled in for the night, arming ourselves with a 6:00 am wake-up call in order to make it to Graceland by 9:00 the next morning.
« Day 5 | Day 7 »
A Hike, Some Wine, and Some Good Food
Eisley got to face outward for the first time on our morning hike.
So day 5 of our Asheville adventure started out with another hike on the Mountains to Sea Trail. We hiked for a couple of hours, and this time Eisley faced outward in the carrier for awhile. It may not sound like too big of a deal, but it was to us because this meant that she had grown big enough (and stable enough) to support herself a little bit, and she was quite happy being able to have the same view as her parents. While on our hike we saw a rafter of wild turkeys (that’s a group in case you are curious – I googled) which was pretty exciting, and took a few more pictures.
After hiking, we got ready and made it down to the Tupelo Honey Cafe for lunch. The food was great and lived up to the ratings we had seen online. We finished eating and wandered around the downtown area just a little bit more before heading back to the Biltmore property to check out the winery. We completed a short self-guided tour of the winery and did a tasting (but not before letting Eisley have her own bottle tasting). There was quite a selection of wines and some of them were pretty tasty.
We posed in front of some flower gardens outside of the Biltmore Winery.
Once we made some purchases at the winery, we loaded up again and headed off to dinner. We were able to go to the Native American restaurant that Nicholas had wanted to try for his birthday and we enjoyed a nice meal that completed a great day and our last night in Asheville.
Our plan for tomorrow is to head towards Memphis, spend the night, and make it to Graceland first thing Saturday morning. From there we are moving on to Little Rock to eat somewhere and watch some of the Texas game. It is certain that we will have lots to report after Saturday’s events. I mean come on, Graceland AND Little Rock??? Keep your eyes peeled…
« Day 4 | Day 6 »
We enjoyed the view outside the Biltmore House. Those are the Blue Ridge mountains in the background.
The Biltmore Estate
Asheville is famous for the Biltmore Estate, which contains the largest home in the world: a 175,000 square foot castle built by George Washington Vanderbilt in 1895. It’s now open to the public. We had bought our tickets the day before and arrived at the Biltmore around 11:00 am. We spent a few hours touring the house, which contains 4 floors that include a library, an indoor swimming pool, a bowling alley and a 4-story chandelier. It was all very state of the art for the 19th century.
After touring the house we had a cranky baby on our hands. We stopped at a bench to feed her, then went walking. We toured the gardens, which were just a short distance from the mansion. The flowers probably weren’t as pretty as the are in the spring, but they were still beautiful. There was so much more to see on the estate, but we were getting hungry. We decided to save the rest of it for another day and went to find some lunch.
Eisley enjoyed the hammock near the pond outside our cabin.
We made our way to Biltmore Villiage, an area of Asheville constructed for the workers who helped build Mr. Vanderbilt’s house. Now the area is full of chic retail establishments and restaurants. We found a place called La Paz that looked child-friendly. It was standard Mexican fare and was surprisingly good for being so far from the border. After our late lunch, we walked around the villiage, venturing into some of the stores. As the sun started to set, we headed back to our cabin.
Back at Willow Winds, we decided to walk down to the pond behind our cabin. We got a few good pictures of Eisley as the sun was going down. It was chilly though, so we didn’t stay out long. We spent the rest of the evening indoors.
« Day 3 | Day 5 »
Turning 31 in Asheville
Courtney posing by the trail during our hike
We started the third day of our vacation by celebrating Nicholas’ 31st birthday. What could be more fitting than a birthday hike? Nicholas and I headed out with Eisley in tow in the Baby Bjorn carrier. We started out on the Blue Ridge trail that connects up with the Mountains to the Sea trail, a 935 mile long trail that spans, well…you can probably guess the route. Our hike lasted a couple of hours, long enough for Eisley to get in a bit of a nap, and for us to take some pictures and admire the landscape. The entire hike was quiet with the exception of the wind blowing through the trees. We only passed one other person on the trail. Eisley did a great job and hung in for the duration of our walk, and we made it back to the cabin in time for lunch and a little bit of rest.
After regrouping we headed to a slightly different area downtown in Asheville and walked around to check out the shops. At some point during our outing, we realized that we had left the diapers and
Eisley sacked out in the Baby Bjorn well into the hike
wipes in the hiking backpack. It can be a scary feeling to be on the tightrope that is clean baby clothes without the safety net of diapering reinforcement. Back to the cabin we went to get the necessary items, and then we planned to go to dinner. Nicholas found a local restaurant that serves Native American food, and so for his birthday we were going to try it out. The restaurant has some very strange hours and it turned out that they are only open on a few days out of the week, Tuesday not being one of them. Luckily extra research had been done and we went to eat at an Italian/Greek place called Pommodoro’s. Our meal was nice and Eisley once again was great. We went back to the cabin and put Eisley to sleep (this took a couple of tries) and then Nicholas and I tried to use the hot tub. The hot tub itself was great, but we could never get the temperature very hot, and we equated the experience to sitting in a lukewarm bath tub. Not the best time when it is around 40 degrees outside. We had a good laugh about it and called it a night.
Happy Birthday Nicholas!
« Day 2 | Day 4 »
We posed for the camera at Havana, a Cuban restaurant we found in downtown Asheville
Nashville to Asheville
Day 2 of our vacation started with sleeping in at the hotel until the last possible minute until check out. We packed up the car and headed off for the last 4 hours of our journey to Asheville. Being super determined to get to our final destination, we made sandwiches and got a bottle ready before we took off so that we could eat on the go.
The drive east from Nashville got progressively more beautiful as we started to see the various colors of the landscape. With each bend in the road we were able to see more mountainous terrain and all of the scenery made the drive pass by fairly quickly. When we finally arrived at the cabin we were greeted by the nicest woman, who asked us if we had brought Eisley as payment for our stay. We got all of the information needed and then anxiously unloaded our car. The cabin structure itself is quite rustic, but we have modern day appliances and plumbing. There is no central heat or air, but we have a big fireplace and plenty of gas heaters to stay warm. We even have our very own hot tub on the back deck.
Bonnie showing Eisley off to other restaurant patrons. When did Eisley get to be this big!!!???
After getting settled, we decided to head to the downtown area to eat some dinner. It seemed like there wasn’t a great deal open, but we did find a Cuban restaurant that seemed to be ‘child friendly’. The whole ‘child friendly’ concept is a new one for us – one that we are learning about with each passing moment. The restaurant was quite colorful, and the owner was quite gracious, and possibly a little obsessed with our child. Bonnie (the owner) had some bright red glasses, and a thick Carolina accent. She ended up being the one to seat us and take our order. When our food was brought out, she asked if she could hold Eisley. We let her, but kept a close eye on the location of our child. Eisley made the rounds to all of the tables and it seemed as if all the patrons were really enjoying her company. We did get her back (don’t worry) and all was well.
After dinner and coffee, we left the Cuban place and headed for the car. We did pause for a minute to look at the wine bar across the street, but then realized that this was a vacation for three, and no longer a trip for two. We arrived back at the cabin and tried to get a good night’s rest.
« Day 1 | Day 3 »