Halfway through June and on our second vacation already! Not wasting THIS summer break!
This trip took us to North Carolina and Tennessee, a combination of family reunion and sightseeing, and a grand time was had by all.
Day 1: Serious driving. Nine hours to Asheville, NC, with winding roads taking us through mountains and more mountains as we crossed through West Virginia and into the Smokies.
Our van-ful of family. A bunch of terrific, patient car travelers right here. And a terrific, patient driver who navigated mountain roads and tunnels with ease...
We met Becca at our beautiful Airbnb and then went into Asheville for a quick dinner at literally the first non-chain restaurant with easy parking that we could find because it was 9pm and our little crew is NOT used to late dinners... but we made it! And dinner was yummy and we all slept well in our airy "treehouse" rooms...
Then, in the morning, time for ...
Day 2: Biltmore!
We started our day by exploring the "Antler Hill" farm area, which was quiet and calm...
Then a trek across the 8 miles of estate, and a walk through the woods...
... to arrive at the main house.
It was fun to tour with the kids, listening to them make connections with the Serafina book we read together. They were disappointed to learn that the self-guided tour did not go into the sub-basement to see the boiler room and dynamo where Serafina lived in the books...
... but where we did go, was pretty entrancing.
Quite the place with quite the view.
It was difficult to imagine this place as a "home," though. Such huge, stony spaces. SO many guest rooms. I think Vanderbilt must have conceived of it as a hotel of sorts, right from the beginning, planning to always have visitors. So today, as a museum, the house can absorb huge crowds and still feel spacious...
We splurged on lunch in the museum cafe which also happened to be in the stables...
Then Bec and I toured the grounds while Nat took Gram and the kids home for a rest...
... and made it back in time to join us for a supplementary "rooftop" tour. Worth every penny to learn more about the architecture, tour the servant's quarters, and see rooms used for storage and movie sets...
We emerged from the house to find Biltmore in the midst of a downpour. Couldn't leave just yet....More time hanging out in a mansion? If you insist...
We ended up touring through the basement a second time in order to leave through the Porte Cochere, hoping to dash to the cafe to wait- and found the storm had passed.
By the time we made it across the estate again, to take advantage of a free wine tasting at the Biltmore winery, it was a beautiful day again. Wild mountain weather!
Thinking of beautiful houses... We enjoyed a second night in this comfortable, lovely little house, snacking on leftovers, reading, and playing cards...
Such a calm, nurturing space with its great Danish modern furniture and rugs and so many built-ins and plants.
No wifi in the house meant we spent time listening to books on tape, talking, and playing cards...
Ivy and Jack both loved the "Princess tub" in the bathroom!
Day 3: Asheville to Nashville...
Started the morning by visiting the River Arts District in Asheville.
Bit of a challenge to keep our group all entertained, as there were some very diverse objectives among the lot of us: calmly enjoy looking at art (adult objective) vs. walk quickly through the gallery and move on to the next thing (kid objective)...
We did ALL enjoy a delicious Southern BBQ lunch at this great restaurant in the "cover everything with graffiti" area of the arts district.
Then back in the van for 4 hours through the mountains to reach Nashville, Tennessee. We stretched our legs at a lovely park that had a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in it.
Then on to Broadway and the "Nashville Strip."
We ate copious amounts of grease in a great little diner and listened to some live music from the bar.
With two tired and over-vanned kiddos in the group, this was not the night to bar hop and dance to honky tonk. But we did make everyone happy in a giant candy store, and Ivy enjoyed shopping for cowboy boots with the girls while Nat and Jack played soccer in a park....
We made it to Clarksville just after dark, where we proceeded to enjoy having a television for the first time in a few days, and Ivy enjoyed Becca's cats.
Day 4: Clarksville: The next day we got a tour of some of Becca's favorite places in her new home...
The stables...
Sweet friend Dewey...
A beach over the state line in Kentucky...
... and of course the treat of a dinner at Becca's restaurant! It was fun to see her interact with her staff, so confident and happy. They seem to love her and it looks like a great place to work. I'm so happy for her.
A sunset trip to the Clarksville river walk...
The purchase of the trip were these Chinese yo-yos from the the gift shop at Biltmore. At $1.75 each they were certainly the best deal going, and the kids played with them almost constantly, using them as swords and attention-getters, and devices of torment for their sibling. Good times.
Bec and Gram took the kids home to relax and watch a movie, and Nat and I enjoyed historic downtown Clarksville.
We'd meant to go to one of the hip breweries, but ended up discovering this delightful little park with a fountain that we put our feet in for about 45 minutes, enjoying the cool night and soft lighting and time together just the two of us. We decided the only thing that could make it better would be if someone brought us drinks, right there... thus inspiring our newest amazing brainstorm-- an outdoor bar and tapas restaurant called "Puddles"...
Day 5: Clarksville to Cincinnati via Dunbar Cave and Mammoth Cave National Park
Breakfast at Waffle House, of course. It's Jack's new favorite place, and you can't throw a stick without hitting one down in the South, so that works well for him.
Exploring the Dunbar Cave Pavilion. Couldn't go in the cave, sadly, due to the bat disease problems that all caves seem to be having... but I enjoyed the history of the place and the kids enjoyed clambering on rocks.
And finding painted rocks, too! We are inspired to get back to painting and hiding!
We headed back to downtown Clarksville where Bec and I enjoyed the Farmer's Market...
... and EVERYONE enjoyed a return visit to the inspiration for "Puddles." :) (Seriously, its way more fun than it looks.)
After saying goodbyes to Bec (I am SO happy that she is happy here, but just wish it was a little closer to Cleveland ), our van-full of travelers headed North.
Two hours to Mammoth Cave... where we took a tiny, self-guided tour, and were inspired to make a return trip to explore more of the caverns and the beautiful park.
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| Ivy is adorable in my coat and hat, isn't she? |
Then a few more hours to a nice little AirBnb just south of Cincinnati, where we played Scrabble and the kids played happily on air mattresses and snuggled for a movie. They were so cute that we let them stay up WAY too late...
... and got a sleepy, slow start in the morning...
Chickens and ducks and fresh eggs to start the day...
... and a drive home with a lunch stop at (where else?) IKEA...
A good trip was had by all.
