Mimosa's & Mountains: A weekend in Asheville
Hello all my fellow Wanderlusters,
I apologize that I haven’t been very active with the blog. I want to be a positive light to those who come across my page, but it saddens me to say I lost my Grandma on July 25th. It felt wrong to be grieving yet still try to produce fun content. This trip to Asheville came at the perfect time to rest & get some closure as a family. I know we are all going through some tough times, just know I am here as a friend to anyone who comes across my blog.
Pictures of my Grandma visiting me while I was at Appalachian State.
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A couple weeks back, my family and I drove up to the mountains of NC from Raleigh to spend some much needed time slowing down and taking in the fresh mountain air. Maybe it’s because I went to school at Appalachian State, but being in the mountains always brings me such peace. As if I sigh out all my stress the minute that crisp air hits me.
DAY ONE- SATURDAY
My sister, Mom and I drove up the Saturday morning and immediately made our way to the Biltmore. This estate is a wonderful place to visit anytime of the year, and we were excited to see all the COVID safety precautions they were taking.
Couple things to know about a visit to the Biltmore:
They do still have trolleys to take you from the parking lot to the house, but anywhere else on the estate you have to get back to your car and drive.
You reserve a time & give a 15 minute window to show up for your selected time.
masks are required everywhere and they are very intense about policy. After one morning they will ask you to leave.
The house itself was extremely hot, I’m not sure if there was no AC working but they had fans running everywhere.
I would say to give yourself about an hour to an hour and a half to view the entire house.
Masks are required the entire time inside the Biltmore house.
After touring the house, we went back to our car to drive over to the Amherst building where the Downton Abbey exhibit was being held. For those who love the show Downton Abbey, this is a great interactive exhibit that features different scenery and props from the show. The exhibit is running through Labor Day weekend so you still have time to catch it! Be prepared to wait though, due to Covid they are only allowing 10 guests at a time in the front room. We waited about 45 minutes to get into the building but felt spaced out while inside.
We took our time in the Downton Abbey exhibit, and another hour later we were on our way to the next location: Antler village. This village area is on the property and consists of the Inn, some shops and restaurants, as well as the winery. We did not know that you still had to make reservations for the complimentary wine tastings, so we popped over to another smaller Downton Abbey room showcasing their costumes to pass the time.
Looking at the dresses the actresses wore, I cannot believe how tiny they were! As fun as the fashion in the 20s were, those dropwaist dresses certainly would not look flattering on my figure.
I should have taken a picture from the side, these dresses were TINY!
The winery was definitely the highlight of the Biltmore tour for me. Not only is it great because it’s free, but we were one of the last reservations of the day so we had the whole bar to ourselves. I was impressed at how safe we felt because they had plexiglass between you and the bartender, and they wear masks. You are allowed to try up to five different wines. My favorite of the day was the spring release white wine blend that has lady Cornelia and her dog on the label.
We were having so much fun sipping our wine that we almost missed our dinner reservation in downtown Asheville! We met up with my dad to have dinner at Bouchon, a well rated French restaurant known for its pristine sanitation guidelines and Covid restrictions. I was very impressed that they only let people inside the building that have reservations and there are big glass barriers between spaced out tables inside. We asked to eat outside just to be safe, and they ended up giving us a private patio space! We spent the evening laughing and eating fantastic food.
DAY TWO - SUNDAY
After noticing the weather forecast, we decided to rearrange our schedule a bit. Originally we were going to go to brunch first but instead drove out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to do a little hiking. After so many days with a feels like temperature over 100 in Raleigh, it was amazing to watch the temperature drop to nearly 62° at the peak.
The trail I chose for us is called Craggy Pinnacle, which was only a .7 mile hike up to the peak. Although it was a little rough on my sister and I’s knees, the view was worth it!
Family that hikes together has fun together :)
I would suggest bringing your mask for this trail because it does get a little tight crossing with people. There was never more than 10 of us at the top though.
After all that hiking, we reward ourselves with brunch back at Tupelo Honey Café in downtown Asheville. You knew I had to fit in the mimosas there during our mountain weekend!
The afternoon consisted of brewery hopping for my sister and dad‘s enjoyment. We went to New Belgium, Green Man, and Bhramari. The breweries are a great option during Covid because they have tons of outdoor seating & live music, weather permitting. We lucked out with sunshine the whole day!
Our dinner for the second evening was at Hemingways, a Cuban restaurant with a massive scenic outdoor patio on the fourth floor of the Cambria hotel in downtown Asheville. I had the best Cuban sandwich of my life, plus a side of Yuca fries with a delicious aoli dipping sauce.
I had the cuban sandwich with pork rinds, and the Yuca Frits with aioli dipping sauce were a special treat to try!
We still could not get over the beautiful views from our table as we watched the sun set over the mountains. It was the best way to end our wonderful weekend.
View from our table at Hemingways
The perfect weekend getaway ♥️
Phew, what a jam packed trip! You’d think we were there longer than two days! Thanks for following along, if you are in driving distance to Asheville, I highly suggest planning a vacation there this summer or fall!
Sincerely,
Sarah
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