This weekend we took a trip to historic Asheville with my parents who were visiting! It is a lovely town that reminded us of our missed Seattle! We drove about 3.5 hrs from Raleigh to Asheville and had lunch at the Laughing Seed Café. We ordered a few items to try family style and enjoyed the omega hempnut burger and quesadilla the most. We arrived and there was a long line but got a table immediately, they do not take reservations. This restaurant is completely vegetarian and I believe the same owner as Chai Pani in Asheville. This restaurant is located in downtown Asheville, street parking is free after 6 pm and on Sundays, but otherwise they have parking garages and metered spots. After lunch we made our way to the beautiful Biltmore Estate, home to the Vanderbilt’s! Its situated on a huge area of land and one could spend almost all day there. We bought tickets 7+ days prior to the day we visited as you get the cheapest rate of $44. We toured the home, where you cannot take photos, and if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, it totally reminded me of that show and how those characters lived! We did not purchase the audio tour, but just followed the rest of the other tourists with our free pamphlet as a reference. After the home, we toured the souvenir shop as my father is a junkie for those things! There are souvenir shops at the Biltmore and in Antler Village, but you get more variety at the Biltmore Shops.
The gardens are huge, but we did manage a hike down to bass pond, even though my mother towards the end was giving up! Lastly we got into the car and drove down to Antler Village for some ice cream at the parlor! This is also where the free wine tasting and a few restaurants are located. Friends have been in the past and did the clay shooting and land rover tour which they enjoyed.
For dinner that night we ate at Nine Mile, which is a delicious Caribbean inspired restaurant situated away from the crowds! So much food for so little cost and the flavors were amazing! They also do not take reservations, but again we got lucky and got a table rather quickly.
We spent the night at the Sleep Inn on Haywood Rd, which a dear friend owns! It’s a lovely hotel, with free breakfast and great location right off 40. The next morning we made our way to Chimney Rock State Park, and just as a tip, go early because when we left there was a huge line at the entrance! One of the trails were closed so the entrance fee was $12/person instead of $15. We ended up hiking up ~500+ steps to the first viewing platform, my mother took the elevator up, which is a great option so everyone can get to the top. My dad was being quite adventurous that day so we hiked even further up, all paths have stairs, so relatively easy compared to gravel. This was a lovely stop over before we headed back home to Raleigh. On our way out we had a picnic lunch in the next town over from chimney rock heading east. Just an FYI, we have sprint as a cell phone carrier and did not get much service in the mountain areas, so our car GPS saved us in order to find our way back to I-40.
Update: We just went back this weekend and also went to Tulepo Honey Café, Curete, and the Asheville Brewing Company. All of them were good places to check out.
Kommander K's Travels 