Holiday Fun in Asheville

We started the weekend out by visiting the grand and glorious Biltmore Estate . This incredible mansion was built in1895 and was the home of George Vanderbilt. The home is the largest private estate in the US and is open to the public to tour.

While this place is incredible anytime of the year. At Christmas is become a magic wonderland and guests can take the Candlelight Tours in the evening and see the home is all is glory.

While here make time to visit the Biltmore Winery which is the largest wine producer in the country and the winery is the most visited in the US. Once your done looking around, stop in at the tasting room and then on to the massive gift shop and bring the Biltmore legacy home with you.

Even in the dead of winter, guests to the estate should stop by the beautiful Biltmore Gardens . The gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in NYC. In fact the gardens are listed in the book 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die . The greenhouse is awash with the colors and plants of the holidays.

But while you’re here make the time to visit downtown Asheville. This vibrant and eclectic city is a haven for artists and art lovers. The city has the second largest collection of art deco buildings outside of Miami. Just walking downtown is a treat for the eyes. While here stop in at the magnificent Grove Arcade for some one of a kind shopping.

One of the best ways to see the city is by trolley with the Gray Line Trolley Tours . The tour highlights some of the best of the city and you can hop on and hop off along the route.

That evening we took a tour of the more unearthly kind. We had fun listing to the stories of the souls who still haunt this city with Ghosts and Haunts Tours . We even got to hear about a well know ghost story that started in Asheville and ended in Florida.

Asheville is a place for food lovers. During our visit we stopped by The Early Girl which was a suggestion of several IGO writers. As always, I follow in the steps of Rachael Ray when I am in town by going to Tupelo Honey . Before going to the Biltmore House we made a stop at what is billed as the swankiest McDonalds at the McDonald’s at Biltmore Village . We ended our trip by stopping by The Burger Meister before heading home.

Our home away from home was the grand Homewood Suites which gave us great mountain views. This place is perfect for visiting families or those who will be staying a bit longer than vacation time. The elegantly decorated rooms feature a kitchenette and fridge. Which were greatly appreciated since it meant we could bring our leftovers back and have a way to reheat them.

Suggestion.

My first is easy to guess. Start by going to www.exploreasheville.com and order your visitors guide or just explore the site. When in town stop by the visitors center located on Montford Dr. Where the have a wealth of information on this charming city and her neighbors.

Don’t just come here for the Biltmore House. I have to admit I have been here on several occasions to see the Biltmore Estate, but never took the time to explore Asheville. What a huge mistake. This place is seeped in history and beauty. Take the time to explore the downtown area which boasts the second largest collection of Art Deco buildings outside of Miami. There is truly something here for everyone.

This is a haven for artists and art lovers. You can find one of a kind galleries in the downtown area and on out into the River Arts District. It makes window shopping here a real treat.

Always check the forecast before you come and plan accordingly. I didn’t and had sweatshirts and long sleeve t’s. I woke up Saturday to find it 62 degrees at the end of December in the mountains!

Don’t leave anywhere without your camera. This gem is nestled within the eye popping Blue Ridge Mountains and beauty surrounds every of this place.

Asheville sits in the perfect location for mountain getaways. It is the place to day trip to or from. So if the mountains are your vacation destination, plan on spending some time in this gracious city.

Film fans will love this place as well. Numerous films have show cased this cities immense beauty including Hannibal, Patch Adams, My Fellow Americans, Forrest Gump, Ritchie Rich, The Last of the Mohicans, Mr. Destiny, and Bull Durham

Getting Around

Visitors to the city can arrive by flying into Asheville Regional (www.flyavl.com) which has dozens of flights daily and where you can pick up a rental car.

If you’re not driving in then you will need a rental car. This place is spread out and even if you’re simply going to stay in the Biltmore Village and go to the Biltmore House, you need a car. Distances between locations on the massive estate are measured in miles not feet!

Driving here from I40 is a pure delight for the senses. You can see our famous Blue Ridge Maintains as they loom closer as you get into the city.

Like most other major cities, parking downtown can be a nightmare. Take advantage of the parking garages rather than wasting time trying to find a parking meter. While we were here, parking was $2 for the whole day.

While here take the time to drive the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. Millions of people come every year to see part of this 469 mile scenic wonders that is become one of American’s favorite drives.

Once you’re here there are lots of fun ways to get around. You can get around by trolley, bus, Segway, bike, raft, 4 wheel, and the best way..by foot. This is certianly a walking city.

Visitor's to the downtown area can not help but notice the art deco masterpiece known as the Grove Arcade, which is now a well known shopping haven filled with treats and amazing galleries.

The building was the vision of E.W. Grove, who also built the elegant and grand Grove Park Inn. It was the last shopping arcade constructed in the country and was a shopping mecca for the community.

The building began in 1927 just before E.W.’s death and was completed in 1929. Plans for the building included a 14 story tower but only the base of the building was ever completed. For more than a decade the shopping area was the center of community activity and offered everything from groceries, candy shops, cigar shops, and book stores. They also were home to several offices, photography shops, beauty shops, and barber shops.

During WW2 the government took over the building and just kicked everyone out. The building was large and was in a remote location so it made perfect sense to the government to house their operations. Instead of giving it back after the war ended, it would stay under the ownership of the US Government for more than half a century. It once was home to the National Climatic Date Center.

As I have mentioned many time, in the 1970’s people began to take our historic treasures seriously and the in 1970’s the restoration movement began that continues today. Many downtown areas were brought back to life including Asheville. Plans began to surface to return this glorious Art Deco masterpiece to its original use and allow it to be the center of the growing downtown area. In 2002 it was once again opened to the public and commerce once again returned to the building. In 1985 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today the arcade is home once again to offices, condos, restaurants, and a number of galleries and stores. While here John and I checked out the cheese and spices at The Big Cheese. Crafters needed to take time to step into the Asheville Home Crafts store which has a whole room of nothing but incredible yarns of every type and color. And I had to go in and explore the Bath Junkie shop. Pure heaven!

Throughout the year the arcade hosts a number of events for the community including Jazz concerts and gallery crawls. Between Thanksgiving and through the first f the year, visitors can come by and see several dozen of the entries from the Grove Park Inn’s National Gingerbread competition. You can also rent out space for your next cooperate events or big shin dig. And they even have catering to help you out. You can even take a self guided tour of this fine building.

Hours/info

The Grove is generally open from 10 to 6 Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 on Sunday. Restaurants are often open longer hours and during some events, merchants may extend their hours as well as during the holiday season.

Website: www.grovearcade.com

Parking: There is metered parking on the street and a parking garage across the road.

I am sure EW has to be looking down and glad his creation is now once again a central part of this thriving community. While you’re here, come and share in his vision.

When in a haunted city I will certainly find a ghost tour to take. So when planning my trip to Asheville I was glad to see they had one and that they would have a tour the weekend we were in town.

John and I met our guide, Joshua, at the Battery Park Hotel in the scrumptious downtown area. Unfortunately for us this particular tour was filled with a very large amount of annoying children’s and their equally annoying parents. Leaving us to think that would be the scariest part of our trip. Thankfully Joshua offered for anyone interested to come back at 9 o’clock. Originally John and I weren’t going to take up the offer since we didn’t have anything to do. But after walking through the lobby with these people we decided we couldn’t take this group and opted for the later tour. So we went to eat and then walked around looking in the windows at all the wonderful galleries that lined the street. When we got back for the later tour it was just us and a very nice trio from Chattanooga TN.

Soon were off for a night of fun. We walk down near the Grove Arcade and hear the history of the surrounding area as well. We go further down and stop at the is now the Battery Park Apartments, but what was once the original Battery Park Hotel. This stunning building now serves as a beautiful retirement home. In its heyday it saw a number of luminaries including George Vanderbilt, F Scott Fitzgerald, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, William Harrison, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, and is where Arthur Murray taught young girls to dance. Over the years a number of people who have commented suicide, E.W.Grove was died there, but the most horrible event that happened was the murder of 19 year old Helen Clevenger. E.W. Grove has been seen roaming the halls of his former hotel. Helen has also seen in room 224 where she was murdered, especially on the anniversary July 17th. If you are here on that day and look up at what was room 224 and take a picture. Check your pictures and see if anything shoes up.

We go on down past the Basilica of St. Lawrence where a priest is still devoted to the church he so loved. We go on own to Church Street where a number of churches are. People have seen apparitions in one of the trees where people used to be executed. People have caught images and orbs in the trees when they have taken pictures. Mine just turn out black. We also see the steps where the remains of a pregnant nun was discovered when work was done on the church. Then we make our way down into the vicinity of the court house. We hear about the Will Harris murders and about the ghosts that can still be seen among the hallowed halls. One of our fellow ghost trekkers makes her way to a spot under a building where a number of people have jumped to their deaths.

We go down a bit further and take a break and hear about Helen’s Bridge and the ghosts at Riverside Cemetery. We also go to a dilapidated building to hear about ghosts who can still been seen for those who dare enter. We end back up at the Battery Park Hotel for the strangest story of all. It is about Count Von Cosel who married a woman from Ashville. They eventually moved to Florida and where he left his wife and children only to show up later in Key West where he was working as an X-ray tech. He met a much younger woman (he was in his 50’s and she in her 20’s) named Elena. She eventually succumbed to TB, but he loved her so much that he exhumed her body and "rebuilt" her and continued to be with her as man and wife, until he was caught!

Our guide Joshua was great and had plenty of supernatural photos to show us. Mine did show a few orbs, but nothing else. It also turns out our guide isn’t normally a guide. But Joshua did a terrific job none the less. John and I had a great time and we were glad to only have such a small group.

The tour lasts about 90 minutes and is less than a mile in length. It isn’t for those who have problems walking distances. But it is a relatively flat walk so those in wheelchairs should be able to maneuver the course. Make sure you bring your camera to see if you can find anything unusual in your pictures. And remember to tip your guide! They are worth it.

Hours/rates/info

Tours go at 9 pm March 1 through Oct 31 everyday. Nov 1st through Feb 27th they go at 7 but contact them to see if they are going when you’re in town.

Current admission: $18 (a)….$10 (c 8-14)…7 and under are free.

Website: http://asheville.ghostandhaunt.com.

Advanced reservations are required.

You meet at the Battery Park Hotel located at 1 Battery Park. There is limed parking on the street and there is a parking lot across from the Grove Arcade.

While here pick up the fascinating booking Asheville Ghosts and Legends by Ken Traylor and Delas M. House Jr.

Should you find yourself in Charleston, Gatlinburg, Key West, Nashville, San Antonio, or Savannah, they also have tours there as well. And they are the same people who ran the one in Columbia SC that John and I took a few months ago.

For a walk on the wilder side of Asheville come take a walk with the guides at the Ghost and Haunt Tour.

I have said many times one of the best ways to get to know a city is to take a tour of it. And one of the best tours of Asheville is with the Grayline Tours.

John and I drove over to the fabulous Asheville visitor’s center to start our trolley tour. While here you can pick up visitor information, grab some souvenirs and snacks, and hit that bathrooms before your tour begins. Or should your day turn out to be warm like this day, you can pick up a short sleeve t-shirt.

After grabbing some souvenirs, a t-shirt for me, some drinks, and hitting the rest room, we joined our other trolley goers and our guide George for almost 2 hours of fun. On this particular day we ended up with a trolley full of people from all over the county who had also come to see this beautiful city. Turns out we were the only people from NC.

Our trolley takes off from the parking lot and makes left heading out into what used to be on of the areas most fashionable neighborhoods, past magnificent historical houses, several of which have now been transformed into charming B&B's, and down through more historic areas including the Montford neighborhood. Asheville used be a place where used come for magical healing cures. Today this is still a place for natural healing. We see an incredible home that once was a place for the well to do to heal and where F Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, was staying a tragically killed in a fire, we go past a rehab center where in the 1970’s James Taylor was a patient and wrote "Fire and Rain".

After going though several gorgeous neighborhoods we make our way to the renown Grove Park Inn. The historic 1913 inn was the vision of EW Grove. This eye catching resort has played host to numerous celebrities including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harry Houdini, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford, and 8 presidents. The area surrounding the Grove Park is filled with equally impressive homes and buildings.

From here we take a very pleasant drive to downtown Asheville to see the marvelous buildings in this town. Asheville boasts the second largest of Art Deco Buildings outside of Miami. We see the Basilica St. Lawrence, The Flat Iron building which is similar to NY’s famed Flatron Building, we see the home of Asheville’s favorite son Tomas Wolfe, past the Grove Arcade, we see the infusion of new and old buildings including the office of William Cecil of the Vanderbilt fame where a reflection of the beautiful old buildings can be seen in the glass of the building. We make our way to the River Arts districts where we pass by 12 Bones BBQ, where our now President Obama stopped in for some lip smacking ribs while in town. We wrap up our tour in the lovely Biltmore Village. This village was once home to the employees of the Biltmore Estate which has now been turned into unique stores, restaurants, and hotels.

Soon were back at the visitor’s center with the backdrop of the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains behind us. And on this day they are truly blue and spectacular. Our guide, George, was terrific and thankfully kept things under control when one family becomes a pain.

Hours/rates/info

The tour lasts about 2 hours of you chose not to get off. The trolley does have 8 pick up areas though the course and you can hop on and off at any of the stops. Your ticket does include admission to the Thomas Wolfe home.

You do start at the visitor’s center on Montford Ave. You can purchase tickets on line and I highly encourage you to do so. Or you can pick them up at the visitor’s center. AAA members can save 10% by purchase in person. You can also pick up tickets at any of the tour stops and several B&B’s within the area.

Current rates are $20 for adults. Times vary by season and they are closed in January and February. Check their website for current ticket prices, times, and pick up points.

Website: www.graylineasheville.com

For the best way to see Asheville and her splendor, take the time to hop on and off with Grayline.

Looking for a quite spot in Asheville for true beauty and a way to get close to some of Asheville’s elite? Pay your respects at the Riverside Cemetery.

The cemetery is one of the cities oldest and most visited. It sits on 87 acres and overlooks the French Broad River. It is open to the public daily to not only visit loved ones but a nice place to come and take a peaceful stroll along the tree lined paths.

The cemetery dates to 1885 and since 192 it has been under the care of the city. In 1997 the cemetery was designated as a Buncombe Country Treasure Tree Preserve. There is a walking tour of the lush grounds. There are three confederate generals buried here. James Martin, Robert B Vance, and Thomas Clingman are still resting here. There are also a number of prominent citizens buried here including Jeter C Pritchard, TS Morrison, Thomas Patton, and Zebulon B Vance. Rafael Gusatavino’s, who worked on the Basilica St. Lawrence, wife and daughter, still remain in his lovely cemetery. In addition visitors can find the remains of a number of Civil War confederate soldiers, 18 German soldiers from WW1 as well as James Posey, who was a bodyguard from President Abraham Lincoln.

But most people, who come here to visit, come to pay their respects to two famous authors buried here. Both Thomas Wolfe and O Henry are interred here and their graves are clearly marked for the visitors who come by. Wolfe is a beloved son of the city and is most noted for his book Look Homeward Angel . He died n 1938 after being sent to John Hopkins for treatment of brain tuberculosis. He was born in the city in 1900 and is buried along side his parents in a simple grave. Nearby you can also find the final resting place of O’Henry otherwise known as William S. Porter. O’Henry is known for his collection of short stories and was born in Greensboro in 1862 and was laid to rest here in the Riverside Cemetery in 1910. His daughter is buried near her dad and he also has a simple grave. Apparently it is good luck to leave a penny or small souvenir on the graves as noted by the items left behind by admirers of the men.

Now according to Ken Traylor and Delas M. House Jrs.’s book Asheville Ghosts and Legends many of the dearly departed are still hanging around. Reports of solders and gun fire have been reported coming from the cemetery. Thomas himself is said to still be hanging around his final resting place

It is a really beautiful place to just wander around. There are a number of amazing graves and statues, places to just sit, and wonderful views. So when in Asheville take the time to visit some of the cities most promenade citizens. Just make sure to bring your pennies for Tom and O Henry!