Yesterday morning I decided to take advantage of my new Biltmore pass and go there to walk the gardens. The estate consists of 8,000 acres so the gardens are not small. Cathy (landlady) said she also has a pass so we went together. I have been to Biltmore to tour the house twice but have never been there when the gardens were in bloom. We must have walked a few miles by the time we were finished. There are formal gardens closer to the house then azalea gardens, a bass pond with waterfall, a meadow etc. as you go further from the house. There are different pathways to take to and from each one. It was beautiful and by noon we were ready for lunch. It was just in time as the gardens were getting full of tourists. We ate at a restaurant at the stables near the house. We were sweatty and I had my State baseball cap on but Cathy said it doesn't matter how you look (or smell) in Asheville, so we didn't care. In the afternoon we took a ride to Creston so Cathy could see our property. It's about 30 - 35 minutes from our house. I called ahead to see if our road was being paved and was told not until Thurs. or Fri. We were halfway up the road to our lot and there was a huge dumptruck blocking the road with the engine running, door open and no one in sight. We got out of the car and walked around but didn't see anyone. We couldn't get around it so I had to back down the road. Luckily Cathy was there to guide me and didn't end up off the side of a cliff. We went up to the top of the mountain so she could see the community center - thinking that the truck would be gone by the time we went back. We told Marsha, who works in the office, about the truck and she laughed and said he was probably out watering a tree. We were laughing thinking about what a panic the guy was probably in when 2 women appeared while he was trying to go. We went back down and didn't see the truck so we weren't sure if he was still up our road or not and didn't want to chance backing all the way down again so we parked the car and decided to hike it up to the property. It's about a half mile. We got about half way up and it started to rain along with thunder and lightening. We saw a deer off the side of the road as we were walking. He looked at us for a minute then took off. We made it up to the property and were able to take shelter underneath our trees. I was anxious to see what it would be like up there during a thunderstorm but not until the house was there. It let up a bit so we walked back down to the car. On the walk back we saw the deer again but this time he ran across the road about 20 feet from us. We then ran into the same dumptruck coming back up the road so we were glad we had walked, otherwise we would have had to back up all the way UP to our lot and there are no guardrails alongside the road. At least I got to see what my morning walks are going to be like when we live there and it's not too bad. Beautiful views all around and deer.
Yesterday morning I decided to take advantage of my new Biltmore pass and go there to walk the gardens. The estate consists of 8,000 acres so the gardens are not small. Cathy (landlady) said she also has a pass so we went together. I have been to Biltmore to tour the house twice but have never been there when the gardens were in bloom. We must have walked a few miles by the time we were finished. There are formal gardens closer to the house then azalea gardens, a bass pond with waterfall, a meadow etc. as you go further from the house. There are different pathways to take to and from each one. It was beautiful and by noon we were ready for lunch. It was just in time as the gardens were getting full of tourists. We ate at a restaurant at the stables near the house. We were sweatty and I had my State baseball cap on but Cathy said it doesn't matter how you look (or smell) in Asheville, so we didn't care. In the afternoon we took a ride to Creston so Cathy could see our property. It's about 30 - 35 minutes from our house. I called ahead to see if our road was being paved and was told not until Thurs. or Fri. We were halfway up the road to our lot and there was a huge dumptruck blocking the road with the engine running, door open and no one in sight. We got out of the car and walked around but didn't see anyone. We couldn't get around it so I had to back down the road. Luckily Cathy was there to guide me and didn't end up off the side of a cliff. We went up to the top of the mountain so she could see the community center - thinking that the truck would be gone by the time we went back. We told Marsha, who works in the office, about the truck and she laughed and said he was probably out watering a tree. We were laughing thinking about what a panic the guy was probably in when 2 women appeared while he was trying to go. We went back down and didn't see the truck so we weren't sure if he was still up our road or not and didn't want to chance backing all the way down again so we parked the car and decided to hike it up to the property. It's about a half mile. We got about half way up and it started to rain along with thunder and lightening. We saw a deer off the side of the road as we were walking. He looked at us for a minute then took off. We made it up to the property and were able to take shelter underneath our trees. I was anxious to see what it would be like up there during a thunderstorm but not until the house was there. It let up a bit so we walked back down to the car. On the walk back we saw the deer again but this time he ran across the road about 20 feet from us. We then ran into the same dumptruck coming back up the road so we were glad we had walked, otherwise we would have had to back up all the way UP to our lot and there are no guardrails alongside the road. At least I got to see what my morning walks are going to be like when we live there and it's not too bad. Beautiful views all around and deer. 
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