Hi Friends! I am so excited to share Part 1 of our North Carolina Trip with you! This post includes Day 1 and 2. It is filled with sweet memories and lots of photos! If you are planning on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I would HIGHLY suggest it. I can't wait to go back. Leave any questions you might have about North Carolina for me in the comments! Enjoy reading our adventure.
Travel day 1
I woke up super excited, like a little kid on Christmas morning. I couldn't believe it was here! I have been thinking about this day for a few months and all I can say is YAY!
I left my house around 10 to go to get my nails done for a little something special for vacation. I loved catching up with my nail girl. We bonded over Monmouth County parks and being traditional! HI Irene!
After a short ride to Kyle's, I couldn't wait to go go go. His roommate, Dillon, drove us to the airport. Which for a Friday in July, was not too bad. The only thing that was a little chaotic, for me, was getting out of the car, unloading then getting into the terminal and getting through the TSA pre-check line. Kyle said it was a bit busy than normal. It was such a fast paced environment. I took the lead from Kyle on what to do in a slightly panicked state. I made it through security easily and did not get pulled aside for extra screening- I, for sure, thought I would be. Kyle on the other hand, did. LOL.
I was shocked that it really only took us a half hour to get from curb to airport bar by our gate. 2 Two Chicks Vodka with peach, cucumber tea and thyme cocktails for me and 1 Long Island Ice Tea for Kyle and lots of people watching later, we were ready to board our flight.
The airport was exactly how I remembered it and it just brought so much joy to me being here. We went to our gate and I video chatted Mom and Dad to say Toodles and Love you! We were able to board pretty quickly and I got a window seat which made me so happy. A sprite, bag of mini pretzels (so good AND peanut free!) and some animal crackers later we were off.
3 1.5 hours later..... we landed in Charlotte. This had to be one of the quickest and seamless fights I have ever taken. I ended up listening to music for 90 % of the time. We got to see a beautiful sunset and fly through clouds, which was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I also got to see my first glimpse of the skyline through a perfectly time moment.
After disembarking, we walked through what felt like the WHOLE airport to get to where the shuttles pick you up. Charlotte Airport is so pretty and long. I was so enamoured with all the rocking chairs placed around the terminal- Its such a Southern thing! We finally got to the area for the shuttles and we waited for maybe 10 minutes and then magically our shuttle arrived. A few stewardess joined us in the shuttle and we were off to our hotel.
We arrived maybe 15 minutes later and we were able to go straight to our room, or so we thought. The digital key wouldn't work for our room but it worked in the elevator for our floor. How curious! Back down to the front desk to get an actual key and then back to the elevator and back to our floor we were successful. I was more than excited to get actual key because I like to keep those as a travel keepsake.
We were both starving at this point. A quick Google search revealed the Holiday Inn next door had a restaurant that was open late.
A quick walk through the parking lot and we found it. Surprisingly it was crowded, for a hotel bar at 10 PM. We both got burgers and we couldn't wait for them! I was starving. My lemon drop was unexpectedly really strong and while I love lemon flavoring, it was a lot especially after a long day of travel. After we finished up, we headed back to our hotel (across the parking lot) to sleep before our big adventure tomorrow.
Day 1 got off to a great start, I cannot wait to see what the next day has in store for us. We fell asleep super quickly; we were so excited for the next day.
Day 2
We woke up excited and ready for our day filled of fun.
As we were getting ready, I realize I have no contacts. I didn't believe I forgot to pack them. I even looked at them at Kyle's and said to myself, "Oh I have those!" I might have panicked (slightly). I thought to myself "Okay, it's glasses then!" Good thing I didn't forget them.
We had to catch the airport shuttle back to the airport to get the rental car. We stopped to get the complimentary breakfast and I saw cereal, which is probably the only thing I wanted to eat so when I saw the Styrofoam coffee mugs with the lids, I said PERFECT! The fruit loops fit perfectly in there and they were safe from my clumsy ways with a lid too! We went to wait for the shuttle. I was happier than a kid with candy.
We ended up sharing the shuttle with the cutest family of 5. We made conversation to the airport and the mom said to me " I totally stole your idea with the travel coffee cup and cereal. " I looked at the kids and they were so excited to be eating "colored cheerios" in coffee cups. That put the biggest smile on my face!
We arrived back at the airport and walked over to the car rental counters area.
We got to rental counter, and the line was long. Kyle suggested I go sit to wait because it might me a while. (#traveldad moment). I found a some chairs and low and behold, there was a penny on the chair next to the one I chose. I hoped that was a good indication of what is to come.
I ended up chatting with the sweetest family from California. They were on their way an hour North of Charlotte and we bonded on NYC and traveling. As they were off to get their rental car, they said to me "Bless you! Bless you!" 😍 I was so shocked because they were so kind! Okay, we are off to a good start!
Got our rental car, eh, truck- a red Ford Ranger and hit the road. The views from Charlotte to Asheville is beautiful! Fields of daffodils surrounding the bridges.; Lush greenery and the mountains! It was so neat to see actual mountains.
We were at an elevation already of 2,747 feet. My ears started to pop. This is probably the highest elevation I've ever been, considering where I live the elevation is less that 100 feet of elevation; this was truly a new experience for me.
As we were driving, we listened to podcasts and chatted about what we wanted to do since it was still early (9AM) and check in wasn't until 3. We decided on the Biltmore Estate. Smart phones make everything so easy- I was able to get us tickets on a Saturday in the Summer- I was shocked!
We decided on the Biltmore because it was close to where we were staying and it looked super interesting. As we drove in, we stopped at the gas station for a quick snack and also passed by the world's fanciest McDonald's, which we figured out after we left.
Driving into the Biltmore Estate was all these windy roads with beautiful lush greenery surrounding them. We made out way to the parking lot to get the trolley that would take us to the Estate. These trolleys were the perfect start to our time at the Biltmore Estate. The drivers of the Trolley's were full of fun facts and thoughts about the Estate. When we arrived at the Estate, we saw a Military couple taking photos on the lawn in front of the Estate. One of the drivers said, they have lots of weddings here.
I was nervous we were going to miss our reservation but we ended up having enough time to make a pit stop before entering the house. We opted for the audio tour of the house and it was extravagant and beautiful and pretty unbelievable that George Vanderbilt built this when he was in his 30s! SO many rooms and so many things to look at. I loved finding out about the tidbits about the house itself with the audio tour.
After the tour of the house, we wandered through some of the gardens and into the conservatory. Outside of the Conservatory, we saw them setting up two tents which looks like they were going to have a wedding later in the day. I thought to myself, how magicial is that?! We then realized that our tickets also include a complimentary wine taste over at the wine cellar.
We hopped back on the Trolley to get our car and then we drove over to the wine cellar/shops. The wine cellar was truly a cellar and it was really neat to see; as we got deeper into the celler, the stone walls provided a cooling effect and lots of tidbits of information about wine making was noted along the way to the wine tasting. Our Server/host was amazing and the group we were put in was really fun. Our little back bar area was giggling and having so much! I am not a big wine connoisseur but I did enjoy trying all different types that I would never try if I was not at a wine tasting. At one point, she lost count how many glasses we each had (SHHH!). She was new and really fun!
To top off our liquid lunch, we saw Biltmore had their own creamery. On our drive to the wine tasting, we passed some fields that had cows in them and I jokingly said to Kyle, "They must be the ones responsible for the Ice Cream." We went in and all the flavors looked so yummy! I settled on Salted Caramel and Kyle got Banana Pudding. Both were SO GOOD! Those cows make great ice cream.
We really enjoyed the Estate and grounds. The Biltmore Estate reminded me of Longwood Gardens with their garden section. It was truly a beautiful and breathtaking sight to see.
After 4ish hours at the Biltmore Estate, we left to go check into our B&B- Cedar Crest Inn. The drive way leading up to this was steep and windy. We arrived and I was so excited. This was my first time staying in a B&B. We checked in, and they handed us an actual key. I thought that was so fun and unique.
After we got cleaned up, we headed downstairs to catch the end of the wine social. We had reservations at 8 PM at The Montford Rooftop Bar. We explored downtown Asheville before dinner. Finding some neat street art and fairy houses. Saw a bunch of Street musicians- someone playing the spoons, a saw and a really neat light up violin. We stumbled upon a little gift shop and found some treasures- a pen, a Blue Ridge Mountains Sticker, a postcard and a lucky elephant. Then as we were walking back to dinner it started down pouring and we took cover under an awning waiting out the rain for about 40 minutes. It was kind of funny to see people hiding under awning doing the same thing we were doing. As always, we made the best of it. It finally passed and we walked to the Doubletree for our reservation at The Montford.
We ordered drinks and dinner and I noticed couples going outside and standing on the bench to get photos with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. THEN I saw a women like directing the couples where to go and what to do. I said to myself, 'SHE IS TAKING OUR PHOTO!' I kept an eye on her to see when the couple left the area and I said to Kyle, 'Lets go!' HA! We ended up helping her take a selfie and then I asked her to take a photo of us and totally understood the assignment.
This woman was so kind and sweet. She said she was a realtor photographer and she loved this bar. She did a great job taking our photos-standing on top of a Bar Stool, in wedges nonetheless!
Our dinner and appetizer came out at the same time and we basically devoured everything. For an appetizer, we ordered the Truffle Herb Fries then I ordered the Roasted Mushroom Flatbread and Kyle got the BBQ Beef Brisket. It was a really perfect ending to a fun filled day.
As we wandered back to our car, I had a big smile on face. First full day of vacation and it started off great. Now back to our Pink B&B to rest because tomorrow we have a fun filled adventure day.
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Phew That is it for the first part of the North Carolina Recap. This was so much fun to relive and I am so thankful I took such good notes as the trip progressed on. As you will see in part 2, we did a lot!
Check back next week for Part 2!
If you missed any of my WGJ Travels posts, check them out here:
Planning; Destination Bucket List; Travel Must Haves; What's In My Suitcase; Vacation Mode; What I Packed vs. What I Used; Seasoned Traveler Tips and Tricks
Have you been to Asheville, North Carolina? What was your favorite part?
[[The Land of the Sky- Asheville NC]]
That does sound like a wonderful start to your trip!
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