Asheville, North Carolina

Yes....we were on vacation and sadly it is over.

But I come back home to The Mint Needle Blog ranting and raving about a new destination for history savvy souls.

My husband had a wonderful idea. "Let's see something new this year. Let's break up our drive down to the beach by stopping in Asheville, North Carolina." ~ "We should visit the Biltmore Estate & town." Ecstatic, I immediately began to plan our itinerary. I love visiting museums & anything that involves the times of yester-year. Besides, the girls are getting bigger. What could be better than to take them on a historical trip followed by the ocean fun & sun?

It was a win win:)

I want to start off by letting you all know some great things about Asheville, North Carolina. Located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge & Great Smoky Mountains, this area is packed with things to see & do. The Pisgah National Forest, Grove Park Inn & Spa, Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore Estate, Chimney Rock Park, & the Folk Art Center are just to name a few. With a population of about 84,458 (2011 census), you have a perfect town feel. Our couple of days could've easily turned into a week. And The Blue Ridge Parkway is truly beautiful. (Even though I didn't see all 469 miles of it.) It's a great place to visit for those lovers of outdoors.

I wish I had brought my Schwinn bike on the trip!

There are a ton of hotels to pick & choose from, all within minutes from the Biltmore home. I have to admit, I couldn't picture everything being so close to an estate that owns 8,000 acres, but it really is.

Downtown Asheville is packed with indie, pop culture, small shops, & restaurants. And....I have NEVER seen soo many art gallery's in one city. For art lovers this HAS to be a stop. Musicians line the various streets with saxophones, cello's, xylophones, & guitars.

I especially indulged in the Fabric, Fiber, & Bead Trail.

A little pamphlet to tell me where all the fabric shops are located.

Of course I came home with few new yards of material:)))

The Foam & Fabric Outlet was packed with great pricing...& The Asheville Cotton Co. had me thinking I was in fabric heaven with 8,000 bolts to choose from!

Here's just a few of our special vacation pics:

The master mind behind our journey:)

Art is everywhere.

Great architecture is all around. Details.....

The city uses buildings & bridges as their canvas. Truly beautiful.

Shopping, shopping, & more shopping.

Yummy place to eat in downtown. The picture above shows the outdoor atmosphere.

Now.... I'm not going to upload all 407 pictures to the blog, but I will be breaking our trip up into many future posts. Ya know...all those new ideas & exciting things I have to share with my readers.

Next post, a visit to the Biltmore Estate.

Happy Trails till then:)

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