Road trip!!!
If you read my last blog post about Charleston, you’ll know that me and one of my friends from work, KaLeigh, took a much-needed little girl’s trip to Charleston, South Carolina last month to have a break from working in the ER during the pandemic. Well, on our road trip, we stopped for a day in Asheville, North Carolina!
I’ve been wanting to visit this town for a while, so when I saw we would pass by it on our way, I knew we had to stop!
We got there around 8 in the morning and found a cute restaurant called Early Girl Eatery for breakfast. We learned pretty quick that they love biscuits in the south! I ordered the biscuit French toast, which was delicious and very filling.
We had a hike planned, but I figured up times and distances wrong and quickly realized the one I had picked was an hour away, so I frantically got on Pinterest during breakfast to research other hikes in the area. I selected 3 different ones and let KaLeigh pick which one we did. We ended up at Catawba Falls, and I’m so glad she picked this one!
The trail starts about 30 minutes from Asheville. It’s very easy to get to! The trail is about 3 miles round trip and I would consider it to be fairly easy. There are some small uphill spots and lots of big rocks to maneuver around, but very manageable. The hike is also dog friendly, so expect to see some cute pups! Along the way you’ll see a couple bridges, little creeks, an old stone building, and smaller waterfalls before reaching Catawba Falls at the end.
I’ve seen beautiful waterfalls in several different countries such as Costa Rica and the Philippines, and this waterfall definitely ranked up there in beauty! It has a small pool at the bottom (which we sacrificed our dry shoes for to get better pictures). I also saw some people following some sort of trail to get to the very top, but we opted against doing that since we didn’t intend on ruining our trip by breaking a leg. If you come in the warm months, I recommend bringing water shoes to change in to, or even wearing a swim suit under your clothes!
On the way back it did start raining pretty heavily, so I suggest bringing a rain jacket if there is rain in the forecast at all! This hike is doable in sneakers or sturdy sandals such as Chaco’s, or actual hiking shoes if you prefer. Also suggest bringing a backpack with water, a first aid kit, snacks, etc.
After our hike, we headed to the Biltmore Estate! We had intentions of changing clothes there, but quickly realized there weren’t any restrooms easily available at the entrance. Sooo, we ended up finding an empty parking lot, hanging some beach towels in the windows of my jeep, and changing there! I am sure there were probably cameras around, so my apologies to security if you were watching, haha!
If you come to Asheville, this should be at the top of your list of things to do. One of the doctors at work recommended we visit, and I’m so glad he did! We were very impressed!
Biltmore Estate was originally built and owned by George Washington Vanderbilt II for a summer home in 1889. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States, at 178,926 square feet! It has been passed down through his descendants and is now a popular tourist attraction with lots to do and see. It covers about 8,000 acres, so you could easily spend an entire day or more here!
To visit, if you intend on taking a tour of the house, you’ll definitely want to book online directly on their website. We booked about a week and a half prior and almost every time slot was full, so we got very lucky. If you don’t book ahead of time, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get a chance to see the inside. You would however still get to walk around the outside, which is still quite a sight. The place is massive! You have the option of self-guided tours (they give you a pamphlet with information about each room), or you can listen to a little audio set they give you as you walk around. We chose the self-guided. Do remember that masks are required, and flash photography isn’t allowed! You can however take regular pictures. Also just a heads up, they are pretty strict about sizing on purses, so look into that before you go and get a clear one if necessary!
My favorite parts were seeing the indoor swimming pool, the kitchens, the library, and all the bedrooms!
Once our self-guided tour ended, we went on to the winery. If you want to do a taste testing, I recommend booking in advance. You can still go in and buy some or sit at one of the several restaurants there and enjoy a glass though.
After we ate a late lunch at the Bistro, we walked around a bit then got back in the vehicle to continue our road trip to Charleston. I absolutely loved the area of Asheville and hope to come back someday soon. If I ever get married, I think it would be a great place for a bachelorette party!
Other things I wish we would’ve had time to do are…
- Craggy Pinnacle Hike (The original one we were going to do)
- Triple Falls Hike (I love the Hunger Games books, and parts of the movies were filmed here!)
- Horseback riding
- Kayaking or white-water rafting
- Try more restaurants (One of the PAs I work with recommended a Mexican place called Sonora; I hope to come back soon so I can try it out!)
Have you ever been to Asheville, or is it on your list of places to go? If not, it definitely should be! If you’ve been, I would love to hear about your trip!
Next month I’ll be writing about my recent trip to Maine, so stay tuned…
Beautiful pictures and so much useful info! We will definitely put this on our vacation list 😊
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!