20th Anniversary Adventure 2016 - Day 8

The Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina

After breakfast, we checked out of our little roadside Best Western and drove 4 miles to The Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore is America’s largest privately owned house, built by George W. Vanderbuilt in the 1890s. The estate is still controlled by the Vanderbilt family, and visitors are charged $60 each to come be herded like cattle through a fraction of the 178,000 square foot house. The estate consists of 8,000 perfectly manicured acres, a hotel, an inn, a winery, and a shopping village. A person could spend days exploring it all, but Chad and I, in our apparent inability to rest on vacation, were intent on doing it in just under 4 hours.

The Biltmore is more massive than you can imagine. Guess how many rooms are in the house? Seriously, I want you to think of a number. I’ll wait.

Okay, how many rooms did you guess? 

The Biltmore has 250 rooms. Two hundred and fifty rooms, people! It has 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. During Christmas, the house is decorated with 50 Christmas trees. We walked through some of the most extravagant, luxurious rooms I have ever seen; the dining table in the banquet room seats 38, the library holds 23,000 volumes, there is a smoking room, a gun room, and a bowling alley just down the hall from a 70,000-gallon swimming pool in the basement.

The table extends to 40 feet long

My favorite room was the 2-story library

Trying to capture the incredible view

The gun room

Chad and I were able to expidite the tour by breezing past all the visitors who had paid extra for the audio tour. As they stood motionless, holding the headsets to their ears, learning valuable facts and history, we were on a mission. We had to forego holding hands on the tour because maneuvering through befuddled 80-year-olds took skill and agility.

We dodged and darted through the estate, trying to appreciate the house’s grandeur while avoiding the masses, but we got stuck downwind of a man who tooted with every step he took. Loudly. I finally had enough, so we broke free and headed to the carriage house which has been converted to shops.

The other day, Chad looked up the traditional gifts for 20th anniversaries and found out that it’s china. So at the Carriage House, he bought two coffee cups. The cups are modeled after a tea service from 1888 that is displayed in the oak sitting room at the Biltmore. I thought he was buying two so we could drink our coffee together as we reminisce about this amazing trip. 

“No,” he said, “One to display one to break.” Because after 20 years he knows me well.

We tooks a quick stroll through the gardens, and marveled at everything we saw. When we had our fill of flowers, we took the shuttle back to our car and drove 5 miles on the one-way path through a forest so perfectly kept that I imagined we were in Disneyland. It was an interesting look into the indulgent lifestyles of the super rich.

We took our highfalutin ways down a notch and moseyed on over to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Since I was about 10 years old I’ve dreamed of one day visiting Dollywood. The first time I heard Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sing “Islands in the Stream” I was as moved as a 6-year-old little girl could be, and I’ve loved Dolly ever since.

We arrived at Dollywood at 3:00, and the park closed at 7:00, so we had to make the most of our time there. We parked in lot “C for Cotton Candy” and were driven to the park entrance by the nicest tram driver this side of the Mississippi. I almost said “east of the Mississippi,” but I don’t know where we are anymore. When he dropped us off at the gates, he reminded us to love one another. The park was lovely, but what stood out apart from everything else was the genuine kindess and hospitality in every employee we met. We were called “sweetheart” and “honey” and “darlin,” by every park employee we spoke to. They thanked us for coming, asked how they could help us, and that’s just something we don’t always see at home.

Tucked away in the Smoky Mountains, Dollywood is made up of different themed areas that make you feel like you’re a part of country living. Places like Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass, and Country Fair. I loved Craftsman Valley, where metal workers, leather craftsmen, potters, and others show off their talents and honor the importance of skilled trade. But in a fun, theme-parky way. We ordered lunch at Hickory House BBQ; I had a pulled pork sandwich and Chad ate a fried bologna sandwich. Fried bologna. You could get lynched for eating something like that in Olympia, well, at least a stern talking to.

He put that in his mouth

We watched a live show called, “My People,” at the Dreamsong Theater. The performers were mostly members of Dolly’s family (her brother, aunt, niece, etc.) Dolly appeared with the stage actors via a pre-recorded perfomance on a big screen, so it was kind of like seeing her live. Sort of. The show was about Dolly’s life growing up in Pigeon Forge; she’d tell stories and they’d perform a few songs together. At one point, Chad leaned over and said, “I used to like music. I don’t like music anymore.” 

In Rivertown Junction, we rode “Smoky Mountain River Rampage,” a white-water rafting ride, and we got drenched. We continued through the park until we reached a roller coaster called “Wild Eagle.” We thought it would be a fun little roller coaster in this cute country Tennessee theme park. Riders are seated in pairs on either the side of the track, like bird wings, and then taken 21 stories up. As we made the climb, I began to think perhaps this wasn’t just a silly little ride. The drop was so steep and so aggressive that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed and Chad laughed like a maniac the entire ride, which reached 61 mph. That speed doesn’t seem fast when you read it here, but I suggest you go to Dollywood and ride the Wild Eagle. If your pants aren’t wet from the water ride, they will be when you get off the roller coaster.

We walked around the park enjoying the details, visiting a replica of Dolly’s childhood home, and trying not to compare it to Disneyland. Chad bought me a simple, stainless steel ring and I had our names and wedding date engraved on it. He also bought me a Dollywood shirt that I plan on wearing for the rest of my life. We rode the tram back to our parking lot and on the way, the driver told the departing guests that if anyone has any car trouble, locks their keys in their car, or anything at all, to flag down a tram and the security team will take care of them courtesty of Dolly Parton. I was actually a little disappointed that we didn’t have any car trouble just so we could experience more of that southern hosptality.

Hanging out on Dolly's front porch

A replica of Dolly's home using original family treasures

Hammering our wedding date onto my souvenir ring

We sat in the parking lot with the a/c cooling us down while we tried to figure out where we were going. Once we decided on Chattanooga, we called a hotel and reserved a room. We bought some water at a gas station and when the young man rang us up he said, “Okay, buddy that will be $7.42.” I nearly leapt across the counter to hug him. In Olympia, Chad takes Ashley to a 7-11 by our house every Sunday on their way to church for juice. The man at the counter doesn’t speak to them. He rings them up and doesn’t even push the drinks across the counter for them. He just stands there like a jerk. I’m thankful to have experienced the south this past week. It reminds me that where I live does not represent all of humanity. We could really learn something from these southerners. And I’m not talking about how to make a fried bologna sandwich.

"Islands in the stream

That is what we are

No one in between

How can we be wrong?

Sail away with me

To another world

And we rely on each other, ah ha

From one lover to another, ah ha"

          -Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers

- Rachel