Day Two - Biltmore Estates

I have dreamed of visiting Biltmore Estates in Ashville, North Carolina for over 15 years. At last, in celebration of my upcoming birthday I made it to the estate for a tour.

The house was built in the early 1900's by the Vanderbilt family. The house has 250 rooms including an indoor swimming pool, gym, and bowling alley. The craftsmanship and architectural genius was amazing. The house is surrounded by 8,000 acres of land some of which was being farmed with soy beans.

The house was amazing, but I couldn't wait to get to the conservatory.


The arbor leading to the conservatory was covered with squash that was in bloom. Large yellow flowers and dangling squash underneath.



The Biltmore Estates conservatory was filled with tropical plants in bloom.

At the farmstead located on the estate the kids were participating in a gunny sack race. One of the men helping the kids jump to the end of the race put his sack on his head and ran around the kids. They loved it.