Traveling Author Style in Asheville, North Carolina
When I wrote Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites I did a whole lot of research. In the first book of the series, a mansion (The Glensheen in Duluth) played a major role. I wanted that story aspect to continue in the second book so I turned to Google and typed: famous mansion’s in the United States. This is how I discovered the Biltmore. Through books and the internet and YouTube videos I learned all about this historic house and the way it stimulated the growth of an entire town as it’s walls went up, brick by brick.
I had wanted to go there while I was writing the book, but timing and the family budget just didn’t allow that to happen. So, when, this summer my kids ended up gone for an entire week to bible camp, I told my husband we were going on a trip. Where? Asheville, North Carolina. To the Biltmore… and so, so much more.
You can use this blog post as a vacation recap or as a tentative itinerary for your own North Carolinian adventure. Think of it as part travel blog and part author-dream-fulfilled. Who knows, maybe you can convince your significant other to go on a trip for the sake of “novel research”! Tell me in the comments where you wanna go so you can write about it!!
Day 1
Travel and arrive at our Glamping Site
For as much as I adore trees, I’m not really a nature girl. I loved the seclusion of this spot, and having our own hot tub was great! But, I think I’d prefer a little more room and a little less humidity. I’m super glad we did this, but next time I think I’d spring for one of the company’s fancier dome dwellings. (Find Asheville Glamping on IG for some great pics!) For me the highlights of this part of our trip was a picnic dinner on our private deck and nightly hot tubbing under the stars.
Day 2
Ziplining
This was one of the highlights of our trip! Imagine flying through the forest at 60 miles per hour… 350 feet above ground — and being totally safe in the process! That’s what we did at Navitat! For 1,200 feet, 2,300 feet, and 3,600 feet at a time, we soared through the air taking in the sights misty blue ridge mountains. It an adrenaline rush but somehow simultaneously peaceful. Our guides Kat and Luke were knowledgeable and made us feel safe, while also educating us on cool plants and the workings of ziplines. In short, we loved it and wanted to immediately repeat the experience.
Day 3
The Biltmore
This house (crazy to think it’s called that), the largest privately owned home in America was the entire catalyst for the trip. The Biltmore is 175,000 square feet large, has 100 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and also includes acres of gardens. It was an absolute dream to be able to see this place that I had written about - in person! It felt so surreal to imagine both the real people who owned it and the characters I created occupying the same space.
We learned about the house through an audio wand tour and were amazed at every architecture feature, daily life detail and historical factoid. My favorite room was the atrium, followed by the library. If you’d like to read my book that takes place in this incredible home, click here.
Day 4
La Zoom Comedy Tour and The Asheville Tourists Stadium
What better way to see the city, than on a tour bus emceed by a comedian?!?! Our tickets to get on the La Zoom bus were rubber chickens, leg-only mannequins decorated the waiting room alongside cats and glitter, and our tour guide was a British time-traveler, who was also capable of some pretty fantastic dance moves. Let’s just say it was a blast.
We also made a pit stop at the Single A Baseball Stadium for the Asheville Tourists. C’mon, you didn‘t think we’d take a total break from baseball, did you?!??! Side note, Crash Davis from Bull Durham hit is record breaking homerun while playing for the Tourists! It was a great field and it definitely made my husband happy we could stop by and check it out.
Day 5
Travel Home
We used Allegiant Air. Everything was fine, although small and low budget. We didn’t care because the flight was direct, short. and we got a great deal.
FOOD
In addition to not being outdoorsy, I’m not really a foodie… it just doesn’t rank high on my priority list. (Truth be told, eating and showering are the two biggest “time-sucks” in my day and I’d skip them if I could!) But we did have some great food while we were there! Here are a few of our favorite spots we visited that we would recommend!
We aren’t fancy people, especially when it comes to food. But the pizza, salad, pasta and wine we had here, were INCREDIBLE. It is exactly the kind of meal I look forward to when we are dining without our kids. We also got to sit outside near a cool community courtyard and people watch. It was the perfect way to kick off vacation.
Homemade queso and chips and excellent street tacos made this a 5 star lunch stop. They have lots of unique combinations for those of you in the adventurous eating category. We ate at picnic tables near the French Broad River surrounded by local art.
All the sugar and carbs please! The waffle and home fries I ate here were the perfect fuel for our full day of walking and touring the Biltmore. (Okay, they serve more than just sugar and carbs… although that’s what I ordered!) This restaurant focuses on locally grown and sustainably sourced food. Cheers to good food that’s not harmful to our planet! Keep up the good work EGE! The staff was super friendly and again, we had excellent seating - right near the window looking out onto the touristy cobblestone street and stores. Absolutely add this one to your restaurant line up.
My only disappointment of the entire trip was that we didn’t eat at a roof top bar. We saved this trip item until the last night, but when we arrived (at a time slot chosen for peak sunset watching) we discovered the rooftop closed for maintenance. Bummer! But, the food was great and so was the wine. The service was also wonderful. I guess it just means that we’ll have to go back again!
Asheville, you were wonderful! Thank you for a lovely couple’s getaway. We made memories to last us a long time… at least until our next travel adventure. Hopefully it won’t take us 14 years to book another one!
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy…
A post I wrote about researching the Biltmore from a far.
An interview with an author about his research trip!
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