Our Weekend Getaway...

Our Weekend Getaway was perfect. So perfect that I didn't want to come home. I didn't miss Bree, I didn't miss my home, I didn't miss anything...I was in love with it being just Paul and I; something we haven't had in 2 and a half years.

The town of Asheville is only about an hour out of where we live, but we weren't sure exactly where we were going. I hadn't been to Biltmore since I was in the 6th grade, and Paul had never been. So driving to Asheville was an adventure in and of itself. I had printed out directions on my Google Maps, and was full prepared, but printed directions weren't enough for Paul. He needed to break out the navigation system. I hate the navigation system. I spent the entire 4 hours driving back from the beach in the Summer time, screaming at the biotch on the navigation system...and this little trip to Asheville was no different. Paul and I randomly would yell, "Shut up!" at her whenever she would inform us of where to go, which was usually completely against what my printed out directions said. After getting lost, we finally decided to cut her off and just figure it out on our own. We eventually got there, and the directions turned out not to be so hard after all. I think Navigation Systems just make things worse.

Most of our entire Saturday was spent at the very beautiful, Biltmore Estate. Biltmore Estate was built by George Vanderbilt II in 1889, and is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) houses in all of America. It is spectacular both inside and out. Inside the floors are made of marble, and the walls made of fabulous wood. George Vanderbilt filled his "get away" home with antiques, and beautiful tapestries, specifically to resemble french architecture and decoration. Biltmore Estate is a beautiful home sitting on 125,000 beautiful acres. I wish that I could have taken pictures for you all of the inside of the house, but photography is not allowed inside.

And by the way, Ian, I told those Biltmore employees that you said I could take pictures inside, but then they threatened to throw me off of the third story balcony. I figured it wasn't worth it. But if you are curious to see what the inside of the house looks like, click here.

After we toured the Estate, Paul and I walked the grounds of Biltmore. Not all, 125,00 acres of course...but we walked a good bit. Here are some of the pictures I took:



I was thankful to have such a beautiful day, although, the wind was blowing a billion miles per hour. The sky was as blue as it could be, and it was just a beautiful day to be with Paul.

We left Biltmore around 1:30, and then went in search of where we would be staying. Paul sought the help of the biotch lady on the navigation system once again, but to no avail. Again, we figured out the directions on our own. It wasn't time to check in quiet yet once we found the place, so we drove up the road to grab some lunch at Wild Wings Cafe. This was possibly the moment when I realized that I wasn't going to leave this town a big fan. There is absolutely no parking lots in Asheville. To eat at Wild Wings, we had to park 2 streets back and walk. After walking all day long at Biltmore, I would rather park at the door of a restaurant, walk my fat butt up some stairs, and then park my fat butt in a booth while a waitress caters to my needs. Oh well, I lightened up...a little more walking was good for me. I didn't complain.

Finally time came to check into our little place. I was hoping the room was as beautiful as it looked on the internet, and sure enough...when I slipped the little key card into the door and opened it...it was just as beautiful as the pictures. There was a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a spacious living area with a huge flat screen television, fire place, and the most comfortable couch you could ever sit your tush on. The bathroom was large, and spacious as well. It had a whirlpool bathtub for two, a huge shower for two, and a beautiful vanity. The bedroom was large, with a king size bed, large television, and the best robes ever hanging in the closet. I prided myself. I smiled and looked at Paul, "Samantha did good, didn't she?" He laughed and replied, "Samantha did very good."

That night we decided that we would stay in, drink champagne, enjoy the fire place, and rent a movie. That sounded better than walking around downtown Asheville freezing to death. We called in an order to Mellow Mushroom for a pizza, and then went to pick it up. Downtown Asheville has no parking garages, or anywhere to park besides parallel with a meter. In our downtown, we have a parking garage, and some parking lots, but we also have parallel parking with meters. Downtown Asheville was just harder to get around, especially since we were just running in to get a pizza and running back out. We laughed, and fussed a bit...and then froze to death as we walked to pick up our pizza.

Pizza, champagne, a fire place, the best robes ever, and a comfy couch made for a perfect night together. I decided right then and there that I didn't want to come. Ever.

Sadly though, we had to go home and Paul was ready to get down the mountain when we woke up Sunday morning to snow falling. It was a yucky day compared to Saturday, and there was really no reason to stay in town. So we got our stuff together, left our perfect little bungalow, and then stopped to eat at the Moose Cafe before heading home. I was pretty sad to leave. More sad than I thought I would be. I had wanted Saturday to last forever, to never end. I had wanted to still be sitting in that little room, in front of the fire place with my Hubby...the love of my life.

It was a wonderful weekend, and the only thing I would change about it is, is the length of stay. I would have liked an entire weekend with my wonderful hubby. Nevertheless, everything is back to normal this morning with Bree tearing the house up, laundry piling up, and the floors needing to be vacuumed.

How was your weekend?

P.S I'll have the remainder of my Biltmore Pictures up on my flickr account by tomorrow. Make sure you click the "My Photography" link at the top of the page, to view them!