The Smokies

On Monday morning we headed into Great Smokey National Park. We drove past streams with families playing in waterfalls, horseback riders, children tubing down the rivers, cyclists on bike trails, and an abundant picnickers, all tucked in these Appalachian Mountains. We were not surprised that this is the most visited National park in the country. We picnicked literally on a waterfall, hiked to another fall and watched the steam rise off the mountains after a rainstorm, which is how this area got it's name.

Our day was too short, but since we know that we are moving closer to this area, we will be sure to visit again.

The Gilded Age

Years ago I learned that there was a castle in North Carolina. I remembered how much I loved visiting Hearst Castle in California as a teenager and was immediately intrigued by what might be in Asheville NC. In the mean time, I visited Newport, Rhode Island several times and other castles throughout the country, so I lost some of my fascination with the Biltmore castle. However, when we arrived at the estate this afternoon, I realized that this place was indeed something to be intrigued by. At 175,000 square feet and with 250 rooms it is the largest privately owned home in the country. It was completed in 1895 in the height of the gilded age by George Washington Vanderbilt II and is still owned by his family. We toured this opulent summer retreat and marveled at it's fine wood work, lavish tapestries and modern conveniences of the time, such as it's indoor swimming pool, refrigerated pantries and plumbed bathrooms. (Because we were not allowed to take photos inside the residence, I borrowed indoor images from the Internet.)

Mr. Vanderbilt was said to have been the best read man of his time, with over 23,000 volumes, half of which were in this library.

This winter garden room was where the Vanderbilt's only child, Cornelia, had her wedding breakfast.

The dining room was our favorite room. I especially love the fireplaces in the home. Almost every room had one and they were all unique from one another.

According to Travel and Leisure, the gardens at The Biltmore are in the top ten botanical gardens in the world. We wandered around the walled gardens, the conservatory, the bass pond and the azalea gardens.

I asked Sophia why she wasn't smiling in her photograph and she said that she was trying to pose like the Mona Lisa. I think that she did a good job.

A Tiffany Lamps display had just been brought in for the summer, so we admired the stained glass works of art in the Biltmore museum, listened to outdoor music on the lawn and bought ice cream from the Vanderbilt family's dairy. Our stop at the Biltmore will definitely be remembered.

Ocracoke Island

Friday night we arrived on Ocracoke, a small island at the southern tip of the Outerbanks. The only way to reach the island is by ferry, private boat or private plane, so the area is quite remote.

It was the July 4th weekend, but when we arrived to spend the day at the beach on Saturday morning, we were just about the only ones around. The water was tepid, the sand was powdery white, the waves were the perfect intensity and the sun was comfortably warm. This was the beach for me. We spent the day boogie boarding, collecting shells, building sand castles and jumping the waves. The day was such fun, we dreamed about renting a beach house for a week next summer.

When the kids had had enough sand and sun, we gave away our sand toys and boogie boards to a cute family of boys, which seemed like such an abrupt way to end a great trip to the beach. We found lunch in the funky Ocracoke Village which was full of cold Popsicle stands, sandwich shacks, and a few stores that looked as if they were left over from the 60's, selling tie dye skirts and long strands of beads. We ate Carolina barbecue sandwiches for dinner at one of the few sit down restaurants in town, served by a surfer with dreadlocks who helped us in a hurry so that we could make the ferry to the main land. We boarded the ferry, a little sad that we hadn't had more time to explore this island, but felt so fortunate to have discovered it. As the ferry pulled out we took a few last photos of this small strip of land with its funny shops, beautiful beaches and the lighthouse that marks it's little spot out in the Atlantic.

OBX

Thirteen years ago we drove from New York City to South Carolina. I looked at the map to see what route looked most interesting, and noticed that if I drove down the Outerbanks I could take a few ferries from island to island to reach Charleston. This was my route of choice, but we were restricted by time, and were forced to take the very un-scenic freeway through this picturesque region of our country. Ever since then, I have wanted to make this drive, so when I planned out our summer road trip, I made sure to fit the Outerbanks, ferries and all, into our itinerary. On Friday morning we left Virgina, crossed marshlands and bays by beautiful bridges and arrived in Kill Devils Hill. This is where the Wright Brothers flew their first airplane, so we couldn't help but stop at the monument, despite the sand and surf awaiting nearby.

The Wright Brothers made four attempts to lift off before they went far enough, over 300 yards, to be recognized as an official flight. Each landing is marked with a granite post like the one above.

We then drove through towns such as Nags Head and Hatteras, which I have always wondered about. We headed to the Cape Hatteras Light with a stop at Bodie Island Light on the way.

When we arrived at Cape Hatteras Light, the tallest lighthouse in North America, we bought tickets to climb to the top. No one was allowed to be carried up the 257 steps to the light, so Steve and Mia stayed on the ground, but I was proud of four year old Ezra who climbed around and around until he reached the top. On top we had a magnificent view of the surrounding area and we waved to Mia below, who was so excited to see us.

After, we found the closest beach, which was in the shadow of this famous lighthouse. When I asked a surfer in the parking lot if this was a good beach, he looked at me incredulously and responded, "One of the best in the world!" We were not disappointed.

I love that Ezra poses for photos now! It is fun to see what he thinks will make a great photo of himself!

"Peaches for the Beaches!" the advertisements ran. We picked up $26 dollars worth and ate the entire bag! They were the best we had ever had.

As the evening approached the light was just right, and family after family dressed in white, light blue and tan began arriving to the beach with professional photographers. Under the lighthouse they had their pictures taken in spots that had obviously been carefully chosen and probably used over and over by their photographer. When the families left, we slipped into their professionally chosen spot for a photo of our own. If only I had brought our color-coordinated outfits!

We were sad to leave this area, but looked forward to our next day on the Outerbanks.