Back in the Carolinas!!

So yesterday (Sept. 16) I left Salt Lake City to wing my way back to the east coast for 10-day trip.  I came to town determined to do something besides sit around my parents' house all day.  I decided to go the the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

For those of you not familiar with the Biltmore Estate, it's the largest privately held home in the United States (I include the privately owned part only because I've had people argue with me that San Simeon is bigger, but I don't think it is but either way San Simeon is owned by the state).  The house was built by George Vanderbilt (grandson of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt) and opened Christmas Eve of 1895.  His daughter Cornelia and her husband John Cecil opened the house to the public in 1930.  The house (designed by Richarch Morris Hunt) has 250 rooms and includes an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley.  The grounds of the estate are magnificent and were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (the man responsible for NYC's Central Park).  You can tell that I love this place can't you!

Now the reason that I decided to go to Biltmore again on this trip when my schedule is already a little hectic is because they are currently hosting an exhibit of Tiffany Lamps at the Antler Hill Village.  I love Tiffany lamps! (there were not photos allowed inside the house or the exhibit, sorry)  It ended up being a wonderful day!  I stopped by to see Amelia and then went to Shelby to meet my parents and Diane and Bennie.

Tomorrow I head out early in the AM to Hilton Head, SC for the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC).  More to come from Hilton Head!