8-23-17  off to some waterfalls, the Pisgah Mountains, and the Biltmore!

It was a busy day today!  Originally I thought we would go to Pearson's Falls, then to the Biltmore for me to get my season pass.  Then we planned to have dinner in the Biltmore Village.

Along the route from the Wyndham resort to the town of Lake Lure and beyond.  This field and the one across the road are full of tomato plants that are loaded with tomotoes.  Wonder what they do with them all?  I'm sure there aren't enough people in Lake Lure to eat all these tomatoes!

 heading to waterfall country.

There is a $5/person fee, but it's run by a garden club and the trail is well taken care of.

 There are also lots of places for picnics and for just sitting around.

 The trail follows the river and there are some pretty amazing views.

 some of the trail.

 some of the river

 trail and river

 Stairs were built out of rocks.

 There was even a bridge built out of rocks.

 more of the river

 After about .5 mile, we came to Pearson's Falls. 

 Another pretty falls

 an interesting insect enjoying the falls with us.

 After chatting with another couple for about 30 - 40 minutes, we hit the trail again.

 back to the view from the bridge.

 looking back at the bridge.

 There was some elevation change, but not a lot.  At least there was railings on both side by the steps.

 one of the little sitting areas along the trail.

 pretty red wild flowers.

 pretty yellow flowers

Ken charging ahead.

 By the time we were done there, it was only about 2---way too early to go to the Biltmore since Ken didn't have a pass.  So I found some more waterfalls along the way.  There are clusters of waterfalls in several areas.  I had hoped to go check these out the next day, but decided to see what we could do in 2 hours.  The first falls was Looking Glass.  It's right on the side of the road, and pretty impressive. 

 Lots of wildflowers

 I even went down the steps to the bottom of the falls.

 While I was heading back up the steps, I heard 3 or 4 emergency vehicles drive by with their horns blaring. 

 The next falls was just up the road about a mile, but there was a .5 mile walk to it.  I would have liked to do it, but we were restricted on our time now and the emergency vehicles were there.  (Heard on the news that night that a 24 year old male climbed the falls and was walking across the top of it when he fell over the edge---to his death.  Glad we weren't there when that happened!)  
We pulled into a parking area for the next falls, but it was a pay use area.  Since I was just going to snap a couple pictures and be on our way, we skipped it and went on.   So we punched Biltmore into the Navigator and figured we'd head straight there.

 Much to my surprise, the route took us high up in the Pisgah mountains.  The views were stunning!

 Ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 Of course I made Ken stop at several of the pull offs!

 We rounded one curve and we treated to this view of the Biltmore!

 Got to the Biltmore about 4:40.  Got my annual pass (I had gotten an email to upgrade to the annual pass shortly after I got home from our girls trip last month.  For the cost of 1 more day, I could get an annual pass.  Since I still had money on a gift card, I upgraded the girls and myself since we talked about trying to go again around x-mas).  We watched the video about the estate that was playing in the ticket office area.  Then headed into the estate.    Love the views within the 8000 acre estate.

 Instead of going directly to The Village (pass holders can take non-pass holders there after 5pm when the rest of the place is closed).  I hoped to drive by the house and gardens, but we were directed the other direction.  I thought we could ride around the back way, but that didn't seem to work.  I assume it's one way in front of the house?   But we did see some more of the grounds---like Lioncrest.

 Back to The Village.   We passed the museum on our way to Cedrics.

 Some time I'm going to have to try one of the other restaurants on property.  So far I've eaten here 4 times.  I got the Shepard's Pie; Ken got fish and chips.  Dinner was good; service and ambiance were great.

 On our way out, I checked out the wedding exhibit in the museum.  Interesting info and styles.

Headed back to the car and tried, again, to find the back route to the house.  Along the way we stopped by the pond for this view of the house.

 Drove to the end of that road and it ended in a dirt road.  So we turned around and headed back the way we came.  Even saw this guy on our way.

 About then I got a text from Angie asking if we were still by the winery.  She wanted some wine, so on our way by there, I ran in and got a few bottles of wine---8!  Had to do the wine tasting while I was there, too!  Before we left, we even got a fairly decent sunset.

A jam packed day, but a fun one!  Love all the waterfalls in N. Carolina!  Love the Biltmore!  Love the mountains!  Love the small town feel of Lake Lure!  We will be back!