I think everyone has their own story to tell of how they came to live at where they are, and George Vanderbilt also has his story that is now a part of America history.  When we got to Biltmore on Saturday, the parking lot closest to the house was filled and had to take the shuttle bus to get there, the bus driver gave us a little insight of how George came to live in Ashville NC. George was the youngest son, and he had to care for his ailing mother after his dad passed away, and the doctor recommended the fresh air and hot spring for the cure, so they spent several times a year traveling from New York to North Carolina.  According to the driver, George decided to build a house to save on the hotel expenses while staying in North Carolina, so he built a house, and supposedly starting out with 3,500 square feet (Sqf) or something along the line.  When you build your own home, you always make changes and this 3,500 Sqf then turned into a 175,000 Sqf America’s largest home and to put this into perspective, the white house is only 55,000 Sqf, so almost 3 times the size of the white house.

It’s a tourist place now and the last week or so has been very busy for them, it’s good to see that business has picked up some in our area.

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then this food court is definitely is the heart of this place, I know it is for Lee, she looks forward to eating their Margarita Pizza, and chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.

The garden is one of my favorite places to visit, it’s like a secrete garden to me, it seems that every time I visit, they revamped the whole place.  I can’t wait to visit the garden again in the fall.