Our last day in Asheville! It took us awhile to pack up and clean in the morning. (The one pitfall of staying at an AirBnB instead of at a hotel.) My original plan had been to hit the road and stop at Tallulah Falls but since it was very cold, we decided to check out a few other things in Asheville before heading home.
Our first stop was an antique car museum at the Grovewood Gallery. The space itself is historic and was once part of Biltmore Industries' massive textile production center.
The girls were even allowed to sit in this old fire truck.
The majority of the cars they had on display were Cadillacs (as it used to be a Cadillac dealership) but they did have this Ford Edsel.
But my favorite was this blue 1957 Cadillac. It's a bit of shame they don't make such fun looking cars today. We also visited the Homespun Museum next door which talked more about Biltmore Industries and the textiles they used to produce there. There was also an artist's gallery with an array of beautifully crafted glass, ceramic, wood, furniture, stained glass, toys, etc. They had a beautiful rocking chair that both David and I loved but it was $4,000 so we had to pass. I did buy a honey pot stirrer for $6 though.
From there, we walked across the street to visit the historic Grove Park Inn, one of Asheville's premiere hotels and spas. It's an incredibly unique and beautiful hotel with absolutely gorgeous views of Asheville.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a frequent visitor and he often came here to write while Zelda was in and out of hospitals. I would love to come back and stay here one day.
The Grove Park Inn also hosts the annual Gingerbread House Competition. We wandered through the hallways and floors looking at the entrants in the competition--youth, teen, and adult.
This amazing creation was the grand prize winner. It was a truly incredible work of art.
These were some of my other favorites. This was the teen first place winner.
The most incredible thing was just how intricate and delicate most of the work was.
After that was all done, we ate a quick lunch and made one final stop--Ultimate Ice Cream shop. Even though it was freezing out, we wanted one last stop at an Asheville original. The ice cream was quite delicious. After that, we got some gas and hit the road to head back to Georgia.
We went a different route so this time we didn't have to travel on a lot of mountainous backroads. It went much quicker until we hit traffic on the I-85 as we neared Atlanta (because of course). But it still only took us about 4 hours to make it home and the kids were champs. They all took naps and needed no bathroom breaks so we were able to do the trip without any stops which is its own kind of miracle.
We were happy to be back and the cats sure missed us, but I'm glad we got to visit Asheville and especially to see the Biltmore at Christmastime.
