Last year we came to the mountains for leaf season and it rained every single day. We did make it to Biltmore, and our tickets included a Luminere ticket we had to use within a year. So this trip is our redo, and this time the weather cooperated.
We loaded up the car with suitcases, coolers, and snacks and headed out.
Traffic was easy on our side of the interstate. The other side was backed up for miles with trucks and campers sitting in construction, so we felt pretty lucky. Blue skies the whole way up.
Lunch at Sierra Nevada
Our first stop was lunch at Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River. It’s one of my favorite stops on the way up. The building is beautiful, with big windows, stone, and a copper roof, and the walls inside have vintage national park posters, including Deep Creek in the Smokies, Half Dome, and the Cataloochee elk.
We had beers and started with the wings. They were tasty, but they were tiny. We joked that they might have been pigeon wings. Tim and I split the Oktoberfest brat, which I didn’t get a picture of, but it was really good. Lunch overall was great.
On the way out we saw a sign for their Celebration in the Park with live music and their fresh hop IPA. I took a photo of it in case we end up switching our plans and can make it back.
Before getting back on the road, we took a group photo of all eight of us in front of the building, and Tim and I took a selfie under the trees. The leaves were just starting to turn.
The House
The house on Vista View Drive is lovely. Dark shingle siding, stone gables, and a swing on the front porch. Out back there’s a stone outdoor fireplace with Adirondack chairs and hydrangeas still blooming, and a covered deck with a long table that seats all eight of us.
Inside, my favorite spot is the breakfast room off the kitchen. It has a corner full of windows looking right out at the mountains. The kitchen has cherry cabinets, granite counters, beams, and a long bar with stools. Off the kitchen there’s a covered patio with wood walls and a tiled table, which is nice in the evening.
We did a blind draw for the rooms, Barb and Bob drew the primary, which you can see in the video below. Suzanne and Gary had the whole basement level to themselves. Debbie and Steve got the room with two Queen beds. Tim and I picked the den that had been converted into a bedroom, which was not the best room in the house. It worked, though, and we didn’t spend much time in there anyway.
Here’s a video tour of the whole house.
Dinner and Sunset
We were up for dinner the first night, and I made lemon shrimp ravioli with green beans. Tim was in charge of peeling the shrimp, and he announced it was going to take him a few hours unless I helped. I was busy with the sauce and the rest of the meal, so that wasn’t happening. Debbie asked if she could help, and Tim happily took her up on it. She had the whole thing done in about five minutes, then pretended she still needed help. When Tim came back, the shrimp were all finished.
The girls pitched in with everything else, which made it easy and a lot more fun. Here’s a video of each of them showing what they helped with.
The sunset during dinner was beautiful. The sky turned peach and pink, and one peak stood out on the horizon. We kept getting up from the table to take pictures, then moved out to the deck to watch the rest of it. After last year, it was so nice to actually see the mountains.
Stink Bugs
After we ate, we noticed stink bugs all over the window trim and ceiling. We think they came in when the patio door off the kitchen was left open. Bob got the step ladder out and started picking them off with paper towels while everyone else pointed them out. Suzanne kept her wine glass covered so no bugs would land in it, and she even came back from the closet with a broom, a dustpan, and a snow shovel. It turned into a pretty funny group effort, and there was a lot of laughing.
Wrapping Up the Night
After that we sat out on the patio off the kitchen with a bottle of wine, door closed this time, and ordered lunch for tomorrow’s day on the Parkway. Then we relaxed out on the deck for a while and enjoyed the evening.
We finished the night in the living room watching the Rams and the Bills. The Bills won.
More from Day 1
Here’s a slideshow with more photos from the day.
https://youtube.com/shorts/prTc-EKdEZk?si=o44DPPykdZPMwWYa
A great first day. Good food, good friends, a beautiful sunset, and no rain.
