We went to Ashville so that we could see the Biltmore Estate. It is supposed to be beautiful and is/was (?) owned by the Vandervilt's. Well, we discovered that for the 5 of us to get in to tour it would cost $295 and we decided that it wasn't worth the money to see a big house. So, after a bad experience at a campground (Caitlin will describe later) we left Ashville a day early and decided to drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a road that was built during the depression to connect Smoky Mountian NP to the Shenandoah NP. The road is a national park that is just meant as a scenic drive. It was beautiful! However, we had quite a few very close encounters with other vehicles and trees on a very small, VERY curvy road. After we got off we saw a sign that said "RV's and campers not recommended". Wish we knew that earlier! But we made it and saw beautiful scenery, amazing views and hiked to Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. That night we boondocked (camping without hookups, etc) in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. If you didn't know most Walmart's and Cracker Barrel's will allow you to boondock!
The next day we drove to a beautiful campground near Charlottesville, Va and toured Montecello, Jefferson's home. It was very interesting and though Colin made a 2 on his AP English test he made a 4 on the US History test (thank you Ms. George!) and we planned the entire trip around American history because of his and Caitlin's interest. Funny though that Jefferson is Colin's least favorite president so he wasn't completely thrilled with the visit and kept informing us of all of Jefferson's faults! Lol. After Montecello we went back to the campsite, ate dinner, and did much needed laundry.
Today we are off to DC with lots of things planned! I'll fill you in as we go!
Courtney
Blue Ridge Parkway
Top of Mt. Mitchell
Colin and David at the mountain
Where Jefferson is buried
Monticello
David decided Jefferson needed glasses!
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