Our recent, two day visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina afforded us time to see many parts of the property (there are over 8,00 acres to explore!) including the gardens, hiking and biking trails, and Antler Hill Village. Visitors could spend an entire day just at Antler Hill Village, so we thought the space deserved its own post.
Biltmore, the largest private home in America and a National Historic Landmark, was the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt and their daughter, Cornelia, in the early 20th century. A trip to the Asheville, North Carolina area in the late 1880s inspired George to have a home built so he could enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the Blue Ridge Mountains and escape the pressures of New York social society.
We spent Christmas 2024 at Biltmore and it was a magical time of year to visit. The house was beautiful decorated and there were several holiday themed activities throughout the estate. We’ll be sharing our adventures in several, separate posts.This week, we’re focusing on the tour of the main house.
2024 was an adventure filled year for our family, filled with road trips ranging from Mont Tremblant and Québec at the end of 2023 to Montana and Banff during the summer to ending 2024 with a road trip from Miami, Florida back home to Connecticut.
Holiday gift guides are EVERYWHERE this time of year- every blogger I know and follow has multiple post filled with items to purchase for every relationship, personality, and interest possible. I have had some luck finding a few things for people on my list, and I am always especially happy when I see small businesses and creatives supported in these posts- I love to shop local as much as I can (but am also known to search Amazon, too).
However, I personally prefer to gift experiences that allow families and friends to enjoy the gift of time together. “The gift of time” is both one of my favorite phrases and one of my firmest beliefs; I truly believe that the one of the greatest gifts we can give someone is to spend time with them. So this week, we’re updating an old post offering suggestions of experience to gift your families and friends in the hopes you’ll be able to carve out time to spend together. #priceless.
This past summer, we enjoyed a magical week in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, including a stay at the Rimrock Resort in the heart of the town of Banff.
I have been reading about Banff for years and it was truly a bucket list spot for us. Banff National Park, Canada’s first National Park, covers over 2500 miles and runs from Lake Louise in the northern part of the park to the town of Banff in the southern part of the park. The town of Banff, with a permanent population of 8,000 people, is the first incorporated municipality within a National Park; the area welcomes over four million visitors each year. There’s tons to see and do- see our complete City Guide here- and wonderful resorts the whole family will enjoy.
Established in 1802, West Point is America’s oldest, continuously occupied military post and home to the United States Military Academy of over 4,000 cadets. Located in the town of West Point in the heart of the Hudson Valley, an hour north of Manhattan and about two hours south of Albany, the site for the campus was chosen for its high ground above a sharp bend of the Hudson River, connecting New York City to the south and all the way north to Canada.