Raleigh

We started the day before dawn and left our home at 5:00 a.m. This proved to be a GREAT idea, as our 5 and 6 year old boys slept on the way. Rather than taking  I-40, we took I-85 so we could stop in Spencer for a visit to the railroad museum. We were there in 2 hours. This was a real hit with the kids!  My olny tip is to pack a cooler with healthy snacks to avoid the junk food on the road.

Next, we stopped in Morgonton, a quaint little town 2 1/2 hours away off I-40. There is a lovely park on the greenway with a pedestrian bridge that made an ideal spot for lunch.

In less than an hour we entered Asheville! The leaves have just started turning. The colors are beautiful, but still quite green.  We have stayed at the Grove Park Inn  several times and wanted to try something different. We could only get a reservation for 1 night at the Inn at Biltmore, but we tried it. We were delighted the grounds, the Inn, the staff and everything could not have been better. Every detail was perfect. We did go for a picnic at Craggy park (something like that) of Blue Ridge parkway. it was absolutely lovely, but the grounds of Biltmore offer so much. We enjoyed the restaurants and the guided tour with a horse drawn carriage. We were dissapointed to leave, but we were headed to Blowing Rock!