Oh, The Places You'll Go

Ever since I "moved" to North Carolina in August, I've been told that I needed to see two things: a Carolina basketball game and The Biltmore House. Well, basketball season has pretty much come and gone, and I never made it to basketball game, but guess what I did get to see this past weekend?!?

That's right! I saw the Biltmore! I'm not sure that all of you Oklahomans know what it is. It is the largest privately owned residence in the country. No one lives in it now, and it has been open to the public since 1930. It was just amazing! Amazing that one person has that much money, because not only was the house MASSIVE, but decorated perfectly too. There were over 20 bedrooms that servants slept in, more grand pianos than I could count, 43 bathrooms, a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, three kitchens, a library that had over 23,000 books in it. Oh the whole thing was awesome! I'm sorry I'm not better at all of this technology business, or else I'd post a picture of it. They didn't let us take pictures inside, but I took some of the outside.

So not only did I finally talk someone into taking me to the Biltmore, but on our way there we went by the Chapel Hill chapter's Phi Retreat in Gatlinburg, TN. Which was not quite as exciting to see as the Biltmore house, but still pretty neat. I've heard of Gatlinburg before, but I didn't really know what was so great about it. The best way to describe it would be to call it a kid's Las Vegas. There is this strip in the middle of town filled with hotels, ice cream shops, cute little stores, several places selling carnival food--corn dogs, funnel cakes, fudge, taffy, etc., and a ton of stores selling airbrushed t-shirts (I thought they only sold those at the beach, but I guess not). Then as we drove farther into town, there was Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, and an outlet mall. It was pretty neat; had I been 8 then it would have been really neat, but it was still cool. I'm just really enjoying all of the new places I've been able to see this year.