Biltmore & Pigeon Forge Trip!

2020 has not been the best year for travel. Traveling is much different than it was just last year. However, I’m still trying to get some travel in this year as it’s just needed to go on with normal life and get out of the dang house sometimes! My parents have been wanting to go to the Biltmore for a couple of years now! They started watching Downtown Abby and were obsessed with it! They found out the Biltmore was doing a tribute for it and just had to go! My mom also LOVES going to Pigeon Forge. It’s only an hour and half drive from the Biltmore, so it was really easy to do both in one trip. My parents rarely go on vacation just the two of them. Either I go, my brother, or my grandma will go too! This time it was me! Lol Cam and my brother, David were not able to get out of work/school so they unfortunately couldn’t make this trip.

Asheville – Wednesday – Hotel – What To Do – Dinner

We left on a Wednesday morning and drove to North Carolina. When we got there, we got a feel for the area and got checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo. It was walking distance to restaurants and shops. It was in a great location. The service was wonderful, and they were very clean, during COVID this was very important to us. We still brought our own Lysol spray and Clorox wipes with us and recleaned the room when we got in there. Hotels right now are not doing housekeeping services, so you don’t have to worry about anyone potentially bringing any germs into your room each day. We walked around to the restaurants and the shops. Not everything was open due to COVID some stores were closed and some were open during weird times. We ended up at the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. The service was so great and the food was delicious. A big pizza was great after all the walking!

Biltmore – Thursday – What To Do

The next morning, we got up early and drove to the Biltmore. We learned that the apple maps don’t really take you exactly there, once you get close, just follow the signs not the map. Lol The Biltmore estate is so big! You have to drive each part of it. They have a lot of parking and shade from the trees, so the walk is pretty nice! We scheduled our house tour pretty early, but then stopped to take lots of pictures. We found out you should be entering the house at your designated time, not the estate. Lol It was fine they were nice and let us in still. We were able to take pictures of the house but not videos. We had to wear our masks the entire time. It did start to get hot because there wasn’t air conditioning in the house. They have fans, but it was still pretty warm with the mask on. The tour took about an hour and half. It was really pretty to see.

Biltmore – Shops – Lunch

We went to lunch after the house. They have a little food court outside of the Biltmore with a few restaurants, so we just ate there. It was fast, easy, and pretty tasty! They had a gift shop around there and a Christmas shop as well. After lunch and the gift shop, we drove to the winery!

Biltmore – Winery

What’s a vacation without a winery?? When we got to the winery, we had to put our name in for a reservation. It didn’t take very long at all. There was plenty to do around the winery. One of the Downton Abby exhibits was over there as well as gift shops, ice cream shops, and a small petting zoo. The winery was beautiful. They have complimentary wine tastings. Then, you’re able to buy the wine by the bottle.

Biltmore – Downtown Abby Exhibit

We spent all day at the Biltmore, so next we went to the actual Downton Abby exhibit. It was so pretty and really well done! I had not watched it, but if I did, I would have thought it was even cooler. My parents LOVED it! This exhibit is unfortunately not available anymore, but they have exhibits similar to this regularly!

Asheville Dinner – Hilarious Story. If you read anything on this post, please let it be this.

After the Biltmore we went to dinner. We went to Long Horn Steak House. Our service wasn’t great and some of their food was sold out. Lol But I’m adding this because a freaking SQUIRREL was loose in the restaurant. Yes, a squirrel!! We heard workers in the kitchen screaming. Obviously, everyone wanted to know what was happening. Naturally, I thought someone cut their finger off. Then, I heard someone say a squirrel?? So we thought it was a rat or a mouse because how the heck does a squirrel get in there?? Pretty quickly, the squirrel ran out of the kitchen. It was like people were doing the wave in the restaurant you just see everyone standing up on their chairs screaming. There were a few middle-aged men there who were like LIVING for this. Thinking this was their time to shine to catch a dang squirrel. It was hilarious!

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Last Day in Asheville – Brunch

The next day we went to breakfast at the Double D’s double decker bus in Asheville. It was so cute! We got smoothies and a muffin. They are cash only, so if you go, take some cash with you. Idk if they normally have more seating on the bus, but at lease for COVID reasons there were tables outside that we ate. It’s in a cute area with some boutiques nearby.

Pigeon Forge – Dinner and Show

After breakfast, we went to Pigeon Forge, it’s only about an hour and half – 2-hour drive! My mom loves the dinners and shows. We have done just about all of them by now. We first went to get tickets for the Pirate’s show. Idk if I’m just getting older, but I could do without it. If you have kids, they’ll love it! They also have adult mixed drinks, so that’s a plus. The food wasn’t the best. Some other shows that I recommend more so is the Hatfield and Mccoy and the Dixie Stampede. Those both have pretty good food, and I liked the show better. All of them are family friendly too!

Pigeon Forge – Wineries

We also did the Rocky Top Wine Trail! There are 4 wineries and 1 cidery that do a tour. When you complete each one, you get a stamp on your card. When you get halfway through you get a prize and when you finish the trail you get a prize. The wineries are SO good. If you like sweet wine, you’ll love it!! I bought so much wine while I was there. I’m still working my way through it all! Haha

Pigeon Forge – Restaurants

There’s a ton of good restaurant places in the area too! We love Sawyers and Five Oaks! At Five Oaks your can type in Five Oaks Restaurant into google and join their waiting list through a google doc. That came in handy because we didn’t have to wait at all when we got there. The waiting list was over an hour long! At Sawyer’s they have the BEST peanut butter syrup for their pancakes. If you like Peanut Butter, this is a must try!

It was an overall great trip! The Biltmore was beautiful. I definitely recommend it! Pigeon Forge is always fun. There’s enough to do for kids and adults. There’s a ton of good restaurants and wineries!

Thanks so much for reading. I hope it was helpful in any way! If you have any other ideas or places to get in near these places please feel free to drop them below! – Chelseigh