Rainy Day Drive

Yesterday, we made the rainy, 2-hour trek to see the Biltmore. It was our first time visiting North Carolina.

First of all, the Biltmore is beautiful. It's the largest home in the US and easily resembles a modern day castle. It took us several hours to walk 2.5 miles through it. That included four flights of stairs. The house contained so much artwork and a mastery of decorating skills.

Amongst all the ooohs and ahhhs of the 100s of tourists, I couldn't help but consider why.

The house was built by the Vanderbilt family. For someone my age, Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper are the most notable of the family. A quick google search will give you more information of how the family made their wealth off shipping and the railroad.

Don't get me wrong, that's an important part of our history and our present. But touring the house really offers no valuable information of who these people were nor why this place was important.

The tour cost over $100 for both of us. I was thinking it would be something spectacular. It was, but it wasn't. It seemed to be a celebration of the American Dream....wealth and excess.

This house has 250 rooms in it. Each of the five family members had their own space, totally get that. I even get some of the rooms for entertaining and such. But it all seemed so excessive to me.

They began giving tours when the stock market crashed, then got into the wine making business over the past several decades. I can see where this establishment provides jobs, but I failed to see bigger ways that this family has used their wealth to enhance the community. I'm not saying they didn't, I'm just saying that the tour offered no good information. When I pay over $50 for a tour of a museum, I kind of expect to come away educated.

One of their current draws is a display call Dressing Downton. In random places throughout the home, there are outfits which resemble those from Downton Abbey. Admittedly, I've never watched this show. However, I know from reading a few signs that it is staged during the same era. That seemed to be the only connection. Honestly, it detracted from the overall experience for us.

North Carolina and their mountains are beautiful, even in the rain. The heavy rains left huge waterfalls for our viewing pleasure on the way home.

I'm sure I'll sound like ever the complainer, but this didn't seem like it was worth the money. Equally disappointing was paying $50 for two sandwiches for lunch. My sometimes cheap self had a tough time with the expense and felt like I got ripped off.

I suppose though, it's ok to once in a while see how .5% of the world lives.