The People's House

Evan and I have talked about visiting the White House for years, but out of pure laziness we didn't pursue it until recently. The process is actually incredibly easy.  All we did was go to our Congresswoman's website, emailed her staff our full names, SSNs, addresses, etc., and then indicated our availability (three dates) over the course of ninety days.  Two and a half weeks prior to our visit we were notified of the day and time.

My mom joined us and we had a ball once we got through waiting outside on what felt like one of the coldest days in recorded history.  It was probably in the 20s or 30s but we all felt like our fingers and toes were numb and gnarled by the time we got inside.  BRRRR.

A serene scene my mom captured while we were waiting in line:

The White House tour is self-guided and they recommend 45 minutes.  I guess we took about that time but it's not like anyone was monitoring when we entered or exited.  We were all surprised at how few rooms visitors had access to BUT we loved each and every one.  One of the things I truly loved is that every room, while beautiful and ornate, felt cozy and homey. So often when you tour an old mansion, castle, palace, etc. you feel like you're walking through a stuffy and untouchable museum.  I did not get that feeling from the White House at all.  I felt very much at home.

Some of the pictorial highlights:

Yes, that's a portrait of Jackie O.

This is the room where President Obama signs bills and conducts important gatherings.  It's the room where media gathers to broadcast important speeches like when he announced the death of public enemy number one.  

  

This is the hallway he walks down when giving those televised speeches.  See the red carpet?  To the left, where you see the flags, is the Presidential Seal.  

These rooms are named after their colors:

Dining room:

This was a private dining room for the Presidential family until 1961 when a separate private dining room was built/created in their personal quarters.

I especially loved the chandeliers and other lighting fixtures.  Can you tell?

The back of the White House:

It was a lovely morning and totally worth waiting in the cold.  We all agreed we were especially happy to be visiting the White House with its current residents!!!  Although, we were disappointed to not see any of the Obama family (you can always hope, right?).  I would've happily settled for a Bo or Sunny sighting.
  

Happy New Year from Asheville, NC

Asheville's been on our radar for a while now.  It gets quite a write-up for its craft beer/food/arts scene.  There's also a family connection because my maternal grandmother was born and raised there.  We were all over the place in 2015 (too much flying, really) but we still wanted to have a short getaway before Evan started his next graduate class.  It's not too long of a drive from where we are - 6.5 hours - and it's not a break-the-bank kind of destination.  We were really impressed by the affordability when we tallied up our expenses at the end.  It turned out to be exactly what we needed and I wouldn't be at all surprised if we make a return visit.

Since our schedule was relaxed I will focus solely on the highlights of the trip rather than give a play-by-play of our time in town.

Travel Dates: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - Sunday, January 3, 2016

Our accommodations:

We stayed at Hill House Bed & Breakfast not far from the Downtown area but not within walking distance either.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.  I'm extremely nit-picky when it comes to cleanliness, I freely admit this, but if Evan says something then you know there's an issue. Without getting into specifics, our room did not meet either of our standards.  I can't criticize the breakfast - we opted out every morning of our stay.  The B&B was booked solid and the other lodgers seemed to be enjoying their stay based on the snippets I could hear from the hallway.  We were likely in the minority with our criticisms and that's OK.  Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Generally, we wouldn't complain but we did air our grievances to the manager.  Initially, it looked as though nothing would come of our complaints but we were pleasantly surprised to find a type-written note indicating a refund equal to one night's stay when we returned "home" on our last night in town.  I'm glad we were able to thank the manager and that he did us that courtesy.  It was very much appreciated.  Happy New Year, indeed!

An added bonus to our stay was that instead of offering cable, Hill House offered streaming services. We spent almost every evening catching up with Key & Peele on Hulu.

Our activities:

We bought a two-day pass to the Biltmore Estate through our B&B at a discounted rate.  We only went for one day because that was sufficient.  It was very crowded so we felt like cattle while exploring the mansion's many rooms.  Visiting the Biltmore was something I'd been looking forward to since I started my research on Asheville a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations.  I couldn't stop myself from comparing it to some of the great castles/estates we've seen in the recent past like Hearst Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Versailles, and even the more intimate and relatable Brewmaster's Castle in Dupont Circle.  You never do yourself any favors when you compare!

The gardens were also quite sparse as you might imagine at this time of year.  I'd probably go back to the see the gardens/environs in the spring and/or fall.  The rooms themselves were as grand and wasteful (ha!) as you'd expect but it lacked excitement for me.  No pictures are allowed inside but as Evan pointed out some of the more interesting rooms included the indoor pool and gym, both ahead of their time.  The mansion was completed in the mid-1890s and opened to the public for viewing in the 1930s to help Asheville's economy after the Great Depression.

I'll say one thing about Vanderbilt, he sure did know how to pick a great view!  My favorite part of the whole experience was walking around the grounds.  

As an addendum to the estate, there's Biltmore Village.  It's a well-set tourist trap but we didn't spend much time there. You can shop, eat, go wine-tasting, stay overnight, etc.

      
One evening we visited the North Carolina Arboretum to see "Winter Lights".  It was fun and there were some seriously impressive displays but it was a little smaller than I was expecting for the cost.

This one particular tree was constantly changing colors:

Downtown Asheville is wonderful to walk around.  There's a plethora of restaurants, boutique shops, tea/coffee hangouts, etc.  There's so much to see and do.  We had a lot of fun wandering around even though we spent our time there on New Year's Day when a lot, but not all, of its establishments were closed.  There's a prevalent hipster vibe and lots of young people around.  

    

We also visited Downtown Hendersonville, which is about a 20-30 minute drive from Asheville.  My parents are curious about retirement opportunities in the area so we did a brief reconnaissance mission for them.  It's an adorable town with lots of retro charm.

On our last day we stopped by the Omni Grove Park Inn, a lodge with magnificent views, to see the National Gingerbread House Competition.  I felt like a kid walking by the displays because I was absolutely giddy with wonder! The creativity, work ethic, and time that must go into those things is just astounding.  I kind of want to make this an annual tradition.  SO MUCH FUN.  Incidentally, the competition is free to view but you have to pay to park ($10).

These are all in the "Top Ten" of their designated category.  We think the categories are organized by age group.

We were so proud to see a representative from our state and more specifically, the town where Evan's mom and grandma are from!  I might be biased but it really was one of my favorite creations there.  

Isn't the detail work on this one incredible?

This was another of my favorites:

   

Our last activity of the trip was a three-hour brewery tour with BREW-ed.  We met at Hi-Wire Brewing and then progressed to Catawba where I sampled my favorite beer of the day, "white zombie", before we hit our last stop, Green Man.  It was a fun tour but a little too long and WAY too much beer.  If I had consumed every sample (there were nine total) then I probably would've passed out on the street.  These tours are not for light-weights!

We learned that the Asheville we know today is the result of a 25-year-long revitalization effort with an emphasis on art and food.  Craft beer complements both so that explains the exponential growth of the industry in the area.  We also learned that the water, which requires minimal filtering to remove minerals, is another reason why the craft beer industry is huge there.

We also took the time to drive through Montford, which is a beautiful neighborhood with magnificent estate homes.  Driving down one street, it was just B&B after B&B.  We'll probably try to stay here the next time we're in town.  We also drove through Norwood Park, another beautiful neighborhood with craftsman-style homes.  I imagine it's a little more affordable than Montford.  I mentioned both areas to my parents to explore.     

Our food/drinks:

We ate a lot of AWESOME food in Asheville.  It's definitely a foodie town and there's a lot of emphasis on local and organic produce and meats.  The high quality and variety of food is one of the main reasons we'd plan a return visit.

12 Bones Smokehouse:

Now, I know I started out by saying how great all the food was, but I felt I'd be remiss to not mention this BBQ place because it gets a huge write-up and one of their claims to fame is that President Obama eats there every time he's in town. Frankly, we weren't impressed.  The ribs with a brown sugar rub were decent but the small samples we got of brisket, chicken, etc. were kind of dry.  We didn't find the sides to be exceptional either, though the corn pudding was the highlight and the green beans were seasoned well.  We both agree that we were totally spoiled by Wayne's Smoke Shack, a place my brother-in-law took us to in Colorado.  It would be hard for any place to top it!

Tupelo Honey Cafe:

We had a wonderful meal here and the best part is that they have a location in Arlington, VA so we can enjoy their food again without having to go too far.  I had the "Shoo Mercy Pancake".  Talk about a splurge.  It was dinner and dessert in one - a juicy, tender piece of fried chicken breast is placed over a giant sweet potato pancake and garnished with pecans and maple syrup.  Amazing!  We were also treated prior to the meal with complimentary hot biscuits with blueberry jam.  SO GOOD.

Carmel's Kitchen & Bar:

We stumbled into this place by happy accident.  We went downtown to eat at Early Girl Eatery but they had an hour-long wait and we were hungry. Carmel's was a great fall back.  I got a catfish reuben.  How creative, right?  And it was delicious. They also make their own in-house chipotle ketchup. Evan got a BBQ chicken pizza that he enjoyed.

White Duck Taco Shop:

We visited the River Arts District location prior to our brewery tour.  We weren't hungry, per se, but we both agreed we should eat something before sampling beer.  It's extremely popular but the line was fast-moving.  The staff are extremely efficient.  Now, I made a mistake by going adventurous. I should've gotten a more traditional taco but instead I got the Korean beef bulgogi with avocado puree kimchi.  I was expecting savory but got something quite sweet instead.  It was not my cup of tea.  That being said, I'd definitely go back.  They did their jobs right.  I'm the one who made a mistake by going too far outside my comfort zone.  Their chips and salsa (they served three different kinds) were delicious.  Evan asked me which salsa was my favorite and I legitimately couldn't answer.  Evan got the Thai peanut chicken taco with a mango salsa and he enjoyed it.  

Here's a picture from the parking lot.  I like the message on what I assume is a water tank:

Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack:

This was by far our favorite food place.  We went on our first and last nights in town.  They offer multiple levels of spice so that you can customize your chicken to your preference.  The first time Evan got "medium", which evidenced by the sweat dripping down his face and smoke coming out of his ears was a touch too hot.  I got "mild", which is only two levels up from "plain" but it was still more spice than I needed.  When we went the second time I got "plain", which was PERFECT and Evan got "honey style", which was also delicious with just a touch of sweetness.  You'll see his chicken and it looks like there's a light glaze on it.  Our favorite sides were mac & cheese (very predictable for me) and corn pudding for Evan.  We also loved their desserts. Evan got banana pudding in a mason jar and I got a slice of their coca-cola cake, which was TO DIE FOR. I've never had anything like it and I probably never will.  So moist, chocolatey, and nutty.  Yum.  My only complaint about Rocky's is that I don't think their chicken is organic.  It's disappointing considering that their competitors go that extra mile.  

Dobra Tea:

I didn't order tea, Evan did, but I feel Dobra Tea deserves an honorable mention because it's such a nice, relaxing spot to sit for a while.  You're given a large menu of tea options and then you ring a little bell when you're ready to order.  There's ambient music in the background reminiscent of a yoga class, and most people (minus some of the over-excited tourists) are thoughtful and quiet.

French Broad Chocolates: 

French Broad Chocolates has a couple of locations and we stopped into their Lounge right in the heart of Downtown on a very cold afternoon.  We each got a cup of hot chocolate.  Evan got a salted caramel concoction that was so thick it looked like he was drinking sauce.  I got the "Oaxaca" with crushed almonds and cinnamon.  It was the BEST hot chocolate I've ever had.  

Vortex Doughnuts:

We loved these doughnuts because they're simply delicious.  They don't overdo it with their frosting, decorations, flavors, etc. unlike so many other new doughnut establishments.  My favorite of the ones we sampled is the signature "Vortex Doughnut", which is a yeast donut coated with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with dark chocolate glaze.  Their chocolate, by the way, comes from French Broad Chocolate.  

  

All in all, we had a grand time.  I look forward to hearing my parents' impressions if they check it out sometime this year. Evan and I both agree that we wouldn't complain if they decide to retire in the area because we'd love to visit again and again.