Grandson David hit the road running. The day after he arrived here for the Christmas break, he worked two days in a row. It became three when Burger King asked him to work an extra day. He still had one more task before the semester ended, so I took a photo of him as he finished up and sent that paper. I tell you, if I contorted myself in knots like that, the undertaker wouldn’t be able to get me in a coffin.
We were determined to tour the Biltmore mansion as soon as possible for two reasons. We wanted to see the gorgeous Christmas decorations, and David needed to see it. Almost everyone who has visited here could have opted to go, but David somehow slipped through the crack. I loved being there with him because of his enthusiasm. His first comments of “Ooooooooh! Dang! Wow!” were repeated numerous times throughout the house. The first thing you see as you get through the front door is the area with the glass ceiling.
How I wanted to catch the moment David saw the Christmas tree in the great hall! He threw his head back to see the top, as his eyes lit up, and a wide grin spread over his face. Awe and wonderment were written all over him. That was a tree!!! Even though ours at home was the largest John has ever had, it seemed like a shrub compared to the Biltmore tree.
On the great dining table were gingerbread houses modeled after real buildings. I didn’t pay attention to the first ones, but the church at the far end is the one the Vanderbilt family built in the village.
We took our time going through the mansion as David drank it all in. He wanted to go through the greenhouse and garden shop, but we had an unfortunate thing happen that caused us to head home. The front bumper of the minivan caught on two spikes that were sticking up inches above the concrete curb. We jumped out to assess the damage, finding one big piece bent backwards and one side ripped from the body of the car. The situation was so tense that I forgot to take a picture of it! Now you know how bad it was! John pulled forward again to take the pressure off the bent piece, and David was able to fold it back under the car and secure it with duct tape. I got the right piece of the bumper back in place, but the connections had been torn. The fellows applied more tape, and we crept home, listening all the way for anything falling off the car. The damage is too much for the local shop to repair, and the two nearest Honda dealers are in Tennessee and South Carolina. John is thinking a collision shop is the place to start. The next time we go to Biltmore, we’ll have to make sure there is plenty of time for David to see the parts of the estate that he missed.
Mehrling Muse 
That is gorgeous! Those houses are amazing!
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So sorry Anne about the car – grrrrrrr and darn. The photographs are spectacular! Those poinsettias! Well, I’m in awe of them, and the gingerbread houses – oh my!
A blessed Christmas to you and family.
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I didn’t take photographs of other plants, but I saw a white poinsettia that was the largest one I’d ever seen. That mansion inspires superlatives. Everything is over the top.
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What a beautiful place, that Biltmore mansion! It would have been fun to see it all. I am sorry to hear about your car and the inconvenience to have it fixed. Not fun so close to Christmas either. Take care. 🙂
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Thank you, Debbie. We are blessed that we have a second car. It’s going to mean juggling, though, because grandson David is working and needs to get to and from work. I suspect Christmas will be a great diversion so that we won’t dwell on the lack of a car.
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Yes, likely. Hugs and blessings, Anne.
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Other than the vehicle it sounds like a great time! The mansion sounds like a beautiful place and always better with family!
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I am sorry about what happened to your car Anne. These pictures are quite lovely 🙂
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Wow!! First how awesome to have David “home for the holidays” and to tour that mansion. What beauty. I love the excitement your grandson still holds for Christmas. What a joy! Sorry about the vehicle.
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We had a wonderful day. The Vanderbilt mansion was beautifully decorated. I was surprised at the crowd touring the place, thinking school was still in session and people would be preparing for Christmas. In fact, there were several school groups going through with us.
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What a gorgeous mansion! Glad the three of you were able to enjoy it for a while up until the catastrophe!
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The ride home was a bit tense, but we still had a great day. Thankfully, we have a second car that is in good running order.
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We all, well most of us anyway, know what a Jersey Barrier is. It’s that 20-30 ft piece of concrete seperating roadway directions and such. (http://precast.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Traffic_Barriers.pdf)What you tangled with I have called Rhode Island barriers.
Several years ago my daughter Sarah pulled into a bank during a storm, invisible those little devils were and her car became impaled also. One of those pieces of Rebar checked the oil level from below and there was no getting off or driving home.
I feel your pain. We also love the Biltmore, especially the Christmas season. Thanks for sharing.
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Shared pain lessens the impact. I love your Rhode Island barrier name. Yes, I know Jersey Barriers, the road liners of choice, it seems.
You’ve been to the Biltmore at Christmas? Any chance you’d come again? How we’d love to see you!
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Shall we return you will have a visitor to share a Milk Shake with.
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I’m getting better at delivering milkshakes. We’ll try to get whatever you want.
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You’re amazing – you combine in one post 3 disparate things: grandson David in armchair (gives new meaning to the word, “laptop”!); incredibly gorgeous decorated mansion; and van glitch (where would we be without duct tape?! the world would fall apart, I tell ya!). You never fail to entertain.
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