N O. C A R O L I N A
A N D N Y C
04/13/19 - 04/20/19
DAY 1
Day 1 - In April of 2019, we packed up our car with plenty of snacks, drinks and gas and headed out early for a road trip to Ashville, North Carolina. For our first day, we stopped in Charlottesville, Virginia, approximately 550 miles from Boston. We spent some time touring Monticello, the primary residence of Thomas Jefferson. After a cold winter in Boston, it was nice to feel a little spring warmth and see the beautiful flowers blooming. After exploring more of the grounds, we headed into the downtown area of Charlottesville for dinner. The town is home of the University of Virginia and has plenty of little restaurants and bars. A friend suggested the White Spot (a UVA favorite) for some delicious burgers and a fun atmosphere.
DAY 2
Day 2 - The next morning we made it to Ashville, North Carolina. We stayed at the beautiful Biltmore Estates. The Biltmore has several options for lodging and is considered "America's Largest Home"! We stayed at the Village Hotel. The estate is on over 8,000 acres and has everything from restaurants and wine tastings to hiking and horse back riding. It is truly a beautiful place to stay and explore. We started our stay with House and Garden tour. They offer both guided or self tours (with an audio guide); we opted for the audio guide and walked through many of the rooms and gardens learning about the history of the estate. After our tour, we stopped at their on site vineyard for a brief complimentary wine tasting and a few snacks.
DAY 3
Day 3 - In the morning, we took a nice walk and checked out their on site farm for a look at some old estate farm equipment. We headed to their "Biltmore Bike Barn" and rented a few bicycles. It was a beautiful sunny day for a ride. The estate has over 20 miles of well marked biking trails. We biked through amazing views of trees, flowers and landscapes and even saw a few horses! After a quick snack for little Michael (a local McDonalds), we explored some of the additional gardens and Michael and Mom took a guided roof top tour. Dad stayed behind for some delicious BBQ, local beer and sunshine! We met back for a little outside parkour on their walking paths and then had a nice meal at their Bistro.
DAY 4
Day 4 - Today we started with a little off roading via the Biltmore's "Land Rover Experience". After a brief training exercise, Dad got to navigate a Range Rover through their off road trails. Our instructor walked us through the course as we ascended deep hills, tilts, rocks and log crossings. Mom and Michael were in the back seat hanging on to the safety bars! It was a lot of fun and Dad even got a course completion certificate for his driving! Whew, we made it! Now it was time to relax by the pool. After a little swim break, we headed to a local mini golf course for a friendly game and went into the small town of Ashville for a local dinner and some dessert! Tomorrow, we were back on the road!
DAY 5
Day 5 - It was time to head North! After breakfast, we started our trek towards New York City. We wanted to get close, but not go into the city today, because of the long drive. We decided to stop at King of Prussia, PA. From Asheville, NC, this was approximately a nine hour drive (600 miles). King of Prussia is home of one of the largest Malls in the United States and is about 100 miles from NYC. Once there, we checked into our hotel (walking distance to the mall), stretched our legs a bit window shopping in the mall and then picked an Italian place for dinner and a few drinks. It was nice to have a low key day before the big city!
DAY 6
Day 6 - Welcome to New York!! It's been waiting for you! We got on the road pretty early and made it into New York City mid-morning. We checked into the Hyatt Centric near Time Square and walked around the city for a bit. We spent some time in Grand Central Station, Time Square, the main Library, and touring 5th Avenue. We stopped for a late lunch and some games at Bryant Park. In the afternoon, we checked out a new complex, Hudson Yards and climbed their massive structure, "The Vessel". After, we spent some time exploring the High Line, a 1.5 mile long elevated park, built on an old rail way. We headed back to then hotel for the night and took some nice pictures from their rooftop bar.
DAY 7
Day 7 - We started early today, and took the subway downtown to the Battery Park area. After exploring the area, we loaded a boat for a Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The boat did a loop of both attractions and after your reservation time, allowed you to do a walking tour of both at your leisure. We took a few photos with Lady Liberty and walked through the Ellis Island museum. A lot of amazing history! After returning back to Manhattan, we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge. We were able to walk across the bridge and earned a great Brooklyn style Pizza and some root beer on the other side! We returned to mid town via the subway and peaked into the grand Saint Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center. So much to do in NYC!
DAY 8
Day 8 - Our April road trip, was coming to an end. Today, we took our time waking up, got some breakfast at a local Starbucks and leisurely packed up our room. We headed out of NYC mid morning and completely the rest of the ride back home to Boston! The United States has so many amazing sites to see and it was nice to experience both the country and the city on the same trip.
WHAT WE THOUGHT OF IT
MICHAEL
KAREN
MICHAEL S
