2008 Woodie Awards
Cheap Trips: North Carolina offers wide assortment of original attractions
Ashley Edwards
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: College Life
Asheville, N.C.
If you think Murray State President Randy Dunn's house is big, wait until you see Bill and Gloria Vanderbilt's mansion. Asheville, N.C., home to America's largest home - the Biltmore House-is only a six-hour drive from Murray, Ky.
Built in 1895 by New York's Central Park architect, Frederick Olmsted, the Biltmore House resides on a 125,000-acre site featuring a winery, equestrian center and several gardens. Even though the rose garden is not yet in bloom, take advantage of low seasonal rates.
A behind-the-scenes winery tour, wine tasting and a red wine and chocolate seminar is free with estate admission. Culinary demonstrations are also performed daily.
Now through March 14, tickets start at $25 per person with access to the main house, gardens, river and River Bend Farm area. You can also take trail rides on horseback around the grounds.
Carriage rides, river float trips, Segway tours, fly-fishing school and a Land Rover driving tour are offered on the Biltmore grounds. A two-and-a-half hour Segway tour along the French Broad River, weather-permitting, costs $65 per person.
A Land Rover ride-a-long tour, in which you climb boulders, costs $25 per person. Visit biltmore.com for more information.
If you happen to have your parents' credit card or you just have deep pockets, you can sleep like a Vanderbilt.
The four-star Biltmore Inn, adjacent to the Biltmore House, features luxurious rooms, mountain views and complimentary afternoon tea. Winter weekend rates start at $259 a night.
The city, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, is known for some of the best homemade winter soup and hot chocolate in the country.
Upon your stroll in downtown Asheville, stop at the Tomato Jam Café where the specialties include creamy tomato soup and red lintel and carrot soups. Located at 379 Biltmore Ave., the café serves lunch from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
For another lunch option, check out The Marketplace restaurant, down the street from Tomato Jam Café featuring seasonal menu items provided by local farmers.
If the weather is cold and you're in the mood for something warm, try some famous hot chocolate at Double Decker Coffee Co. located at 41 Biltmore Ave. The restaurant is an actual double decker red bus that once zoomed through the streets of London, England.
After sipping warm chocolate and whipped cream, consider taking a historic Asheville trolley tour. The trolley tours will open for the season March 1. Tickets start at $12. The tours will guide you through the Montford historic district, which features Queen Anne-style homes, Grove Park Inn, the Tomas Wolfe home and Biltmore Village.
Beginning in March, 60-90 minute trolley ghost tours will also be offered at 7:30 p.m. every Saturday. Led by best-selling author Joshua P. Warren, you will explore the site of Asheville's largest mass murder, the phantoms of Church Street, a Civil War battle site and many other haunted locations. For reservations and pricing call 888-667-3600.
When the weather warms, Asheville offers an alternative tour system. The Lazoom Tour Co., open May through October, is a 90-minute theatrical bus tour exploring Asheville's historic and up-and-coming neighborhoods. Tickets cost $22.
If you're a bookworm, you will love Malaprop's Bookstore Café, located at 55 Haywood St. Friday, regional author Anthony Abbott will read and sign his book "The Three Great Secret Things."
Now flip your travel itinerary to some outdoor winter action. Because of Asheville's proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains, several ski areas are within a 30-minute drive. Consider Appalachian Ski Mountain resort, which features nine slopes and an ice skating rink. Cataloochee Ski Area features 10 slopes and three lifts.
You can also participate in one of the many cultural events offered in Ashville.
The University of North Carolina, in celebration of Black History Month, will showcase The Langston Hughes Project: "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz." This 800-line poem will be performed from 8-10 p.m. Friday. Tickets cost $15.
Asheville offers other unique theatrical performances. At 7:30 p.m. March 1, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium will feature the St. Petersburg Ballet "Romeo and Juliet." Tickets start at $25.
After a night out on the town, get your drink on Irish style. Hannah Flanagan's Irish Pub, located at 27 Biltmore Ave., is one of Asheville's most popular nightclubs. Live music, both Irish and American, is performed nightly.
Outdoor activities like whitewater rafting and mountain hiking can be enjoyed during the spring and summer months.
Every week the College Life section provides fun and frugal trip ideas. Clip out each week's destination and refer to it when you get in a rut and need to get away or are itching for an exciting adventure.
If you know of an interesting or entertaining event going on within a day's car ride, send your Cheap Trip information and a phone number to ashleyb.edwards@murraystate.edu.
Also, if you get a chance to go to one of our Cheap Trip destinations, send an e-mail to the above address to say how it went. Safe travels!
If you think Murray State President Randy Dunn's house is big, wait until you see Bill and Gloria Vanderbilt's mansion. Asheville, N.C., home to America's largest home - the Biltmore House-is only a six-hour drive from Murray, Ky.
Built in 1895 by New York's Central Park architect, Frederick Olmsted, the Biltmore House resides on a 125,000-acre site featuring a winery, equestrian center and several gardens. Even though the rose garden is not yet in bloom, take advantage of low seasonal rates.
A behind-the-scenes winery tour, wine tasting and a red wine and chocolate seminar is free with estate admission. Culinary demonstrations are also performed daily.
Now through March 14, tickets start at $25 per person with access to the main house, gardens, river and River Bend Farm area. You can also take trail rides on horseback around the grounds.
Carriage rides, river float trips, Segway tours, fly-fishing school and a Land Rover driving tour are offered on the Biltmore grounds. A two-and-a-half hour Segway tour along the French Broad River, weather-permitting, costs $65 per person.
A Land Rover ride-a-long tour, in which you climb boulders, costs $25 per person. Visit biltmore.com for more information.
If you happen to have your parents' credit card or you just have deep pockets, you can sleep like a Vanderbilt.
The four-star Biltmore Inn, adjacent to the Biltmore House, features luxurious rooms, mountain views and complimentary afternoon tea. Winter weekend rates start at $259 a night.
The city, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, is known for some of the best homemade winter soup and hot chocolate in the country.
Upon your stroll in downtown Asheville, stop at the Tomato Jam Café where the specialties include creamy tomato soup and red lintel and carrot soups. Located at 379 Biltmore Ave., the café serves lunch from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
For another lunch option, check out The Marketplace restaurant, down the street from Tomato Jam Café featuring seasonal menu items provided by local farmers.
If the weather is cold and you're in the mood for something warm, try some famous hot chocolate at Double Decker Coffee Co. located at 41 Biltmore Ave. The restaurant is an actual double decker red bus that once zoomed through the streets of London, England.
After sipping warm chocolate and whipped cream, consider taking a historic Asheville trolley tour. The trolley tours will open for the season March 1. Tickets start at $12. The tours will guide you through the Montford historic district, which features Queen Anne-style homes, Grove Park Inn, the Tomas Wolfe home and Biltmore Village.
Beginning in March, 60-90 minute trolley ghost tours will also be offered at 7:30 p.m. every Saturday. Led by best-selling author Joshua P. Warren, you will explore the site of Asheville's largest mass murder, the phantoms of Church Street, a Civil War battle site and many other haunted locations. For reservations and pricing call 888-667-3600.
When the weather warms, Asheville offers an alternative tour system. The Lazoom Tour Co., open May through October, is a 90-minute theatrical bus tour exploring Asheville's historic and up-and-coming neighborhoods. Tickets cost $22.
If you're a bookworm, you will love Malaprop's Bookstore Café, located at 55 Haywood St. Friday, regional author Anthony Abbott will read and sign his book "The Three Great Secret Things."
Now flip your travel itinerary to some outdoor winter action. Because of Asheville's proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains, several ski areas are within a 30-minute drive. Consider Appalachian Ski Mountain resort, which features nine slopes and an ice skating rink. Cataloochee Ski Area features 10 slopes and three lifts.
You can also participate in one of the many cultural events offered in Ashville.
The University of North Carolina, in celebration of Black History Month, will showcase The Langston Hughes Project: "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz." This 800-line poem will be performed from 8-10 p.m. Friday. Tickets cost $15.
Asheville offers other unique theatrical performances. At 7:30 p.m. March 1, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium will feature the St. Petersburg Ballet "Romeo and Juliet." Tickets start at $25.
After a night out on the town, get your drink on Irish style. Hannah Flanagan's Irish Pub, located at 27 Biltmore Ave., is one of Asheville's most popular nightclubs. Live music, both Irish and American, is performed nightly.
Outdoor activities like whitewater rafting and mountain hiking can be enjoyed during the spring and summer months.
Every week the College Life section provides fun and frugal trip ideas. Clip out each week's destination and refer to it when you get in a rut and need to get away or are itching for an exciting adventure.
If you know of an interesting or entertaining event going on within a day's car ride, send your Cheap Trip information and a phone number to ashleyb.edwards@murraystate.edu.
Also, if you get a chance to go to one of our Cheap Trip destinations, send an e-mail to the above address to say how it went. Safe travels!
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