road trip – GringoPotpourri

A Day Trip to the Biltmore

An adventurer at heart, I yearn to explore more of the cities, towns, natural wonders, and points of interest around wherever I happen to be living. For at least the past 12 months, I have wanted to visit the Biltmore, a sprawling estate just 50 miles over the state line in North Carolina. With the day off work, the sky nearly free of clouds, and the temperature a perfect 80 degrees, I road tripped last Thursday to the Biltmore and enjoyed a perfect day of fresh air, photography, and walking.

Art collector and horticulturalist George W. Vanderbilt, who inherited several million dollars from his shipping magnate parents, spent much of his fortune in 1895 after dreaming up plans for the colossal Biltmore House. Working with architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted, Vanderbilt’s dream became a reality. The finished product: 250 rooms on 8,000 forested acres – the largest private estate in the U.S. If you were to picture the Hearst Castle, you wouldn’t be far off the mark. If you were to picture France’s Chambord Château, you’d be even closer. Notice the exterior spiral staircase, taken straight out of French château architecture books.

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A Potpourri of Updates

It has been almost three weeks since my last blog post. So much has happened that I’ve barely had a chance to come up for air. But for the next 13 days or so, I’ll have a respite from the usual craziness, and even a chance at my first solo vacation since My (Not Quite) Coast-to-Coast Trip Report of 2014.

Meanwhile, I thought you might appreciate a CliffsNotes-style update on my life, and on things that are of interest to me. I am still alive and well, Loyal Reader. I promise not to be offline for so long before my next post.

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My (Not Quite) Coast-to-Coast Trip Report

I have been living in Gringolandia for a month now, and the Mexico City chapter of my life is over. This reality only fully set in a few days ago, and I’m filled with mixed emotions. Alas, it is what it is.

My return to the U.S. began in Los Angeles, where I spent a few days running errands – monetary and such – and catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in almost two years. I even made it to the beach! From LA, I cleaned out my storage space, loaded everything onto a U-Haul, and drove cross-country to my new home in eastern Tennessee.

The journey went without incident, but it had some logistical challenges and cost more than I expected. As such, I thought you’d appreciate a brief write-up, Loyal Reader. Hopefully it’ll provide some insight should you ever have to make a similar move yourself.

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