Too Much Money

What did George Vanderbilt (son of the original Commodore) have too much of?

Money.

So he bought hundreds of thousands of acres of this part of North Carolina, built a mansion of unspeakable ostentation modeled on a European castle, and landscaped not only beautiful gardens, but the whole forest for miles around.

Here is what we thought about it all:

House -- too ostentatious and dark. It's a 33 bedroom hotel, with 43 bathrooms, multiple kitchens in the basement, that kind of thing. The tour was interesting and evocative of an era gone by, but sheesh. So much, so overdone, so heavy.

Gardens -- there were nice pergola walks, an Italian garden, a walled garden, conservatory, all lovely, and surprisingly restrained compared to the mansion.

The Grounds -- a masterpiece. Frederick Law Olmsted's last commission at the end of his life. The woods and paths and shrub walkways were exquisite, and again they were in elegant contrast to the overdone house.

Jim took 102 pictures and was in his photographic element.

Laurrie inhaled the cotton candy scent of the katsuras and thought she went to heaven.

Pam found a shady spot to sit in and recover and hoped there were no more hills.

Our own place to stay -- priceless.

Well, not really, we have to pay for it, but what a nice lodge we have, and so comfortable. A great place to return to after a day of too much walking and climbing stairs and hills.

We bought wine at the Biltmore winery on the estate, and the end of a long day is now upon us with drinks and some rest.

You can have too much money, but you can't have too much comfort at the end of a long pleasant day.