Biltmore House...

Andrea's graduation

Since I didn't have a chance to ride in the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville, NC on my mountain bike, might as well talk about what I did on that day instead. In the morning, it poured rain so hard and on the tv there was a message about a tornado warning out there in Avery Creek, pretty close where I was going to ride, then the weather turned decent after ten in the morning but everything was muddy. I decided to go to the Biltmore House with the girls and look around. The Biltmore house was owned by George Vanderbuilt, a millionaire who ran a shipping company in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, if he was living, he would be considered a billionaire. His house was built between 1888 and 1895, it has 205 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms but the bedrooms are not small, they are huge like really big and spacious, the size of 6 of my bedrooms with 15 foot or so high ceilings. It also has a huge 4 story library full of books. Should of seen the dining room, English type and about 80 chairs, also 7 stories high. Nice stairway. All the bedrooms were decorated differently from different countries, like French, English, German, etc. In the basement, big swimming pool with lights inside. While George Vanderbuilt used electricity for his pool lights, everybody else in other houses didn't have electricity at all so they were in the dark and all that. This guy was so loaded I couldn't believe it. Also I have to tell you this guy had a bowling alley and a gym in the basement. This house is the biggest private home in America. Not a motel, but a real house with only a rich dude, his wife, daughter, a crapload of servants, and a few guests. After a grumpy morning of no hope to ride because of the lousy storm turned the day of education.