On my first spring break in college, I traveled through eight states with my parents on a journey to the coast line. First my mom and I drove seven hours from Columbia, Missouri to Conway, Arkansas. We had to pick up my dad because he lives there for his job. The next day we drove eight hours Conway to Knoxville,Tennessee. We stayed there for the night and the next day we drove about three hours to Asheville, North Carolina. On our way there we stopped in the Smoky Mountains and saw some rafters.
After watching them continue down the river, we continued on our way to Asheville. After arriving we promptly began our search for food. We came across a restaurant called Wicked Weed Brewing. We all ordered burgers of some kind and there were no complaints. The food was amazing. I highly recommend it.
We walked down the street from the restaurant to check out some shops. On our walk we came across a chalkboard wall that had the words “before I die…” written in big letters. There were places where people could write what they wanted to do before they died. I wrote that I wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef and my mom wrote that she wanted to go to Scotland and Ireland. Other people wrote things like, “I want there to be a female president,” or “I want equal rights.” Some people just wrote random nonsense, but for the most part I felt inspired.
After some wandering downtown for a while, we settled into our hotel and then headed off to Blue Ridge Parkway. The drive was beautiful and after driving for about an hour we ended up at Looking Glass Waterfall. The water made the temperature drop by quite a few degrees. After taking some photos we drove back to the hotel. Before getting out of the woods we stopped by sliding rock, a natural waterside.
The next day we made an early start to the morning as we headed to the Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore is the largest home in America. The home itself is four acres, four stories, and has 250 rooms. I have been before but this time we were going because some of the costumes from the show Downton Abbey were being featured. The costumes were placed perfectly throughout the home. You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the house so I can only show you the exterior.
The rest of the estate is home to a winery, garden, hothouse, farm, and old farm homes. The old farm homes have been converted into newly remodeled homes for the remaining descendants. First we visited the garden and hothouse. Both the garden and hothouse are full of beautiful and exquisite types of flowers.
Next we drove to the area where the winery and farm are located. The farm is set up as a petting zoo for children to play but they also use some of the animals for the restaurants on the property. One of the baby goats kept jumping onto a bench and then ended up rolling off the other side. I think it’s safe to say he needs to practice his balance.
That night we headed back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, this time in the opposite direction. It was a complete change of pace. We climbed as high as we could and watched the temperature drop around 20 degrees. There were still patches of snow in some of the more hidden areas. On the way back down we encountered a hail storm and extreme fog.
The next day we drove from Asheville to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That makes state number five if you’re keeping track. I was so glad to finally be able to see the coast line. I thought we’d never make it. We spent our first day walking down to the pier, about two miles each way. It was such a bright day and the clouds reflected beautifully on the sand. My mother and I spent most of the time shelling and I found an almost perfect rock fossil. The water was freezing but some spring breakers still attempted to jump in. It made for some pretty entertaining faces.
The next day was fairly low-key. I sat on the beach and attempted to soak up the sun while my parents rode down the boardwalk on their bikes. We did a bit a shopping and then ate dinner at a restaurant called Dead Dog Saloon, located on an inlet. After dinner we found ourselves in a residential part of the coast that was practically free of other tourists. For the life of me I can’t tell you why, but neither of my parents, or I brought our cameras with us. Instead I have this one picture from my mom’s iPhone.
On our last day in paradise my parents and I went kayaking. I love kayaking and it was a great way to wrap up the tip. We saw so much more of the inlet this way. After two hours rowing we headed off to play mini-golf. As luck would have it, when we finished playing, the sky opened up and rained down on us.
The next day we packed up, drove through Georgia, and stopped in Alabama for the night. From there we continued to Arkansas through Mississippi where we stopped at Elvis Presley’s birth home. On the final day of driving it was back to just my mom and I. We made the seven hour drive in reverse as I returned to school and my mom continued home. And that is how I journeyed through eight states in 10 days for my first spring break in college.
taylortravelbug 