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Shooting Star, that is a very exquisite expression from your grandmother. That statement could be the purpose of this thread. That is, to have people discuss beautiful places and dissatifying places and help each other see their point of view. Your gradmother expressed it in much better terms than I did.
Chimney Rock Village is definitely a tacky tourist trap. The park itself is quite beautiful.
I agree about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nothing but continuous curves and trees and a collection of drivers either wanting to go really slow or really fast. When I last drove it, most of the overlooks had trees so tall you couldn't see anything.
Tryon over-sells the "thermal belt." No magical climate exists there.
I've never been impressed with Cherokee either.
The Biltmore Estate is far too over-priced, but worth going to once.
I think one of the most under-sold towns is Forest City. The area's economy has been hit hard recently, and there are some empty store-fronts, but it has a very pretty downtown with lots of tall, beautiful trees. At Christmas, the lights on all of the trees are amazing.
Maggie Valley is great if you LOVE clogging or square dancing, tacky touristy shops, overpriced frozen & reheated food served in a restaurant & all the stereo typical images people come to expect of typical hillbillies & redneck. I personally do not think there is anything unique or even interesting about Maggie Valley.
I can not even imagine why people want to live there, not only is there absolutely nothing to do in that town for the residents like even have a grocery store but at least once a year a house slides off the side of a mtn somewhere in the town & usually killing the home owner in the process or some kind of mud slide completely destroys a road so the people who live on that street are trapped & can not get out.
For me, the number one place I don't care to revisit is the Biltmore Estate. A beautiful place, but it just struck me as kind of sad, that someone would feel the need to build that kind of a monument to their wealth. But on the plus side, it did provide employment for people while it was being built.
It would be a tie for second place for me between Cherokee and Maggie Valley. First visited them in 1975 and didn't much care for them. Time has not changed my opinion.
For me, the number one place I don't care to revisit is the Biltmore Estate. A beautiful place, but it just struck me as kind of sad, that someone would feel the need to build that kind of a monument to their wealth. But on the plus side, it did provide employment for people while it was being built.
From the history I've read, George Vanderbilt really outpaced his actual fortune with that house. Part of the problem is that he was taken to look at the great houses of Europe and that affected his desires.
If his heirs had not opened the house to tourists, they would have lost it ages ago. There wasn't enough of an inheritance to maintain the upkeep.
I kind of think of it as a gigantic park nowadays with a house standing in the middle of it as a curiosity.
For me, the number one place I don't care to revisit is the Biltmore Estate. A beautiful place, but it just struck me as kind of sad, that someone would feel the need to build that kind of a monument to their wealth. But on the plus side, it did provide employment for people while it was being built.
Biltmore is from a time when everyone who had money built homes like that. He didn't build it as a monument to his wealth. He built it because it was expected of him. Someone with his status would never have lived in anything less. Every member of his family also had large homes just as grand but they all built their homes in NYC and had no land or was able to build as big as they wanted to. George wanted a house off in the country like the ones in England. Also at that time people like the Vanderbilt's would have house guests come and stay for months at a time. Many of the worlds most elite would come to Biltmore as a vacation from places like New York, he needed to have a house big enough to entertain up to 50 guests at one time for a month or so.
It was a completely different time, people had a completely different mentality and people had different expectations. That is why we today are so fascinated with going to see big houses like Biltmore. We get a glimpse into a lifestyle no longer done today.
It was not just an American thing. Wealthy people were building large country houses like Biltmore all over Europe and Great Britain. Most of those homes are still in the families, some are open to the public like Biltmore while others are still the family home.
It is just the same today, people today who have money always build large homes, most with HUGE commercial grade kitchens for those one or two times they actually cook at home. But the big difference is that today these people build those big houses just to impress buyers when they decide to sell.
When George built Biltmore & all the other rich people all over the country built their huge houses they built them to live in for the rest of their lives and pass down to their children and then down to their children. They had no intentions of ever selling their home. They were trying to build a better home and life for themselves and their descendants.
That is why all those very wealthy families of the gilded age are no longer the most wealthy families in America. They put so much of their money into building the house, paying the staff to work it, upkeep over the years, then when they died their children inherited less money, then they had to pay for the upkeep on the house and estate. That is why Biltmore is no longer 125,000 acres. Mrs. Vanderbilt had to sell off land just to afford to keep up the house and pay all the staff, then when she died Cornelia had even less money to up keep the house. That is why she originally opened the house up to the public just to afford to keep the house, then when she died and her son took over, he ran the house as a business for almost 15 years before he made a profit.
Just a little side note here, a little English lesson. There is no need or purpose to use the word "the" before the word Biltmore. The word Biltmore when used to talk about the estate or house is actually a proper noun, that is the estates name. It is improper to use the word "the" before a proper noun such as a name. For example, you would never say "I live in the Asheville" or "I am going to school at the AB Tech" or "That man over there is my brother, the Steve". I know it is petty and not really such a big deal, it is just something that really bothers me about transplants, when they talk about Biltmore they always say "the Biltmore" instead of just "Biltmore". Forgive me for being so anal about it but I just had to get that out.
I had to scroll up to make sure I didn't write "The" Biltmore. Somehow I escaped that particular faux pas.
Everything you wrote is true. Rich families in the gilded age were on a building spree of enormous homes. American heiresses were marrying broke English aristocrats left and right.
I read that George Vanderbilt built the biggest house out of all his siblings, but he had the smallest fortune!
Thank you for the history and English lessons; I now feel better educated on the subjects. However, Biltmore still remains number one on my list and I do not wish to tour it again.
Maggie Valley is great if you LOVE clogging or square dancing, tacky touristy shops, overpriced frozen & reheated food served in a restaurant & all the stereo typical images people come to expect of typical hillbillies & redneck. I personally do not think there is anything unique or even interesting about Maggie Valley.
I can not even imagine why people want to live there, not only is there absolutely nothing to do in that town for the residents like even have a grocery store but at least once a year a house slides off the side of a mtn somewhere in the town & usually killing the home owner in the process or some kind of mud slide completely destroys a road so the people who live on that street are trapped & can not get out.
Why do you think Maggie is so great?
Well, if we ignore your hyperbole, we get down to the brass tacks of your dislike for the Maggie Valley area. It's not trendy and exciting, it's country and quiet. That's what I like about it. I prefer my vacation time to be relaxing.
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Somehow I escaped that particular faux pas.
