First things first today. My travel arrangements had a four-day hole in them immediately after our Asheville stay. This morning I took time to fill that hole by making reservations at a KOA in the West Outer Banks. It looks like a good place and the price was reasonable. That leaves just one day up in the air on the way from North Carolina to Gettysburg.

Eager to start seeing the sights that this trip offers, Ollie and I we went to the Biltmore House for much of today. Although pets are not allowed in the house itself or any of the commercial buildings, they are welcome at any of the outdoor attractions, of which there are many at this beautiful location. The formal gardens, designed by famous architect Frederick Law Olmstead, are amazing, and a great place to wander with a pet. Although there were quite a few tourists there, there is a lot of space to spread out and the crowd was not bad. After that, we went down to Biltmore Village, a tourist area a couple of miles away on the Biltmore property. We took a nice 2+ mile walk on the Farm Trail, which goes by the river that flows through the property. We were blessed with a beautiful day weatherwise, around 60 degrees and sunny, and many others were taking advantage of that as well. Dinner was hamburgers cooked over the campfire, and chips, a tasty way to end the day. We were both pretty tired after the day’s activities and I think tomorrow may be a little less ambitious, with more campsite time. There’s a little town called Black Mountain about five miles away from the campground, so maybe we’ll check that out in the afternoon for a while.