Travel & Vacation Guide, North Carolina

By Gabriel J. Adams

You may have heard of a little town on the North Carolina coast called Oriental. In fact, this little village calls themselves the sailing capital of North Carolina.

It would seem that that is not just idle talk either – Oriental boasts a boat to resident ratio of over 3 to 1. That’s 875 residents and over 2,700 boats.

But what draws people to Oriental? Here is an overview of why people, especially boaters and sailors, like Oriental so much.

1: Fine sailing. What may be rather obvious is that the number one attraction at Oriental is the fact that is offers such fine sailing. The Pamlico and Albemarle sounds and the Neuse river create a buffer that moderates the temperatures in Oriental – Winter is generally short and mild, and likewise summertime is not too harsh. Statistics in Sail Magazine indicate that Oriental has more sunny days, more water to sail in, and better winds than San Diego, California.

2: A Charming Town. Visitors to Oriental will find themselves in a cozy, friendly little seaside village. There are great places to walk, bike, or just sit and enjoy the scenery. In addition to all of the water surrounding this little town, you’ll find the scenery on land to be worthwhile, too. Many visitors especially enjoy the old homes on South Avenue.

3: Fishing. With a variety of salt, fresh and brackish water to try your luck in, Oriental is a great place to fish. You can fish from the bank, launch your boat, or hire a local guide to help you find the fish. No matter which way you choose to do it, there’s fishing enough for everyone in the little NC town!

As the Oriental NC website proudly advertises, you can visit their little town and sail, paddle, fish, eat…or just do nothin! It’s up to you!

Interested in moving to Oriental? Visit Real Estate Oriental NC – Realtor Pat Elliott: http://www.orientalncagent.com/

By Connie Limon

The Biltmore House is like exploring a real-life castle! The house atmosphere is one of a relaxed elegance. George and Edith Vanderbilt’s 250-room family home and country retreat in Asheville, North Carolina provides a fun and educational trip for the entire family on weekdays, a weekend or just on Saturday.

At the Biltmore House you will discover original art from masters like Renoir, 16-century tapestries, Napoleon’s chess set, and a library with 10,000 volumes. The Banquet Hall has a 70-foot ceiling. There are 65 fireplaces in the Biltmore House, an indoor pool, a bowling alley and many priceless antiques. The French Renaissance chateau is America’s largest privately owned home.

Take a self-guided tour of Biltmore House for one admission fee. You can also learn the inside stories and view rarely seen areas with guided specialty tours, most of which are offered year-round. The guided specialty tours may be reserved in advance or the day of your visit. Time to tour the house is about two hours, but there is more than the house to see at the Biltmore Estate. Other attractions include:

• Biltmore Gardens: At your leisure and included in the self-guided tour estate admission, stroll acres of formal and informal gardens. Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s foremost landscape architect, designed the gardens. There is a an Italian Garden, managed forests, and Biltmore’s lush landscape as well as an All America Rose Garden that features more than 250 varieties of roses.

• Take a motor coach tour of the estate while learning the history of the land, structures and former residents. The cost currently in 2007 is $17.00 per guest in addition to the estate admission.

• America’s Most-Visited Winery: You will be able to sample the Biltmore’s award-winning red, white, rose and sparkling wines and learn a new recipe during their culinary demonstrations. Gourmet foods, cooking accessories and other treats await you at the Wine Shop. The self-guide visit and wine tasting is included in estate admission.

• Behind-the-Scenes Guided Tour: The guided tour is at 2:00 p.m. daily. On this tour you can take a look at how the Biltmore House crafts their award-winning wines. This tour is free with estate admission.

• Red Wine & Chocolate Seminar at Winery: Held daily 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Free with estate admission.

• Culinary Demonstrations at Winery: Monday through Thursday, 3:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday, Noon to 2:00 p.m. You will be able to watch their culinary experts prepare recipes created by the Biltmore chefs. Free with estate admission.

• Barrel Tasting: This occurs daily at 4:00 p.m. Enjoy a sample drawn directly from the barrel free with estate admission.

Are you interested in how wine is made? Discover the art of winemaking during your self-guided tour of the Biltmore House. You can start off with an introductory film, and then take a look at their fermentation room and corking area. Walk through at leisure the cool cellars where wines age.

The Tasting Room

While you are enjoying your self-guided tour of the Biltmore House Winery be sure to visit their tasting room. Enjoy complimentary samples of their award-winning wines. The only stipulation here is that guests must be at least 21 years of age to taste the wine. The showing of an I.D. will be required. Children are invited to participate with grape juice.

Continued in Part 2

Important Disclaimer: The web site address listed in the resource box of this article is not associated with the Biltmore Estate or any of its employees. This article and the web site are for information purposes only.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

Written by: Connie Limon. For more information about planning a trip to the Biltmore Estate visit http://smalldogs2.com/BiltmoreEstateTripPlan For a variety of FREE reprint articles and special sections of other topics visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com