GA and NC Trip!

[SereneOne]

We really need a break, so we are using hotel points for three days in Atlanta, GA and four days in Asheville, NC.

We where planning on hitting the zoo and the American Girl store (our daughter who will be 6yo wants to go here, so do I actually. )on day one, spend some time at the mall in the evening. We thought we would go to the Flying Bisquit Cafe for dinner.

Day Two, we plan on going to the Aquarium (we have annual passes) and to the Coca-Cola Museum (we have never been, our teen wants to go). Dinner would be at Bahama Breeze, some friends said it was good.

Day Three, we plan on going to Stone Mountain. We have never been, but we have heard good things. We would go to Dave and Buster's for dinner. Our teen went to one when he was in Cali visiting his Dad and even has offered to pay for it.

Day Four, we drop our son off back at the house (he has work) and head to Asheville to tour the Biltmore Estate. (We have yearly passes, I have been once, but hubby has not and our daughter loves the farm and gardens). We figured we would eat at the Deer Park restaurant (buffet 17 each, daughter free).

Day Five, more touring of the estate and dinner there.

Day Six, Tweetsie RailRoad looked like fun and we thought we would have dinner at a place called Daniel Boone's restaurant. There seems to be a lot of great restaurants in this area, however, with a tired 5yo in tow, I do not see us being able to go to any of them. This one seemed like a good filling meal that would not take hours to complete.

Day Seven, more of the Biltmore, unless anyone else has any ideas of what to do that would not be astronomical and would be of interest to a almost 6yo.


Any ideas on restaurants near TRR that would be suitable or what to do instead of Biltmore on the seventh day? Any alternative ideas on the rest?

Thanks so much!

 

[NCRedding]

Love the Asheville area. For your daughter, I would recommend going to Pack Place in downtown Asheville--kind of a science/kids museum.

There is also a nature center, I think with a petting zoo.

Tweetsie can be fun, but is probably 2+ hours from Asheville, maybe, and not the best of roads to get there.

Love the Flying Biscuit in Atlanta.

 

[LJC1861]

Tweetsie would be a good 2 hours from Asheville, and like the PP mentioned there is no direct way to get there from Asheville.

If the weather is clear, head on down to Chimney Rock Park. The view from the top is amazing and there is an elevator that goes to the top so you don't have to walk. I think adult admission is $14 pp.

The North Carolina Arboreteum is just off the Parkway here in Asheville. $6 per car admission. There are beautiful gardens, trails to hike, and great visitor center and an amazing bonsai exhibit.

Also fun and interesting is Cherokee...about an hour west of Asheville. There is the museum and the Village to explore as well as any number of souvenir shops...LOL. Now, the child can't enjoy this part...but there is also the Casino!

About halfway between Asheville and Cherokee is the small town of Maggie Valley. There you will find a small amusement/theme park called Ghost Town. It is a western themed park...very small and hometown, similar to Tweetsie. Now, there is some talk of the park being in bankruptcy, but they are planning to open next week.

Hope this helps.

Linda

 

[bcvgal]

If you do go to Boone don't miss the Daniel Boone inn restaurant-it's great!!! plus you'll be on campus of Appalachain State. Fun town.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

You must eat at the American Girl Bistro. We took my cousin a year ago for her 10th birthday (she will be 11 on Sunday) and the food was wonderful and since you will already be there, why not We did one of the doll parties, so we had a limited menu, but it was just as wonderful.

That mall is nice, but not fabulous (they were doing some work on it then). They do have a small Disney Store.

I really want to go back to the AG store and I am about to be 36 and I really want to eat at the Bistro again. In fact I got 3 dolls for my 35th birthday (Thank you mom and Dh).

Suzanne

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Day Three, we plan on going to Stone Mountain. We have never been, but we have heard good things. We would go to Dave and Buster's for dinner. Our teen went to one when he was in Cali visiting his Dad and even has offered to pay for it.

Are you planning on leaving Stone Mountain before the laser show to go to D&B or a late dinner there afterward? One thing I have to recommend about Stone Mountain is do NOT miss the laser show. It's been 10 years since I've been, but it was great then and I imagine it still is.

 

[SereneOne]

I did not realize they had a laser show, so we will have to rework that, thanks!

I know Tweetsie RR is two hours from Asheville, but we decided to do that for a day and two hours is not that big of a drive.

We live less than two hours from Atlanta, GA and about an hour from Asheville, NC. We live in Greenville, SC. It would be two hours to Atlanta, then three hours to Asheville. Two hours to go to Tweetsie and then two hours back to our hotel. Then an hour to get back home the day after.

We are eating at Daniel Boone when we go to Tweetsie! I googled restaurants in the area near TRR (Boone and Blowing Rock?) and found it, glad to know it is a good place to eat, thank you.

 

[SereneOne]

You must eat at the American Girl Bistro. We took my cousin a year ago for her 10th birthday (she will be 11 on Sunday) and the food was wonderful and since you will already be there, why not We did one of the doll parties, so we had a limited menu, but it was just as wonderful.

That mall is nice, but not fabulous (they were doing some work on it then). They do have a small Disney Store.

I really want to go back to the AG store and I am about to be 36 and I really want to eat at the Bistro again. In fact I got 3 dolls for my 35th birthday (Thank you mom and Dh).

Suzanne

It will be our first trip to AG and she will get her first AG doll! An early bday present. I was going back and forth with the eating at the Bistro. My daughter is tube fed, but she does eat by mouth some, but now I am definitely making reservations, thanks!

My husband said he thought they had several big malls that would be fun to explore...

But hey, they have a Disney store....all the money we are saving from free hotels and having annual passes will be blown, lol.

Does Dave and Buster's have games for kids, or is it just a teen/adult hangout? Is it horribly expensive?

Thanks again!

 

[SereneOne]

Tweetsie would be a good 2 hours from Asheville, and like the PP mentioned there is no direct way to get there from Asheville.

If the weather is clear, head on down to Chimney Rock Park. The view from the top is amazing and there is an elevator that goes to the top so you don't have to walk. I think adult admission is $14 pp.

The North Carolina Arboreteum is just off the Parkway here in Asheville. $6 per car admission. There are beautiful gardens, trails to hike, and great visitor center and an amazing bonsai exhibit.

Also fun and interesting is Cherokee...about an hour west of Asheville. There is the museum and the Village to explore as well as any number of souvenir shops...LOL. Now, the child can't enjoy this part...but there is also the Casino!

About halfway between Asheville and Cherokee is the small town of Maggie Valley. There you will find a small amusement/theme park called Ghost Town. It is a western themed park...very small and hometown, similar to Tweetsie. Now, there is some talk of the park being in bankruptcy, but they are planning to open next week.

Hope this helps.

Linda

We have been to Chimney Rock, my daughter and I! We went with friends and took the longest hardest trail. I was so proud of my little girl, she had a ball!

I will check out Ghost Town and if it is similar, it would be great. I love touring Biltmore and my daughter does like the farm and gardens, but she will get bored. I wanted a day of fun at someplace like Tweetsie.

I have been to Cherokee...I think, lol! My gpa and ma when I was in my early teens (I turned forty this Jan) had a cabin up in the mountains and we went to the reservation and also saw an outdoor theatre play called, "Unto these Hills" It was great!

I wonder if they still have that??

Maybe a day at Ghost Town and then to see Unto these Hills?

Off to Google!

Thank you all so much!

 

[DVCLiz]

If you are going to Tweetsie and Boone then you are not far from Blowing Rock. Go ahead and do that - it is interesting and doesn't take up a tremendous amount of time.

Also, see if you can dig up (haha!) some information on the gem mining operations around the area. If you don't mind a little drive you could probably get to the mines and look for rubies and sapphires. That's a LOT of fun!!! And you might find a real treasure!

Also in Blowing Rock there are some great outlet malls - the Tanger Outlets. You can find some great shopping there!

There's a good museum in downtown Asheville near Pack Place. I think there might be a Children's Museum and a Gem and Mineral Museum. Downtown Asheville has some great places to shop and eat.

 

[BuffettFan]

You MUST see the lasershow at Stone Mountain!!!!

We go a couple of times a year. We pack a picnic diinner, and enjoy it on the great lawn before the show.

Its a great show and definately worth redoing your schedule.

 

[SereneOne]

What about Carowinds? Isnt that about an hour and a half from Asheville?

Dave and Buster's is only about an hour away in Duluth, GA. (We are staying at hotels in Duluth for three days and Marion, NC for four). So we could actually just go there this weekend or whatever. I found it looking for restaurants near our hotel and when I mentioned it to my teen, he went bonkers and wanted to go, lol.

Now I have to reconfigure our vacation, I need to get Stone Mountain in for the whole day, fit in the Cherokee reservation and open theatre show and possibly a day at Carowinds.

Day One-American Girl and zoo
Day Two-Stone Mountain
Day Three-Aquarium and Coca-Cola Museum

Day Four-Biltmore
Day Five-Biltmore
Day Six-Carowinds
Day Seven-Cherokee reservation and open theatre show

How's that?

And besides the Flying Bisquit Cafe, any dinner recommendations?

Thank you all so very much!

 

[NCRedding]

I think it would probably take longer to get to Carowinds than 1.5 hours. Carowinds has some rides for a 6 year old. I think if you live in Greenville, Carowinds could be a day trip for you. Asheville is such a neat place; I'd want to spend time there.

We stayed at the Evergreen (I think that is what it was called) which is a Marriott on Stone Mountain. We spent the entire day at Stone Mountain, then did the laser show, and enjoyed the pool area at the hotel. The hotel has a shuttle to/from the laser show.

My daughter liked Tweetsie more when she was your daughter's age, but after she was 8 or 9, she prefered Carowinds. If you do go to Charlotte, you may want to consider Discovery Place--an awesome kids museum in Uptown Charlotte.

 

[SereneOne]

Your are right!

I talked to my husband and as usual, I get all plan happy and try to pack a million things into a trip. So we have decided that we will get a City Pass for Atlanta, and do the zoo/aquarium/cola museum/cnn tour/High Art museum and the nature museum, while in Atlanta. We then would go to Asheville and spend time at Biltmore and seeing sights around Asheville. We will save Stone Mountain for a weekend/day trip and save Carowinds for a weekend trip or day trip.

We are lucky to live in such a great area with so much to do in and around it.

Again, thanks to all for your helpful suggestions.


P.S. If you can recommend any decent reasonable priced restaurants in Atlanta, it would be appreciated. I know one night we will be going to the Flying Bisquit Cafe.

 

[LJC1861]

SerenaOne,

I LOVE Biltmore too. We also have annual passes. I head on over almost every weekend just to walk the many trails on the property. I have yet to check out the house again with the new rooms though. The crowds since they opened them have just been too much. I am not going to wait 45 minutes to get into the house when at other times there is no wait at all. I am a bit of a geek...and love history and such, and actually had the old audio tour almost memorized. When friends come to town and want to see Biltmore I generally give them a guided tour of the house. I once had a small group of other people follow my friends and I closely....and then one of the women asked me if I worked there. It was pretty funny.

Linda

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Your are right!

I talked to my husband and as usual, I get all plan happy and try to pack a million things into a trip. So we have decided that we will get a City Pass for Atlanta, and do the zoo/aquarium/cola museum/cnn tour/High Art museum and the nature museum, while in Atlanta. We then would go to Asheville and spend time at Biltmore and seeing sights around Asheville. We will save Stone Mountain for a weekend/day trip and save Carowinds for a weekend trip or day trip.

We are lucky to live in such a great area with so much to do in and around it.

Again, thanks to all for your helpful suggestions.


P.S. If you can recommend any decent reasonable priced restaurants in Atlanta, it would be appreciated. I know one night we will be going to the Flying Bisquit Cafe.

Everybody brags about Varsity in Atlanta and it is a cheap eat and close to the Aquarium/WOC. I wasn't impressed, but would eat there again since the prices are cheap. Our favorite Atlanta restaurant is Folks, it is just good southern food and not too expensive and there are many different locations. I don't really know any others, because we always go to Folks when we are up that way.

Suzanne