Mountain Air – From Monticello to Biltmore

Estimated Tour Pricing Inclusions: 8 nights’ accommodation; 8 breakfasts; 7 lunches; 6 dinners;  admissions, entrance, and guide fees as stated in the itinerary, including taxes, and gratuity. Except gratuity for guide fees is not included on adult tours unless otherwise requested.

• Patsy Cline Hometown Tour
• Skyline Drive
• Monticello
• Robert H. and Clarice Smith Gallery
• The Words of Thomas Jefferson
• Poplar Forest
• D-Day Memorial
• Live Blue Grass
• Mount Airy - 'Mayberry'
• Blowing Rock - 'The Crown of the Blue Ridge'
• Historic Green Park Inn
• Grandfather Mountain
• Orchard Hayride
• Lake Lure Boat Ride
• Biltmore
• Wine Tasting
• Asheville Trolley Tour

• Arrive in Winchester, VA, meet our Patsy Cline GUIDE, and begin a tour of Patsy Cline’s hometown. She began her radio career at Winchester Radio Station WINC in 1946 at age 14. We’ll see her home, Radio Station WINC, and pay a visit to her grave site. Many seniors in the area still recall when Patsy played at area clubs in her early career.
• Keeping true with one of Patsy Cline’s signature songs, “Come on in and sit right down and make yourself at home”, we’ll visit The Patsy Cline Historic House, a historic property on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. Patsy resided here from 1948-53, longer than at any other house associated with her in the Winchester and Nashville areas, and she returned to it intermittently until her singing career began in 1957.
• Check in to an area hotel then enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel this evening.
• Patsy Cline (actor/impersonator) will entertain your group this evening at the hotel.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning prior to checking out. Depart for Skyline Drive. It is not just a road through the park; it is a way to experience it. You will pass rock cliffs, and vistas, and probably deer and other wildlife; drive through tunnels of trees, past wildflowers, and ferns, and (in late spring) by banks of mountain laurel in bloom.
• Enter Skyline Drive in Front Royal, Virginia (Most northern entrance (Mile Marker 0.6), accessible via U.S. 340, also called Stonewall Jackson Highway.)
• Enjoy lunch included at Historic Michie Tavern. This is one of the oldest homesteads remaining in Virginia. The Tavern and its outbuildings offer a glimpse of 18th century life through the exhibit of handcrafted furnishings and artifacts. It contains one of the largest and finest collections of pre-Revolutionary furniture and is expanding its exhibit through the historical restoration of 18th century structures.
• Next, arrive at Monticello and catch the shuttle to the house. Monticello is the mountaintop home of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson named his home Monticello, meaning Little Mountain and always used the Italian pronunciation of Monticello (mon-ti-chel-oh). We’ll also visit the spectacular Gardens and Mulberry Row, the plantation “street” along which Monticello slaves lived and labored.
• See Thomas Jefferson's World, in the Carl and Hunter Smith Education Center, a 14-minute introductory film that dramatically presents Jefferson’s ideals and accomplishments and illustrates Monticello’s central importance to his life and work. The film is shown on a 16-by-9-foot screen in a 2,400-square-foot theater with 125 seats.
• Tour the new Robert H. and Clarice Smith Gallery and The Words of Thomas Jefferson - an innovative exhibition in which quotations by and about Jefferson are projected in light. Thomas Jefferson and ‘The Boisterous Sea of Liberty,’ an exhibition tracing the development and ongoing influence of Jefferson’s ideas about liberty through an interactive presentation on a wall of high-definition screens. Monticello as Experiment: ‘To Try All Things,’ an exhibition exploring Jefferson’s use of Monticello as a laboratory for his belief that “useful knowledge” could make life more efficient and convenient. Making Monticello: Jefferson’s ‘Essay in Architecture,’ an exhibition covering the architectural origins, construction, and 40-year evolution of the iconic Monticello house.
• Jefferson’s architectural talents are evident in the classic beauty of the University of Virginia. He patterned the Rotunda in his original “Academical Village” after the Roman Pantheon and it is still the focal point of the grounds.
• Check in to an area hotel and enjoy dinner included at a local favorite.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning prior to checking out.
• Tour the Poplar Forest, Jefferson’s personal retreat near Lynchburg. Jefferson designed and built a unique octagonal house here and called it “the best dwelling house in the state… proportioned to the faculties of a private citizen.”
• Visit the National D-Day Memorial, located in Bedford, VA, a memorial to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied Armed Forces who landed in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.
• Depart for a box lunch picnic and then drive portions of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway providing stunning scenery and close-up looks at the natural and cultural history of the mountains.
• Arrive at the Floyd Country Store to a unique selection of merchandise and clothing. Check in to your hotel where every room is down home welcoming. Step inside the Hotel Floyd and you’ll find a showpiece honoring the diverse culture and character of the beloved Blue Ridge mountain community. The hotel has a variety of artfully decorated room styles & suites to serve every need, so take a peek around.
• In the evening check out Live Blue Grass or Country Entertainment in the Amphitheater. Board motorcoach, depart, and enjoy dinner at a Tavern.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning prior to checking out.
• Depart and stop for a Tour & Tasting at a Winery, located in a spectacular mountain setting. The Morrisette family is proud to be both a grower and buyer of Virginia fruit. Because of their extensive selection of varieties and blends, they are the largest purchaser of Virginia grapes. Enjoy lunch included at the winery.
• Continue and stop for a photo opportunity at Mabry Mill, the most photographed stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
• Depart along the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway for Mount Airy, NC. A short distance down the Crooked Road, traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we’ll stop at the Blue Ridge Music Center. Enjoy the music of local performers and tour the world class exhibition that tells the story of how, in earlier days of our Nation, the mixing of European and African musical cultures and ideas in the Appalachian Mountains and Valley of Virginia created new sounds profoundly influencing the development of American Popular Music.
• Check in to an area hotel then depart and enjoy Fiddle, Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar, Bass lessons by Jim Vipperman at the Historic Earle Theatre. "Vip" has won the Galax Fiddlers Convention Award in Bluegrass Fiddle in addition to numerous other awards.
• Enjoy dinner this evening at a local favorite.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning prior to checking out.
• Meet our GUIDE for a tour of Mount Airy, NC (Mayberry). Visit the Andy Griffith Museum, in Mount Airy, NC, home of the largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia collected by his friend, Emmett Forrest. Drive by the Mayberry Jailhouse, then bring your cameras for a stop in downtown Mayberry. Floyd’s Barbershop is still downtown.
• Enjoy lunch included at a local landmark diner serving breakfast plates, biscuits, and sandwiches in a no-nonsense setting.
• Depart with GUIDE and drive portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stop for a photo opportunity at Blowing Rock, known as “The Crown of the Blue Ridge”.
• Check in and enjoy dinner on own at a magnificent Historic Hotel this evening.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning prior to checking out.
• Depart along the Blue Ridge Parkway with our GUIDE. Arrive at Grandfather Mountain, the highest peak along the eastern Blue Ridge. See beautiful mountain scenery and walk a Mile High Swinging Bridge.
• Visit the Nature Museum to experience exhibits about the natural history of the region; the theater shows nature movies made on the Mountain. Board motorcoach and depart to see the Orchard at Altapass. Experience the Appalachian culture, music, and fun!
• We’re off to see the orchard, take a storytelling hayride, and clogging lessons with mountain music.
• Enjoy a picnic lunch while visiting, then depart and continue along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
• Check in to an area hotel and enjoy dinner included at a Local Favorite.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning then board motorcoach and depart with our GUIDE. Stop at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center in Asheville, featuring an award-winning film and exhibits which highlight the natural and cultural heritage, economic traditions, and recreational opportunities found in Western North Carolina and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. See the Movie: The Blue Ridge Parkway—America's Favorite Journey, a 24-minute film shown in high definition surround sound, using breathtaking aerial photography and the story of a father-daughter motorcycle trip.
• Depart and stop at the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the Folk Art Center. The Center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary craft of the Southern Appalachians.
• Next, have lunch included at historic Lake Lure Inn where Dirty Dancing was filmed. Then enjoy a boat tour of Lake Lure. Stop at Carl Sandburg Home, Connemara, the home of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer. Enjoy dinner on own in Hendersonville on the quaint main street.
• Don’t miss the Mast Hardware store! The Mast General Store was built, at least the first of its many rooms, in 1882 by Henry Taylor and opened in 1883. In 1897 half interest in the store was sold to W. W. Mast, a member of a pioneer family that settled in the valley. For the next 60 years, the store was owned and managed by the Mast Family. The store was sold by the Mast Family in 1973 to a doctor in Atlanta and a professor at Appalachian State University. Around about that same time, the site was named to the National Register of Historic Places as one of the finest remaining examples of an old country general store.
• Return to your hotel for the evening.

• Enjoy a buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning.
• Board motorcoach, depart, and arrive at the Biltmore Estate - Completed in 1895, George Vanderbilt's 250-room French château is a real-life wonder. Check in and enjoy a self-guided visit of Biltmore House that unveils a fresh look at how people lived and worked in America’s largest home. Also, explore the acres of beautiful gardens and grounds, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, during your visit.
• Enjoy lunch included at the Deerpark Restaurant. Board motorcoach and visit Antler’s Hill’s Village and Winery. Discover the new village that connects the estate's present and past, providing a relaxing place for dining, shopping, historical exhibits, and new ways to experience Biltmore's hospitality. You can also enjoy live entertainment on the Village Green, explore farm life in the early 1900s and explore the 8,000-acre backyard at the Outdoor Adventure Center.
• Later, arrive at Asheville Event Center and enjoy an included dinner and show. Experience a toe tapping evening at the Blue Ridge Mountain Opry Dinner Show. Taste some of the finest Southern Style Barbeque then depart for your hotel.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel prior to checking out. Depart for a Trolley Tour of Asheville - There is no better way to discover and explore Asheville! Board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hangouts, and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
• Enjoy lunch on own and free time to shop in Downtown Asheville then depart for home.

Base rate does not include motor coach transportation, airfare, airport transfers, driver gratuity, guide gratuity, (student groups exempt) or any upgrades or add-ons unlisted from itinerary as stated. Pricing may vary based on day of arrival or other conditions. Personalized itineraries with custom pricing and/or additional transportation can be created and added based on client needs and upon client’s request. MARS will customize quotes or personalize itineraries for FREE.