Biltmore Village in Ashville, Boone, NC, Under Water after Hurricane Helene ...

We originally reserved a trip to stay in Biltmore Village, taking advantage of the fall-break week from the schools where Mark works, in order to take my mom to see the Biltmore Estate.  

However, I canceled the reservations about a month ago due to financial constraints - so glad I did!  Whew!

BUT - not "whew" for the residents and local businesses there,  I'm SO sorry!

Because Ashville - especially the River District and Biltmore Village - is nearly wiped out 😢 

(I put the wrong video about it here originally, this one is drone footage) ... 

Not sure about the 2-story cottage,  The Well-Bred Cafe, where we always went for breakfast, when visiting.  The cafe was here, in the historic-cottage section, on Boston Way  ...

Here is Boston Way, pre-Hurricane Helene ...

And all of those historic, turn-of-the-century Bavarian/Craftsman-style cottages (now shops) that  looked like this pre-Helene ...

And the famous, unique little Episcopal Church, The Cathedral of All Souls - funded by Biltmore owner, George Vanderbilt, and designed by the same renowned, Gilded-Age architect that designed The Biltmore (as well as the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 5th Avenue location, as well as several NYC homes) - not gone, but severely  damaged ... 😢

I haven't seen anything about The Biltmore Estate itself yet, the entrance of which is 1/4-mile away - hoping it somehow survived?

No updates yet.

Here it is pre-Hurricane Helene ...

Despite being the Smoky/Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville itself is in a valley in between the mountains, built along the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers, literally on the flood plain.  

So with that much rain, it's going to run off the mountains, straight into that valley - plus river river flooding - it took the lower-lying areas of the city out.

Even 2 hours north at higher elevation in Boone - where we've stayed 3 times and is/was on our retirement list of places to live - flooded, and also had a mudslide (but was not completely wiped out).

Though at higher elevation than Asheville, the laid-back little college town of Boone itself is a small valley in between the mountains ...

SO sad 😢

Also ...

So  we got married in Gatlinburg, TN in 2016 - 6 months later, there as a fire destroying half of the area.   

We celebrated out 5th-year anniversary in 2021 at The Biltmore/Biltmore Village, and now this.

What say we don't go anywhere or do anything at all for our 10th anniversary? 😂

Just kidding - good thing I don't believe in omens and the marriage is strong, despite it! 😉