the biltmore

As I'm typing this, I think it's pertinent to note these things:

1. My feet are absolutely humongous. I had no idea peripheral edema could be this bad or I never would have made "cankle" comments so flippantly. So, I'm propped in my bedroom with an icepack which is doing nothing, but there nonetheless.
2. I just saw a mouse crawl from my bedroom door to my bathroom.
3. I freaked just a bit.
4. I set my first mouse-trap without amputating any phalanges.
5. I'm now waiting for said trap to snap so I can sleep tonight.
6. I didn't see a single mouse at the Biltmore.

Per my last post, Greg and I stayed one night at the Biltmore Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. One of the reasons we stayed there was because they run specials (I'm always looking for a deal) and part of the stay included tickets to tour the mansion.

Just a little bit about the Biltmore, per our retired-science-teacher shuttle driver, who was way more informative than the headphones we listened to as we walked through the mansion.

• The Biltmore was built in 3 years by George Vanderbilt. Makes me feel silly to say our farmhouse renovation took a year.
  
• It's the largest private residence in the country.
• He was a bit eccentric, and was the youngest of his siblings. He didn't care to go into business as his father had, but liked art and architecture much more.
  
• He built this with his inheritance of $100 million. That was before income tax or inheritance tax (oh to live in that time, not that I stand to inherit anything, I'd just like to keep what I make).
  
• Originally, the property was 125,000 acres, the size of a county, but now it is about 9,000.
• There are 1200 staff on property, and more when it's time to harvest the grapes.
• It's owned and operated by George's grandson. He takes great pride in keeping the place restored and making sure it stays in the condition his grandfather would have approved.
  
• You have to see this place to believe it!
  

The mouse just exited the room without taking the bait. Crud!