QUARANTINE BLOG # 136

August 13, 2020

Yesterday we took a masked and socially distanced tour of Biltmore Estate.  Tickets had to be booked in advance and only so many were admitted to the house at a time.  They won’t get the 1.4 million visitors they usually get, but we’ve done our part (actually our third visit).

The drive into the estate is over a winding 3 mile long road through a beautiful forest that was planned by Frederick Law Olmstead.  It’s incredible to think that his plan for the trees and other flora on the estate was a vision 100 years out, something he would never see completed, unlike Richard Morris Hunt, the building’s architect who saw it completed in 6 years.

Speaking of the drive in, two black bear cubs wandered across the road in front of us as we were entering the estate.  We did not, thankfully, see the mamma.

Biltmore has four acres of floor space and 250 rooms in the house, including 35 bedrooms for family and guests, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and three kitchens.  And when George Washington Vanderbilt II built the house, he was a bachelor.  When it was the family home in the early 20th century there were 200 employees on the estate.  Today, visitors are served by 80.  Biltmore is a Châteauesque-style mansion built between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet of floor space, including 135,280 square feet of living area.  It is still owned by George Vanderbilt’s descendants.

George Vanderbilt kept a journal of the books he read, starting when he was 12, and read 3159 until he died at age 51 (from complications following an appendectomy).  The library has 10,000 books, all personally selected by GV.

The Banquet Hall is the largest room in the house, measuring 42 by 72 feet, with a 70-foot-high barrel-vaulted ceiling. The table could seat 64 guests (we saw a smaller version of the table set for 26).

The Billiard Room is decorated with an ornamental plaster ceiling and rich oak paneling and was equipped with both a custom-made pool table and a carom table (table without pockets).  Built by Brunswick, each table weighs over a ton.  The room was mainly frequented by men, but ladies were welcome to enter as well.  Secret door panels on either side of the fireplace – you can see the door open on the right side of the fireplace – led to the private quarters of the Bachelors’ Wing where female guests were not allowed.  Hmmm.  A room equipped with secret passages where female guests were not allow?

Here are pictures of a few more of the rooms, and the incredible view.

The Bowling Alley. The audio guide praised the house for the inclusion of a bowling alley. When Dad remodeled 117 Shenandoah Avenue, he contacted Brunswick to install two lanes. They declined saying there would be too few games bowled to pay the rental on the lanes. Take that, Vanderbilts.

The Music Room

The 70,000 gallon indoor swimming pool. More than 3 of the pools at 233 Woodland Drive would fit inside of it.

Mount Pisgah

If you would like to see more of Biltmore Estate, here is 25 minute video https://www.c-span.org/video/?443275-1/biltmore.

**  Last night sitting on the porch eating supper I wondered how fast French Broad River was flowing.  It was at an even more gentle pace than when Bonnie and I took our float trip.  I said if Bonnie walked 100 feet down stream along the bank, I would throw a piece of wood in the river and start the stop watch on my cell phone, and she could holler out when it passed her.  Speed is distance divided by time, so we’d have the answer.  Enjoying our meal, we said, “Nah!”  Well, this morning I wish we had because we had a big rain last night and the river is higher and faster than it had been earlier.  It would have been interesting to know the difference.  Either way, we are glad we floated on Tuesday.  Today would not be as enjoyable a trip, I think.

**  The Civil War Monument was the first war monument on the South Dakota State Capitol grounds. Situated across from the Capitol Lake, the Monument was officially dedicated on June 1, 1920.  Supported by members of the Grand Army of the Republic, veteran’s organizations and citizens of the state, the 1913 Legislature granted permission to erect a monument dedicated to soldiers of the Civil War on the State Capitol grounds.

The Grand Army of the Republic was a Union Army soldier organization whose membership honorably served between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865.  Civil War veterans who settled in South Dakota establish communities and had various roles in helping to create the state.  At the dedication John L. Jolley, past department commander stated, “The greatest general, and the humblest private, in the ranks of our Army, all share equally, the honor bestowed on the Volunteer Army of the Civil War ... The monument will be evidence of the duty we performed ...”

The website https://historicpierrefortpierre.com/ says, “While the Civil War was fought far from here, we inherited the benefits of a united country and a dedication from those soldiers who relocated here and helped to create the State of South Dakota.”

**  The New York Post reports political correctness has now expanded to space, where NASA says planets, galaxies and other heavenly bodies will no longer be referred to by “offensive” nicknames.  The space agency said all planets and heavenly bodies will be referred to only by their scientific names.  Under the new rules, the “Eskimo Nebula,” discovered in 1787 by William Hershel, will only be referred to as NGC 2392.

The so-called “Siamese Twins Galaxy” will likewise be known only as NGC 4567 and NGC 4568.

“As the scientific community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive but can be actively harmful,” the agency said.

**  Today’s close is adapted from the website http://flourishingtoday.com.

How do you find peace in life when you’re in a mess?  How do you find peace in life when everything seems to be falling apart?  Life can get messy.  We can make our plans, but things happen.  If we keep our eyes on our circumstances, we can easily begin to sink into a well of anxiety.  But God’s Word has a prescription for us to follow: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

But peace is not something we can muster up, at least not for long.  Are you searching for the peace of God in the middle of a messy life?  Peace of mind and in your heart comes from a surrender to Christ. Here are two scriptures which show how to have peace when your life is a mess.

First, trust that God is with you: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Second, trust that God loves you: “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:18).

God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.  That perfect love kicks fear to the curb.  That perfect love shows the lengths that God will go to in order to rescue His people.  If He will sacrifice His only Son, for us, we can be confident that He will protect us and deliver us from a mess in life.

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