The ultimate Christmas gift: a trip to Asheville, NC!!

Now that it has reached the first day of December, some of us have started realizing the inevitable: it is time to wrap up (or, if you really procrastinate, begin!) our Christmas shopping endeavors. If you are like me, you actually take time to buy thoughtful gifts for your loved ones, honoring and celebrating this giving season. One sure way to show anyone that you were thinking of them is to give them with a priceless gift: an Asheville, NC getaway!! The gift of experience! When looking for the perfect place, look no further than Carolina Mornings for your getaway destination. There are many different rentals available to meet the needs and wants of anyone you could be thinking of; check out our vacation rentals  to find that perfect getaway. And, Carolina Mornings has last minute specials and has a free gift offer  with the Mountain Discovery Pass (free ski lift tickets every day) with each stay, so the gift keeps on giving!
A visit to Asheville before Christmas Day will provide you with another perk:  Asheville is a great place to shop! Boutiques, jewelry stores, and book stores abound, just to name a few. This is not mall shopping; the gifts are far better (and the traffic as well!)!! So give an unforgettable gift to someone you love (remember yourself!) and send them off smiling to their retreat in the mountains.

It's A Wonderful Life... In Asheville!

What is the holiday season without "It's a Wonderful Life"?
Start a new tradition with your family and friends by making a trip to see the annual North Carolina Stage Company and Immediate Theatre Project radio play version of this classic. What a treat for Asheville, NC!
I don't know about you, but my family always sits down together on Christmas Eve to watch this classic...and it never seems to get old. In fact, whenever I watch it, I get the warm-fuzzies!
This year's actors will bring a new adaptation to the Charleston dance contest scene. Now that is something to look forward to!
The show, which runs from Nov. 27-Dec. 20 is shown at a great price of $20 for adults, $8 for kids and $10 for students w/ ID! What a deal!
Make another family tradition and stay at a Carolina Mornings Asheville vacation rental! If you can't get enough of "It's A Wonderful Life," rent the movie, grab the popcorn and get ready for great memories made during Asheville vacations!

Asheville, NC and its Seasonal Sizzle

Fireworks in December?? Yep, here in Asheville we don't think fireworks are just for July!! Amongst the many, many holiday activities going on around town, we celebrate the holiday season with Saturday night fireworks in downtown Asheville. Starting Saturday, December 5 at 7pm, and running through Saturday, December 19 (Saturdays only!) Asheville lights up the night with a plethora of colors and intensities at the Seasonal Sizzle at Seven. The fireworks display on the 5th caps off a full day of holiday events, from the Dicken's Festival (mentioned in an earlier blog) to different Market celebrations. Looking for a great time to load up the family and head to Asheville for a mountain retreat? Well, this is it! The weekend of Dec. 4- 6th has been discussed in quite a few of our entries, with festivities and great chances to pick up holiday gifts (remember The Big Crafty on Dec. 6!). Come and stay in one of our Asheville vacation rentals with your family (we even offer pet-friendly getaways!) and join the fun. Can't make it that weekend? Then join us for the Seasonal Sizzle one of the following Saturdays, and still have a ton of options for celebrating and shopping! Come visit western NC and see why Asheville is sizzling!!

Horses, History and Holidays... A MUST SEE!

Image by Axel Bührmann via Flickr

Looking for a great way to kick off the holidays? Check out this great show of horses and dancing as the Lipizzaner Stallions bring the 40th Anniversary Tour to Asheville, NC!

Bring your family and friends to this historical show... this is the OLDEST of all performing dance arts, with horse dancing dating back all the way back to 435.

Lipizzaner, a breed of horses, was rescued by Gen. George Patton in World War II. Thanks to Gen. Patton, this show has entertained more than 27 million people throughout the world.

The tour will have two showings at the Asheville Civic Center on Dec. 5 at 2 and 7:30 pm. Get ready for spectacular leaps and maneuvers that were once used to protect and defend themselves on the battlefield.

Make a weekend trip to go along with the fabulous show and stay at an Asheville vacation rental! There is no better way to enjoy a blustery winter afternoon than spending time with your friends and family, cozying by the fire in a Asheville mountain rental, and embracing the holidays by seeing a great show!

Do you need any more reason to create one of your own Carolina Mornings Asheville vacations? From Nov. 27-Dec. 28, you can receive a COMPLIMENTARY DINNER at Zambra's Tapas Bar and Restaurant with a 2-night midweek or 3-night weekend stay!

Charles Dickens in western NC??

A Christmas Carol


Yes, it is Dickens in Asheville!! For the weekend of Dec. 4- Dec.6, Biltmore Village will be transformed into a Victorian Dickens-esque village, complete with songs in the street and roasting chestnuts for the Biltmore Village Dickens Festival. Bring your kids and giggle while pretending together to be in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, even enjoying pieces of the tale put on by local performers.
Biltmore Village is well-known to those living in Asheville or those returning for a visit. There is much to see and do in this part of town while staying in one of our Asheville vacation rentals. The infamous Biltmore House gives the area it's name, and Carolina Mornings offers you two free tickets to Biltmore for a visit to the historic (and gigantic!) site when staying with us in a few properties. You can't miss Biltmore Village during the holidays as a guest in our town!!
The village is also a great place to find gifts, from the small, locally-owned boutiques to the larger shopping center full of name brands. During the Dickens Festival, the shops will be open later and the employees will don Victorian- era garb. What a great place to appease both your need for holiday shopping and your child's need for a fun time?!

Reason # 15 for Staying @ at Asheville Vacation Rental: Traveling & Eating Breakfast In Your Jammies-

Image by Carolina Mornings via Flickr

Budgeting for food expenditures during travel to any destination can be almost as difficult as forecasting the week's weather. When staying at a traditional hotel, the challenge is multiplied as travelers face the added expense of dining out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While the majority of quality hotels do not offer full kitchens, professionally managed vacation rentals allow guests to enjoy their favorite (and often healthier) meals and snacks, as each property provides a full kitchen stocked with clean utensils, pots, pans, plates and ample cabinet/refrigerator space for food storage.

"For my family, including grandkids, the best part of staying in a vacation rental was having breakfast in our jammies," explains Kathy Ogden, a traveler from Clovis, Calif., who stayed with Monterey Bay Property Management. "We loved the freedom to have meals at our leisure and have home-cooked meals instead of dining out."

Often costing less than a single hotel room, vacation rentals afford travelers an accommodations lifestyle unlike any other, providing considerably more space (both for living and dining), amenities, guest services and privacy than other, more traditional lodging options. For answers to common questions, along with additional tips and tools for choosing a rental that fits travelers' needs and budgets, visit Carolina Mornings- Asheville's Premier Vacation Rental Company

5 reasons to come to Asheville, NC in the winter:Reason #3 The Big Crafty

I love crafts! I love all kinds of crafts, from hand-knitting to felting to jewelry-making to bookworks to artistically-created clothing. I love to craft myself, and I love to see what the creativity and talents are of other artists (after all, we are all artists when we let ourselves be!). And if you are like me, we tend to find ourselves with a list of too many things to make and not enough time to make them all. For this, amongst many other things, I LOVE The Big Crafty, a gathering twice a year of local artists and craftspeople selling their wares. Not much of a secret, but I'll tell you anyway: it is a great place for purchasing holiday gifts!! The final fair of 2009 is held on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 12p-6p at Pack Place in downtown Asheville, NC. There is a raffle (which I won last year:) and, because it is a free event, you can put more money towards beautiful and fun pieces. Don't forget to buy something nice for yourself! Not only is the bounty affordable and the fair free, there is yet another way to save money: the three times I have gone, they also had FREE DELICIOUS BEER! Brewed in Black Mountain (30 minutes from Asheville), Pisgah Brewing Company is my favorite local brew by far, and one of my top three beers of all time. And at The Big Crafty, they are giving it to me!!!! I'd have to say, this event is actually one of my top three favorite events that takes place in western NC.
So come and stay with us at one of our Asheville vacation rentals for a pre-holiday getaway. Enjoy a fun shopping excursion while you are here; besides The Big Crafty, Asheville is known for its shopping.

Ready to Reach for that "Pie In the Sky"?

Need that relaxing weekend that seems just too far away?

Well go ahead and reach for that "Pie In The Sky!"

Escape to Asheville, NC for a wonderful Carolina Mornings vacation...

This Asheville vacation rental is spacious enough for a family getaway, yet quaint enough for a cozy, romantic getaway!

Need more stats?

- 3 Bedrooms, 1.5 baths

- All-wood cabin (with amazing ambiance!)

- Cable TV in each room

-2 ACRES of private property... not a house roof in sight!

- Unbelievable views

- A wonderful hot tub overlooking those unbelievable views

Can't you just imagine all of your stress melting away in this Asheville cabin rental.

Why put off one of our fabulous Asheville vacations any longer! Stay at Pie in the Sky or another NC mountain cabin rental!

"Everyone Cooks" in Asheville?! Uh Oh... I may be in trouble.

Image by barron via Flickr

Did you know that Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC offers WEEKLY "Everyone Cooks!" cooking classes?

The college provides the course for $15 dollars featuring vegetarian, vegan and raw foods. Each dish also favors local, organic and wild food sources. How exciting and different!!

Michael Gentry leads the class and is a retired food service professional who has travelled the world teaching his love of food. Gentry serves at a Sustainable Gourmet at "Everyone Cooks!"

And don't think that you will watch and not learn! The course features healthy recipes, cooking tips, new product tastings and a variety of different techniques to help bring this back to your own Asheville cabin rental!

Does reading this make you hungry? Why not make this trip into one of your own Asheville vacations? Come stay at a Carolina Mornings Asheville, NC cabin rental and enjoy cooking in a log cabin of your very own (well, yours temporarily ;) ) For more information on "Everyone Cooks," call 828-669-3826 !

Stay tuned to the Carolina Mornings blog... there will be more features of cooking and tastings in the next month to prepare you for all of the holiday meals you may be creating ... and activities to help you burn off those darn delicious meals =)

Bringing Dog to western NC

Okay, so I admit: I am one of those take-your-dog-with-you-everywhere-you-go kind of people. I love dogs, and love having them around. They are great companions, so much fun to watch, and their love is so unconditional! Here at Carolina Mornings we love your relationship with your dog as well, so we have Asheville vacation rentals that are pet-friendly!! Our pet- friendly vacation homes are just what you need for the whole family. And here in pet-friendly Asheville, there are so many places for you to help your pooch enjoy his/her vacation!
Anytime you wander the town center of Asheville, feel free to bring the dog along on this urban trail! Many shops provide an outdoor water bowl for furry passers-by, and there are quite a few restaurants with outdoor seating that allow the company of your loving companion. You can also check out the pet bakeries and boutiques downtown has to offer:Blaze-n-Skyy Pet Boutique, Funky Mutt, and Three Dog Bakery. A short drive out of town you will find Asheville Pet Supply and Wagger's Dog Depot. If you are wondering where to take your canine on a jaunt while vacationing, you have so many options! Virtually any Blue Ridge Parkway trail is great to get some fresh mountain air with your friend. Or, check out the 2 Asheville dog parks: French Broad River Park and Azalea Park. And, if you need a day to spread your wings and fly with someone else caring for your canine companion, board her for the evening at Pet Soup, a non-profit pet adoption facility that also provides doggy daycare.
Whatever your plans are while visiting Asheville, please bring your dog member and stay with us at Carolina Mornings!

Asheville=Basketball Mecca

Image via Wikipedia

When you think of Asheville, I bet 9 times out of 10 the word "basketball" does not come to mind!

Well, things are changing around these parts!

The UNC-Asheville men's basketball team is getting national recognition. The team (0-1 so far this year) will travel to Knoxville, TN to take on the #10 ranked Volunteers at the University of Tennessee in a regionally televised game at 6:30pm. The team has received other national attention in recent years, such as taking on (but not beating) 2009 National Champions, the North Carolina Tar Heels, two years in a row. Make sure you tune into the Fox Sports South for the UNC-Asheville- Tennessee Game!

The men's basketball team, who play in the Big South conference, play in the Justice Center-- a 1,100 person arena. You'd better go see the Bulldogs play here soon because the men's and women's basketball teams are scheduled to move into the larger Kimmel Arena in 2010. For tickets, check out the UNC-Asheville athletics website.

The games are fun for the whole family-- and cheaper than most other sporting events! What a great deal!

Can't make it to Asheville to watch the game this Tuesday at a local pub or Asheville vacation rental? Check out the rest of the Bulldog's schedule and make a game part of one of your Asheville vacations!

Why not make a trip of it and stay at a Carolina Mornings NC mountain cabin rental? We'd love to have you and cheer on the Bulldogs in Asheville, NC!

Need to escape to a safe "Haven"?!

Well you are IN LUCK!

You can escape to this safe "Haven"... The Carolina Mornings Asheville vacation rental "Wilderness Haven." Featured as this week's CM Asheville Rental of the Week, we hope that you find peace and relaxation and come take one of our Asheville vacations soon!

What do you get with Wilderness Haven?

- The log cabin of your Asheville vacation rental dreams.

- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths

- WIFI (for you workaholics!)

- Gas fireplace

- Game room

- Unbelievable views

- 20 minutes from Asheville

- Easy access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge parkway and hiking trails

Can't believe it? Take a look at our video:

Like what you see? Stay at Wilderness Haven! Or check out our other cabin rentals in Asheville, NC and book your Asheville vacation TODAY!