travel
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Sweetwater and Fort Loudoun, TN
The boys had just under a week for their winter break, so I decided that we would take just an overnight trip as our vacation outing. We settled on going to Sweetwater, TN because it is the town where the Lost Sea Underground caverns and lake are and it sounded like a fun destination. It is only 2 hours from our house and there appeared to be more things to do in the area. When we arrived, we went to the visitor’s center which gave us some ideas for lunch and dinner, and also made us realize that there was a fort nearby to visit. We first had lunch, then…
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Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina
A couple days before the end of our Christmas school break, we took an overnight trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It is about a 3h45 min drive from us, so we spent the night in Asheville before heading to the estate. The Christmas decor was still up, but the admission price had gone back down after the increased prices of the Christmas season. It was still expensive ($75 per adult 17+, ($45 for children, but free for the 8 year old), but much more affordable. I definitely do think it is worth visiting while all the trees and decor are up because it created a very…
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Georgian Corner, Roswell, GA: Restaurant Review
We stayed close to home during the Christmas break and had a couple overnight trips and one day outing to Alpharetta and Roswell (GA). We wanted to visit a couple antique shops and eat an the new Georgian Restaurant in Roswell. The restaurant opened in December and my husband brought some food home for us then (it was delicious), but since it was before Christmas, we were not eating meat, so I wanted to return and get the full experience. We were not disappointed. Let me first preface with the fact that we have been to the republic of Georgia 3 times in the past 10 years and we love…
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Hike at Pine Log Creek Trailhead
It was December 29 and while most of my family was recovering from a nasty cold or the flu, I did not relish the idea of staying indoors despite the cooler day. It felt nice and brisk, the sun was shining and while we didn’t want anyone in the cold air, I needed to get out. I walked 3 miles with my friend that morning, but the afternoon was beautiful, so I posted on our gals’ running group-me thread to see if anyone was interested to hike a new to me trail. One of the gals I hadn’t seen in a year responded, so I picked her up and we…
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Horse ride and Overnight Trip at Brasstown Valley Resort
My husband and I spent a few days at the Brasstown Valley Resort for our anniversary last October and we really enjoyed the resort and location. I share about our trip in a post last month and while we were there, I thought that my boys would like coming over the Christmas break for a short overnight trip. I knew the decor would be pretty and I thought the boys would enjoy the amenities too. Decor I was right! The decor was beautiful! The lobby with its fireplace in use was very cozy, and we spent some time there playing Scrabble. I woke up early that morning and brought my…
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Bethlehem Walk
One of the things on my bucket list for December was to take the boys to a Bethlehem Walk in Marietta. I had taken my two oldest years ago (maybe 10+ years) and had really enjoyed it. So we made time on our schedule and after trying to go the first night (it was too long of a line and wait), we went on the closing night which was a Monday. The drive is about 35 minutes from our house and the Bethlehem Walk takes place outdoor on the grounds of a Methodist church. Everyone is dressed in the time period of Christ, and you walk through the “city” stopping…
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Bike Rides at the Beach
One of my favorite activities at the beach is to go on bike rides whether solo or as a family. It is always a little difficult as a family as my kids range from 8 years old to 19 which means we do have a younger one in tow who gets tired before everyone else. With that in mind, we still went on several bike rides ranging from 8 miles to 16 miles. Bike Ride to Topsail State Park This was a fun ride with the 3 older boys. We decided to go to one end of 30A (the closer end to where we stayed, which meant that the State…
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Christmas at the Beach
Have you ever wondered how they decorate in beach towns. Since we stayed on 30A for Thanksgiving, I knew we would see some beautiful decorations as some of the towns along this strip of South Walton beaches are a little fancy to say the least. We usually stay in the more affordable towns of Seagrove or Blue Mountain which are a short bike ride from Watercolor, Seaside and other pretty towns. Our first full day at the beach, I took my youngest to Seaside and we enjoyed a fun snack and snapped some pictures. I had seen some of these nutcrackers before, but there were more this year. Since I…
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Ponce City Market in Atlanta and Meeting up with Kathrine
A couple weeks, ago, Kathrine reached out to see about meeting up while she was in Atlanta visiting her son. Since it was a short visit, we decided to meet around lunch time for a little midday snack and shopping. Her mom and sister were along on this trip and I got to meet both and we had a lovely visit. It is always fun to visit another fellow blogger especially when we have been reading each other’s blogs for a while. I always feel like small potatoes when comparing Instagram numbers to others, but when it comes to blogging I feel like I have developped some friendships through the…
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Bell Mountain, GA
Once I decided where we were spending our anniversary trip, I looked up activities in the area. The one thing that stood out to me that we had not done in the past was to go up to Bell Mountain. The google search describe the drive up as paved and very steep, but the views would be incredible from the top. I concur on both accounts! The drive up was very steep and I would not have enjoyed driving it myself because it was so steep and there were a couple sharp hairpin turns, but the views were worth the effort. It appears that the top of the mountain has…