So first things first, Turkey Day!!! Hall, Jack, & I traveled to Asheville, NC to spend Thanksgiving with his Dad and step mom Charlotte (aka Kissie ;)). They rented a beautiful cabin in the mountains about a ten minute drive from downtown for all of us to stay in. The place was awesome. It was so quiet and secluded and very pretty. The drive went smoothly and Jack did great. It's about a 7 1/2 hour drive from Virginia Beach. We got there the first night put Jack to sleep and enjoyed each other and some Southern Soul Bar-b-que straight from St. Simon's Island. If you haven't been to Southern Soul it's a must stop on the Island and one of our favorite places that we go to when we visit. Try the fried green beans, yummy!! The next day was Thanksgiving and Charlotte made reservations for us all to eat dinner at the Grove Park Inn. The food was excellent and the views were amazing. We had so much fun touring the old hotel, taking pictures, and viewing all the gingerbread houses from the annual gingerbread house competition. On Friday we woke up bright and early and went to the Biltmore Estate for Hall and I's first ever tour. Holy cow! The place is ginormous and the craftsmanship is insane! We really enjoyed seeing the house all decorated for Christmas. After the tour we drove around the grounds then took to downtown Asheville to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at Southern Kitchen and I am still having dreams about our food there. It was the best food I have had in a long time and absolutly a MUST if you go to Asheville. Charlotte and I enjoyed the Merguez Sandwich (East Fork Farms lamb sausage wrapped in pita bread with tzatziki, red onion and romaine lettuce) and Hall had the winner the Ramen Bowl (Asian noodles, pork belly, kim chi and mushrooms in a pork broth topped with a poached egg), so so so delicious.
Saturday morning Charlotte had made riding reservations for Hall, Rip & I at a Hickory Nut Gap Farms with Anne while she graciously sat with Jack at the house. We had a blast riding horses around the valley in Asheville and around the local farms. Anne owns Hickory Nut Gap Farms with her family and they are the 6th generation. They have tons of horses and they also raise chickens, pigs, goats, and cows. They practice organic and grass-fed farming and produce some great meat and organic produce. On the ride I noticed the little market off one of the streets and Charlotte and I came back to get dinner for the night. Charlotte and I probably polished off the shop in the amount of meat we bought to bring back in coolers to both of our houses. She purchased filet mignon's for dinner and it was without question the best piece of beef I have ever had in my entire life and will probably ever have. I want to go back so badly and get more meat!
For Christmas we drove to Gadsden for a few days to hang out with Hall's family and then made our way to Birmingham to hang out with mine. In Gadsden we enjoyed going to the church there that Hall and I got married in and that Hall's parents are active members of. The people at Holy Comforter are extended family and it was great to see them all again and introduce Jack to them. We enjoyed hanging out at the house with his Mom and step dad David and his sister Julia and her boyfriend Trey. On the Monday we were up there we made a must stop at Cooter Brown's Rib Shack. I've blogged about them before , and it was just as good as I remember. Best. Ribs, ever. We celebrated Christmas on Sunday night that we were up there with Hall's sister and Trey, and Jack opened his first gifts! It was great to see them all and the puppies!
After Gadsden, we drove to Atlanta to see Hall's grandfather Mont so he could meet Jack for the first time. We also got to see Hall's Aunt Helen Marshall (aka Snookie, Snookums, Snooks), and his Uncles John and Geddings. They all got to meet Jack and we had a great time getting to visit with them all. After lunchtime, we headed to Birmingham to see my folks and my brother and his fiance Allison. I haven't seen Drew and Allison in over a year and half so it was great to hang out with them and have them meet their Nephew for the first time! They have a red bone coon hound, Boomer, who is just a year old and who loved playing with Frank. We celebrated actual christmas day in Birmingham. Jack opened (well mommy opened) all of his gifts and we got to enjoy the day with my grandfather, Jack's great grandfather. It was awesome. We left the next day to come home and get Hall ready to leave for Nevada for two months ;( It's been whirlwind that's for sure. Enjoy some more pics!
2 comments:
Love all the pics! Jack and Drew have the same stocking! I bet Jack got more in his stocking than Drew did in his though. ;)
Haha! I bet Drew got more. Jack had zero in his stocking. We didn't even bother. So sad ;) I made mom show him his stocking at least so it looks like he had something in there.
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