Asheville, NC in Two Days

As the weather started to dip into something cool, we got the opportunity to drive up to Asheville and visit the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Though I've been to Asheville before, this is the first time I've gotten to explore the city and experience its beer culture.  The last trip was a high school choir trip to sing at the Biltmore Mansion, so we opted to leave that out this time.

The first evening was all about getting in some craft beer and some delicious food in the heart of downtown.  John and I seem to always have the bad luck of killing kegs, but we were able to taste a few good brews.  John being a brewer himself, we hunted down a local beer supply store the next morning to get some freshly milled barley and malts for a new brew he was planning.  Near the beer supply store is the UNC Asheville botanical gardens, where we got out to romp around with the native species.

One of our foodie highlights was Early Girl Eatery, a local hotspot for sustainably grown and local food.  I had a fantastic "Early girl benny" with fried grit cakes, poached eggs, wilted spinach, avocados, and a tomato relish on top.  John had a good looking "porky breakfast bowl" as well with pulled pork.  All of that goodness got us ready to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway for some fantastic overlooks!

We finished our trip with a walk down to the Wicked Weed brew pub.  Their menu, like many others in the region, are very IPA and hop heavy, which we don't really like, but they had so many options we were able to choose some great beers.  I had their Transcendence, which is one of the few bacteria beers out there.  I know it sounds gross, but just think of a more lemonade taste woven into the beer's profile.  The food was also great, but the service, not so much.

Again soon, please!

Carolina Cider Company

Driving home on I 95 from our Florida Christmas today was very frustrating.  Not only was there a ton of cars on the road, but we were at a standstill in several places. The silver lining in all of this was an impromtu visit to Carolina Cider Company.  We had seen this company's products in the Charleston Farmers Market and around the state, but we had never felt the need to detour our trip.

The place was full of ciders, jams, sauces, grits, pies, and pickled items. John kept asking me to make a decision on a cider but all I could do was look around. We did end up with half gallons of strawberry and peach ciders in hopes of delicious beers to come.

I managed to snap a few blurry photos with my phone:

A train ride through the Alps

Ok, I know, it's been forever, but I'm not sorry.

Our last week of European travel was just that: travel.  We went to Leipzig and back, Munich to Graz and back, to Amsterdam and back, and then we flew home, which was journey enough in it's own right.  To get from Oberweissenbrunn to Columbia, SC, we had to take a bus, two trains, three planes, and a taxi to our apartment well after midnight.  All in all, about 20 hours of travelling in one day.  Needless to say, we have spent a week straight lounging around the house, leaving only for food gathering and light Christmas shopping.

After many loads of laundry, and tending to the kitty who needs to show how much she missed us at every moment she can, I have finally gotten around to emptying my memory card.  Good thing I took two 16GB cards . . .

So back to the topic at hand: The Alps!  As a native Floridian, mountains aren't really something I grew up with.  At all.  Even the rolling hills of the Midlands here get me excited, so imagine my being glued to the window of the train as we rode through some of the most majestic mountains I have ever seen.  And then it started snowing.

We watched the mountains at a distance at first, fast approaching.  Then we were alongside next to them.  Then we plunged into yet another tunnel, only this time when we came out, we were in the mountains!  I will never forget the feeling of being so small amongst them.  John and I agreed, Strauss's Alpine Symphony made a lot more sense now.  He hummed along as we snaked our way through.

Listen to this as you view the rest: Alpine Symphony- At the Summit. I promise it's worth it.

We ate our train picnic (beer and a Bavarian sandwich) with this magnificent backdrop.  Unreal.

Oh look, there's a castle on that mountain top.  How could they possibly have built that there?!

In all seriousness, I would fly back over there just to do this train ride again.

Charleston, South Carolina

A loooooong overdue post....


I did promise to post pictures from this July excursion, which means I need to stop promising things.

I'm finding less and less time in my day for the things that I like to do.  Like sharing and cooking.  But alas, these need to be shared.

Most of the photos are of Architectural aspects of Charleston.  I found them to be the most interesting.  Then, of course, there is Battery Park, the shops of King Street, and the Wharf next the the Aquarium.  It was a great weekend excursion for us, and an excellent Birthday celebration of continual eating and drinking!  Such great food in Charleston...


And sorry these took so long. *Thinking if there is anything else I promised and have not yet delivered...*

On a side note, I have a singing gig next week.