Peach Custard Pie at the Hil

I recently spent the day at a workshop with stellar photographer Tom England at Serenbe Photography Center. Most of the workshops they have there are on held on the weekends, which just happens to coincide with the brunches at the Hil restaurant next door. Both of these were definitely worth the drive from my Woodstock!

Summer Road Trip 2011 -- Asheville, NC

Malaprop's Book Store

My little boy and I had just left Ohio on an early morning, heading away from my sister's house after my nephew's high school graduation. The weekend had been rushed and full, as the house had been filled with grandparents and my nephew's friends, and I was still exhausted from more-than-iffy sleeping arrangements. (We had to sleep on a leaky air matress in the only veritable "sound proof" room--the room with the hot tub--because everyone else stayed up deep into the night watching Nascar with the volume up so loud it shook the house.) Ugh. Now I may live in the south, but Nascar is just not a sport that I've managed to get into. At all. Watching loud cars going around in a circle just leaves me bored and wincing and longing for quiet, air conditioned libraries. So imagine.

So, although I love my sister and her family, I was ready to go.

We decided to take the long way back home (because as much as I was ready to leave, I wasn't quite ready to go home) through the Carolinas so that I could make a stop in Asheville, one of my favorite cities of all time. Asheville is surrounded by mountains and is filled with cafes, book stores, coffee shops, and non-chain restaurants. I had never been to Malaprop's Books, so I definitely wasn't going to miss it on this go-around.

So let me tell you something about my son. But before we do that, let me tell you something about me. I love books. I was an English major in college, and I could really just be happy reading all day. I was one of those kids under the covers with a flashlight at night so I wouldn't get caught reading.

I'm also a great supporter of INDEPENDENT bookstores rather than the huge chains. I love the personal service and the heart that goes into these places.

So.

That said, my child is not cut of the same cloth. He hates to read and hates books.

Imagine.

He excels at math instead, which has been my arch-nemesis my entire life. I think people who are good at math just might be sleeping with the devil. I'm just saying.

So.

Imagine my embarrassment when not only did he act extremely bored during my long-awaited and much-looked-forward-to visit to Malaprop's, he also yelled, at the top of his voice so loud that the owner could hear, "I don't WANT to pick out any books HERE! The only book I'll ever want is at BARNES and NOBLE'S, and that's only because LEGOS come with it!!!!"

Mortified, I tell you. I just stood there mourning the loss of the child that was SURELY switched at birth with THIS book-hating child that stood before me. So I did what any embarrassed mom would do in this case. I bought more books than I usually would, hoping that somehow I could repent for his sins, and then slunk out of there as quickly and gracefully as I could.

I love local-watching wherever I go, and Asheville never disappoints. I heart the straw hat.

I just happened to arrive on their anniversary...SALE! It really helped with my over-compensatory spending.

The Child at the O. Henry Monument, at which he tried for a good few seconds to pry the pocket watch from the sidewalk before I could stifle my good-natured laughter and tell him that it wasn't real.

The Gift of the Magi...define irony.

Shop Window Wonderful. It seems like everyone has one of these typewriters but me.

Double Decker Coffee Company; A cold comfort--no, really...it had air conditioning.

Milk Shake!  This is probably the only thing he'll remember about the whole trip. He said, "This is better than Chick Fila's!" You have no idea how big a compliment that is for him to make. A success.

And then we went home.

Twain's in Decatur, GA -- The Dainty Saint

The Dainty Saint: an iced, summery concoction of imported St. Germain and vodka.

I spent my birthday alone under Twain's wisteria arbor while the boys played pool inside.

Not that I'm complaining.

There's a thin line between alone and lonely, and it's hard to feel the latter when you're sipping French liqueur {made of fresh elderflowers picked in the Alps} on a balmy evening, watching Decatur, Georgia, start to come to life.

My precocious little son suggests Twain's whenever we venture out of the suburbs and head south toward the city, and usually, if time permits, we oblige him. I'm never without a book or some nice stationery and fountain pens, so I just while away the time and let them do their boy stuff.

Dean's Store--The Woodstock Visitor's Center

There's a place you can go in my town's historic district to find out about all its going's on, both the official tidbits and those that are "off the record." In what was once the bus station and the first place you could buy Coke in Woodstock, Dean's Store is perfectly preserved and stuck in time to reflect its beginnings.

There are plenty of local brochures and magazines to help you navigate your time and way, but the best information can be found behind the counter while either Kyle Bennett or Juanita Hughes is on duty. They won't steer you wrong.

Dean's Store handed out American flags to a teary-eyed crowd along the funeral route of a fallen Woodstock soldier.

A group called "the boys" has been meeting at Dean's Store in the morning for years.

Old relics from a different time. This phone always reminds me of the phone scene in It's a Wonderful Life.

Enamored of.

Kyle always has cold bottles of Coke for visitors after a downtown Woodstock tour.

A Little Blue Today

Even though the weather is gorgeous in Georgia, I'm still in my room feeling a little blue today. I asked the Husband, {excitedly}, to come with me to the new Anthropologie (one of my greatest happy places) in Atlanta, but he went to his parents' house instead. So I'm home, streaming Adele on Pandora, and sprucing up the place a little with Meyer's Lavender cleaners. The scent always brings me back to the fabulousness of  {my}self. Like smelling salts for my soul.

Stuff of Dreams, Just Down the Road

On the road to buy groceries, I always get to pass by this car lot with some of most beautiful, curvaceous pieces of machinery ever to come out of America's yesterdays. I stopped by to talk to the owner a few days ago to ask my WWWH's (Why? Where? Who? How?) for a story in the Woodstock Community Guide.  He told me that when he was a younger man, he used to go there, then a gas station, for his RC Cola's and moonpies. When he saw it for lease, he knew what he had to do.

A String of Sarna Camel Bells ( A Gift to Myself)

Merry.

Mary Mac's Tea Room In Atlanta

Did you know that macaroni and cheese can be listed under "vegetables?"

My first taste of Potlikker!

Mudbugs...

Fried Okra...Reminds me of my mama. :)

Fried Chicken, Mac 'n Cheese, Sweet Potato Souffle, Fried Green Tomatoes, Greens, and Sweet Tea.  For Starters.

Bread Pudding  with Wine Sauce

Mary Mac's Tea Room in Downtown Atlanta

Home

Serenbe Photography Center in Palmetto, Georgia

This is the top of the stairs of the Serenbe Photography Center...closed on the Sunday I went.  I don't know what I would have done if it had been open.  I didn't have enough money to sign up for any of their mind-bendingly awesome workshops.  I guess I just wanted to stop by and say, "Hey, I think you're really great, and I'm glad you're here.  And someday very soon you're going to teach me things that will help me to be the best photographer I can be and fulfill all my hopes and dreams."  (Which probably would have come out a whole lot like:  "Hey, do you have any brochures?")   I walked away from the locked door and moved down the steps where the Little Guy was waiting for me on the Serenbe sidewalk.

Small strands of red consolations waited for me to turned the corner...

Brunch with the Little Guy

Enon Historic Cemetery Tour in Woodstock, Georgia

Linden in Woodstock, Georgia