Callaway Gardens- First Day of Spring

We kicked off the first day of Spring by driving up to Callaway Gardens this weekend. We spend a lot of Sundays driving through the gardens...It's a great place to work on our photography. We have probably been 10 times in the past few months whether it was to see the fall color, their famous Fantasy In Lights, or the Christmas snow fall. We purchased a yearly pass this weekend and judging by the number of visits we've made in the past, the pass will more than pay for itself after a few visits. Plus, annual pass holders receive discounts on different events and lodging. Callaway has fun events all year- in fact, this coming weekend they're have a plant fair and a wine and dine event that should be a lot of fun.

There are so many different things to do at Callaway Gardens- fly fishing, photography workshops, bike trails, water sports in the summer, you rent a cabin, stay in the lodge, go on wildlife hikes, or visit one of the many educational centers they have. My favorite is the Sibley Agriculture Center.

Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge

So there I was, driving along with a teal bookcase hanging out the back of my mid-size suv, not having eaten since breakfast and exhausted from a weekend of looking at thousands of antiques when Nic chimes in, "I think that covered bridge is around here somewhere..." Of course, my puzzled answer was, "What bridge??"

"The one on the blog, don't you read the links on the sidebar?" I was caught. Since her iPhone didn't have any service, I pulled up the link on my Blackberry and reset the GPS to take us to the alleged bridge.

So we snaked around some Georgia backroads and found the aptly named "Covered Bridge Road", assuming it would take us to our destination. And we drove down the dirt road...and drove some more... almost to the end and there it was. It was the first covered bridge that I'd seen that was still in service.

I've encountered a couple but never an original bridge that I could drive on. I know there are others out there but this one is still cool because it was the first one that I've been across. And it was fun hearing Nic tell me that it was like something out of a horror movie.

There's a little more info at the GDOT website.

Scott's Antique Market

When we were up in Atlanta for New Years Eve, we visited with one of Todd's friends. She has an adorable apartment filled with great antique store and ebay finds- old Pyrex and depression glass, my beloved green Mason jars, an awesome vintage milkshake maker, and the neatest factory cart coffee table I had ever seen! It was from her that I first heard about Scott's Antique Market. Scott's only comes to Atlanta once a month so we looked up the dates and this past weekend we packed up the car and headed back to Atlanta. We had planned to spend all day Saturday looking around but after a late start (it's always my hair's fault) and realizing there was far more area to cover than we first realized...we knew we would need more time.

We quickly decided that Saturday would be our look day and if we saw anything we couldn't live without, we would come back on Sunday to buy it. I figured this would be the only way to prevent impulse purchases as I am a big believer in waiting a few days to purchase something to think it over. Todd is the complete opposite and if he wants something, he buys it without much thought. And wouldn't you know...I was the one throwing my arms around a teal bookcase that Todd spotted at one of the last booth's we visited. This was only after I had purchased a factory cart coffee table of my very own from the same vendor. Luckily we didn't have the car space to bring both home so he moved the "SOLD" tag from the table to the bookcase and it was all mine!

Driftwood Beach - Jekyll Island, Georgia

Either my third or fourth quarter at Auburn, I had a class called Engineering Geology. This was part of my required curriculum for engineering but is probably long gone due to restructuring of my program. Regardless, it was a fun class that enabled me to learn a whole lot about rocks and minerals and erosion and earthquakes and soils and ground water and...you get the idea.

This class was taught by a really cool guy by the name of David T. King, Jr. I really liked Dr. King. He was the type of professor that made you laugh without trying and like all good instructors, loved what he did. There are tons of stories my classmates and I could share about this guy ranging from the hand written and illustrated text we were required to buy to the inflatable dinosaurs in his office but they'd have nothing to do with this blog post.

Southern Living Idea House: Senoia, Ga

This post is a little picture heavy...my apologies.  With the suggestion of a shop keeper in Serenbe, we headed over to Senoia, Georgia to visit the Southern Living Idea House before it closed up.  I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.  I couldn't put down my camera so choosing which pictures to share with y'all was tough!

Serenbe

I have dogeared countless pages in my Southern Living magazine collection. A few months ago, Southern Living did a feature on a 900-acre sustainable community just outside of Atlanta called Serenbe. We did a little research but did what we commonly do and just loaded up the car one day and headed north. Pecan trees and a rustic barn greet you as you enter Serenbe.


We immediately pulled up to The Farmhouse, located at The Inn at Serenbe, and made it just in time to catch "Fried Chicken Sunday". With their welcoming wrap-around porch and cozy decor, we felt like we were walking into a family member's house. We even looked at each other while we were walking up and said, "Are we sure we're allowed to just walk into someone's house?"

Mini Review: Redneck Gourmet

We were driving around Newnan, Georgia looking for a place to eat a late lunch after a recent adventure when we spotted Redneck Gourmet. I did a quick Urban Spoon search on my iPhone to read the reviews and they had me at "pimento cheese burger".

It's located in the middle of historic downtown, right across the street from the beautiful Coweta County Courthouse. We were there on a late Saturday afternoon so all of the employees were crowded around the TV watching SEC football (and rightfully so as my Gators were beating their Dawgs). It's an order-at-the-counter type place that offers a variety of hamburgers, sandwiches, and platters along with the favorites: fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, and fried mushrooms.

I loved the fried green tomatoes. I thought they were perfectly made- crunchy on the outside and not too sour on the inside. Topped with their homemade (and nearly perfect, in my opinion) ranch dressing!
I might be the only person on the planet that doesn't want pimento cheese in my hamburger but they gladly served it to me on the side. I thought my hamburger was fantastic; the patty wasn't pre-made which is important in my book. It came with fries.
Todd had the "yard bird" which was grilled chicken breast topped with homemade BBQ sauce, tomato, bacon and cheddar. I think he really liked it although I can't be too sure as I was quite busy myself licking ranch dressing out of the container.

And what's not to love about a place with a jar of Moon Pies next to the register?

-Nicole

Mercier Orchards

My dad has a house on a lake in South Dakota. Yes, you read that right, South Dakota. He's got acres and acres of land and a few apple trees right up by the house. Every fall they would produce so many apples that come Christmas when I would go up to visit, he'd open up the freezer and show me all of the apples they'd stashed away just begging to be baked into a pie. I never got to see the apples on the tree or pick them myself but since that time it has been on my “must do” list.

Unfortunately, there aren't any apple orchards in Florida so when we made the trip up to Ellijay, Ga for the Apple Festival I secretly hoped we'd end up at an orchard. It was a Saturday, and it's Fall, which means one thing down here in these parts: college football. I knew I would be pushing it to want to spend the afternoon prancing up and down lines of apple trees when big games were being played so you can imagine my excitement when Todd said “let's go!” to my apple picking suggestion. We grabbed an attractions guide on our way out of the festival and looked at a map of the orchards around Ellijay. “Let's just go north”...and that is how we ended up at Mercier Orchards.

The gravel parking lot was packed when we pulled up just a few hours before closing. We found a picnic table waiting for us where we bought two large bags to put our apples in. I think it's called a peck but you really should be asking the farmer's son about the lingo.

We hopped on the tractor and took a ride up the hill. On the way up, our guide told us the history of the orchard and all of the different fruits you can pick at Mercier's (don't tell Todd but we will be going back during cherry season). He also said, “And eat as many as you want! Wipe it off on your shirt and try it!” And boy did we ever take advantage of that! Mercier's only uses fertilizers once a year in the spring so come fall when the u-pick season is in full swing, the fertilizers have been washed away making the apples safe to eat without washing.

The tractor dropped us off at the top of the orchard where we could see for miles. We regretfully took off as soon as the tractor stopped and didn't listen to where each variety of apple was located so we spent the next 2 hours saying “Which one is this? No wait, that was the other row!” Truth is, there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. Despite it being the end of the harvest season, the trees were still full of apples. Each one we picked tasted better than the last and I can honestly say after tasting an apple right off of the tree...I don't know that I'll ever be able to buy them from a grocery store again. I lost count of how many apples we ate while we were out there but it's safe to say we both left very, very full. We got back on the tractor for the trip back down the hill just as the sun was setting. Mercier's truly is a beautiful place.

Before leaving we made a stop in the country store at the front of the property. If you don't want to pick your own apples or you're there outside of the season, they offer many different varieties already sacked up for you. There are shelves and shelves of jams, preserves, and other canned goodies. They have a deli, a bakery, and samples throughout. If you're lucky, you'll even get a chance to meet Mrs. Mercier herself! She's approaching 100 years old and was working just as hard as everyone else. Maybe an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.

8660 Blue Ridge Drive (Highway 5), Blue Ridge, Ga 30513 (706) 632-3411