Weekend in Alabama

Tour of Auburn's greenhouses...

Pepper Place Farmer's Market in Birmingham...

Birmingham Botanical Gardens...

Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

Nic and I had an opportunity to attend the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance a few weeks back. It was an absolutely amazing experience.

A little back story:

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.

Sweetwater Brewery: Brew Your Cask Off

As you know from our last post, we were pretty upset about not being able to make it to Sweetwater Brewery's 'Brew Your Cask Off'' a couple of weekends ago. Having already bought our tickets, it only seemed right to do something fun with them and reward one of our readers - with a catch.

We've finally gotten around to posting the guest post that was required as payment from the ticket winner, Kathleen. She had a blast as was our intention for the winner.

Brew Your Cask Off - Giveaway

Brew Your Cask Off is one of the upcoming events that I was really looking forward to this year. The guys at Sweetwater did such a good job last year and I was expecting this year to be even better. I went ahead and purchased my tickets well in advance, without checking with Nic. Turns out she has a meeting for work, and now something has come up and I can't go.

The problem is that I still have two tickets. And I don't want to see them go to waste.

I have decided to give our tickets away but there's a little catch. I want to see pictures of the event and a [little] review as a guest post on this blog. If you feel like you want to go and can provide a few pictures and a short write-up, send us an email or @ us on twitter (any of our accounts).

Follow BYCO on Twitter @BrewYourCaskOff for news and previews.

*I reserve the right to make the most unfair choice in picking the winner of these tickets. Special consideration will be given to people that we know in some way or that make the best plea. If you win I will personally hold you responsible for upholding the requirements of this post-unless I feel that your pictures stink and you have the writing skills of a third grader. Deadline for entry is 8pm est, 3/3/11. Winner will be notified via email or direct message(make sure you are following @SeasonallySthrn)

Charleston Suggestions

We have been asked countless times for recommendations in Charleston. Granted, neither of us live there (although Todd used to live there) but we have both been there more times than we could ever count so I'd say we've got a pretty good handle on the to-do's and must-see's of the best city in America. If you've got a favorite in Charleston that we didn't mention here, please leave us a comment! We would love to keep them all together to help anyone who might be planning a trip.

*Note: Almost everything we suggest is located right downtown (which is where you want to be) unless otherwise noted (like the plantations). The marker on the map is historic downtown.

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.