Fall Break - Blue Ridge Day 1

The lovely view you see above is what I was able to enjoy for 4 wonderful days. It was really beautiful. The cabin we rented was built right next to (basically on) a trout stream. I can't imagine how amazing it is when the leaves start to change color.

To get to Blue Ridge, you have to pass through a little town called Ellijay. Ellijay is where we usually go to apple pick, but this year we decided to try a new orchard in Blue Ridge.

There is a little BBQ restaurant we love to eat at in Ellijay, but it is only open Thur - Sun. We've missed eating there the last couple of years because we didn't hit it on the right days, but this year we hit it on an open day. The restaurant is famous for "pig hill."  You can buy a pig sign for $5, get your name put on it and the restaurant will place it on the hill for you. And the food is delicious. Briana was really tickled to check it out...

Briana wanted her name on the hill so badly, so we caved and bought a pig for her. For a $1 more, they said they would e-mail us what it ended up looking like before was placed on the hill. Well, that was last Thursday and still nothing. Don't think I am ever going to see that picture. My mom bought a sign years ago for fun and we've still never found that sign on the hill either. Well, you live and you learn. Don't sweat the small stuff, right? It still is a really fun place to eat at.

 I highly recommend the food and atmosphere but not buying a sign. Heh.

After lunch, we headed to the cabin. We had to drive along some pretty winding, unpaved roads to get there. It was such a cute cabin...

The owner actually happened to be there wrapping up some fall cleaning when we arrived, so we got to meet her (and her mom and sweet dog). She was super nice. She gave us some tips and pointers about the area and left.

 This was hanging on the back porch. When I saw it, I knew it was where we were meant to be! :) ...

The cabin was so rustic...

Doug slept in the downstairs bedroom and Briana and I slept in the loft (had two beds). The only bathroom was downstairs, and I didn't feel comfortable letting B sleep upstairs alone at night (the stairs were quite deep). So the loft was the girls room...

The back upper deck was amazing...

And there was a back lower deck as well. Doug and Bri took out some bread to feed the fish...

 After getting settled, we went into the town of Blue Ridge and ate dinner at a restaurant called "Harvest on the Main" - a farm to table restaurant. It was phenomenal...

It was so quaint and the food was indescribable. So, I'll just let you take a look...

Doug had a pork and collard green dish, Briana had butter noodles and I had a steak and asparagus.

Briana ended the night with chocolate cake...

Funny story ~

Doug and I totally forgot there was a hot tub at the cabin, so we didn't bring bathing suits. Ugh! We stopped at the local W@lmart after dinner to try to find some. Summer is over, so I knew bathing suits were going to be basically impossible to come by. There were no suits for ladies in the store at all, so I had to buy a tank top and some shorts. Doug somehow found some "Dude Abides" swim trunks. And I managed to find a mismatched two-piece swimsuit on the clearance rack that was exactly Briana's size (the only suit in the whole store that was her size). The two pieces actually look cute together even though they really weren't meant to be together. Her suit cost a total of $3. Sweet! It was pretty comical trying to scrounge and find what we needed. But, we made it work. When we got back to the cabin, we soaked in the hot tub for a little while...

A very fun and successful first day of vacation!

Day 2 - Shopping (and visiting my former broker/boss) in Blue Ridge!