Two weeks ago today, we headed out
on our annual birthday trip! If you’re new here, I’ll tell you that Ryan and I
have birthdays three weeks apart (his is in April and mine is in May), so
starting in our first year of marriage, we decided to take a trip every year –
somewhere in the vicinity of our birthdays – to celebrate! This year it came a
bit late. The weekend we were gone was the only weekend I wasn’t speaking at
church this summer!
When
we sold Abby the RV earlier this year, the person who bought her works at the
Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. She surprised us with a pair of
tickets to visit the Biltmore, so we built this entire trip around that. If you’ve
been reading here long, you probably know that we tend not to go back to
places after we visit once, and we did visit the Biltmore a few years ago. But
we went in the winter, and I knew it was a whole different scene in the summer.
So we went back, and though we carefully planned the entire trip, much of it
turned out to be very Plan B. Stay tuned for some stories on that!
We
were blessed with stunning weather the entire time (which has not always been
the case on birthday trips) and we had the best time away. It was not
the longest trip we’ve ever taken, and it had its frustrations along the way
(hello, Plan B on repeat) but we still came home SO happy!
Another
tradition we started that first year of marriage was taking a chalkboard photo before
every trip, so here’s a throwback to the first one, and then this year’s
version!
Our
first stop was in Florence, Kentucky, and if you’ve been there (or through
there), you recognize this sight!
Several
weeks ago, while watching a show on the Food Network, we saw The Maple Street Biscuit Company featured as a great place to eat. It’s a franchise, and it just
so happened that Florence holds one of the locations! So we stopped for
brunch there. Coffee was good, and the food was really good. Ryan got “The
Five and Dime” and loved it. I got the Keto Bowl, which was equally delicious.
We
got back on the road and happened upon…Buc-ee’s! Cleanest bathrooms on the
road? Sure, we’ll stop! Found a sign I need…
We
got fresh coffee, Ryan gave his best Buc-ee smile. Every time.
As
we headed down into Tennessee, the mountains were too pretty not to photograph!
Found
some tunnels. They’re not the worst, but they’re also not my favorite. I’m
always glad to be on the other side!
We
arrived at our hotel just before dinnertime. No delays on the road, which is
pretty amazing for a Shaffer road trip!
Ryan
surprised me by getting a room with a balcony! Sure, we were in town, so it had
views of other hotels and the Cracker Barrel, but the mountains were out there,
and my heart was so happy.
For
dinner that night, we went into downtown Asheville to eat at The Early Girl Eatery. I ate there twelve years ago (this very same weekend) when I first visited
Asheville with Lynnette! Look!
I
wanted to take Ryan there because I had loved it so much last time.
Unfortunately, our experience there this time was not as stellar. The best part
was that we ate outside and listened to live music during dinner. I ordered the
exact same dish as last time, but it looked completely different. We ordered
water and coffee, but they said they don’t serve coffee after noon, and the
water was warm. (Not just room temp. Warm.)
So…after
dinner, we went in search of dessert and coffee. We found this cute little
place called Sweets and Seats. It’s a dessert and coffee place that stays open
late. (Why does this not exist everywhere??) We shared a delicious piece of
cake and had – truly – the best cup of coffee we can recall having in
the longest time. It was so, so good. It was delightful and totally made up for
dinner.
Our
view on the way to the hotel…if you ignore the construction cones, it’s kind of
pretty, don’t you think?
We
enjoyed the balcony when we returned to the hotel, and then it was time to
rest. We had a big day coming up!
1 comment:
Sounds like a great start!!
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