Tuesday, February 19, 2013

3rd Anniversary Trip to Atlanta

We are back from the A.T.L
As I mentioned in a previous post, we went in celebration of our 3rd wedding anniversary that happens to be tomorrow.
My parents were nice enough to stay and take care of Shelby.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We left Charlotte Saturday morning and made our way into the Atlanta area making a lunch stop at Chateau Elan Resort and Winery.
It's been years since my last visit and I have to say that the wine has improved about 100%!
 Don't get me wrong, it's not on the level of Silver Oak but it's definitely not 2-buck Chuck either.
 It was a fun little stop to start off our trip.
Later in the evening, after checking into our hotel we had dinner at Dante's Down the Hatch.
 My best friend Alicia lives in Atlanta and her Mom happened to be in town so they came and met up with us!
Good Times!
The next day we pretty much did a whole lot of nothing in preparation for the big event we traveled in for.
It was right in our hotel so we just had to walk downstairs and grab a glass.
 The event is a culinary competition between 5 chefs that use 5 pigs to make several dishes.
The best dish wins!
There were also 5 small, boutique wineries there too along with a host of bourbon and beer companies.
Needless to say, I didn't stick to my diet this weekend!
 The five chefs competing were from Atlanta area restaurants.
The winner, who you see here, goes to the main Cochon competition in Aspen.
 There was also a 'Punch Kings' competition.
I stuck with wine and didn't taste any.
I'm not a fan of bourbon, that's the reason why.
 There was pork any which way you wanted it!
 Along with cheeses and other delectables!
 Our favorite part of the event was watching them chop up this pig.
Sounds gross but it was fascinating to see what parts of the pig are used for what.
 Who knew salami came from a pig?

My favorite find at the event?
Arcadian winery outside Santa Barbara.
HOLY SMOKES it's some good stuff!!
 The owner was there and my next trip to SoCal, I'm making sure I take an extra day or two to be able to visit his winery.
 Overall, it was a great event and our entire weekend was fabulous!
As I've said before on here, I'm making sure our marriage doesn't take a backseat because we have a child.
I think so many people fall into that trap.
We are so lucky to have parents that are willing and wanting to keep little Shelby.
So.VERY.lucky!
Shelby did great with them and vice-versa.
The only big bummer is that we missed her first snow.
Lucky for us though that my parents like to take pictures as much as I do.
 So, everything is well documented.

After being on the road and gone for over a week now Shelby and I are back to reality.
I have 2-weeks of maternity leave left and I'm not going to lie.
I'm already getting sad.
My cousin flies in Thursday though so that's something to look forward to!
Until next time!!
Happy Tuesday!

6 comments:

love jenny xoxo said...

looks like so much fun, I'd love to go wine tasting! Except for that pig, i think i would have flipped if I saw that in person!

{love jenny xoxo}

donatelli98 said...

Good for y'all! So glad you had a good time!!

Leigh Powell Hines said...

I didn't know salami was pig. I know you all had a great time. And you are so lucky to have your parents. That will be a blessing down the road, too. It's the one thing we don't have, and I would love to have about four days with no kids. I know that sounds harsh, but after seven years of no really vacation days except one here or there, they sound heavenly. And I do feel fortunate that we've been able to go away a night here and there.

lesleyrae0814 said...

Looks like such a great trip! Funny sidenote: the Rappahannock River Oyster guys are from right up the river from me in VA! Their operations are only a few minutes away. Great guys and I hear their oysters are awesome (I'm not a shellfish eater...).

Monica said...

Where's Shelby going once you go back to work? Enjoy your next 2 weeks off with her!!

Deviled Megs said...

Great pics -- looks like a fun trip!