Read more about the article Washington DC & Virginia Itinerary (Including Shenandoah National Park)

Washington DC & Virginia Itinerary (Including Shenandoah National Park)

In 2013, our vacation plans called for a week-long trip to Washington DC and Virginia as soon as school ended in May. In retrospect, we should have waited a few days. After picking up our kids directly from school on their last day, we stopped in Charlotte to have dinner with some friends and then drove as far as Durham, NC that night. Colonial Williamsburg was crowded when we arrived around 11:30 the next day (which also happened to  be the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend). By the time we got to DC on Sunday afternoon, everyone was tired and cranky. We learned a very valuable lesson – give our kids at least a day or two to unwind from the school year before going on a week-long trip! (more…)

Read more about the article Bathhouse Row – Hot Springs National Park
The restored Fordyce on BathhouseRow

Bathhouse Row – Hot Springs National Park

My husband thought I was nuts – completely nuts. We were visiting my hometown of Shreveport, La. when I said, “Instead of going straight back to Atlanta, we could go up through Arkansas, over to Tennessee, spend the night in Memphis and then get back to Atlanta tomorrow night.” Within a few hours, we found ourselves in Hot Springs where I had vacationed as a child.

Things had changed since those trips in the 1970’s. Well,  not everything had changed, especially not the Arlington Hotel. This historic hotel has looked the same since 1924 and will continue to do so until a natural disaster comes along. I fondly recall walking with my parents across the street from the Arlington into the Hot Springs National Park at dusk. It was the first time I had ever seen fireflies, which we called lightning bugs. (more…)

St. Arnold Brewing – Houston

I’ll take the Weedwacker. No, make that a Fancy Lawnmower instead. Believe it or not, I wasn’t at Home Depot or Lowe’s; but rather at Saint Arnold Brewing Company in…

A North Georgia Vineyard That’s Actually Good

The vineyards at Serenberry Winery
The vineyards at Serenberry Winery

North Georgia and wineries. To me, those two don’t even go together. Recently, however, I discovered a vineyard up in Morganton, near Blue Ridge, Georgia that’s worth talking about.

The first thing I love about Serenberry Winery is that it’s located on a gravel road off Highway 60. It’s a farmhouse, not some pretentious tasting room. The story is that the house and barn were built in the 1920’s and purchased during the 1960’s. Over time, the vineyard was planted and the barn was converted into “the little house,” then later the tasting room. (more…)