Read more about the article A North Carolina Thanksgiving
Whiteside Mountain

A North Carolina Thanksgiving

Tired of cooking every Thanksgiving, our family decided to try something different. We wanted to go somewhere out to eat that wasn’t ridiculously expensive and we wanted to have time to do at least one hike.

After some research, we decided on Highlands, NC. Starting early that morning, we drove up to Whiteside Mountain to hike the 2.5-mile loop trail. The weather was crisp and because most of the leaves had already fallen, we had spectacular views.

We weren’t alone on the hike. Many people were also there before feasting on Thanksgiving dinner. We had reservations at the Main Street Inn in Highlands. Our reservation was for 3 p.m. but we had a little time to walk around the quaint downtown area. We ducked into the Old Edwards Inn and admired their Christmas tree. (more…)

Read more about the article Boston & Maine Itinerary (Including Acadia National Park)

Boston & Maine Itinerary (Including Acadia National Park)

This is the trip that started it all for our family. My spouse and I had enjoyed travelling, but with the birth of our children we did a lot of trips to visit family and an annual trip to the beach. We decided it was time for the four of us to go on a true vacation.

There are many styles of travel. In my family (and maybe because I grew up in a city of about 150,000) we tended to take city trips – New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Montreal. On these vacations, I wasn’t allowed to do things I could do at home – like see a movie. We pounded the pavement to see everything there was to see – museums, walking around, eating local cuisines — definitely no sleeping in or hanging out.

Other people like to go to one place – maybe for an entire week. These trips are meant for relaxation, but after a while I tend to get bored. It was time to do the type of vacation I had grown up doing and to show our children the world. It was fun, exhilarating and now we’ve tried to incorporate at least one trip like this per year. This was our itinerary from June 2011. (more…)

Tipple & Rose: Tea Parlor and Apothecary – Atlanta

Update: Tipple & Rose permanently closed December 2019

I just discovered a new tea shop in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood in Atlanta.

Tipple & Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary opened in late 2015. Located in the heart of Va-Highlands near Dark Horse Tavern and Surin, the shop is housed in a former hair salon.

Entering the long narrow shop, you pass by the wood tables and exposed brick walls to get to the counter towards the back of the store. There, scrumptuous looking desserts tantalize you through the glass window. The L-shaped counter has workers busily brewing tea, dishing out desserts and ringing up purchases. On top, you will find a multi page tea menu. Organized by type (black, green, white) and region, there is a corresponding number to it. At first I thought it was just so the staff know what you want.

The owner explains that the menu numbers correspond to the numbers on the sniffing jars sitting on the other glass counter. How I missed it, I don’t know. There’s a huge board of about 100 jars.

The tea-sniffing bar at Tipple+Rose

I tried my hand at this. One of the black teas was called Gingerbread. As I held the menu, my husband found the corresponding number and passed me the jar to sniff. I love this place already! (more…)

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Christmas lights are a BIG deal in Louisiana and Texas. It was part of our holiday routine to go drive around neighborhoods and look at the lights. And it was free! One year in the early 1990s, Al Copeland, founder of Popeye’s Chicken, donated his trillions of lights to the city of Baton Rouge. They decided to light up the state capitol – all 34 floors of it! The town of Natchitoches, Louisiana’s annual holiday lights were featured on the movie, “Steel Magnolias.”

When I first moved to Atlanta, I was surprised that more people didn’t put up Christmas lights. Even though both Lake Lanier and Callaway Gardens offered light shows, they each entailed planning a long drive and paying admission. However, about six years ago, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens began Garden Lights – Holiday Nights. After hearing positive reviews, I wanted to go but was resistant to paying the steep fees.

So I held off. But I had heard good things and always wanted to go. Finally we did this year – the night before Thanksgiving. It didn’t disappoint.

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Walking on the garden path, bright stars hung high in the trees focusing our gaze upward. When the path crests to the Chihuly fountain, a plethora of lights awaits with the Atlanta skyline serving as the backdrop. At the far end, a large lighted Christmas tree beckons. Along the brick path, the smell of roasting marshmallows attracts our attention. A bar is set up offering hot chocolate and s’mores kits. At the two fire pits, parents are helping kids hold their rods with marshmallows over the flames. (more…)