As Lauren mentioned in an earlier post, Stefan gave us all a generous amount of Christmas cash to be used on an experience. The only stipulations were that 1) all the money was utilized and 2) we write a blog post about what we did.
My experience was a wonderful weekend with three amazing women – my best friend since seventh grade, her sister and her niece. Well, sure, I’ve been on girl’s trips before and I’ve traveled often with this same group. We did some things to make this trip special.
My friend’s niece, who is a nurse, worked a double shift so she could go with us, we booked a house instead of a hotel so we could really kick back, relax and enjoy each other, and I vowed to unplug from work. As rewarding as my position at roux is, let’s face it – we all need to recharge. It’s good for the brain and the soul.
One first for me on this trip was a walking “ghost tour” complete with stories of sightings and hauntings all over the small town we visited. The tales were told with great energy and were quite thought provoking.
A first for all of us was a visit to a lavender farm. To say that the gift shop smelled amazing does not even come close. We learned about varieties of lavender, the best places to plant lavender and about how long the plants will live (5 years). We all bought plants to put in our own yards and gardens and we bought all manner of lavender scented products. Wow – did the car smell fantastic on the way home!
We did eight wine tastings (don’t judge us) and bought lots of our new favorite wines. This will continue the experience for all of us as we enjoy the wines ourselves and give to others as gifts. We also purchased glassware, pottery, jewelry, wine racks, t-shirts and hats.
We painted pottery. It was fun to do together and the folks who ran the shop were nice enough to prioritize our pottery so we could get it before we left for home. While none of the pieces are perfect (a few are close), they will provide us smiles throughout the year as we see them and remember our fun weekend.
Oh, and we ate. We ate lots; and it was all fantastic. The people who waited on us were all super nice and a few of them were wealth’s of information about their city and their menus and were not shy about making recommendations on what to do and what to order. We all appreciated that tremendously. We shared appetizers, ate off of each other’s plates and passed delicious drinks around for table tastings – just like the family that we are.
While at our house away from home which was absolutely perfect for us we talked, tried to help solve each other’s problems and dilemmas, enjoyed the wonderful views, painted fingernails, enjoyed being away from our everyday routines, shed just a few tears, laughed almost constantly, and as you probably imagined, drank a bit of wine. It was just the adventure we all needed.
I’ve included a photo taken at one of the vineyards we visited. It was huge, so the photo doesn’t capture the size although it does provide a glimpse into the beauty. If you’d like to learn more about the town we visited, please go to http://dahlonega.org/
