Not Sayin' My G's

September 12, 2015

Again, I am writing about a day that occurred much earlier than now. It was a significant day and one I am not likely to soon forget, as many days with Jason are. It was, as he so beautifully put it, "Apple Pick'n Day!"

Saturday morning we dressed, readied ourselves, and headed to Ellijay, GA for some apple Pick'n. Jason proudly announced that it must be said without the "g" in order for it to be done properly. We hopped in my car and hit the open road. It was a gorgeous day. The sky was a vibrant blue and the clouds were as fluffy and white as the tail of a freshly washed bunny. In fact, I'm fairly certain I saw the shape of this cuddly creature in the clouds as we neared the Georgia Mountains.

Within an hour and a half we came across "Bigun's BBQ," a BBQ joint Jason had heard of from a coworker. Should we leave the apple orchard near dinner time, we decided to stop by on the way home. It was at this point in our small journey where the southern part of Jason and I reared it's hilarious head. We began speaking without our g's and saying things like "Dawg gonnit!" All that was missing were our flannel shirts and some hay bales. Soon, about half an hour from the BBQ joint, we were pulling into B.J. Reece Orchards.

We pulled into the bumpy gravel parking lot and watched passerby as they carried large bags of freshly picked apples. It was a beautiful, old fashioned shop painted like a classic red barn. Jason and I stepped out of the car into the fresh air. A slight gust of wind rolled over us and suddenly a hint of fall reached our senses. It was perfect. There are so few moments in Georgia where fall weather can be felt and enjoyed--this was one of those days.

 (Picture from: http://www.reeceorchards.com/wp/)

We walked into the shop and were surprised to see such a large selection of apples, potatoes, jams, jellies, pies, and other baked goods. Small, red wagons filled with fresh produce were rolled from here to there by customers as we walked past them toward the orchard. Uncertain exactly where to go, Jason and I walked through the back door and asked a man directing traffic where to go to pick the apples. He pointed behind him. He clearly couldn't speak English. Although uncertain if he could even understand us, we followed his directions. Either he did understand or he simply guessed correctly. There behind him was the entrance to the orchard. We met a bubbly lady with a soft country twang at the counter. We asked for two tickets and a half bushel bag for apple pick'n. She took our money with a big smile, handed us two apple-shaped stickers, and a plastic bag. We thanked her and headed in.

To the left of the orchard was a petting zoo. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of these cute goats, dogs, and chickens. But, I was able to get a picture of this cow.

Meet Ollie the cow. After saying hi to Ollie, we headed over to the apples trees and began browsing. I cam across this little guy:

The first apples we stumbled upon were Golden Delicious. I was looking forward to picking Red Delicious apples--they are my favorite--but we were unable to find them. Jason asked if I wanted any golden delicious, but I honestly wasn't sure. I had never even heard of a golden delicious, just red. Jason pulled one off the tree and told me to taste it. The rule-following, by-the-book part of me cringed. "We can't do that--we're supposed to put them in the bag!" Jason smiled and said he wasn't going to drive two hours for a half bushel of apples we hated. As usual, Jason made complete sense. I told him to face the center of the tree and away from people so we wouldn't get caught. I heard the loud crunch of Jason's teeth sinking into the crisp apple. He held it out for me to have a taste. I quickly took a small bite and instantly gave it back to him, for fear of being caught. Once he finished eating, he threw the remaining apple core on the ground. Laying beside Jason's apple were millions of other apple cores, left by other wise apple-eaters like Jason. We nodded and immediately began selecting the biggest and best golden apples we could find. Here we are with our golden delicious:

After picking all our golden apples, we headed toward the highest point of the orchard and looked onto the beautiful mountain backdrop. We decided to get a picture:

After enjoying the scenery a second, we headed over to find the red apples. We passed numerous families and small kids holding large bags of giant apples. There was a beautiful Indian family sitting in the orchard, enjoying the weather and taking pictures. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood. We carefully walked across the field to the Rome apple section. I said carefully because there were piles and piles of apples that had fallen on the ground, many of which had been stepped on and were now piles of mush. It could be very slippery on the hills. Here are pictures of us getting Rome apples:

We also picked a few Fuji apples. Sadly, all the red delicious were completely gone from the trees. No worries, however! We simply bought a small bag from inside the shop--still good, even if we didn't pick it ourselves! We walked the massive bag to our car and then went back inside to browse. We purchased apple cider, strawberry cider, peach cider, red delicious apples, dutch apple jam, and a fried apple pie. I think we'll be good on apples for the next... week? Here is a picture of the fried apple pie:

So good! We ate that in the car before heading home.

Although I don't have a picture of this, the shop also had a bee hive next to honey jars which were on sale. Whether you purchased those particular bee's honey or some other bee's honey, I don't know. Either way, pretty amazing to watch! They were in glass, almost like an ant farm. So pretty!

After loading up our car, we ate our pie, and headed back home. We decided to stop by McDonalds for some tea and soda. I got a picture of Jason while we waited in line--notice we still have on our apple stickers! He looked so good here:

We left earlier than we thought we would, so we weren't able to eat dinner at Bigun's BBQ, but maybe another day. We ended up just going home and listening to the audio book of Jane Eyer. We continued listening to it while eating dinner. Our memory is a little fuzzy, but we did eat spaghetti; we are not sure if this was the night we ate the store bought noodles or Jason's famous homemake noodles. Lately Jason has gotten into a homemake noodle kick--no complaints from me. He also has created the best spaghetti sauce I have ever had with pancetta, tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Delicious! Good apple pick'n, Jane Eyer listenin', homemade noodlin' day!

You'll Be Smitten!

September 7, 2015

Admittedly, I am writing this far later than these events actually took place. This is in part due to my laziness, along with the sad truth that our adventure in Savannah came to an end. September 7th was the day we were to return to the ever bustling town of Palmetto, Ga. Never heard of it? Oh, right! That's because nothing happens here. The only particularly exciting even that occurs in Palmetto is when a large, fat cat propels himself off of a young couple as they sleep soundly in the night, causing loud screams at 2 a.m. But I digress...

As I was saying, on this day we left Savannah. Although we had a long drive home, Jason and I were able to sleep in. We awoke on our own terms this morning; neither the alarm clock nor the sun was allowed to steal our rest. I'm not sure if this is true for Jason, but I find that if I sleep in on the day we are required to leave, it means I have been able to "stick it" to responsibilities one final time. However, I am not so stubborn as to give away my free breakfast either. We awoke just in time to find ourselves in the hotel lobby roughly ten minutes before closing. We are excellent vacationers!

Jason had yogurt, Cherrios, and an apple for breakfast. I had Raisin Bran. I might have also taken two more things of Raisin Bran to take home with us (one of which I might have eaten a few ours ago...). After eating, we went up to our room to finish packing and getting ready for the day. In no time, we found ourselves in the lobby, our luggage in hand. As we walked to the counter, we noticed the hotel front desk agent was on the phone. There was also another man standing in front of him. As we patiently waited for our turn, we were surprised when the front desk agent turned to us and said "Checking out? What room?" He was still on the phone, simply covering it with his hand. We told him and he said "You're good to go!" We thanked him, waved, and left. Not quit sure why he helped us over the person on the phone or the man in front of us, but I'm not complaining.

We got in the car and quickly headed toward the nearest gas station called Parkers. I got gas as Jason went inside for drinks. I was hoping for Cheerwine but they don't sell that almost anywhere. I had water, he had tea. We then headed back on the road. Jason was kind enough to drive again, which is understandable as he is the most awesome person ever! He laughed at one point and lifted up a small piece of paper. I asked what he was laughing about and then realized it was our room key--the hotel guy never asked for those back. Oops.

As Jason drove, I read Jane Eyre aloud. We were getting to the good creepy parts of the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Soon my voice became raspy from overuse and our stomaches growled with hunger. We decided to get lunch. As one tends to do when returning to reality rather than vacation, we looked at our budget and decided KFC was just the ticket for lunch. Below is a picture (I'm not ready to let go of vacation yet; bear with me, I know you know what KFC food looks like):

We noticed a large framed picture to the left of the counter as we ordered our food. Turns out KFC can be quite religious, as there was a picture of the 10 commandments hanging by the cashier. Perhaps they just want to reinforce the "Thou shalt not steal" policy that they have? How does one steal from a KFC? I imagine it would be hard to run behind the counter, grab hot food out of the fryer, and take off. That's the only explanation I can see ;^)

After lunch, we returned to the car to finish our classic novel. In no time we were home. This would be the second trip we've tried to finish Jane Eyre; it is also the second trip where we failed to finish it. We'll get there one day!

Once home, we said hello to our beautiful kitty cats! They meowed and rubbed up and down our legs, begging for attention. We cuddled them and then checked the mail. Jason came in with a big smile on his face and showed me what we got. It was... well, I'll let you see what came, here is a picture:

Yes! That's right! Pecan Pie M&Ms! Slightly melted but still very good! We also unloaded our candy from Savannah and devoured the chocolate caramel apple. So good! After eating, Jason got the audio book of Jane Eyre and set it up for us to listen to at home. We then spent the remaining time between then and dinner listening to Jane Eyre while trying to finish our fitbit steps. Soon my stomach grumbled and we decided it was time for dinner. Panera hit the spot. I got potato soup and bread. Jason got vegetable soup with pesto and bread. Delicious!

After dinner, Jason and I unpacked and began to prepare for our return to work the next day. Although very sad to see our exciting 3 day weekend end, we were very thankful to have a wonderful home with two fluffy kitties to cuddle with upon our return. Can't complain! :^)

How Much Cheese Is Too Much Cheese!?

September 6, 2015

It was a dark and stormy night

All creatures big and bright

soared through the trembling fright

Sinking teeth for painful bites

Until one day with all their might

The Browns faced the morning light

This is the type of crap I write when tired and ready for sleeping. But first, I will tell you the tale of "The Brown's second day in Savannah!!!" Cue creepy organ music.... dun dun dun!!!

Our story begins as all scary stories do, with a young couple waking up in a Marriott hotel in Savannah, Georgia. Jason and I woke up early and were feeling very well-rested. We were also just in time for our free continental breakfast. We showered, dressed, and made our way to the lobby. Jason filled his plate with eggs, yogurt, and an apple; I had the same, minus the yogurt. We ate and watched other hotel guests interact with one another. Before leaving we grabbed a box of cereal in case of sugar crashes later in the day. We also noticed a water cooler--apparently even the hotel doesn't like the hotel's water. We filled up out glasses and headed back to the room to finish getting ready for the day. It wasn't long before we were in the car and ready to leave for our first big adventure in Savannah: visiting Wormsloe Park.

The moment we arrived at Wormsloe Park, we got out and took pictures of the entrance. It's beautiful. Here are pictures:

Wormsloe park houses the Tabby Ruins, the oldest standing structure in Savannah.  Wormsloe was originally owned by a man named Jones. He was a carpenter who came to Georgia in 1733 with James Oglethorpe and the very first group of settlers from England. Apparently he was able to sustain Wormsloe and his descendants kept it up for quite some time. Above and below are pictures of us at the entrance. This road, with all the oak trees lining the drive, is where Jenny in Forrest Gump says "run forrest, run!" Pretty amazing! 

After taking pictures we purchased two tickets at a nearby house from a man wearing an olde settler's hat. We then drove down to the visitor's center and went through the museum. After seeing old artifacts, we headed out to the walking trails. The map made it look like we wouldn't be able to see the whole park in one day, but it didn't take long at all. We went down Pine trail and came across the replica of an early colony. They're were people demonstrating what it took to build the colony. We visited this guy first: 

This is the blacksmith. This guy was actually doing some blacksmith demonstrations and you could purchase the items when he finished. It was pretty impressive. He said he does this on the weekends for a fun hobby. I expected him to have a colonial accent or at least southern, but really he just sounded like he should be a New York business man. He seemed really good at his hobby though. 

Here are pictures of the rest of the colony: 

Behind the house, a woman was cooking a meal over a campfire. She told us how the settlers would obtain sugar, salt, and pepper for cooking. Apparently there are some kind of plants in the marshland area to the right of that house that produce salt and pepper. They said they would use a knife and slice off the white part from the leaf which gives them salt. Pretty interesting. Jason and continued walking and began discussing how hard it would be to live during that time period--you would have to work together with every single person in the community or you wouldn't survive. 

We then went down another trail to head toward the ruins. Here are pictures of us on the way: 

It's so pretty here, right! Love this place. Finally we make it to the ruins:

On our way to the grave site we came across a zillion crabs! Here are pictures of a big one we found:

 You can't really see, but the crab is in that tree hole. Below are pictures of the beautiful trees on the trails.

The grave site... I forget of who. Someone named George... 

More crabs!! As we were leaving, we came across this sign:

Originally Jason got very excited and screamed "Colonel Cricket!" He, of course, was thinking of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" when that guy Cricket become a Colonel in the episode "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell." Love that show! Sadly Jason just misread this sign... nothing to do with Cricket the character. Just some kind of early sportsball.

 Also, there was this... replica of an early colony living environment:

After leaving, Jason and I headed down the road just slightly for lunch. We ate at a seafood restaurant... something cafe... can't remember the name. Anyway, it was great. We were super hungry because it was around 1:30 by this point. Here are pictures:

 Our crab dip appetizer. So good!

 My cowboy soup (basically chili with veggies).

Jason's chicken biscuit and potatoes.

Everything was so good! We ate and watched the family across from us play with their kid and new Polaroid camera. Haha... who knew those could be new! Pretty fun. Shortly before leaving, we noticed the sky darken. By the time we were walking to our car, it was a light rain. We hoped as we headed toward Tybee Island that the rain would cease. We planed to drive to Tybee in order to see the Lighthouse. I've always wanted to go to the top of a lighthouse; it's on my life to-do list.

As we drove to Tybee the rain worsened. At some points it appeared very hurricane-like. We also ran into a bit of traffic, as expected, since Tybee is very popular. Luckily, it became a light drizzle once at the lighthouse. We walked up to the ticket counter and immediately overheard that it was closed due to potential lightening. Apparently the entire lighthouse is a lightening rod. The ticket counter man (That's his exact title) was informing a couple in front of us that they have to wait 30 minutes after hearing thunder to reopen. They were unsure if it would reopen today. They left and Jason and I walked forward. We asked him to repeat the beginning of what he told the others, because we caught the tail end of the conversation. As luck would have it, a man emerge from the lighthouse and yelled "We're good!" The guy turns to us and says, "Okay, nevermind. Guess we're open." We laughed and paid for two tickets.

We ran toward the lighthouse for fear thunder would occur again. Only one couple was in front of us. We met a woman inside the lighthouse who handed us a guide which gave an overview of what could be seen once at the top of the lighthouse. She also said if we heard a horn or thunder to come straight down, as we could be struck by lightening. We climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. Numerous groups stopped at different levels, most in need of breath. One woman actually had cancer or at least appeared to be recovering from chemo; she stopped to regain some strength. The others were just out of shape.

Jason and I were very proud to have made it to the top without stopping or losing breath. We are in much better health than just a year ago. Once at the top, we checked our fitbit and discovered that the lighthouse is 12 stories high. Here are pictures:

 Jason at the top, after regaining balance. Got a little dizzy at the top from all the swirly steps.

 View from the top!

 That would be me... bit windy.

Jason at the top with a bit of wind on him. That stylish arm band was our ticket to the lighthouse. 

 Us at the top in front of the window. Bit windy and bright here... either that or Jason's about to sneeze.

Jason in front of the lighthouse door.

There was not much room at the top, despite what our pictures present. Numerous times we had to press ourselves to the side for others to pass. We noticed not many people stayed very long at the top. I assumed it was for fear of heights, but turns out a line was forming at the bottom for people to come up. Jason and I having been the first couple or two to enter were not aware a line even existed.. so we enjoyed the scenery.

Here are more pictures:

 Me at the very top.

 This is the very very top, where the light is. No one is allowed all the way up there sadly.

 The door to the top.

 The winding stairs.

 Again, me at the top

 The windows at each floor. I love the brick on this thing!

The outside of the lighthouse. Jason took these while I went to the creepiest restroom ever:

Lighthouse :^)

 Jason, the lighthouse captain :^)

 Me

Me with lighthouse.

Near the lighthouse was the old home of the lighthouse keeper. Here is the inside of the home:

 Old stove.

 Random tunnel to nowhere... still not sure what the hell this is.

 Old phone, just like the one my grandmother had.

 Old hutch.

Jason inside a fancy closet, which we deemed the "Deluxe Harry Potter Suite." Not quite sure why there is a window in the closet under the stairs, but there is.

 Old sewing machine.

 Creepy doll closet that was upstairs.

Pretty stairs.

After walking on every brick pathway near the lighthouse, we decided to head to Riverstreet for dinner. We found parking much easier this time, although much more expensive. We had an interesting encounter with a mad woman in the parking garage. We were in line waiting to obtain our ticket for parking, when we saw the second car in front of us struggle to pull up to the ticket window. She was young and trying to wedge the car between the wall and the large cement pillar.  Suddenly, a wild-eyed old woman appeared (we assume from the young girl's car). She began yelling at the girl. We assume she was trying to direct her toward the ticket window without hitting anything; however, her tone and violent hand gestures indicated the conversation was more about warfare than parking. The car directly behind them (the one in front of us) was patiently waiting for the issue to be resolved. Without warning, the crazy woman began yelling at the car in front of us, as though they were rudely eavesdropping on their conversation. She yelled for them to go to a different ticket counter. We promptly followed the car in front of us. She was precisely what you call a bitch. I believe that term is fairly warranted.

After clearing the war zone, we found parking and made our way to the Savannah streets once more. Although the clouds were still dreary and the streets slick with water, there was no rainfall. There was also a lack of people on this day. I guess the party people had their fill yesterday and did not wish to get out in the rain. It was actually very cool and windy at this point. Jason and I took a stroll down Riverstreet and enjoyed listening to the water. We also saw a cute and massive dog. Very pleasant evening.

After some time, we decided to go for dinner. Jason found a bar named Churchill's Pub. Upon entering we were asked if we preferred seating close to the bar or in a quieter setting. We opted for the quiet. We were seating in a lovely wooden booth in a small room. Jason and I met our waiter and ordered these lovely dishes, which we split:

 The Georgia Cheese board (filled with dried apricots and dates, grapes, an assortment of nuts, Savannah honeycomb, crackers, toast points, Tomme, Asher Blue, Green Hill, and Feta) How much cheese is too much cheese?!

 Behind the cheese board is a plate with baked Brie, Craisins, and french toast points with apple and pear slices.

 Me with a large quantity of cheese!

We devoured the cheese and fruit in no time. Jason also ordered a beer called Old Speckled Hen. Very good beer! After eating, Jason left for the restroom. It was during this time that the waiter came with the check. I opened it and had a slight heart attack. The check was for what a small country might pay, not two people. After closer inspection, it appeared the check was not ours. Thank God! Before I could inform the waiter of the mistake, Jason returned from the restroom. I made my usual "uh oh" face when he arrived. He said "What?" nervously. I handed him the check which he promptly opened. He, too, gave the appearance of having a small heart attack. I laughed and quickly told him it was not our check. He said I was mean. I thought it was funny.

The waiter soon walked by and I informed him of the mistake. He apologized and left. Upon his return he noticed that Jason and I were still laughing at the incident. He, too, began laughing and informed us that he had added another table to our check by mistake. We continued laughing for quite some time.

After dinner, Jason and I headed to Riverstreet Sweets for dessert. We ordered some pralines, two bear claws, and a caramel apple. I'm not sure why but every year around this time I begin craving caramel apples. Here is a picture of the apple:

We then went back to the hotel. Unfortunately, Jason and I were very full from all the cheese and were unable to eat this candy apple until the next day. All in all though, pretty wonderful day. Couldn't have had more fun with anyone other than Jason :^) End of day two.