cabin camping in the mountains

last weekend we went camping.  it wasn't actually camping - we rented a cabin, but I kept calling it camping, because really, for me, it's the same thing.  We got a place near blowing rock, north carolina.  Jonathan & I joined the team late on Friday due to an exciting party (more on that later). 

Saturday we spent most of the day hiking the Julian Price Memorial Trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

We managed to get some decent photos of the group in front of Casey's VW bus, which is actually challenging with 6 people & 3 dogs

 

and then we set out on a lovely hike

with lots of mini waterfalls

on the way back to the cabin we hit up the Blowing Rock Brewing Company

They (along with a handful of B&Bs) cater to a weekender/resorty crowd in downtown Blowing Rock. The beer was fine -- not the best and not the worst, but certainly refreshing after an afternoon of hiking. (btw - we could sit outside with the dogs)

We basically did nothing except for lounge and eat for the rest of the day.  On Sunday on our way out of town we stopped at two more breweries: Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton and Olde Hickory Brewery in, you guessed it, Hickory. Olde Hickory was good with lots of choices including some fancy ones like the 11% Bourbon Honey Stout Jonathan had. The atmosphere was less enticing as it's also a pretty large restaurant. 

Fonta Flora, however, was special.  

It's housed in a charming corner building with lots of open space but plenty of seating. It has a solid local crowd that filled the place pretty well for a Sunday afternoon in the South. The beer was delicious with a decent variety for a small setup. 

It's dog and people friendly -- they were all very lovely and friendly.  A friend of the brew team stopped by to hand out cupcakes and candied bacon because she was testing out some new recipes! I mean really people, a brewery with bacon?! What more do I need? (Nothing is the answer.) 

They are also trying cool things with beer and local ingredients to make things like a beet saison! I had their irish stout on nitro and it was awesome. Hopefully, we will be going back to this one sooner rather than later.  

I (obviously) highly recommend Fonta Flora if you are ever in the area.

xoxo

passing

(Sweet notes from ashley)

So yes, most of the reason for my absence on the blog (and in life) was my dissertation proposal and gearing up for its defense. After I passed (holla!) much celebration was had.  

Immediately after, we went out to Kipos for lunch and drinks.  

Then the next day, Jonathan planned a little surprise for me, gathering our friends at my favorite brewery, Big Boss! 

I then had a few days to relax and prep for Christmas before heading to Cali to celebrate with my friends and family!

xoxo

nc craft beer tour: what we are doing & stop one

Jonathan and I have decided to do something a little crazy: visit all of the craft breweries in NC.

Whoa indeed people.  I don't know when we decided this was a good idea, or how we would get it all done, but we did. And so now, a new journey has begun.

Step one was deciding what was a craft brewery.  There are varying reports, definitions, and lists.  After some serious research and review we settled on a list of 97 establishments in the state.

That's right 97 craft breweries in 31 counties. 

Curious who made the cut? Explore our list here. 

We have previously visited nine of these places before we started this little project, but we decided that we would revisit those guys along the way. 

So our first stop was in Asheville, on the way to Arkansas in June. 

We went to the Asheville Brewing Company, which was one of the places we had gone to previously, so it seemed like a good place to start. 

It was delicious, again and a nice way to begin the tour. 

More updates to come.

xoxo

to new adventures: tour de fat

So the biggest thing that happened this summer was Tour de Fat. 

If you are unfamiliar, Tour de Fat is an epic event hosted by New Belgium in a few cities across America every summer. It's like a carnival with beer and games and lots of bike love.

The focus of the event is presenting the city with their bike trader.  A bike trader is a badass individual who gives up their car (donated to charity) in exchange for a new bike with the commitment to live car-free for a year.

Sound familiar now? Ashley was the Durham trader last year and has been chronicling her adventures here. 

And this year, Jonathan took the leap and said goodbye to the echo and hello to a jamis.  His blog (yes he's blogging!) is here. 

So in June, New Belgium came to Durham and we celebrated the bike! 

Even Chloe made the trip:

The day's events: 

The crowd:

The stage:

Jonathan being presented:

Jonathan post presentation: 

A jumbo game of connect-four:

And just general hanging out:

 

A couple of days after the event Jonathan went and picked out his mate -- a brand new jamis from the great team at oak city cycling:

(this was his test ride - he of course, always wears a helmet!) 

Thanks New Belgium for this incredible adventure! 

xoxo

a trip to the beach, before the rain

We actually had the loveliest weather for most of April.  It was warm and sunny, but sometimes chilly.  It's now May and the weather has been less than wonderful - cold and rainy or just some good old hot southern thunderstorms.  Lame.

But before this nasty weather turned, we had a lovely weekend escape to the NC beaches.  A couple of our friends were running the half marathon (!) so we met up to get them pumped up and celebrate post their awesome finish.

One of the things I like about North Carolina is that we can live in the South and drive three hours to be at the beach.  A good combination of the things I love.

So we went to Kitty Hawk and saw the sights, soaked up the sun, and ate our way through town (shocker, I know).  My favorites:

The Wright Memorial, beautiful 

Duck Donuts, where they hand dip your donuts when you order them (absolutely frigging delicious)

The beach house and deck facing the ocean

Seafood delight from the market

The beach, a little chilly in the water but perfect on the sand

Aww...

On the drive back we stopped at Weeping Radish Brewery, the oldest microbrewery in NC!

We also saw this sign for a town called Momeyer, who knew Lorraine had her own town?!

Finally, we had Chinese for dinner at Red Lotus back in town (which is always great) and Jonathan got this ridiculous fortune. Seriously, he doesn't need this kind of encouragement.

I hope you make it to the beach soon! 

xoxo

spring sprung

Spring made an appearance for a good chunk of march and april and we took full advantage soaking up the sun after the chills of winter:

Ashley had me over for cocktail hour, but really the point was to use the awesome texas cutting board

we hit up big boss for their monthly tour and the grilled cheese food truck

There was some gouge wrestling of course

Ashley made us ice cream sandwiches (with homemade ice cream!)

Casey came into town and we went bowling, because we love a double date

This adorable mural popped up

Cookout fancy shakes were had -- Jonathan tried to tell me you couldn't mix flavors, but no no, I asked the nice man at the window who told me I could mix as many things as I wanted! Ashley heard they'll put whatever you bring them in a milkshake for you...

Picnics in the park

  

Mini golf - my fav! 

And of course: the sonic

I hope you've gotten to enjoy some lovely spring weather!

xoxo

trophy time

Trophy Brewing Co. just opened up in Raleigh and so of course we went to check it out.

And it's a winner.  

The bar is intimate and filled with trophies, of course.  

They are working on the restaurant section, which will expand the size.  

We started with a flight:

and then had the porter:

And it was all delicious.

We were actually really impressed with the beer, given they are so new.  We were afraid they would still be working out the kinks, but we really liked everything we had. 

Also, hands down, the best thing about this place: 

There is one TV in the bar, and what was it showing? 

No sports.

Nope.

Animal planet.  

Specifically, the show Too Cute!

Yes, the show that follows around puppies and kittens. 

Now this is my kind of audience.

Check plus Raleigh. 

xoxo

big boss: raleigh's best

In my opinion, the Big Boss Taproom is one of the best things happening in Raleigh.

It is the bar attached to the Big Boss brewery, which makes some delicious beer.  The taproom offers Big Boss brews for a few bucks and many (free) games like darts, pool, and shuffleboard.



There are usually some food trucks hanging around too.  And once a month they do tours of the brewery with even cheaper prices on a few of their beers. An amazing deal people! 

It's a real gem in the triangle. I highly recommend it.

So drink up!

xoxo 

wrapping up october

October was pretty packed with fun fall times.  

And it wrapped up in full fall fashion with a visit from Casey.  

We drank some beer.

Well, they drank a lot of beer,

And I drank a little:

aaand, Jonathan and I carved our pumpkin patch pumpkins

he did a pumpkin, in a pumpkin, in a pumpkin,

and i did a cat face saying boo! 

and now we are well into my birthday month! crazy times.

xoxo