Seven City Tour: Florence

Stop 6: Florence. The Granthams.

Since Sally couldn't make it to Greenville for a full roomie reunion, we made a one night stop in Florence to visit with her and Wayne and William. When we got there, William immediately gave me a tour of his new outdoor playhouse, and Zach went bezerk playing with Barley, the resident golden retriever. The five of us went out for dinner, and William was a real trooper sitting in his chair while the grown-ups ate their too-long-for-a-toddler meal. It helped that his mamma got him a cookie!

Wayne and Zach took William home for a bath and bed, which gave Sally and me some time to catch up. When we got back to the house, Zach and Wayne were engrossed in a video game, and Sal and I looked through her extensive foreign study scrapbooks and had some good laughs. We stayed up into the wee hours "giggling, talking, and telling stories," as we are wont to do. The morning brought more video games for the boys, and lots of good playtime with William for me. He is ticklish, so I would tickle his foot and he would laugh hysterically and squirm away. Then he would inch back over so I would do it again. Then he went after my feet, and I would laugh and carry on. We had a good time. He also conquered Uncle Zach's suitcase. 

It was a short visit, but a good one. Zach had a great time hanging out with Wayne, and of course I love any chance to see the roomies and the nephews. 

Seven City Tour: Greenville

Stop Five: Greenville. The Richards and Beckers.  

It was a rainy, foggy day, and we relied on a Toblerone bar and David Sedaris audio book to get us through the drive to Greenville. We did pass through some gorgeous country, and drove through some small towns that I had been past, but never through. I love these pictures from a stop we made. You can just see the moisture in the air. 

Greenville is home to my alma mater, Furman University, and to another college roommate, Vonda. And to her charming husband Jason, and son Max. We met Max last year at New Years when he was less then two months old. Now he is walking and doing all sorts of big kid stuff. It was so fun to play with him and to get to see Vonda the Mom in action. 

Rebecca joined us in Greenville so we could all have some roomie time, and we got to have a quick visit with Vonda's mom, Mama Spalding, as well. After Max went to bed, the roomies went out for dinner and a drink!

We are content to sit around in our jammies just talk, which we did plenty of, but we also managed a visit to Furman to see some of the renovations and new buildings. Ah, Furman. 

Our second night there, the Richards took us out for a fun dinner at a place downtown for tapas and drinks. I had been feeling like I was subsisting on mostly cheese for the past few days and had vowed to eat a salad for dinner, but when the fried goat cheese and gourmet mac and cheese arrived at the table, au revoir salad! If that wasn't enough decadence, we shared a bottle of wine and then had ice cream at a cafe across the street. Delicioso!

Full and happy

Seven City Tour: Pigeon Forge

Stop Four: Pigeon Forge. More of the Simms. 

Zach is terribly allergic to cats. My parents have two adorable indoor kitties whose dander and fur is Zach poison, so when in Knoxville we can't stay at their house. This year we decided to do something a little different so we could all spend time together. Mom rented a three bedroom cabin in the mountains of Pigeon Forge, and it made for the best retreat. We were able to be together to cook meals, read by the fire, play games, take walks, and the gals got to do a little outlet shopping to boot. We had a breathtaking view of Mount Le Conte, and it was mesmerizing to watch the fog sweep in and out of the valleys. 

Dad was out reading on the porch when a squirrel scrabbled down a tree and across the rail to take a sniff of his drink. Not impressed, she turned and went back up the tree.

We were sad to leave, but we had a few more stops to make. 

Seven City Tour: Knoxville

Stop Three: Knoxville. The Simms Family.

The Dad Transportation Service got us from Chattanooga to Knoxville on Christmas Eve. Everyone had a few last minute Christmas errands to take care of, and then we had dinner with Gran before heading out to a Christmas Eve drop-in hosted by some family friends. 

Gran was able to spend all day at the house on Christmas day, and she seemed to really like being out and about. Zach and I gave her a furry pink pillow, and when she touched it she exclaimed that it "felt like a million dollars." Mom reported that Gran took a nap with the pillow in the afternoon and the she rubbed it on her face when she woke up. 

We spent the day around the house and took a walk in the neighborhood. We read from new books we got for Christmas. Christina and I had fun with the camera. And we got ready for the adventures of the next day. 

Seven City Tour: Chattanooga

Stop Two: Chattanooga. The Brinkleys. 

Upon being disgusted by car rental rates, we decided to brave the bus and took a Greyhound from Atlanta to Chattanooga. The bus itself wasn't so bad, but the waiting in the bus station was...an experience. Lots of local color. We did enjoy the little kids sitting behind us on this bus who sang, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

In Chattanooga we were greeted by my college roommate, Rebecca. We headed over to her apartment long enough to indulge in a little ice cream before dinner. Here Zach and Beckers discover that coffee flavored ice cream tastes better if you sniff ground coffee beans while you eat it:

Rebecca's parents, fondly referred to as Mama Nell and Daddy Brinkley, have been like family since our Furman days, so it was a special treat to have dinner at their house. Delicious as always! Mama Nell even made my favorite salad. 

Rebecca tells a story involving birds

Zach shows Mama Nell the wonders of the iPhone

We wrapped up the evening with a Harry Potter movie and catching up. In the morning, Beckers made us the most wonderful french toast casserole. And then we were off. But we would soon see Beckers again...

Seven City Tour: Atlanta

We made it a marathon trip this holiday season with stops to visit friends and family in seven cities across three states. It was a wonderful two weeks, and the travel was not nearly as stressful as we had feared, thanks to our many thoughtful hosts. 

First stop: Atlanta. The Hanks Family. 

I will tell you this: the Hanks know how to do a holiday. As to be expected, were treated to Linda's amazing culinary skills in the form of soup, trifle, an assortment of cookies, homemade salad dressings, and lick-your-plate lasagna. And let us not forget Tom's hollandaise sauce, made extra special this year by the absence of the lid when the blender was turned on. 

Our first day in town, the Hanks ladies went for our annual lunch and pedicure. After leisurely enjoying some fried green tomato sandwiches, we headed over to the spa, where Luba (friendly Russian grandma pedicurist) looked at my feet with disdain. She is always disappointed in my feet. You can see it in her eyes. But I was proud to show her that I had fingernails this year, and she said, "Next year, we do your fingers, too." This is a glowing review compared to a firm, "You must do better" from previous years. As the ladies were out, so were the men for some burgers and man time. 

The trip also included gingerbread decorating by the whole family. 

  Getting ready

Tom gets into it

Zach turns a Christmas tree upside down to make a Christmas ghost

A Christmas fish. Why not?

Zach was able to attend a reunion with people from his elementary school, and hang out with his buddies from high school.  There was lots of snacking, Christmas music, and lounging by the fireplace. Huzzah!

Back Track

What? NO December posts?!? Que horible! Yes, yes. I was too busy doing in December to bother with posting. But never fear! Many a photo have been taken and memories made, so I will get all caught up here. 

Backing up to the first week of December....

Dad came to visit. This was his first trip out here since I moved to Southern California in 2004, so I was quite excited for him to see Crazy California, Land of Fruit and Nuts, as some like to call it. He had to take some depositions while he was here, but when he wasn't working we packed in a lot of Los Angeles. His first two nights he stayed at a B&B about two miles away from us in West Holllywood. This place is a great find, and we're hoping that future visitors will enjoy it as well. 

The next two nights Dad was a good sport and slept on our couch. Also an option for future visitors, but not as grand. 

Zach had jury duty for the first two days of Dad's visit, and both nights they discussed the ends and outs of jury selection. They both had some great stories about jurors, and we enjoyed hearing a lawyers take on the jury selection process. There is a lot of strategy involved!

Dad was very interested in driving around and seeing LA.  I always enjoy hearing what first timers to LA notice about the city; it's nice to have a fresh pair of eyes on the place. Dad was quite taken with the architecture and the plant life. The buildings were much older than he expected, and he thought the stucco houses (though he was not impressed with some of the pink and peach paint hues) gave the city a charm not unlike Charleston and Savannah. He was also really into checking out the plants. He was quite enamored with one kind of tree that has spikes on its bark, and it is now affectionately referred to as "The T-Rex Tree."

We drove to Santa Monica to see the ocean, and on up into Malibu for some better views. We hit Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and downtown. We made a fascinating trip to the La Brea Tar Pits, which are in walking distance of our apartment. I've been there many times, but had never gone into the museum. We learned all about saber tooth cats, dire wolves, and the thousands of other creatures whose skeletons have been removed from the tar pits. It's really neat to think of all those animals lurking around for thousands of years right where we live. 

Another sight we hit was The Getty Museum. I had been here before as well, but had never taken a tour. We took the garden tour, and learned all about "the genius of Mr. Meier," the architect of the museum. We learned that the garden below, done by a different artist, is not really a garden, but a sculpture. Whatever it is, it has a nice view. 

When not sight seeing, we ate ice cream, watched Planet Earth dvds and walked in the neighborhood. It was nice to spend time with Dad out here. Now we just need to get Mom and the Hanks out for a visit.