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Dear Aunty Gena,
I have just realised that throughout our whole trip Kerry did not slip, trip or fall, but the opportunity to do so in
4 states was enormous*. The last time we went on vacation he fell before we even left, putting the garbage in the dustbins.
This trip was unusual for me in that I did not finish my book, I did not keep a diary, I did not send many postcards nor
I did not take many photographs (although Kerry did). Usually I keep a trip diary and write, from that, my emails about the
trip to friends and family. This year I'm 'winging it' on memory.... Here goes.
We arrived in Atlanta in the wee hours of Saturday morning to be met by Aunt Karen and Rosy. I did not realize how far
Dahlonega is from Atlanta but it felt like we were driving forever... Aunt Karen clipped along at quite a pace, so much so,
I think I told you when we got there, that we were stopped by a cop for speeding. Aunt Karen works for the district attorney
in the child services division, so she knew said cop and got off. She is quite a lady, one of the goals in my life is to have
you and she in a room together.
We arrived at Kerry's Grandmother's (Mamma) at about 2am while she and Jimmy were still sleeping, despite wanting a bath
very badly we went straight to bed. We were up reasonably early at 8:30 to take in the view from the guest bedroom on the
Blue Ridge Mountains and Jimmy chipping golf balls in the expanse of garden. Kerry, hungry from travelling and no real lunch
or supper to speak of, was ready for a cooked breakfast but there was only tea and toast available (funny story coming up).
He waited however as we were due at Aunt Karen's for a buffet lunch at noon, so the five of us went into the town (they aren't
called villages in the US, but it was more like a village than a town) of Dahlonega. The history is that the town is the site
of the very first gold rush, the Indian word Dahlonega means, precious yellow metal. There is a beautiful old library and
a gold museum, which we will have to visit next time and one can go panning for gold. We visited the stores, in particular
the Dahlonega General Store which is in an old fashioned style. They have lots of Georgia Peach jam, pickles, BBQ sauce etc
and when we found they shipped we had all the heavy bottles and jars sent home, mostly for gifts, although we are keeping
the huge jar of "Southern Secret" meat-basting sauce. We pottered around the town until 11:50 and then took off
for Aunt Karen's.
Aunt Karen and Uncle David Thatcher live in a house in the woods. They have 6 kids all around our age, Stephanie, Jennifer,
David Jr, Travis, Ashley and Amanda. The three eldest: Stephanie, Jennifer and David Jr. are married; Stephanie, Jennifer
and Ashley have babies, all girls!!! Every one of the cousins is a joy to meet, and all the girls, including David Jr's wife,
Tina, are all beautiful and all blonde, like Aunt Karen. I had met Ashley and Amanda when they came to visit, but I had met
none of the others; Kerry hadn't seen Stephanie or Jennifer for about 25 years!
It was a chaotic lunch but absolutely wonderful. Uncle David and Travis met us in camo outfits having just returned from
turkey hunting! The BBQ was fabulous, the company even better. We left (I'm not sure why) just as the BBQ-ed trout arrived
on the table.
The following morning we left Mamma's house to visit The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Benji, the toe-biting
Shih-Tzu, stayed at home (at the vet's, boarding). We met Aunt Karen for breakfast at an interesting cafe called The Huddle
House, full of smokers and comparable to any of England's finest transport cafes, or "Greasy Spoons", although complete
with Georgia hillbillies at the next table, and everything cooked in margarine!
The weather was freezing in Georgia, they were having an unseasonable cold-snap, and as we drove north to Asheville, North
Carolina was none too warm either....The Inn at The Biltmore was superb, very classy and wonderful service. After stowing
the luggage, Jimmy took off for a tee-time while, Rosy, Mamma, Kerry and self took the shuttle to the House, where we spent
the rest of the day. The house was built in 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt, the youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt,
the shipping magnate's son and railway tycoon. The house was built on 290,000 acres and there is no record of how much the
house cost to build and furnish, but George was a collector of art and books, the library is amazing and Durer's, Renoir's
and Sergeant's hang on the walls...Not bad for an American pad. I tried joking by saying it was now Property of Britain as
George's only child, Cornelia, married John Cecil, whose ancestor was William Cecil, Lord Burghly, Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth
I. The Cecil's still own the property consisting of 250 rooms. The servants' quarters was positively palatial compared to
the standards of the day, all heated and lit with electricity. I wonder what nanny would have said about them. At 3pm the
four of us took the shuttle back to the Inn through acres of grounds (now less than 290,000, as most was sold to the US Government
after George died) to have afternoon tea. A lovely setting, a lovely tea. Kerry and I did think that it would have been made
better if both our aunts were there with us. Aunt Karen would have come if she did not have to work that week. We chilled
out in the Inn's lounge until the teapot was cold. The view was spectacular. Later that evening, when Jimmy was back from
golf, we took off for the Texas Roadhouse for supper.
As the price of our stay included two days visit to the House, we all checked out and went back to the House the second
day and also did some major shopping in the gift shops.
We drove back to Georgia, through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway which was fabulous and we stopped to take pictures of
Cold Mountain, location for the book, but not the movie, which was shot in Romania. We got back to Dahlonega in time to repack
for Florida..
The drive to Florida which should have taken 5 hours, took us about 8 hours with stopping in Eufala, Alabama at Phil's
BBQ and a gallon of sweet(iced) tea for lunch (we would have bought cousin Phil a t-shirt had there been any) and again stopping
in Dothan to visit an antiques mall.
We arrived in Florida with me driving the last leg and checked in to the double-gated community of Sand Destin to meet
Uncle Mike at the condo, which was wonderful. Kerry and I were given the "honeymoon suite" which was the master
bedroom, huge closet and Jacuzzi bathtub. There is a verandah which spanned the whole beach front side of the condo, the living
room, our bedroom, and the other double bedroom let out onto it. Uncle Mike and Aunt Valerie lived here before they built
their new house.
We spent the first evening there, exploring, buying groceries and checking out the beach in the dark. The next morning
was amazing from the bed we could see the ocean. We had coffee on the verandah and despite the fact that the temperature had
increased since we hit Alabama, it was breezy being covered, that we sat in jammies and sweaters every morning we were there.
Kerry cooked an amazing buffet-style breakfast that first morning, hindered by his grandmother pottering around the kitchen
getting her toast and getting in his way and complaining about fatty breakfasts cooked in butter. Her comments cut him to
the quick and he was most indignant that we did not eat all the scrambled eggs he made, this lead to the joke of the week
after he commented that for the next few days he would not cook breakfast again and that "the tea and toast set"
would be able to use the kitchen unencumbered in the mornings. So we all had "tea (or coffee) and toast" for the
duration of the vacation, except on the last morning with my (I thought at the time), rather creative breakfast buffet of
key-lime pie, cheese grits and toast, with Southern Pecan flavoured coffee.... I think I was secretly ridiculed for my unusual
combination - but it worked for me!
The first day we were there, Jimmy went golfing, Rosy stayed with Mamma and Kerry and I walked to the outlet mall about
2 miles down the road for a morning of shopping. We bought so much stuff we also bought a suitcase on wheels which we wheeled
2 miles home - we were exhausted. We had dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf, where I had blackened Amberjack fish, I still have
no idea what it is....
The following day Kerry and I went to the town called Seaside which is a very interesting and beautiful place. There are
many great very new beach homes and quite a few books and websites are devoted to its architectural style. Kerry and I fell
in love with the smallest house there, called "Dreamboat", we stayed for ice cream and cappuccino before driving
up the coast to Rosemary Beach to look for a t-shirt or mug with the town's name on it for Rosy. We found a sweatshirt ...
and a beautiful new post office and town hall in a Cape Dutch style.
We had been told to visit Eden State Park which was, as the name suggests, absolute paradise! Typically old antebellum
southern style, the gardens and bayou bay were breathtaking. A wedding was being set up and we thought Heather or Lauren's
wedding (when / if they choose to marry) would be perfect there. Uncle Mike and Aunt Valerie feel the same, so we can't wait
to go back for it! We stopped at the seafood market on the way home and bought local produce and a homemade key lime pie (the
one featured in my breakfast buffet). That night we had dinner at Uncle Mike's, shrimp on the BBQ and the best olives, in
addition to other "wittles". We had a tour of the house and the wine room as well as the garden and pool area. Uncle
Mike is a sweetie and I met Aunt Valerie for the first time, who is wonderful. Cousins Heather (who I have met when she visited
us) and Lauren who I do not know, were not there this time.
Our last day we all spent on the beach (except Mamma who was staying with Mike), I, in my turtleneck sweater, as it was
windy. We called down to the concierge to have him put out our reserved umbrella and loungers!!!!!! It's a private beach in
front of the condo, no riff-raff allowed - except us! *Kerry flew he kite and I am told slipped and fell in the sea, but no
one noticed....We had a picnic, paddled, read, walked on the beach, drank cold Corona's and lime and then pottered back to
the condo to pack. Rosy, Jimmy and Kerry all went back to the outlet but split up, I stayed home and read my book and wrote
a few postcards. I then met Rosemary at the Sand Destin resort shops for a coffee and we pottered home...
That day, Kerry and I managed despite our efforts to burn our shins, Kerry's still very burnt. We had a very unusual supper
in a weird restaurant which wasn't very good, which concluded out vacation...
More from our next trip,
Love Boots
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