Whew!

Well...

in the week since my last post, we've:

~Been to Asheville, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

~Put a deposit on the venue for our wedding...more to come on that later.

~Discovered another neat farmer's market, right under my nose (again, more later)

~Are heading to a festival this weekend about an hour away. Good thing I have Friday off to pack!

We took 2 days to drive from Upstate, NY to Asheville. Day 1 we drove to Alexandria, VA to spend time with Mike's sister. We ate at a restaurant called "Ted's," owned by Ted Turner, and featuring his free-range bison meat on the menu. Delicious! This chain is environmentally responsible, using recycled paper and biodegradable straws, among other things! It was great to catch up with Mike's sister, and I finally got to meet her BF also (3 years later!)

Day 2: Virginia. A lot of Virginia. 8 hours worth. Virginia's a nice state and all, but you don't feel like you're making much progress towards your highly anticipated goal when you don't cross a state line for that long. Also, we ended up in Tenessee (yes, we were supposed to) and entered Asheville from the west, heading east. Found our hotel, and I got to meet one of Mike's oldest friends. Met another of Mike's old friends, and after the rehearsal dinner, headed out to jam at a friend of a friend's:

The Smoky Mountains

Jammin' on the porch

Day 3: Breakfast at our villa, a quick dip in the pool, and a beautiful wedding!

The happy couple

Smokin' bluegrass band at the reception!

Day 4: Said goodbye to our NC and headed east. Waffle House for breakfast (ya just can't get good grits up north!) and we were on our way. Made it to Mike's other sister's house outside DC just in time for dinner and playing with the niece and nephew. So adorable! Caught up with his sister and brother in law (soon to be mine too!).

Day 5: Head for home. Realize we printed directions home from sister #1's house, not sister #2's house where we were. No map. No GPS (broken, or something). Rats. Follow instinct, end up headed for home. YAY! Meander through Pennsylvania, stop at a mall for lunch and to purchase pants for Mike (he needed new ones, we were "out," etc...) Got home, Mom brought dinner and took laundry...YAY MOM!

Such is the adventure of our vacation. 5 days together nearly nonstop. And we're still talking and on good terms! Only got lost once (finding our hotel) and had some great food along the way.


*Phew!*

More on our own wedding plans tomorrow...or maybe Friday...