Beers and Brauts in Helen GA.

This weekend, Boo and I ventured down to Helen GA for some Oktoberfest fun! We had rented one of Kellye's cabins (the True Love to be exact) and were zooming down I-85 after work on Friday. Boo has never been to this little German Alpine Mountain village like town, so I thought he would enjoy the ride thru town before getting up to the cabin. I've been a couple of times, in fact, when I finished my last stretch of the GA Appalachian Trail, we has my congratulatory lunch here. It's the cutest little town. If you ever get a chance to visit, it's worth the trip, just to suspend your imagination and really get in to the spirit of the little "Heidi" German town.

As I drive thru Helen, we see lots of people still out and about enjoying some steins of beer, even boots of beers, and walking from tavern to bar. Boo and I decide to check into the cabin, then come back down for some night time fun. So we roll up the mountain and I start to remember where we were, I had been to Kellye's cabins before, but couldn't tell you have to get there. We pull into the check in area, grab our keys, and follow the winding gravel road up into the heavily wooded mountain. Boo liked how secluded it felt being deep into the woods. I was dark when we pulled down the long driveway. We fumbled with the door and finally spilled into the cabin and flipped on the lights. It was a cute, cozy, comfy living room with a fireplace, to the left was an orderly kitchen with a table. I put our water and sodas inside the fridge while Boo lugged our luggage up the stairs to the bedroom loft area. He was surprised and looking forward, to hopping into the big pink heart shaped hot tub that was next to the comfy bed. After we unpacked and put on some warm clothes, (it was chilly up in the mountains!), we headed back down to the little town of Helen to join in the festivities.

Boo walked around with eyes wide open, taking it all in. We walked up and down the entire little town on both sides, just so Boo could get a good feel of the town. Finally we check out Viele Margaritas (yes, a Mexican bar in this little German town), it was hopping! Lots of people enjoying some beer. We decide it's not our scene (frat guy scene or as Boo calls it, "a sausage fest") and move up towards the village area. We pass by the chocolate shop and you KNOW I had sto stop in. Boo and I drool at all the yummy confections and I decide on 2 chocolate covered cherries. The counter lady, tells me to come back tomorrow, where they will actually be making treats in the window front, so we agree we will! We walk along and cross the street over to the Old Heidelberg Tavern. There's some fun stuff happening in that little court yard, so we people watch for a bit and decide to call it a night. It's around 11pm and we've been up since 5am that morning, so we head back up the mountain to our little retreat in the woods.

After a SUPER night's sleep,(we slept til 10am!)we finally rouse up, shower, and get ready to enjoy the days festivities! We pull out around 11:30am ready for some lunch. Boo drives up to the rental office and I check us in (since we got in late last night) and like she is reading my mind, the office clerk asks me if I need any recommendations for lunch! haha! I say yes, actually I do, and she whips out a map of the town, and tell us to go to The Old Bavarian Inn,it's supposed to have the most authentic German food. So with map in hand, I climb back into the car, share my new found info with Boo and whirl down the mountain for some Oktoberfest! We park in the same $5 lot as we did last night and float into the swarm of people that are out and about, already enjoying the day. We walk along the Chattahoochee river and right by the Troll Tavern, a cute restaurant/bar that's located just under the bridge. What a perfect name for a bar under a bridge! haha! Climbing the stairs, we walk across the bridge and see The Cafe International, that's along the river is happening! I mean, it has a DJ playing music (country music) and it's packed with people downing beers the size of Texas. We decide to cross the street right in front of Paul's Steak house, (last night, this place was busy with lots of couples slow dancing.)and continue on looking for our lunch spot. We find the little shoe shop, and see this adorable alley way and finally find The Old Bavarian Inn! It's tucked away in the middle of the alley. We put in our names and are told we have a 20 minute wait. So we continue walking along the alley way looking into little shops until our number is called.

I wanted to sit downstairs to watch and hear the silly lederhosen wearing accordion player, but our table was upstairs. Our waiter suggests a beer called Spaten,imported from Munich. Boo really liked it, I thought it was OK. For the next round, Boo got another Spaten and I got an AugustinerBrau. I think I just liked saying it haha! In my very best German accent, August-stiner-BRA! haha! I must of been feeling the Spaten b/c when the Augustinerbrau came out I SWEAR the label looked like it had the current POPE on it! NO JOKE. I asked the waiter and waitress who was dressed up like a St. Pauly's girl, if the guy on my beer bottle looked like the Pope, the dude had no clue who he was, and the waitress said that the current Pope is actually from Germany, so it could be possible. Boo was mortified, he just shook his head told me that there was no way the leader of the Catholic church would pose on a beer bottle and laughed at me. Oops... haha! I called it Pope beer the rest of the day :) It went down pretty good too. So the food comes, I had ordered Knockwurst with German potato salad and red cabbage. Boo had something similar. I have to say.... The Germans are certainly not known for their food. So carby! I felt like I was eating a Nathans hot dog. I couldn't stomach the pickled red cabbage, but I did like the vinegary potato salad.

As we tumble out of the Old Bavarian Inn, I notice a sign that tells us to come back for happy hour, where there will be free appetizers and 1/2 price beer, so I make a mental note to come back to check it out. We wander around the town a bit more and find the candy store again. It took a while to pull Boo away from the candy store window, he liked watching the candy apples and carmel being made. I got a cute picture of him pressed up against the shop glass. We walked down to Hofer's Bakery, it's supposed to be an authentic German bakery,(let's hope their pastries are better than their food!) There's a live musician playing and a looooong line for the restaurant part of the bakery. Boo and I bypass the sausage case, and peer into the glass cases full of yummy looking treats. I told Boo, before we go home, we have to stop by Hofer's for some pretzels, strudel, Bavarian cream filled eclairs, and an apple fritter! YUM! The pastries ARE better than the foods! haha! We knew we had some serious beer to drink, so we walked out with nothing, but yummy anticipation of what's to come later on tonight :) We walk back down thru the town, duck in and out of shops and finally make it to the Festhalle, where they are having live music, 2 liter Steins of beer, dancing, food, and fun. So we pay our entrance fee (which was too much!) and get in line for the beer. Boo gets a commemorative 2010 Oktoberfest Beer Mug and I just get a beer :) We sit down along one of the long cafeteria tables and drink away the afternoon as we listen to some live bands. There are lots of people in lederhosen (which look so goofy to me. haha!) and ladies dressed like St. Pauly girls with boobs hanging out and all, and they all seem to be the only ones dancing. After a couple of hours and 3 beers later, a couple of photo ops with a giant beer mug and little gingerbread house cut out, Boo and I decide to stumble out of the Festhalle can head up to the happy hour back at Old Bavarian.

The next thing I remember, we were in a smoke filled, upstairs tiny little rustic bar that was packed like sardines! Boo and I stand with our beer and as soon as we see a couple leave, we grab their table and proceed to people watch. Our waitress is in authentic St. Pauly gear so I ask to take a picture of her, and she obliges, we meet an older guy with a military retired hat on that asks us if we see what he sees and have we met them yet. He then tilts his head over to two guys who looked like either Hispanic or of middle eastern descent. I tell him know, we haven't met them. He says, "well I'm going to take care of it." I look over at Boo and say, "did that really just happen?" OMG, seriously, yeah I saw the guys while I surveyed the room during my people watching. It never registered that they could be terrorist. To be honest, the only thing I thought about, was I bet these are a bunch of Atlanta people that came up to enjoy Oktoberfest. So it took me a bit back that this old geezer was still in Nam-mode and profiling at a happy hour. WOW... people are always surprising me. Oh, and the poor guys he went to take care of, left a few minutes later. We found out they were actually from Brazil. So sad, I forget I live in the South sometimes.... Anyways, we meet another couple of younger veterans (lots of vets at this bar) and I notice them cause they have this huge glass boot filled with beer! I snap pictures and we talk a bit. Boo notices this table full of older, (probably vets too) guys with tons of beer bottles on the table. I have to see it for myself, so I get up, a bit light headed from all the beer, and wander over. OMG that's alot of beer bottles! So I snap a picture of it.

After our beer at the happy hour, we decide to wander around a bit, sober up, grab dinner, and head back to the cabin for a nice relaxing evening in the hot tub. We walk around town and decide to head back to Hofer's. Before we get there, we enter a few other stores we didn't get a chance to duck into. Like a nice jewelry store where Boo buys me a ring :) the Christmas shop that has a giant Santa outside where I have to get my picture taken, oh! and a cut out of a boy and girl dressed in traditional German clothes where Boo and I mug for a picture. We finally make it down to Hofer's bakery and raid the pastry counter. haha! I load up on pretzels, and an apple fritter. Boo gets some Bavarian cream filled eclair a couple of other yummy treats. We both decide that we are done with German food for the rest of the year and opt for a delicious Italian panini and meatball sub from Blimpies. (We are easy, haha!) So a couple of hours later, we take our loot and head up to the cabin to call it a night. When we get there, Boo turns up the fireplace and we have dinner and dessert by fireside :) We relax a bit then head up to the hot tub to soak away the days dirt and grime.

The next morning, we wake up around 9am and pack up to head home. For breakfast we east the last of my panini and rest of the pastries. On the way out of Helen, we stop by Hofer's one last time so I can get my soft pretzel fix. I also buy some strudel and a Bavarian muffin for the ride home:) The ride was nice and easy going. I'm glad we were able to take a trip up to Helen, GA for some Oktoberfest fun. The stay at the cabin was perfect and we had alot of fun swilling beer, people watching, shop hopping, and hot tubing :) Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Flamenco and desserts!

For my birthday Boo had made reservations for one of the nicest Italian restaurants in our town. Well guess what? I flipped the script on him and told him I wasn't in the mood to dress up and remember what fork to eat with. So..... I suggested having some wine, then going to a trendy french bakery where they have poetry reading nights and art discussions.

Tonight they were having Flamenco music and dancing! So... after dressing down (instead of up) we had some good wine and headed over to Amelia's. It's decked out all in Parisian themed and very "arty". We grabbed a table right in front of the dance floor, and Boo went off to get us some hot chocolate and desserts. I told him to surprise me, so I had no clue what was coming my way. As I sat their holding on to Boo's seat, (the place started to fill up quick!), I started to bounce my head to the guitar heavy, beautiful flamenco music and chit chat with my neighbors. I don't know what it is about Flamenco music, but it just gets under my skin and makes me want to dance! (It could possibly be the wine going to my head as well haha!) I see some of the other patrons had let the music get to them too and they are actually dancing on the floor. Some of them are amazing Flamenco dancers and I was mesmerized by the fluid swirls, sharp turns, and graceful moves.

Boo finally arrives with a decadent piece of chocolate on chocolate ganache cake with a nice heaping hot chocolate for me and an eclair for him. I slowly seep into a chocolate coma while I let my eyes feast on the sexy dance known as Flamenco. For those of you that don't know, "Flamenco is a style of music and dance which is native to many regions of Spain" (wikipedia)

Finally the show begins. We watch several couples perform, a group of women perform, and were finally graced with the presence of a renowned Flamenco dancer by the name of Carmela Greco. She was great, just the emotion in her face and body as she danced and stamped her feet was amazing. She really got you into the dance. Not to mention, the music was awesome. This will probably go done as one of my favorite birthdays ever.

Thank you Boo, for being OK about me changing my birthday plans and for making it a eventful evening. I had one of the best nights out. Love you! :)

Garlic and Wine Festival

This past Friday, Boo and I took a 1/2 day, then zoomed up to Tyro VA. We were camping out at Crabtree Falls for the night. The ride up was pure silliness. Let's just say, there was some laughs, giggles, and robotic popping going on. As we crossed into Amherst County VA, I paid more attention to the rolling hillside and meadows and as we entered Nelson County VA, I just oohed and ahhed at the views of the mountains, apple orchards, and cute farms with pumpkin patches sprinkled about. We finally pulled into the campground, picked up our permit and headed out to site #23. It was full of trees, a bit steep, and you could hear the stream near by. The site was perfect for us hammockers, but we were worried about the Jacky, Brian, and Brian, who were meeting us there and were going to be in tents!

As Boo and I were hanging our hammocks and tarps up, a cat came up and started following us and rubbing it's tail up against our legs. We tried to shoo the camp cat away, but the more we tried to make it leave, the more it stayed around us. We just gave up and him roam around our campsite. Boo and I decided to start the coals going on the little grill for our burgers, well.... the cooler did it's job and kept the ground beef frozen solid. I suggested walking up to the campground store to see what they had for provisions. They had nothing but canned spam, beanies and weenies, pop tarts and candy. So we hopped in the car and drove up 3 miles up and over the mountain and stopped at Montibello Campground and checked our their store. (Cute store by the way.) We decided on some hotdogs and buns and a bottle of ketchup. Driving back to the campsite, I remembered that the AT runs thru this area on a section called the Priest. Boo says he saw the AT trail head as we started up the mountain to our campground earlier today. I only wish we had the time to climb it!!

As we pulled into camp, Boo started making a fire, while I lounged on my camp chair and pet the camp cat. About 20 minutes later, Jacky, her husband Brian, and her brother Brian pulled in. We helped them set up camp, then Boo started the grill for our hot dog dinner. The weather has turned a bit on the chilly side, so we all bundled up and called it a night. Boo and I had our down jackets and chillaxed in front of the fire a bit more. We noticed all the stars out and Boo pulled out his I-phone, with the star chart application and we tried to find out what all the stars are. It's a beautifully clear night with tons of stars and hints of the milky way. Around 11pm, we put out the fire, slink into our hammocks, and call it a night. I sleep warm and snugly through the night.

Around 7am, I wake up naturally and hop out of my hammock. Boo is awake as well and it seems he has company. The camp cat decided to sleep underneath his hammock last night. The others are still sleeping, so Boo and I sneak off to take showers. By the time we get back, everyone is awake and making breakfast. Brian breaks out the gourmet hot chocolate and we all sing happy birthday to Boo as we drink our cocoa to start off the day. After everyone is showered, dressed, and full, we hop in my car and zoom down the mountain and back into Amherst County for the 20th annual Garlic and Wine Festival! As we pull into the parking area, there's already a crazy line of people just waiting to get in. We all spill out of my car, grab our camp chairs, and head over to the entrance to wait in line with other garlic fanatics. The aroma of garlic is swirling around our noses, making us salivate. Minutes later, we are walking thru the gates, getting carded, and slapped with a festival winetasting bracelet. We are meeting Judy and Bob, but since they are not here, we scout out a nice shady spot to put down our chairs. We decide to sit under an Osage tree that has some interesting fruit, monkey brain fruit to be exact. I swear that's what it's called. Thanks to (brother)Brian for researching this interesting, grapefruit sized fruit that was gingerly dangling above> us on this tree. Poor other Brian almost got knocked out when one of the fruits fell just 2 feet away from his head. We all heard that loud thud. Anyways, we set up our chairs, and lay out our blankets in between two music stages, under the Osage tree. Just as we finish getting comfy, we get a call from Jacky's sister, Judy. She said her and Bob just pulled in and are in line. We walk up to the gates to meet up with them. After hello's and hugs, we walk back to our camp spot, set up Judy and Bob, and head out to pick up our commemorative wine glass so we can get down to business. WINE TASTING!!!!
As a group, we all navigate through all the vendor stalls, stopping to sample garlic goodies, and checking out the crafts. We finally get to the wine glass tent, hand over our purple ticket, get our tasting bracelet's checked and are given our 20th anniversary Glass Garlic Festival wine glass. We collectively walk down to the tasting tents and begin our rounds! We start with the Mountain Cove Vineyard tent and are literally 4 deep in line. After we tasted 4 different wines, Boo and I agree we liked the Tinto and that we are sooooo getting a bottle of SKYLINE White to sip on later in the afternoon. I liked the Peach wine too, which is interesting, considering I'm not a big peach flavor anything person. Next we move over to Wintergreen Winery tent and we all think that the Chardonnay was the best. I still heart the raspberry dessert wine and the Viognier though and I thought the Cabernet Franc was OK. By this point, I'm feeling slightly warm and giggly. We all move on to the Rebec Winery tent. We get up to the front and considering this is the title Sponsor and we are AT the Rebec Winery, I have to call out Rebec. B/C the older, long hair in a low pony tail lady who was pouring our wine had the worse sour look on her face. She was not engaging or educating us on the wines like the other wine tents. Her pouring was literally a splash. Barely enough to wet my mouth and taste the wine. So out of spite, we all sample every single wine. Yep. ALL 15 wines. hahaha! Honestly, b/c the lady poured such small amount, it all mixed together in the glass and I couldn't tell a difference. Plus, between Boo and Bob with their funny commentary on each taste, I was laughing to hard to notice the wine. Bob decided to bum rush the crown and just wedged himself up in line. Boo whispered to me, "Look at Bob, he doesn't play, he wants his wine tastings!" I laughed (probably b/c I had too much wine already) and blurted out to Judy, (and probably all people within a 2 mile radius), what Boo said. He turned red and Bob just laughed. I seriously had the giggles and I didn't let the sourpuss wine pourer ruin my buzz. We all had such fun pronouncing Gewurztraminer and I almost pee'd my pants just looking at the faces Boo made when he tasted the Rebec red wines. Oh... and did I mention it was a whirlwind tour? Before we had a chance to swill down the minuscule sip, she was whipping out the next bottle to splash in our glasses. So this all happened really fast, and sloppy, but it was so entertaining and funny. After 3 tents, we decided to pace ourselves better and save the next 3 tents for later. So we walked the rest of the festival booths and sampled some more garlicky treats. Like garlic burgers, garlic chicken, garlic infused olive oils (25 of them), garlic bread, garlic dips, garlic chips, garlic BBQ sauces, garlic jams, garlic pasta noodles, garlic fries, even garlic popcorn! Who needs lunch when you've got free samples!! hahaha!

Sober again, we decided to grab a bottle (or two) of our fav's and head back to our picnic spot, to relax, sip on our wine, and isten to the live musicians. We lounged around chit chatting and drinking for a couple of hours before Boo and I decided to take one last walk around the festival, to see if we missed anything, and to check out another wine tent.) We saw booths selling 20 varieties of garlic, we saw more tastings and even tried pickled garlic. Seriously. haha! Then we hit the Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery. Again, it was packed, but we waited in line for our turn and I have to say, this was THE BEST wine presentation of the day. The lady pouring was the daughter of one of the wine makers. She told us a story for each wine, gave suggestions on pairing the wines with food (like if you're making brownies, use fruit flavored wine instead of water to give the brownies a nice flavor.) She explained and educated us on each wine, and was just all around excited and happy to be there. She made me want to be there, not to mention her pourings were pretty ample too. What was interesting is that not all the wines were made of grapes, mostly fruits, but it was still very good. We even got to try the mead and a pear sangria. I'm still thinking about the sweet cherry wine. Yum! I walked away with a real appreciation for Hill Top and a feel that they really cared about their wine.

When we got back, everyone was looking for something sweet to soothe their sweet tooth, so we all ventured over to the ice cream vendor to score some garlic ice cream, (kidding!, but they did have one year.) Boo and I split a strawberry short cake sundae and are stuffed to the gills. After listening to another hour of music, we decided to call it a day. We packed up our stuff and rolled back up to Crabtree Valley Campground, where we decided to go for a hike! Their was a waterfall hike (that was all up hill). It was 2 miles up to the upper falls and 3.6 miles (up hill) to the Appalachian Trail. Since it was Boo's birthday, I decided to stick with him and hike up as far as he wanted to go. The rest of the group went all the way to the top, Boo and I made it about 1/2 way up, then turned around and hung out near the trail head. A few minutes later, Judy joined us. We chit chatted for an hour before the others made it back down. After our hike, we all felt pretty hungry for dinner so we let the birthday boy choose the restaurant, via GPS, since we didn't know what was around here and then we drove up the mountain and hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway. As we sped along, we noticed that the sun was going to be setting soon, so we decided to stop on an overlook and catch the sunset. It was such a beautiful ending to a great day. After lots of photos, we piled back into the car and arrived at the restaurant, only to find out it was closed!!! hahaha! We just let it roll off our back and went across the street to check out THAI MEX for dinner.

Seriously, the restaurant was called Thai Mex, and it sold both types of foods under one roof. Intrigued, we all decided to check it out. As we walked in, we noticed it was live music night, YAY! There was a guy playing some beautiful guitar music in a candle lit dark room with a bar. I immediately liked the ambiance of the little place. We were escorted to our table and chips and salsa were brought out for us to munch on as we checked out the menu. Soon, a really social Thai woman comes over to greet us and take our order. We have a fun time discussing the menu, ordering up our dinner, and finding out the guitar player is really the local Judge letting off some steam. We finally order and Boo and I both go for Mexican dishes, Brian and Bob also get Mexican, while Judy, Jacky, and the other Brian all take their chance on Thai. When we finally get our food, almost all the orders are wrong. haha! But everyone was in such good spirits, that we just went with it. At the end of the night, we hear the Judge wishing someone a happy birthday as he starts strumming the birthday song, we all start singing and wish Boo and happy birthday. (Oh... Jacky, Brian, and Brian. THANK YOU so much for treating us all to dinner!) Stuffed and relaxed, we say good bye to Bob and Judy (whom are staying at Afton B&B) and shuffle off to our campsite. Little does Boo know, that at the campsite, Jacky, Brian and Brian, brought birthday cupcakes to celebrate his birthday. Once we are all settled in, we once again, entertain Boo with our lovely singing voices and belt out the birthday song. The cupcakes were yummy and a nice treat to end our full day. We call it a night around 10pm and all slink off into our little respective homes for the evening.

The next morning, Boo and I wake up later than usual and start packing up for our ride home. Jacky, Brian and Brian have another full day of fun ahead of them. They are hitting a couple of winery's, hanging out with Bob and Judy, and then going on a hike before heading home on Monday. After a quick breakfast of more gourmet hot chocolate, Boo and I say our goodbyes and head down the mountain, past the apple orchard, past the pumpkin patches, past the rolling meadows, and onto the highway. I wanted to stop by my favorite little liberal arts college on the way home. I love this campus and I love all the amenities it offers it's students. It's a private all girls college named Sweetbriar College, (their colors are my blog's colors! Pink and Green!) and if I had to do it all over again, I would of LOVED to have gone to this school. It has an equestrian center, a boat house, rolling meadows with hiking trails, brick statuesque buildings, and it's tucked away down a long winding road thru a forest. It's so enchanting and such a beautiful campus. I can just picture my future daughter (if we EVER have kids and that's a big IF) attending school here. I can see her riding her horse in the meadows, rowing her boat in the lake, jogging along the dirt trails, checking out the stars in the observatory, playing tennis in one of the 50 courts, walking along the shaded brick campus.....aaaahhhh..... I don't know what it is, but I really have this deep affinity and affection for this little college. Boo saw the score board in the soccer field that said they are called the Sweetbriar Vixens. How adorable is that! Anyways... a girl can day dream can't she? hahaha! The rest of the ride was pretty easy. We made it home early enough to have a relaxing Sunday.

It was a great weekend getaway spent with friends, enjoying wine, garlic, and camping. I hope everyone had a much fun as I did, and Happy Birthday Boo! Hope you had a good weekend. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Still slogging....

Becky and I just finished our 20 min. slog (slow jog) this morning and it feels better and easier than the first time I did the couch to 5k. I think my legs muscles are remembering! Looking forward to the next few weeks, we are jogging three 25 min sessions one week, then 28 the next, and finally 30 minutes to complete the program. Then I'm going hiking! hahaha! Seriously, the only reason I'm jogging is to help out my hiking :) Shameful, I know. Please don't tell any purist runner my secret. Becky wants us to do a 5k. Maybe the Turkey trot in Nov. or Jingle Bell run in early Dec. It's not my thing, but I'll do it with her if it keeps her motivated. I'm a good friend like that. hahaha!

This week I got an email from the group I had hiked the Shenandoah's in VA with last October. They were getting ready to go out for a week to continue plugging away miles on the AT in VA. I was kind of bummed I'm not joining them this October. (I didn't want to miss Boo's birthday again and we have so much stuff planned this October, I just couldn't fit it in.) I wished them all well and safe hiking. They are going out again for another week in April and I am seriously thinking of joining them for that 80 mile section. It'll give me something to look forward to AND a reason to keep me slogging away. hahaha! Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Riverfest!!!!

After jogging with my friend Becky at 7:30am Saturday morning, I rushed home, jumped in the shower, threw on some jeans, and hopped into the car next to Boo. We were headed down to Wilmington NC for the 2010 Riverfest. Whoo Hoo!! It was a nice easy 3 hour drive and as we drove across the Cape Fear bridge around 12:30pm, I could feel the stress of the week just melt off into the salty, coastal air. Boo navigated us through the festival traffic and found a great (and the last) parking spot, near the Cap Fear Community College. We decided to leave our jackets in the car, because the overcast day turned into a beautiful, breezy, sun shining day.
We walked the two blocks down to the breezy river front and folded into the throngs of people walking about. We took in a small skateboarding competition for kids that was set up with a small skate ramp, then we checked out little ones flying up rock climbing walls before we decided to stroll down the street and check out the craft booths. To the left we saw a full fledged wrestling ring and saw some adults in tights really wrestling! haha! We moved along and dipped in and out of small canopied booths that caught our interest. I really loved the photograph and painting booths. I did check out some of the jewelry tables, but didn't find anything that struck me. Lots of sea glass jewelry set in silver and glass beaded necklaces though. Boo and I found an interesting coconut booth. Everything was made out of coconuts; lamps that looked like miniature palm trees, tables, bird feeders, silly animal figurines, etc... We walked down along the street food section, everything from cold lemonades, roasted turkey legs, funnel cakes, deep fried blooming onions, lamb gyros, shaved ice, you name it, it was there.

Boo and I had plans to eat at our fav, place, so even though our hungry mouths were watering, we bypassed the aromatic festival section and walked down to the main stage area. I really wanted to catch the 2pm reggae band called SELAH DUBB ,and with 10 minutes to spare, Boo and I grabbed a seat on the city hall steps to people watch and checked out the stage. The backdrop of the stage was amazing. It was the waterfront of the Cape Fear River with the river court (for those who watch the show One Tree Hill, you know what I'm talking about, it's filmed here) and the battleship North Carolina, whose permanently docked there. Well, in true reggae time, the band started up late, hahaha!, around 2:30pm. They were pretty good too! I found out they are from Boone, NC, and moved to Wilmington to continue pursuing their music. The singer really had a strong reggae voice, it reminded me alot of Shaggy (Mr. Boomtastic). Boo was totally mesmerized by Hula Hoop Ho... I mean girl.... haha! You see, there was this girl who had brought her really short skirt and hula hoop out to the festival and was shaking her mid drift cut off shirt for everyone to watch her. Honestly, she was a really good hula hooper, even if she was attention starved :) Anyways, we stayed and watched the band (and hula hoop girl getting picked up by a pirate) til 3:45pm, then we strolled down along the boardwalk to Georges for some lunch.

At Georges, we opted for an outdoor table, (I love, love, love outdoor dining!!), ordered two Corona's and the warm spinach artichoke dip we love, and continued people watching. When our beers came, Boo and I did a little toast to getting out of town for a bit and as soon as Boo had his first sip, he said he felt completely relaxed. It made me smile and feel good that he was able to chillax for a bit. After two rounds of Corona's, we ordered our entrees. Boo got the shrimp Po'boy with malted fries and I got the baby spinach salad with goat cheese, pecans, and cherry port dressing. (YUMMY!) We enjoyed the waterfront view, the awesome 72 degree weather, and left with satisfied smiles on our stuffed faces. We strolled along the Front Street and finished checking out all the vendors and wandered up to the boardwalk again. We decided to just chill for a second and sat along the waterfront wall. Well, Boo sat, I laid down for a bit and enjoyed the breeze and watched the boats coming up the river. An hour later, we continued walking along the boardwalk til we got to where the Flotilla entry boats were being decorated. We checked out the Pirate Themed boats and watched all the sailors on board swilling back some rum concoctions and laughing the day away in their pirate outfits. (One day Boo, one day we'll be dressed up in silly costumes, hanging colored lights off of our boat and swilling down some rum concoction. I promise. )

We decided to make one last stroll thru the craft vendors to see if we missed anything. Oh, I forgot to mention how many ECU Pirate t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts we saw all over the festival. It's nice to see my fellow alumni representing our college. I, of course, had my ECU hat tied to my purse, in case I needed to wear a hat :) So after attempting to buy some international flags to round up our collection at home, we headed to the boardwalk wall to grab a seat for the FLOTILLA. For those who don't know what a Flotilla is, it's a parade of boats all decked out with Christmas lights or any themed decoration. The Riverfest Flotilla was Pirate themed and started at dusk. We watched swashbuckling sailors float by playing their sea shanty music, firing booming cannons, and showing off their "booty" treasure chests, all the while lit up with all kinds and colors of Christmas lights. Once the show was over, Boo and I decided to head on home, we had a nice long 3 hour drive ahead of us.

What a perfect day trip down east to Wilmington, NC for the annual Riverfest. Not only is Wilmington one of our favorite little spots on the planet, it's also full of history, and is by far, one of the best coastal towns around. I'm so glad Boo and I took the opportunity to go on this adventure. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!