Cabin Fever

A few weekends ago, I took a long weekend and met up with some old friends in the Smoky Mountains just outside of Asheville, Tennessee. After a few insanely insane weeks of school, it was just what I needed. Plus, I hadn't seen most of them in 4+ years, which is just ridiculous.

We all came from different states (Florida, Georgia, and Virginia), which made it even more special. And, it being the beginning/middle of October, the weather was perfect.
This trip did not revolve around food, which is unusual for me. But that didn't mean that we didn't eat well...

shopping trip no.1

We started with a college favorite, baked ziti and salad. Budget friendly and delicious.

Sarah's parents' cabin is on the side of the mountain, with beautiful trails and an incredible view.

our view from the cabin

We spent one day in Asheville, and had lunch at the Early Girl Eatery. The wait was long, but it was worth it... the food was so good. Everything is served with grits.

Fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and grits...

fried cat fish with pear chutney, broccoli salad and grits...

Josh ordered some barbecue pork scrambled eggs with gravy. Sorry, I lied. No grits on this one.

Afterward we went to Double D's coffee bus for some joe.

seriously

And it wouldn't be a weekend in the mountains without a hike.

waterfall

and foliage

the boys

On our last day, we went up to Cataloochi, an old settlement which has since been turned into an elk refuge. The original house, school, church, cemetery and barn are still standing, along with a bunch of wild elk. The guy in the front was 17 years old. The ranger said they didn't think he would last through the winter.

Also, the ranger pointed out a squirrel whom she said had been scurrying across a fence all day long. It was kind of funny that she noticed this. She said that when they start collecting food this early, we're in for a bad winter. Just a head's up...

It was the perfect weekend for my vegetarian chili...

I have a couple more trips to see some cooler weather before I settle in for a real Florida winter. I can honestly say that I'm not going to miss the snow this year. I might even get one more beach day in before it starts to "cool off" here. And I'm not mad at that.
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