Recovering from Our Time in Dixie

You know, it only takes a good week away from home before you start to really miss the place.

BHE, Donald and I just returned from a long trip down South (read: South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia), where we worked on our tans and attended an extremely beautiful wedding in Asheville. (Congratulations, Tim & Leslie!!)

Now, Maryland is technically below the Mason-Dixie line. But there's the south - and then there's the South. Once you hit southern Virginia, you become distinctly aware that you're crossed over. As evidenced by a van we noticed in the parking lot of our vacation home.

Colons and punctuation, people. Let's remember to use 'em.

That said, we still had a very lovely time. We got to visit my family, where Donald pulled a frozen steak off the counter in my mom's kitchen and had himself a gourmet lunch. BHE and I both acquired fierce tans/sunburns. We bought vacation hats. I didn't touch my straightening iron once. We had BBQ for multiple meals.

Now that's a vacation!

We also engaged in some of the local culture. During the week, BHE and I headed down to Decatur to check out the CDC Museum. Turns out, that was closed while a new exhibit was being installed. Bummer.

Not to worry though as the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is right down the road. And it had a wicked exhibit on Mythological Creatures.

Warning: Boobs and ta-tas ahead.

The Boob I married.

AND it was free hot dog day at the museum! SCORE!

We putzed about the exhibits for a good while rather than strolling outdoors in the 100+ degree heat. Besides, the museum had an interactive floor where you could play with experiments that you probably tried out in your grade school science class.

HBE doing his best weatherman impersonation.

And, of course, there was food. Thanks to a tip from our buddy Pete, we signed up for a Scoutmob account and went on a discounted feeding frenzy in downtown Decatur. The highlight, by far, were the sandwiches at Sawicki's. BHE had a Tri-tip Beef (served with french fries, Primanti's style), while I had the Roasted Pork with pickled red onions and fried lemon slices.

Oh - my mouth is watering at the memory of it.

We also tried some Coco Vino at my parents' house. For those of you unfamiliar with the product, it's a bottle of red wine that's been flavored/mixed/violated with chocolate. The combo sounds promising, but you know they say about good intentions...

Raspberry flavored. Not good. We should have been tipped off by the "governement warning."

We spent some more money on Ninja-shaped cookie cutters and presents for friends and family next door at Heliotrope. Also came with a Scoutmob discount. Woot!

Trying out "the Watson"

We also made our way to the Chateau Elan for a winery tour and tasting. The tour was only $5 and included LOADS of samples. Best. Tour. Ever.

Post sample hijinks.

The wine source.

BHE and I made the decision to come home on Saturday so we could have a day to recover before returning to work. Sunday consisted of pizza, appeasing some bitter cats who had to stay home during the week, a trip to the cinema to check out X-Men First Class (totally worth the hype, btw), and of course, some QT at the dog park.

Like I said, it was just long enough to make us miss home.

While we here at Tattoos & Champagne are done travelling for a few weeks, Jordan over at Oh Happy Day! has pulled out all the stops and is offering 2 lucky people a trip to check out Paris.

Yes, THAT Paris.

To enter, visit Jordan's site and leave a comment after her post about the contest ( http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris). There are chances for additional entries as well, but you'll have to visit her post to find out the details.

Check out her other posts as well. The woman's kind of a mad genius.

Best of luck! And until next time, Enjoy!