We dropped the dogs off at my parents the day that Hurricane Sandy was hitting the East Coast. By the time we got back to Guelph to pack for our trip, our flight had been cancelled. We rescheduled it for 6:30AM and got our stuff together by midnight, which meant three short hours of sleep before driving to the airport.
Getting through security at Pearson was actually funny so early in the morning: first the officers advised us to spread the cream cheese onto the bagels we’d brought as we wouldn’t be able to bring in the container. Fine– we used the “liquids and gels” desk to do that. Then sleepy Eric was encouraged to “be more active” and get his shoes and jacket into the bins a little quicker, not that there was anyone behind him. “It’s 4AM, this is as active as I get” he replied. They did not strip-search him or anything for being so mouthy.
After a transfer in Atlanta, we got to Asheville by lunchtime and met our baby niece at the airport. I cannot believe how small she is! She’s super cute and cuddly, but prefers to be held on her belly and my schnauzers had never had my practice that before (I will practice before next time, I promise Baby J). At six weeks old, her favourite hobbies seem to be riding in her car seat, lying on her play mat, and watching the ceiling fan. Next time we meet her she’ll probably be moving about of her own accord and maybe even saying her first words. Hopefully she’ll be learning to Skype soon.
Baby J suggested we go out to restaurants a lot so she could get a car ride, so we did. We ate out at:
- Sunny Point Cafe
- Jack of Hearts Pub
- Early Girl Eatery
- Boca Restaurant
- El Kimchi
- Blue Mountain Pizza
- and of course D & D Restaurant
But aside from spending time with family eating super delicious meals and treats (vegetarian biscuits and gravy, spicy grits, organic cocoa smoothie, vegan mushroom burger, local porter, vanilla stout, bibimbab, tofu bacon biscuit sandwich…), I also got to taste some apple cinnamon moonshine, watch an archery demo, look at hand guns, wander around Asheville, visit artists’ studios in the River Arts District, and play with the big pups. Time went by too fast.
Here’s proof that not all we did was eat:
