Let's Play Catch-up...

Well, the reason I've been slacking on the postings is for a couple of reasons. #1 is because Chad & I spent last Friday through this past Friday en route and actually in Arkansas and #2 because for the little time we have been home recently, I haven't had the time to actually sit down and get one done. Sorry it's been a while but allow me to take you on our journey halfway across the U.S. We found ourselves in Arkansas because Chad had simulator training there for three days so we were lucky enough to get to spend some good, quality time with our friends Dom & Shannon. We had an awesome time cooking dinner together, baking apple pies for Easter, and playing spades while drinking wine, almost every night. Dom's family was sweet enough to allow us to eat with them on Easter Sunday after the church service. It was great. We even got to hide eggs for his little nephews. Fun stuff!

We made several great dishes while we were there. It started with Teriyaki Burgers the first night (mucho flavor!), Stuffed Shells (an Italian delicacy), & then finally, we grilled out & cooked steak & potatoes (classicly yummy dish). It was some scrumptious stuff! Here's a pic of us taking a break from our hard labor in Dom's kitchen.

I found a new favorite sparkling white wine called Marco Negri thanks to Dom & Shannon. It's an Italian wine which is where most of the wines I end up enjoying are from. Two bottles I think were drank strictly by me while we were there. Good stuff, you should check it out if you're interested in finding a new, very smooth, sweet & sparkly wine. It's a little pricey, sitting at about $18.99 a bottle, but it's worth every drop :)! I also developed a new liking for Camembert soft cheese. We ate some with bread at every meal. Yea, we don't mess around! MMMM to carbs!

We were sad to have to leave. But on our way home, we made a stop in Asheville, NC, known mostly for it's small town charm, beautiful landscapes, and the largest American Estate known to man, The Biltmore Estate. It's only about 4 1/2 hours of a drive from Fayetteville to Asheville, making it a slightly long, but doable trip for the weekends, if so desired. We decided to buy a year long pass so we have unlimited access and even some discount privileges when it comes to staying at their Inn, visiting the winery, doing outdoor activities, and bringing guests. We figured it was a good investment because there is always something to do there and it's supposedly one of the prettiest places to be during the Christmas season, so I'm excited to check that out!

Chad & I decided to enjoy some hot tea, cappuccino, & a chocolate-almond torte to satisfy our sweet craving in the little bistro cafe they have there. It was delicious & just hit the spot!

We then were about to walk through the gardens when we saw a pretty tree to take a picture by, so we asked a gentleman nearby to help us out and take our picture. Thank you for your services nice man. :)

We then finally made it back down to the gardens and took a couple of pictures of flowers we thought had a capturing quality. They were beautiful.

This was our favorite tree in the whole place. It was a Sleeping Higan Cherry tree and it was so pretty blowing its pink little flowers in the wind. We hope to have one at one of our houses in the future. We just have to stay in one place long enough to watch it grow big and enjoy it.

This was also one of my favorite flower trees. The picture turned out even better than I thought it would.

Anyways, enough about plant-life. We spent the day real laid back and in enjoyment mode. We saw some parts of the estate we'd never seen before & it was great. We look forward to planning a weekend to go and stay actually on the estate grounds. It'll be great.

We caught lunch at one of Chad's favorite pizza joints, the Mellow Mushroom. It's a really hippy-fied atmosphere with great pizza. Chad got his personal pan pizza and I got a calzone large enough to feed three people. It was really good and we got to sit outside and enjoy the outdoors for a little while. We took a picture and tried to get the sign in the background, but I don't think that worked out too well. Here it is anyway...

So, to sum things up, we had a great time in Arkansas & on our trek to and from. We were very sad that the time we actually get to make a good trip practically for free through the government's orders, we didn't even get to spend a second of it with the Webbs. I guess that's what you would call just really bad timing! Maybe we'll get lucky again sometime soon. Thanks for coming on our journey with me...