Anniversary 6: Cabin in the Woods

Orlando, Miami, Jamaica, San Francisco, and Hawaii.

We've always traveled on or around our anniversary for the past 6 years and the places above have been the sights we've seen. We had to scale back this year since having a 3-month old has changed things but we still wanted to do a little getaway. Asheville, NC seemed like the perfect place for a few days. Mountains, food and a cute little cabin? Why not?!

On Monday afternoon, we headed west towards the mountains of Asheville. The quick 2-hour trip took a little longer since we had to stop for a little nursing session but it worked out perfectly for our afternoon check-in at our first Airbnb experience. Our home for the next few days was on a mountain-top where cell phone service didn't exist and where wild turkeys roamed. We were greeted by our Airbnb host, Jean, and then welcomed into our little suite filled with homemade cookies, craft beer and an anniversary welcome for the three of us.

After snacking on some cookies and stretching our legs, it was off to fill our bellies with food. It had been suggested to us that we eat at Farm Burger, home of grassfed beef that is dry-aged and ground fresh. I got the No. 5 -- grassfed beef, pimento cheese, wilted Swiss chard and smokey bbq, while Jeremy decided on the No. 6 -- bacon, pepper jack cheese, sunny side up egg, and salsa verde. Is your mouth watering yet? We decided to top off our burgers with pimento cheese fries. OMG, you guys. SO GOOD! As we ate, Elijah took a catnap and Jeremy ran into an old friend from high school! Small world.

Please excuse my crazy hair

While in Asheville, we wanted to get a little hiking in. Lucky for us, the Blue Ridge Parkway was only 2 miles away! The next morning, we grabbed a quick breakfast through the drive-thru while Elijah took his morning nap in the car. While he was napping, we drove along the Parkway and were able to view the Haw Creek Valley overlook which contained mountains and clouds for days. Once Elijah woke up, Jeremy strapped him on and we went for an easy 1.2 mile hike along the mountain to Sea Trail. Elijah enjoyed the sites and sounds of nature and about halfway through the hike, he took a catnap while we finished up.

If you can't tell, Elijah is going through a tongue phase

Everyone was pretty exhausted from our hike so we came back to our cabin, showered and took a family nap. We all woke up hungry and ready for dinner as we headed downtown to Buxton Hall Barbecue for it's 5:30 PM evening opening. We were first in line as we marveled at the site of the venue; an old Standard Paper Sales company building built in the 1930s. The current BBQ Hall once served as a boat show room, a wood-floored roller rink, and various auto shops that witnessed history in the making. When we stepped foot in the building, you could tell there were stories in the walls and we immediately questioned what had been there before. It was pretty cool to eat amongst 80 years of history.

Buxton Hall is known for their Eastern NC style BBQ where they smoke their hogs low and slow for 18 hours over hardwood coals infused with vinegar mop, the owner's family recipe. I went for the pulled pork plate while Jeremy got the special, a rack of ribs. We both licked our plates clean and I went home with some pie for dessert. Hey, I just followed directions from the sign that said to leave room for pie.

Sadly, our time in Asheville had come to an end. The wild turkeys gave us one more show as we packed up and left our little Cabin in the Woods. Before heading out of town, we had brunch at Biscuit Head where the tagline is "put some south in your mouth". How could we not try this place?!

Oh. My. Goodness. We had THE BEST biscuits! Jeremy got the half breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs (with cheese), bacon, a biscuit (duh) and a side of pork sausage gravy. I went with the country ham biscuit loaded with country ham, fried green tomato and cheese egg. We topped our brunch off with their sweet lemonade as we dreamed of them having a location in Charlotte.

Elijah wanted no part in pictures

Before we officially hit the road to go home, it was advised that we pay a visit to Hole, a made-to-order doughnut shop nestled between the French Broad River and and Historic West Asheville. You wouldn't think we had any more room in our bellies for food but we couldn't pass up freshly glazed doughnuts fresh from the fryer.

You guys. These doughnuts were soooooo good. They were crispy and fluffy all in one. But my favorite part was the butter. You could taste the buttery goodness that melted in your mouth. It was also pretty cool to watch the entire doughnut-making process go down. I literally sat on a stool and watched them make our doughnuts from start to finish. So cool!

With our doughnuts in hand, it was officially time to say our goodbye to Asheville. Although our little trip wasn't as extravagant as our previous anniversary trips, it was the perfect first trip as a family of three. I couldn't think of a better way of celebrating six years of marriage. Cheers to many more!