At the Country House
This past weekend husband and I executed a planned retreat to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. We decided to leave the city lights behind and head for the hills of the North Georgia mountains. Ostensibly, the locale chosen was near Helen, Georgia for its annual Oktoberfest celebration. However, we fundamentally ignored this festival during our sojourn.
We left the city Friday evening after work and struggled our way out via the congested traffic arteries. One of the unique things about our marriage (I think), is that my husband and I generally can drive almost anywhere and we never turn on the radio. Since the inception of our relationship, our driving hours together are typically accompanied by interactive conversation rather than the blocking curtain of music. So, this two-hour drive served as a nice beginning to our weekend celebrating togetherness. One of the most interesting points of the drive came when we stopped for supper. We bypassed chain restaurants en route in hopes of discovering a hearty local greasy spoon. Finally, the beacon of the Country House Restaurant called to us. The parking lot seemed relatively full, so it had to be decent. A few old men stood outside the entrance talking and probably giving us slightly suspcious looks as the entered the restaurant. As we opened the door, we were greeted by loud music - loud country gospel music to be specific. The median age of the clientele of said restaurant was about 63 years old. Nonetheless, we wandered up to the counter under a small sign that said "Cafeteria," careful not to walk in front of the band. The "cafeteria" consisted of a meager steam table with three entrees and several side dishes separated in bins. We both requested the country-fried steak, with sides and banana pudding - quintessential greasy spoon fare. It was absolutely wonderful: the plastic plates, the roll of paper towels on the table, and the singing. The other patrons had finished eating and were simply taking in the entertainment. To cap the evening off, husband thinks that the female singer was someone with whom he went to college.
After our dinner we proceeded on our way, stopping at the grocery store to buy supplies and try to find a cheap watch. I'd forgotten my Garmin and running watch. I ended up purchasing a small clock to carry with me. We drove through the town of Helen, Georgia and firmly decided that we would not got to Oktoberfest. Helen is an "alpine-themed" town. All of the buildings on the main drag, including the Wendy's, are architecturally fashioned after some Swiss mountain retreat.
Rather than drinking beer and cavorting with other tourists, we spent the majority of our weekend in the rental cabin hot tubbing. When we weren't hot tubbing, we were hiking in Unicoi State Park, napping or driving through the countryside. The experience at Unicoi was unique because the area had suffered a tornado in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The park had done a good job of clean up. However, the twisted wreckage of trees was strewn everywhere.
Regarding running: I got up Saturday morning and had a nice run in the roads around the cabin. Along the way I saw turkeys and a chocolate lab comfortably lazing in the middle of the road. I'm taking solace in the fact that I have two more "hard" weeks of 20 mile long runs (with a stepback week between) and then it will be taper time!
I will always be a country girl at heart. Husband and I left Sunday morning talking about our desire to have our own permenant mountain retreat.
We left the city Friday evening after work and struggled our way out via the congested traffic arteries. One of the unique things about our marriage (I think), is that my husband and I generally can drive almost anywhere and we never turn on the radio. Since the inception of our relationship, our driving hours together are typically accompanied by interactive conversation rather than the blocking curtain of music. So, this two-hour drive served as a nice beginning to our weekend celebrating togetherness. One of the most interesting points of the drive came when we stopped for supper. We bypassed chain restaurants en route in hopes of discovering a hearty local greasy spoon. Finally, the beacon of the Country House Restaurant called to us. The parking lot seemed relatively full, so it had to be decent. A few old men stood outside the entrance talking and probably giving us slightly suspcious looks as the entered the restaurant. As we opened the door, we were greeted by loud music - loud country gospel music to be specific. The median age of the clientele of said restaurant was about 63 years old. Nonetheless, we wandered up to the counter under a small sign that said "Cafeteria," careful not to walk in front of the band. The "cafeteria" consisted of a meager steam table with three entrees and several side dishes separated in bins. We both requested the country-fried steak, with sides and banana pudding - quintessential greasy spoon fare. It was absolutely wonderful: the plastic plates, the roll of paper towels on the table, and the singing. The other patrons had finished eating and were simply taking in the entertainment. To cap the evening off, husband thinks that the female singer was someone with whom he went to college.
After our dinner we proceeded on our way, stopping at the grocery store to buy supplies and try to find a cheap watch. I'd forgotten my Garmin and running watch. I ended up purchasing a small clock to carry with me. We drove through the town of Helen, Georgia and firmly decided that we would not got to Oktoberfest. Helen is an "alpine-themed" town. All of the buildings on the main drag, including the Wendy's, are architecturally fashioned after some Swiss mountain retreat.
Rather than drinking beer and cavorting with other tourists, we spent the majority of our weekend in the rental cabin hot tubbing. When we weren't hot tubbing, we were hiking in Unicoi State Park, napping or driving through the countryside. The experience at Unicoi was unique because the area had suffered a tornado in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The park had done a good job of clean up. However, the twisted wreckage of trees was strewn everywhere.
Regarding running: I got up Saturday morning and had a nice run in the roads around the cabin. Along the way I saw turkeys and a chocolate lab comfortably lazing in the middle of the road. I'm taking solace in the fact that I have two more "hard" weeks of 20 mile long runs (with a stepback week between) and then it will be taper time!
I will always be a country girl at heart. Husband and I left Sunday morning talking about our desire to have our own permenant mountain retreat.
posted by runninchick at 12:23 PM
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