Birthday Weekend Getaway in the Mountains |

This was our 4th annual trip to the mountains for my birthday weekend. Hard to believe how fast the time has gone by! We had started going to the North Georgia mountains and getting a cabin – we did that for two years. Then my dad bought a small vacation home in Damascus, Virginia and although the drive is longer, it’s free. We also like that we go through Asheville, North Carolina and can stop on our way up or on our way home.

As with every year, my birthday seems to fall on the first real cold snap of the season. The chilly weather is perfect for snuggling up with Sean and the pups and watching a movie and also nice for a brisk walk along one of the many and easily accesible trails in Damascus.

It’s about 5 hours to Damascus from Atlanta – and made all the more fun by sweet Stella. 😉

We arrived around 6pm on Friday and my dad had gifts waiting for all of us. He’d been to the house a couple of weeks prior and left the goodies for us. Beer for Sean, Greenies for the girls, two awesome Foo Fighters records for me and cards for all of us.

We made a cheese tray and popped a bottle of French champagne, then Sean got to work on dinner: a griled porterhouse steak, fingerling potatoes fried in duck fat, and sauteed mushrooms and onions, served with a Bordeaux. Everything was delicious!

After dinner it was movie time and relaxing. The next morning was leisurely – we had a nice breakfast and I sipped on the special “Birthday Tea” that Sean’s dad and stepmom had sent me. So many special drinks!

It was gray and rainy but we decided to head outside anyway and hope that the rain would let up enough for us to explore a trail or two. We drove through some of the cute streets of downtown Damascus before heading out of town and to a recreational area called Bear Lake. While the beach was closed and the campgrounds appeared empty, the lake was lovely and very secluded. It would be a fun spot for swimming in the summer.

We continued on to the Virginia Creeper Trail and got on it at a segment that wandered along the river, with lots of cute bridges cutting across. Most of the leaves were off the trees, but the scenery was still beautiful and tranquil.

It was hunting season so we had to wear some orange!

The rain started coming down harder so we headed back to the house. After a little rest, we went over to Abingdon, a charming colonial town about 10 miles from Damascus. They had a tea parlour and though we didn’t go for the tea service, I did go to the shop for a couple of bags of loose-leaf tea to take home.

We enjoyed walking through Abindgon and then went over to Wolf Hills Brewery. The brews were ok – some were better than others but we had fun sampling them. There was live music and bumper pool – I beat Sean many times.

The next morning had the sun peeking out from the clouds so we took the pups for a walk through downtown Damascus. It’s so easy to get on the Virigina Creeper Trail and it’s very pretty.

Then we headed home but not before a wonderful brunch at Curate in Asheville – one of our favorite places to eat in the city. I had a grapefruit mimosa and we had a variey of dishes included Iberian ham, patatas bravas, and a surprise birthday dessert treat – a molded chocolate sheet with hazelnuts, sea salt and dried tart cherries (the picture below the drinks is it). It was awesome!