Everyone needs an escape every once in a while. I may take that to the extreme, and I certainly jumped at the chance to reunite with my college besties for a late summer 2021 rendezvous in the stunning Blue Ridge mountains (a preview of our 25th reunion upcoming in October).
The sweet spot was in NE Georgia for 3 North Carolinians, 1 Georgian & me the lone Floridian. Syncing the calendars of five busy families is no easy feat, but once we had a date, everything else fell into place.
I flew into the small airport in Asheville with 7 hours to kill, so I got an Uber to the stunning Sierra Nevada Brewery. After a little bit of remote work and a few drinks, I settled into a lounger on the back porch to enjoy a beautiful summer afternoon people watching.
Once my ride arrived, we weaved our way 3 hours through the mountains. Our quaint log cabin was aptly named “A Simple Life”. After a ridiculously steep dirt road approach in the dark, we beelined for the hot tub.
Twenty nine years of memories came flooding back and we enjoyed having no set agenda. I was stoked the girls wanted to go hiking so we set off on an easy 1 mile trek to a local waterfall. After a quick stop in the cute downtown of Blue Ridge, we enjoyed a serene night catching up on the porch swing while Alanda surprised us with her own version of a charcuterie “coochie” board.
When was the last time you partook in a drive in movie? I was genuinely excited to pull up a chair for opening night of the big hit Jungle Cruise.
Saturday was an adventure. After a morning neighborhood stroll, we grabbed tubes for a leisurely 3 mile float down the Toccoa River. We tethered our 5 vessels together, blasted some country music, cut open our frozen margarita popsicles and started our voyage. Tons of laughs ensued while we maneuvered through mini rapids en route to our extraction point.
We made a pit stop at the marina and bar to enjoy some live music and even better company. As our shirts imply, sometimes you need your girls just to listen, have your back, make you laugh, remind you how strong you are and ultimately be your rock….. better than therapy!
Our last full day together, we partook in local wine tastings, strolled through downtown again, indulged in homemade ice cream, sampled healthy olive oils and ended with a ginormous BBQ dinner.
Departure day, we bid goodbye to an amazing hideaway and vowed to rendezvous again in 2022 on a cruise. But we had one final stopover planned, as we detoured again to the brewery for one last toast to 29+ years of friendship. #fiveamigas #lrualumni #25yearreunion
FearlessAdventures 