Morning
everybody! Before meeting up with Steph and Shawn last weekend Sean and I
joined my family for our annual Christmas tree trip. The tradition of going up
to the mountains to get our Christmas tree has been a family tradition since
Banks and I were little. Sean and Catherine, Banks' wife, have been joining us
for the past 4 years. Typically all 6 of us squeeze into the truck and head up
the mountain together. Mom makes homemade country ham biscuits, fudge and
brings hot chocolate and apple cider. This year since we were going to stay at
Melinda's afterwards we drove separate. Banks also traded in his four door
Chevy for a regular cab Ram, at least
it's not a Ford, right Shawn? Sean thinks this is a sign that he needs to
purchase his 4 door Chevy for next year’s trip, we'll see about that! We all met
up at our house, mom made me and Sean a goodie bag and we hit the road. We've
gone to the same Christmas tree farm since the tradition started. It is located
in Pinenola, NC about 2 1/2 hours from home. Once we get there we go into the
old country store and depending on the weather get us a cup of hot apple cider
before loading up on the hay ride. The tractor pulls us up the mountain and
drops us off to begin the search for the perfect Christmas tree! The trees are
marked by colored tags identifying the different heights. Once we find our tree
the employees chop it down for us and haul it back down the mountain.
2010- Sean and I graduated, bought a house together, got
engaged that November and bought our first Christmas tree together!
2010
2011- Banks and Catherine got engaged in August of that
year!
2011
2012
2013
2013
After the trees are loaded up we head to Louise's Rock House. This
is the same restaurant that we have eaten at since the beginning of the
tradition. It is located at the meeting point of three counties, Burke, Avery
and McDowell. They offer delicious home cooking. Some years we're early enough
for breakfast but typically we are there just in time to beat the lunch crowd
to enjoy a warm lunch.
After lunch Sean and I headed over to
meet Steph and Shawn for a relaxing evening. While the boys played with fire
Steph and I dabbled in crafts. We decided to make a banner for Steph's work
office. It didn't turn out quite the way we planned, must of been that fresh
mountain air getting to us.
Any guesses on what our banner was suppose to say??
The fresh mountain air is dangerous!
Great post Taylor BUT whats this "employees cut it down and haul it off the mountain" crap. When we were young we huffed up the mountain; cut down the tree; dragged it back down the mountain; put it on the car; dragged it in the house; etc. There was no hot chocolate or cider....none of that "sissy southern stuff"....true New Yorker Style!!
ReplyDeleteBUT I like your way better....that is why I now have a fake tree!!!
What a nice tradition! We love real trees also and have gone to a tree farm to cut down our own tree a few times. Great pics.
ReplyDeletewe agree with all that Sandy said Taylor but she left out a few of the tree cutting "requirements"..you must have 3 to 6 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature must be below 25 degrees and the tree must be 12 to 18 inches taller than the room you want to put it in. The diameter must be 8 foot at the bottom. These requirements are set so when you get home you can use your chain saw to adjust the tree to the right size!! We went with friends about an hour north of us so after we got the tree, we had to load it on the top of the car and this usually was a problem as the tree was always longer than the car. We stopped for "refreshemnts" (beer) at their house so the trip home was always interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteDoes this bring back fond memories of Uncle Roger and Aunt Gail??
ReplyDelete