getaway day 7.30.2011 pt.2 - peaks of otter winery

[doesn't look like much...]

as we were driving toward smith mountain lake, we passed a road that led up toward two distinct looking peaks.  when my sister, meg, saw the sign she immediately started to freak out and point, "it's up there!!".  apparently 5 years ago she went up to the peaks of otter winery to a tasting and fell in love with their "sweet heart" wine which is made from apples and pomegranates, and has obviously left a lasting impression on her.  she was shot down with the typical mother response "we're going to the lake.  we aren't doing both." 

now i'm not sure if it was planned from the very beginning or not, but it was a nice surprise and a nice ending to our day spent on the lake.  this was my first wine tasting and probably one of the more unique ones that i'll ever do, so i'm glad it was my first.

[starting out]

[meg and jeremi going over their wine information sheet]

[not your average wine flavors here..oh no]

[the one i wanted to try the most.  pumpkin pie.  i think it would be better chilled than warm served]

[yeah.. i kissed the devil.  it hurt.  the thing with this wine is that it is made from 30 types of chilies.  when he said half of those 30 were habanero with some ghost chilies thrown in...yeah.]

["chili dawg" wine.  lick spray cheeze off your finger, then taste.  instant chili dog...so weird.]

[stolen from my mom.  this is 5minutes in after trying "kiss the devil".  they gave us an apple wine chaser, but it hurt so bad i could barely get that down.  pain lasted about 15minutes.  the things i'll do for a sticker.]

so what wine did we end up with?  the "plumlicious", "blueberry muffin", and jem had to have a bottle of "kiss the devil".  meg was able to leave with some of her coveted "sweet heart" wine, which is a good thing because they can't ship wine to california.

[meg and i. bedford, va]

[jem and i. bedford, va]

[yay us!]

we're the type of family that finds random suspension bridges and decide to have photo ops on them :)

peaks of otter winery preview

[7.30.2011 at peaks of otter winery in bedford, va]

getaway day pt.1 - smith mountain lake

[7.30.2011 view from one of the many marinas at smith mountain lake]

i love to swim, but i don't get to swim often because most pools use chlorine which will wreak havoc on my hair(i know, i know...) so when our yearly smith mountain lake trip comes around i get really excited!  now i'm pretty new to this lake.  it's a man made lake that was constructed in the 1960's.  it's about 3 hours away from where i live in virginia, but it's a pretty drive and this lake is worth it.  

we always go with my biological mum, step dad, and little sister who lives in CA.  it's nice to be able to spend time with all of them because our schedules are so different, and we don't get to see meg much because of distance.  yesterday was one of the first days in a long time where i truly felt like i was getting a break and actually able to relax.

[our favourite cove to swim]

[same cove - from the beach]

[weirdo...where did my ass go..?]

[meg and jem]

[meg tubing]

[me tubing. terrified.  last years try didn't end so well.]

[sisters - lake aftermath - couldn't find my water proof liner, oh well!]

baltimore, md weekend [image heavy]

after the summer that jeremi and i have had, it was much needed to have a few days where we could completely get away from everything here at home.  with having a 4 day weekend given to me(thank you!), we took advantage and jeremi, my older sister and her two daughters, and i all went up to baltimore, md to visit the national aquarium.  it was perfect!

[dragon paddle boats tethered 9.11.2010]

[dragon paddle boats overlooking the inner harbor while it's still quiet 9.11.2010]

[hiding octopus 9.11.2010]

[amazon river exhibit.  lily in foreground 9.11.2010]

[amazon river exhibit 9.11.2010]

[sideneck turtle in the river exhibit 9.11.2010]

[puffins! 9.11.2010]

[pacific stinging nettle 9.11.2010]

[pacific stinging nettle 9.11.2010]

[cloud jelly fish 9.11.2010]

[jeremi watching the cloud jelly fish 9.11.2010]

[me watching the stinging nettles 9.11.2010]

[cluster of upside down jelly fish 9.11.2010]

[a very small upside down jelly fish and my left index fingernail for size 9.11.2010]

[matching the ship docked in the harbor 9.11.2010]

outfit breakdown:

-shirt tarea simple black tank with zippered back

-skirt forever21 from the circus twist collection

-black leggings

-shoes rampage

-drape cardigan love

-sunglasses forever21

-random accessories

[wearing sinful colours: "dream on", covergirls: "city lights", and sally xtreme: "in the spotlight"]

after our trip to baltimore, and the inner harbor, we drove up to towson, md where we were staying the night.  we settled, and then did some exploring.  the next day we woke up and went to the towson university to attend the asian many moons festival.  there was a lot to see, and do, and eat.  i particularly enjoyed the japanese dance.

[art exhibit by artist yuriko yamaguchi.  this was a shadow cast by one of the pieces. 9.12.2010]

[me with one of the pieces 9.12.2010]

[strawbunnies!  made of straws.  this was in the hands on part of the festival.  they had stations set up to where you could make things.  morgan and i did the chinese knotting.  we made a double coin knott 9.12.2010]

[the mountains as we got closer to home 9.12.2010]