Happy Monday! I just love these summer weekends. There is so much more to do than in the winter! But also more bugs and snakes to look out for when a hike is the plan!
On Thursday night, Thomas and I went to the Alison Krauss concert at the Pavilion. Her voice was beautiful, and she played some classics!
On Friday, I picked Mazen up from summer camp, and we got dressed in our out-to-dinner clothes and headed to Zinburger, who hosted our family for dinner.
All summer long kids eat for just $3, and they have a very kid-friendly atmosphere and menu.
In fact, there was a tiny newborn in the booth next to us that Thomas and I enjoyed watching!
T and I each ordered the Napa salad to start, and we shared both sweet potato waffle fries and hand-cut regular fries for the table 🙂
I had the special summer burger topped with heirloom tomato, balsamic glaze, and burrata cheese!
We had so much food on the table we brought about half of it home for lunch the next day because we wanted to save room for shakes!
Mazen had cookies ‘n cream (which was actually my favorite of the three!), I had the salted caramel, and Thomas ordered a double chocolate. Sooo delicious!
Lauren was hosting a party at her house, and we stopped by on our way home to say hello.
We’ve been watching World Cup soccer at night. (I forget which game we watched after putting Mazen to bed but the most memorable goal from the weekend was Germany’s winning goal in the last few minutes.)
Saturday morning breakfast: cheesy eggs, toast, and cherries.
We packed up the crew mid-morning and headed to Thomas’s parents’ house to feed their cat and take Mazen on a little trek up to the ridge.
Mazen and Gus LOVED the hike, and M collected rocks and sticks along the way. We counted 13 centipedes. (Thankfully no snakes or bears were spotted!)
I, however, was not too keen on hiking without a path. There was so much summertime brush, and I was sure I was going to step on a snake at any minute! We were covered in bug spray, and if I’d known the brush would be so high I would have worn pants too. Thomas grew up in these woods, but I prefer sidewalks and trails!!
I noticed we were heading the wrong direction on our way back and prevented us from going down in a valley! Good thing I have a good sense of direction and am very observant (“These white plants were not here on our way out.”)
Back at home, showered, and praying for no poison ivy, we heated up our leftovers for lunch.
And watched more soccer…some of us.
We’ve been eating out a lot lately, so although Matt came to pick up Mazen for the night, we decided to do a date night in and cook something delicious.
Mocktail hour on the deck.
We baked potatoes and broccoli and grilled beef tenderloin.
Shout out to this great meat thermometer Thomas got for Christmas. It’s wireless and bluetooth enabled so you just stick in in your meat and the app keeps you informed of the temperature.
I hadn’t had a loaded baked potato in ages – so delicious!
We ended the night with The Crown on the couch – the coronation episode! Also, the most recent Handmaid’s Tale… OMG! If you guys aren’t watching Handmaid’s you need to asap.
Have a great week!
The hike sounds so adventurous! What a great bonding time for the family. 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
If you are worried about poison ivy take a thorough shower as soon as you can after possible exposure. Use plenty of soap as it’s the oil of the plant that clings to you. 🙂
2 of the 3 of us did (the other refused…!)
Lol!!
Probably should have forced him 🙂 especially since you went off trail. There is tons of poison ivy in this area.
What a great weekend. We love Zinburger and The Handmaid’s Tale is awesome!!!
OMG girl I feel you on the snakes. I love to hike, but I’m always like PLEASE don’t let me see any snakes. I basically have a melt down if i see them!
What is that cool tube toy Mazen is playing with?
A marble run!
Zinburger is so good! And the hike looks fun, but I’m with you on the snakes ?
Oh man… Handmaids Tale left me shook!!
I’m sure you are also finding that it’s a different viewing experience this season, to ALSO be pregnant! Due in ~3 weeks so I’m particularly interested in the next episode!! ahhhhh! (though knocking on wood, I am not deserted in the middle of nowhere alone but still haha)
YES! Being pregnant and a mom to a little boy it was a double whammy episode!!
Zinburger looks delicious! Those shakes. Yum. You said they hosted your family for dinner. Were you lucky enough to get free meals there?
Yes, hosted = a complimentary meal. Sorry if that was not clear.
I’m with you 100% on trails and sidewalks!
Is The Crown growing on you? Liking it better?
Yes, I keep thinking “This isn’t as good as Downton Abbey” but it’s still good.
The Handmaid’s Tale is so great! Although, very disturbing! I’m addicted to it, though!
same!
Are you liking the Crown more now? I found I really got into it the more things progressed.
I have not started season 2 of Handmaid’s Tale yet, but I’m looking forward to it!
Yes, we are getting into it! Handmaid’s is the best though 🙂
Oh the adventures that Clay and Thomas had in those woods was epic:).
🙂
What a fun hike (!) but the fear of poison ivy is real. When my hubs and I went to Max Patch to hike at the end of May, we found ourselves on trails that were seriously not well-maintained cause the brush was up to our knees and at one point, I looked down and saw cuts on my legs that I somehow sustained without knowing. ha We also stayed in a camper so there was no shower option…shoooweee not my type of camping
Yikessss!
I can hook you up with an insider link to some off trail hiking when you’re home along the Eno. Using this unofficial “map” you can see lots of cool things like old homesites… though I’d wait until it’s less snakey. We saw 3 black snakes in one hike once!
Ahhh! Yes less snakey is good! I used to love going to that park with the bridge….I forget the name…but I think it was Eno River State Park?
Yes – Eno River State Park. There are multiple official trails and many different access points. You can also check out this site: http://enotrails.com/index.php/grand-eno-river-trail/
This wonderful site links together all the different trails and also includes “social” trails that have hidden gems.
Oh my goodness, when I saw the part about snakes I had to say that my cousin who lives north of Charlottesville was just bit by a copperhead – she is doing okay now but had to be hospitalized. The snake was right outside of her house by the deck. She’s north of the airport I believe. Hopefully just a freak thing, but be careful out there!
Yikes!!! Glad she’s ok but that is awful.