Mountain Sound - Of Monsters and Men

Travel is a huge part of our lives and every year, John and I make it a point to take a trip together.

Being pregnant makes vacations a little trickier to plan.

Being pregnant during a pandemic and trying to plan a getaway is like doing quadratic equations….under water….and everything is written in Aramaic….and there are sharks.

There was no way I was getting on a plane, so our initial plans to visit Oregon got scrapped and I didn’t particularly care for the thought of sitting on a beach for a week (I live within 20 minutes of the best dog beach ever), so the Keys and the West Coast of Florida were out.

So, I took the advice of Paul Westerberg - sweet Georgia breezes/safe, cool and warm/I headed up north.

We grabbed the dogs, two of our closest friends and headed to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia for cooler climes and a change of scenery.

Hey Will. It’s Mom.

For a really long time, I didn’t think I liked nature and preferred to be in city/town environments. Looking back, this makes sense because my exposure to nature was limited to buggy, man-made lakes in the suburbs and the occasional swampy nature preserve.

Then, I got a little older and started exploring the world a little more - climbing up mountains, dipping my toes in cool streams, hiking through dusty desert trails and seeing mountain goats, elk, deer and monkeys in their natural habitat.

I want to make sure that you fall in love with nature at an early age and realize your place in this world. As an explorer, as an adventurer and as a responsible steward protecting these beautiful places and all who dwell therein.

Daddy and I just came back from the Georgia Mountains and I cannot wait to take you there.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that view. Especially if there’s a cute dog nearby.

Your brother and sister loved this trip - so many new scents to sniff, places to explore, a breezy deck on which to sunbathe and people food every night for dinner. Not just people food but steak and potatoes.

These two bananaheads aren’t the only people who ate well on our trip. Mommy ate a pimento-cheese/egg salad sandwich the size of her face and it was glorious.

Travel and food are intertwined in my life - I travel to eat well.

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about the Southern Foodways Alliance (an organization born of the University of Mississippi’s Center for Southern Culture) and their Brown in the South program which looks at the intersection of Indian culinary tradition and the American South.

There are so many similarities between the food I grew up eating and the traditions of Southern American cuisine and one of my hold-my-breath wishes for you is that you’ll love to cook and explore culinary traditions just like me. If you and I can hang out in the kitchen and make tandoori-tossed fried okra, buttermilk biscuits with green chili and cilantro, chaat masala boiled peanuts or chai chess pie - I’ll be the happiest woman alive.

We traveled out to Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit Ruby Falls - an underground waterfall inside Lookout Mountain - and our drive through the Cherokee National Forest was pretty incredible.

We even saw a baby bear! Look at this little guy - just hanging out and exploring - knowing full well that his mama is nearby and will rip the face off anyone who might be foolish enough to approach.

Ruby Falls has a pretty great view of Chattanooga and I’m kinda bummed we didn’t get a chance to spend more time in that city. Especially since Robar has a Bramble that sounds like it’s basically heaven-sent.

God, I miss gin.

Don’t get me wrong, kid - I love you more than anything and am happy to give up drinking to make sure you come out happy and healthy but buddy, Mommy is already counting down the days until her first gin cocktail - a perfectly chilled Bees Knees with Gray Whale Gin or a giant tumbler of Bluecoat, good tonic, pebbly ice and lots of lime.

Where was I?

Oh! Right! Ruby Falls - underground waterfall. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I cannot wait to take you there.

Finally, we visited the Swinging Bridge on the Toccoa River. The trail is an easy hike but credit where credit is due - your mama is eight months pregnant.

That’s pretty impressive.

Walking through the forest made me think about how we’re decorating your nursery - lots of green and earthy tones, streaming sunlight and a noise machine playing the sounds of rushing water and chirping birds.

It was a great trip and I’ve already started planning a vacation for your first birthday. I want to take you to the Great Smoky Mountains. We can see the leaves changing color, go to the zoo in Knoxville, take the aerial tram, hike the Gatlinburg Trail and drive the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg and check out the Lost Sea in Sweetwater - the world’s largest underground lake.

You’ll likely be too young to remember it but I hope it ignites a spark in you - to travel, to explore, to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.

Anthony Bourdain said it best - “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

See you soon. xx