Family Time

Last week my fiance and I visited his side of the family in Abingdon, Virginia.  The mountains were beautiful and we had weather the entire time.  We spent our time shopping at antique and thrift stores, eating the local cuisine (BBQ), and even having our own Iron Chef challenge night.  It was a great couple of days and I can't wait to see them all again.

Here are some pictures of the trip:

Up first: antiquing:

wedding dress?  It was affordable

I LOOOOVE this and wish I found one that needed fixing.

This gas mask was super tempting...

I am in need of a coat hanger 

 Up next: Iron Chef challenge- we had to use marmalade as the ingredient... We had 30 minutes to shop and a 50 dollar budget.  My fiance and I were on a team and his two sisters were on the other team.  They won, but technically we won because we were able to plate in 60 minutes and they were a little over time.  It was fun though.

Our competitors... look at all those veggies

Our entry- we went for home cooking 

Competitors appetizers- faaancy with homemade scones

That's how the kitchen looked when we were finished.  It was wrecked!

You never seem the chefs cleaning up on those shows! 

 We also went on a walk to the Creeper trail where my fiance's mother walked throughout battling cancer.  It was a beautiful walk and we ended at the bench which was built in memory of his mother.

His cousins Zoe and Jesse

These followed us throughout our walk 

Fisherman under the bridge

Two rivers come together at this point 

Her bench that now gives strength and supports others 

The family on the bench

The bench is at the end on the left...  

Tree house off the trail

Strawberry picking-  We had about 20 minutes to kill before an appointment so we spent it speed picking strawberries.  We were able to get 2 gallons in that time and before the big storm hit!

Zoe picking 

The time spent was awesome and am glad to have gotten to spend time with such great people!  Next time, a Chopped challenge and more thrift stores!