Camp Pick Up Tradition: Sierra Nevada Brewery

Camp pick-up day might just be the best day of the year for me. These squirrels are absolutely exhausted from packing in so much: horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, capture the flag, tennis, swimming, ceramics, painting, and so much more! They have so many new friends to introduce me to and so many special places at camp they want to show me. And the HUGS! Have I mentioned the hugs when we first see one another?? The goodbyes are heartfelt and the tears are sweet. And when they tuck in for their first night back at home, they both sleep heavily (one for 13 hours and the other 14, this year). 

Before all of that sleeping though, our tradition is to wrap up camp with a stop for lunch at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Asheville on our drive back home to Charlotte. I let them order whatever their hearts desire and we pick and choose and pass and share and sample and nosh our way through stories from camp. In addition to funny things that happened, amazing things they did, creative things they made, favorite meals from the dining hall, and adventures on the water and on the trails, I usually get a sampling of songs they sang over the two weeks as well. 

(joyce farms chicken wings, rasted beet salad, moroccan skewers, heirloom tomato salad, hickory grits, pavlova)

After we've worked our way through all the delicious food, we head out to the gardens and the sunshine. This year, the edible flowers (and flowers in general) were abundant among the herbs and vegetables. There were so many colors and we had a great time roaming the paths between the beds. When we've had enough of the heat, we hit the road to get home to a Daddy who's been missing them and a kitty that has been forced to survive on a fraction of the love and attention he's accustomed to.