Ten Ten Ten

October 12, 2010









Ten Ten Ten

October 10, 2010, abbreviated 10/10/10 was a pretty cool day and not just for the thousands of couples around the country who were scrambling to exchange their vows at 10:10 in the morning. For my family, the day was another special day of hanging out at the beautiful Blackberry Farm under the gloriously perfect autumn sunshine splashing down on the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.

Will, Marta & Jerome





In addition to celebrating my mother Marta’s birthday, Kathy & I were celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary. Like the many ten-ten brides, we picked the long Columbus Day weekend to get married on the beach in Key West back in 2003. So being at Blackberry Farm was doubly special for us.



Michael, Marta & Marika



The incredible weather invited us to get out and enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful scenery of the farm. We spent the better part of the day exploring all that the place had to offer, whether checking out the sheep herd, wondering over to see the beautiful horses, hiking the extensive trails, playing a simple game of ping-pong or pool, driving the miles of cart paths in the cove cottage golf cart or just swinging on the swing that hangs from a tree out in front of the Inn.



Will & Brian



We even found time to accompany Marta to the gift shop for one of her favorite activities, shopping. We also spent a little time watching the professional Orvis fishing guide give some fly-fishing lessons in the creek that flows through the property. It was just an incredibly beautiful scene.



Michele, Marta & Marika



The pace of the place is just so conducive to relaxation and we also found time to just relax and enjoy the company of my family. Usually visits seems so rushed as no matter who is visiting whom, someone is usually intruding on the normal life of another, but this visit found us all on equally relaxed footing and was a true pleasure.







Marta’s birthday weekend was a smashing success, I was so happy to play a small role in it and I was even more excited to share our birthday gift to her when we surprised her with a copy of my ticket to Hungary to join her during the first week of next month. Marta was born in Hungary and has been after her children to travel there with her as long as I can remember. My sister Marika and her husband Brian have made the trip, but my sister Michele and myself have not made it as of yet.





Marta will be traveling to spend a month in Budapest in an apartment, and finally after all these years, I am going to go over and join her. I only wish that Michele could be joining us, but as someone who has not been able to go all these years, I understand why her other commitments have not allowed for it. It made for a happy birthday for Marta all around and we all just had the best time at Blackberry Farm.



Kathy

Michele, Michael & Marika

Four Score

October 11, 2010

Marta



Marika, Brian, Michael, Kathy, Jerome, Michelle, Pat, Will & Marta (front)

Four Score



It is a pretty rare thing to get my family together all at the same time, I suppose that this may be the case with a lot of families, but it seems other than marriages and funerals, we just haven’t been very good about bringing the family together. This week that all changed as the majority of our clan gathered in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains near Walland, Tennessee at a wonderful place called Blackberry Farm to celebrate a milestone birthday for my mother Marta.

Marta & Kathy

The Cove Cottage

Only my brother-in-law Jerome and nephew Christopher missed the celebration of our immediate family and while we certainly missed their presence, we managed to have an amazing weekend with Marta. Blackberry Farm is one of the most exclusive and consistently highest rated resort hotel properties in the world and also happens to be one of Marta’s favorite places. We are fortunate in that one of the partners in the property, Brad, is the brother of my sister Marika’s husband Brian and offered us the use of his private on property cottage, the Cove cottage, during our stay.



the Noel family



The property offers a wide array of activities from the Farmhouse Spa, the incredible garden, world-class fly-fishing in the beautiful Hesse Creek, miles of nature trails and the quaintness of the (mostly) working farm. They also are world famous for raising Italian truffle dogs and there was a wonderful litter of eight puppies there while we visited.

Will & puppy

Truffle Dog Puppy

Kathy

To describe the accommodations and grounds at Blackberry is not easy, the 4200 acre property is breathtakingly beautiful, the cottage itself was comfortable and elegant and the amenities are incredible. The entire experience was enhanced by the absolutely perfect beautiful Fall weather that blessed us throughout the weekend.







The farm is probably most renowned for the amazing gourmet cuisine and incredible wine collection. For Marta’s birthday we had reservations for nine at their amazing Barn restaurant which is open only for resort guests and features their signature meals that combines haute cuisine with the delightful foods found in the local Smoky Mountain foothills region. The restaurant features a chef, baker, chocolatier, cheese maker, butcher, jam lady and five sommeliers as well as a huge staff to make sure every aspect of the dining experience is perfect.

The Barn







But as marvelous as the place is, it was the company that really made the weekend. It is sadly such a rarity that we get to spend such quality time together as a family and that is what made the weekend so special. I feel so fortunate to have been able to see everyone in such a relaxing and enjoyable setting. I think my mother could not have been more pleased that we were all together to honor her birthday. And while the actual birthday is not until next week, Kathy & I want to wish her the happiest of birthdays and thank her for being the truly amazing person that she is. We love you Marta!!



Dinner at the Barn

The Blades family



Blackberry Farm website

GQ Article on Blackberry Truffle Dog

The ‘Noog

October 10, 2010







The ‘Noog

Columbus Day weekend found Kathy & I headed north to join my extended family in celebrating a milestone birthday for my mother Marta. Thanks to Delta airlines, we were able to catch the Thursday evening flight from Key West to Atlanta where we rented a car to get us to our destination, Blackberry Farm, just outside of Knoxville in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. By heading up on Thursday, Kathy & I were able to spend the night and spend part of day in one of our favorite places, Chattanooga, Tennessee.





Chattanooga, known affectionately as The ‘Noog by locals, has been on our radar since Kathy & I drove by during our cross country trip back in 2006. We have enjoyed an extended visit since then checking out property, at some point down the line, we plan to acquire a place somewhere in the vicinity.







This trip was just a quick stopover and we only had limited time so we thought we would check out something we missed during our last visit, which excluded visiting the most popular attractions such as Rock City, Ruby Falls or the Tennessee Aquarium. We opted instead to visit the quaint little Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park. The Zoo, which has no doubt been overshadowed since the construction of the Aquarium in nonetheless a cool little getaway that is still growing as evidenced by the amazing new Jaguar exhibit. The Zoo would be in the small to mid-size category, not having a lot of large animal displays, but offering plenty of room and space for the mostly smaller animals that are there.









The weather could not have been more perfect and it was so awesome for us to enjoy a perfect fall afternoon with sunshine, temps in the upper 70s, zero humidity and a light breeze through the leaves that were beginning to change colors. It was an amazing morning at the zoo.





Afterwards we headed through downtown across the Tennessee River to what is known as the Northshore, a wonderful enclave of cool shops, restaurants and the beautiful riverfront park that looks out on the river and downtown Chattanooga. We walked through the park, shopped at the wonderful little stores and had a wonderful late lunch before hitting the road to head the additional two hours to Blackberry Farm.





We love Chattanooga and hope to return soon to resume our search for a place there to call our own. Someday we would like to split our time between Key West and the Noog. It is a cool little city that is within an easy drive of Atlanta, Nashville and Knoxville and would bring us closer to family and friends in middle-America.



Chattanooga Zoo