Hi friends! I’m back in DC after a whirlwind of travel. Let’s recap, shall we?
I flew into Atlanta straight from my Fitness Magazine event in NYC last week so that I could spend a day with my high school BFF Jenny and her family before heading to FNCE (the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo) on Saturday morning. Jenny lives about an hour south of Atlanta in Macon, GA – they are there for her husband Dan’s medical residency.
I hadn’t been to visit yet so it was a lot of fun to see their home and check out the area! I loved seeing adorable miss Mia, Jenny and Dan’s 18 month old daughter, as well.
On Friday morning, Jenny and I decided to check out Wesleyan’s campus for a run.
We discovered a beautiful trail – perfect!
It was a GORGEOUS morning for a run. We ran about 3 miles and then strolled back to the car. We saw this little family of turtles on the way!
For lunch, Jenny and Dan said that I needed to try The Rookery, Macon’s famous burger place. We started with beers while we waited for a table outside! Allagash White Ale for me – love.
As for lunch, a burger and fries, of course! I got the local grass fed beef burger topped with bacon, sautéed mushrooms and onions, lettuce, and tomato. Plus BBQ sauce, ketchup, and mustard! #allthecondiments
I love a good burger – and this was a tasty one! I give it an A-, as it could have been juicier, but it was really good. Just not as good as Ray’s Hell Burger here in Arlington. ;) The fries weren’t my fave, though – I prefer super crispy fries and they were more soft.
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the weather! We took a nice walk with Mia and then hit up the pool that afternoon. Three cheers for pools still being open in the south. It was so amazing.
For dinner, Jenny and I had a girl’s night out with her friend Lindsey.
We went to a really cool restaurant above The Rookery where we had lunch, called Dovetail, whose tagline is “locally crafted, southern inspired.” I felt like I was at a trendy farm to table restaurant in DC!
We had a FABULOUS dinner. Great food, great company, great wine, great service!
To start, we shared some appetizers – the green tomato salad with microgreens, a cheese plate (with an amazing bacon jam spread), and deviled eggs.
As for dinner, I had the pork chops with mashed sweet potatoes. Delicious! It was massive so we packed up half for Dan to enjoy later.
For dessert, the three of us shared the seasonal pumpkin cheesecake, which was lighter than a normal cheesecake and reminded me of a pumpkin chiffon type pie. Yum! Plus their salted caramel ice cream, which was to die for.
If you’re ever randomly in Macon, go to Dovetail. You won’t be disappointed!
On Saturday morning, Jenny and I were up and out to go to the “Ripped” class at her gym, which is one of her weekly favorites. It was a lot of fun – cardio + weights! After our workout, we headed up to Atlanta! Before going to my conference, we met up with my brother for lunch, who lives near-ish to Atlanta and drove in to see me. Yay! So good to see him.
We met him at a place in Decatur Square called Leon’s Full Service. We shared the hummus plate to start and then I had a really good salad with trout.
After lunch, it was off to FNCE, which I’ll be back tomorrow to recap. It was a whirlwind of a weekend!
Have a great day, friends!
You make my heart ache for GA this time of year. I went to school not far from Macon. It’s a beautiful area like you’ve pictured with tons of trails. Oh…and love eating in Decatur when visiting home. There are so many great restaurants in that area. Thanks for sharing your travels. You’ve put a big smile on my face today. :)
Aw, I’m happy to hear it! :)
*Macon my heart ache” :)
Those pictures are beautiful!
So glad you had a great weekend and nice weather in Macon! That restaurant sounds great and I’ll have to recommend it to my friend who is from Macon!
The pic with your brother…I love your necklace!
Ah, the south is a beautiful place! I am so excited to hear about the Food Expo- I hope to be able to go one day.
Ah I am so jealous! I love Georgia- such a fun vibe there!
Great trip! Your pictures are wonderful.
YAY Macon represent ;) Loved having you visit! come baaaaaack!!
I had no idea the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo was in Atlanta last weekend! I wish I went! I was down from Massachusetts visiting friends there. Did you happen to go to the Little 5 points parade?
No, what is that?
It’s a halloween parade in the hipster neighborhood of Atlanta called Little 5 points. That area along with downtown decatur (which you ended up going to) are my favorite two spots in the city. The porter bar in little 5 points and the brick store pub in decatur are the 2 best bars for craft beer in the city.
That sounds awesome, I’m sad I missed it!
I lived in Macon for a few years and now live nearby, so kind of funny to see pictures pop up of Wesleyan and Dovetail/The Rookery! Dovetail is our favorite date night spot lately. Their veggie plate followed by the cracked pie with salted caramel ice cream is the best!! Glad you had a good quick visit to GA.
Do you know what gym Jenny teaches at?
Jenny got the veggie plate and loved it! And the cracked pie was our other top dessert choice — hard to choose! I’m not sure of the gym name, I’m sorry!
She teaches at the the Medical Center Wellness Center!
Thanks Gretchen!
You should come by sometime :) it’s the Wellness Center on Northside Dr. I teach abs on Monday mornings and Tuesday evenings and a cardio strength class Tuesday evenings too!
I’m a dietetic student who lives 20 minutes south of Macon in Warner Robins, and those are my two favorite restaurants in this area! I was hoping to bump into you and Elle from According to Elle at FNCE, but didn’t see you guys. Glad you enjoyed middle Georgia!
Aw I’m sorry to have missed you!
Your blog and nutrition practice was mentioned in the Branding class on Monday!
I heard – that’s so cool!
Great weekend, clearly!
My Mia! Glad you had fun visiting Macon, the Rookery is my new favorite place evarrrrr :)
Soooo good!
That looks like the most perfect place to be outside for a run!
I also love your food here- not “perfect” but so real- something I’m working on. I think it’s great for you to promote balance in your eating.
I’m definitely a proponent of being healthy meaning not always being healthy!
Those are beautiful photos from your run! It looks like you had a fun trip!
Food at Dove looks amazing!! Loving all things pumpkin, especially desserts!
Awesome weekend! That trail is perfect
That running trail looks amazing! And all the glorious food … I’m drooling right about now lol
I’m not a big trail runner, but it looks like it would be a great one to try! And that pumpkin cheesecake looks AMAZING!
Allagash white is my favorite! I love that beer.
Love the plug for Ray’s Hellburger!
I’ve never done trailrunning, but it looks like it would be super fun and be a bit less impact on my joints since I normally am a road-runner. Do you notice a difference (other than the beautiful scenery, of course!) between trail running and road running?
It’s harder (takes more power to push off and you have to really watch your feet… ankles work hard) but definitely easier on the knees!
Awesome Pictures!! :)
Looks like a fun and yummy trip! My brother-in-law lives in Atlanta and we are eager to visit now that we live closer in Charlotte!
I’ve never been to Atlanta before- and I guess I should be surprised since it is such a large cite, but wow- what a great variety of restaurants. It looks as if there are so many healthy, cnutritious options to choose from and farm to table dining?! Awesome!
Yay!! Mia looks adorable! Hi Jenny! Hi Stephen! :)
Hi Kris! Hope Paris is treating you well!
I love that little turtle family :) And also, Allagash White. Yum.
Georgia is absolutely gorgeous! I love the charm of the South!
Anne! You were literally right here in my town! I go to Mercer University in Macon! It’s so cool to see you blog about places that I know. :) I hope you enjoyed your visit to the South.
I love your leather jacket! Where did you get it?
It’s Jenny’s – wish it were mine! Apparently it’s from Express last winter.