The Two Things I Miss the Most from the South

… are thunderstorms and tomatoes. Fortuitously, this visit to the guesthouse brought both on the same morning! The second morning of my visit found me, as most mornings spent on the east coast do, far from hungry for breakfast. Forget sleep, shifting meal times pose the biggest challenge to this traveler. Thank goodness the guesthouse comes supplied by a lovingly tended (if somewhat scorched, thanks to the record-setting heat) vegetable garden featuring a plethora, from which I sampled: tomatoes, various chilies, white corn, spring onions, and a variety of herbs. Here’s just small sampling of what we enjoyed:

With eyes bigger than my stomach, I sliced a plate of the perfectly ripe, fresh-from-the-vine heirloom tomatoes and sat down on the screen porch to enjoy them. I was sipping my double macchiato (per usual at the guesthouse) when the thunder started. The true to form for southern summers, the rumble of thunder led to a fantastic, lethargic downpour interspersed with rumbling thunder and claps of lighting.

I couldn’t believe my luck. My two favorite things from a childhood spent in the South combined in one perfect morning. What more could you ask for from a guesthouse you might ask? Well, on the usual list of culprits: great cocktails, fantastic scenery, excellent recreation (read: the river), and nothing but the best company. What could we do to make a visit both more spectacular AND more ‘merican at the same time? We got an up-close view of a bald eagle (unfortunately, not the one pictured below, although I did see this one up close in Yellowstone).