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Ingredients
6 roma tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment. Place tomatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with thyme, pepper, salt, and sugar. Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes.
I’ve been driving past Mark of the Potter in Clarksville, Georgia for years now, but it wasn’t until recently that my family and I decided to check out this quiet, beautiful gem tucked away along Scenic Highway 197, and I’m so glad we did.
It was a few weeks ago as Alex and I were driving the boys to a birthday party that we passed Mark of the Potter, an old grain mill which was turned into a pottery shop by local retirees in 1969. I began to tell the kids about the old mill and its place on the banks of the Soque River when my son, Austin, a briny fisherman at heart, immediately perked up. He wanted to know what kind of fish were in the river. When I told him about the so-called “trophy” trout that populate the Soque by the thousands, his eyes lit up. Alex and I decided to stop by Mark of the Potter on the way back from the birthday party so that Austin could see the fish for himself.
When we got there, I browsed the pottery for sale inside the shop while the boys went out back to feed and marvel at the long, fat rainbow trout. The pottery in the shop is a beautiful assortment with lots of different colors, shapes and sizes, ideal for anyone looking to expand their own collection, and I couldn’t help but do some marveling of my own at how unique so many of the pieces were. I confess, I was a bit surprised by the amount of inventory and featured artists. The store had everything from napkin rings and butter dishes, to large vases and urns, and everything in between. I selected a small dish to add to my coffee table in our family room as a reminder of our day trip.
Once I was done in the shop, I went out back with the boys. Like the majority of property along the river, Mark of the Potter is privately owned and fishing is not allowed. They want their section of the river to be a serene one for both humans and wildlife, allowing the trout to grow and spawn, restocking the river for everyone to enjoy. Austin and Dalton went wild as what seemed like hundreds of fish came to eat the food they threw out, and when they’d finished we walked underneath the mill, where visitors can see the water running and read about the building’s history. Austin spotted salamanders and frogs under the mill. The kids loved the adventure.
As we drove away on the winding, scenic road back to the lake house, I felt happy we’d finally made the time to explore Mark of the Potter. Daily life can get so busy that I often forget the power of small adventures like these for my children. Fortunately, the light in Austin’s eyes as he watched the fish swim to the surface of the river reminded me how important it is to break away from routine every once in a while, and try something new. Even a brief detour can make a big difference.
Overall, I’d say Mark of the Potter is the perfect fun, FREE place to go if you’re looking for a Sunday outing with family or friends. Make a day of it and get lost in the breathtaking beauty of North Georgia. I promise, you won’t regret it.
When my mother-in-law, Sandy, mentioned back in March that she wanted to take her entire family on a trip to the beach, I immediately got excited. In April, Sandy celebrated a milestone birthday. If I told you how old she turned you wouldn’t believe it…. and she might disown me so we will keep that a secret! No proper Southern woman ever discloses her age. And everyone in the South has been taught you are never to ask. Sandy is beautiful, relaxed and laid back, just like the beach, so an easy-going vacation with all her children and grandchildren was just the gift she needed for her special birthday.
My most treasured memories from Cape San Blas are of watching my two boys play in the ocean on the shallow sandbars as the sun set in the background. The sunsets were truly captivating. Time moves slower on Cape San Blas. Many nights I had no idea what time it was. I let the sun be my watch. Dinners were always served al fresco on the porch just as the sun began to set. There was no hurry to finish quickly, clean the table, and get the kids ready for bed. We stayed up late, made massive bon fires on the beach, roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed each other’s company. Disconnecting from the hustle bustle recharged my soul.
Cape San Blas is a remote 17 mile long barrier peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico located between Panama City and Apalachicola. Cape San Blas curves around the St. Joseph bay. The smooth, shallow water on the Bay side and white sand beaches on the Gulf side, make Cape San Blas a perfect destination because there is something for everyone to enjoy. The water on the Gulf side is clear and beautiful with small waves, making it a perfect spot for little kids to play and have fun in the water.
Paddle boarding and kayaking in the bay is a must. We rented Kayaks and Paddle Boards from Sand Flea Rentals. They delivered them to our house. We paddle boarded the gulf early in the mornings before the surf came in and kayaked the bay in the afternoons. The bay is teaming with wild life. We spotted birds, stingrays, and numerous different varieties of fish. The water in the bay is so smooth. Little A fished straight off the back of his kayak. Although he didn’t catch anything, he had a great time. We were hoping to spot some nurse sharks in the bay. Supposedly the bay is teaming with them. I paddled over to a lady who had been fishing in her kayak all day and asked if she had seen any. She in fact said she had just seen one the size of her kayak. YIKES! Supposedly they are harmless, but I wasn’t interested in finding out. While little A on the other hand was trying to spot and catch one!
Cape San Blas is very remote. There are no high rise hotels on the peninsula, only privately owned homes dot the gulf shore. Cape San Blas doesn’t have the business and entertainment of a typical old beach town, but the quiet solitude of the cape was exactly what we were looking for.
Cape San Blas is also home to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. The park is located at the very end of the peninsula. It is a nature and adventure lovers paradise. Visitors can camp and cook out or scallop the bay and kayak the gulf for the day like we did. Since Cape San Blas and Port St. Joe is one of the only places in Florida where you can find bay scallops, people from all over the world come to snorkel the shallow waters and wade through the soft grassy flats. Scalloping season begins July 1st. We were there just in time for Little A to take part in the fun adventure of searching for the elusive mollusks.
There are no hotels in Cape San Blas. We used VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owners) to secure a house to stay in along the beach. If your family likes camping, you could also stay at the State Park, as they have campsites with water and electricity or fully furnished cabins complete with fireplaces. For those looking for a less woodsy experience, I definitely recommend using VRBO or Airbnb to find a house by the gulf or bay. For our big family, a large home on the beach was just what we needed.
Since Cape San Blas is remote, there are very few restaurants to choose from. We didn’t see this as problem because Sandy and all of her 3 children love to cook. We enjoyed long days at the beach. We slowly trickled up to the house to make dinner as the sun began to set each evening. There was no fuss or hurry, no rush to get all the kids in the shower and dressed in matching outfits. (That’s a bit of a fib….I did make my boys dress in matching outfits a few nights so I could snap some pics of them on the beach.)
Some of my favorite dishes that we made were a special guacamole with pico de gallo on the side, cool creamy no-bake crab dip, fried grouper fish sticks, and refreshing vodka tonics.
We ventured to Weber’s Little Donut Shop for fresh fried donuts almost every morning. We couldn’t resist. The fried croissants were mind blowing. Imagine buttery, flakey layers or soft yet crunchy goodness. My mouth is watering thinking about them. I suppose they are similar to the cronut, which I am still dying to try.
As the end of the week approached we decided eating out would give us a change of scenery. I read about Indian Pass Raw Bar in Southern Living a few years back. A small restaurant just on the side of the road, the raw bar is filled with oysters and crab legs and runs on an honor system; they hand you a checklist when you arrive, you check off what you grab out of the cooler, and you pay the bill at the end. The atmosphere was perfect for kids……loud and laid back. And the kids loved the huge Connect 4 Game outside on the covered porch.
There’s only one way to describe Georgia in the summer and that’s hot, hot, hot. Now that it’s July I can hardly go outside without the humidity flattening my hair like a pancake, or smearing my mascara across my eyes. Instead, I watch out my kitchen window as everything that can move draws back into the shade, including my sweet yellow lab, and our tomato plants droop on their vines, thirsty for cool water.
There’s only one escape for this kind of misery, and that’s the lake.
I’ve spent summers at Lake Burton since I was a little girl. My grandparents bought a house there in the 1950s and have kept it for all of us to enjoy ever since. It’s one of my favorite places in the world, and the fact that I can share it with my own children now makes it that much more special, so whenever we have a bit of downtime in the summers we pack up the car and head north.
In my family, no trip to Lake Burton would be complete without a stop at Fritchey’s, the produce stand in Habersham, right off of Old Highway 17. Though it doesn’t look like much, Fritchey’s is filled to the brim with fresh picked silver queen corn that’s been grown on site, okra, tomatoes, squash, beans and so, so much more! My go-to staples when I’m there include a handful of tomatoes and a bushel of corn and squash to fry up once I’m at the lake. The milkshakes are pretty eye-catching too, but usually I try and save my appetite for the fried squash and tomato sandwiches we’ll be having in the near future…I say usually because I’m not always successful ;).
Once we leave Fritchey’s, Alex and I like to roll down all the windows, turn the music up, and breathe in the cool mountain air as we drift through the windy roads. It’s incredible how our stress seems to blow away in the wind as the air goes from hot and humid to cool and clean. I swear, I breathe better in the mountains.
The second we get to the lake and unload the kids from the car I head to the kitchen to whip up the very best southern delicacy there is (that’s right, I’m calling it) – tomato sandwiches! If I had to choose my last meal, it would be these heavenly sandwiches, which are as simple as they are delicious. There’s a big debate in my family about whether or not to peel the tomatoes, (my family comes down heavily on the yes side while Alex thinks it’s the strangest thing in the world) but I think either way there is nothing better than a summer tomato. No matter if you peel it or simply slice away!
With full bellies from all our farmers market bounty, we head down to the dock for a day of fun on the water.
Life can get so crazy in the summers. With the kids out of school and Southern Baked running at full steam, it can all feel a bit overwhelming sometimes, which is why getting away for a week or two is such an important part of my family’s calendar each summer. This year we planned a trip with friends to Topsail Island, a beautiful barrier reef island off the coast of North Carolina, and we had an absolute blast.
Going to Topsail is like going back in time. The island wasn’t even developed until the 1960s and even today the population is small, so it’s almost like walking along the shores of Destin in the 1980s, when it still felt tucked away from the rest of the world. We stayed on the southernmost end, surrounded by the ocean on two sides and the gently lapping waters of the sound on the other. At night as we watched the spectacular sunsets from the deck, it felt like we were the only people on the island at all.
Because Topsail has such a beautiful sound, (the beach facing the shore of North Carolina, not out towards the ocean) we loved paddle boarding and kayaking on the lazy waters. We also enjoyed getting out on the boat with our friends, the Lundford’s (sp?), to navigate the clear waterways every day. Once we found a sandbar, we’d put out our chairs and relax for hours while the kids played and fished in the shallow, crystal blue waters. We even started to call them “our Bahamas sandbars” because of how much they reminded us of the tropical island waters. Some families even brought their grills out to the sandbars and cooked meals right there in the middle of the sound!
Because Topsail has a fairly low-key restaurant scene, we cooked our own dinners every night. We’d either use the fish we’d caught during the day (like the day when my boys went with a fishing guide up the intercostal waterway and caught some incredible redfish), or we’d pick something up from the local seafood market. Alex and I loved doing this because we didn’t have to deal with the pressure of beating the crowds out to a restaurant. We could also eat with our friends while we looked out on our amazing view, completely uninterrupted.
Our week at Topsail was such a perfect opportunity to relax, rejuvenate and reconnect. I can’t believe how lucky we were to discover this gem of an island and get to spend so much time exploring it with the friends and family we love so dearly. I’m already looking forward to my next trip!
