How to become a Thomasvillian in one weekend

We recently had guests come to town for some festive fun. And Thomasville did not disappoint!

My high school bestie/college roommate/bridesmaid Karen came to town with her husband Hadley (whom we've known since our FSU days) from where they live in Atlanta. We had a full weekend of activities planned, all right here in Thomasville!

Thursday night, just after they arrived, we attended the Quail Bash, which kicked off the annual Kevin's Game Fair, just a short walk from our home at the downtown Marriott. I guess we were talking so much and having so much fun, we didn't snap any photos!

Friday morning, we scurried to Longpine for a wagon tour of the 7,000-acre property, just 14 minutes from our home in the historic district of Thomasville.

The biologists of Tall Timbers were on-hand to teach us about the history of the land here in the Red Hills and how it is maintained and conserved today for optimal quail hunting. Fascinating!

Did I mention that this area is the bobwhite quail hunting capital of the world? It's a whole lifestyle that is too much for me to capture here. A great recent article from Gray's Sporting Journal beautifully describes a quail hunting outing ~ very close to the property we toured!

But we also learned things like how the red cockaded woodpecker has been downlisted recently from endangered to threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after decades of conservation efforts.

AND we got to see the inside of a gopher tortoise hole through the magic of a scope (and meet a baby one in person... or would that be "in tortoise"?)

The rest of the weekend was a flurry of activity, from attending the game fair itself Friday afternoon (yummy lunch, great vendors including our friends at Hubs & Hops, and even dog training demos) to great meals at Chop House and St. James, and yummy tastings at TVélo.

The grand finale of the weekend was Whiskey in the Woods at Birdsong Nature Center, put on by the Thomasville Center for the Arts as part of their 29th annual Wildlife Arts Festival. What a fun time of music, food, dancing and tasting! Our friends at South Life Supply and 1861 Distillery were on hand to welcome and enjoy time together.

And, our friends at Proctor Subaru / Iamonia Farms supplied us with bags of maple bourbon pork rinds for munching on the way home (with our designated driver, Chris, of course!) ~ don't knock it until you've tried it!

I confess that I'd never had a pork rind until last Saturday night, but we were obsessed! And still obsessing over them.

If I had to pick the best part of our time together, it would be that by the time they left, it felt like Karen and Hadley were Thomasvillians. It got to where people were greeting them by name when they saw them!

The people of Thomasville are so friendly and so welcoming that they just make you feel at home and like you never want to leave.

But if you do, you are welcome back with open arms. So please come back soon, K & H!!

xo,