We hadn't used the smoker in several weeks and since we knew we would be home all day we decided it was a perfect time to do so.
We took a Smithfield's 3.5 Pork loin, rubbed it with Rosemary Garlic Salt and a little pepper and then smoked it for 6 hours at 225. Once out of smoker we let it sit covered with aluminum foil while we made the corn on the cob and green beans to go with and it was perfect. Turned out to be one of the best Pork Roasts we have made (and we make lots of pork roasts).I used the leftovers for lunch today with my salad.
As I mentioned in our Fourth of July post we decided we would be tourists this July 4th weekend since we had no plans and headed to Colonial Williamsburg on the 5th as the weather while overcast and a bit dreary was not the rain they thought might arrive. This turned out to be a great plan as there were no crowds. I think many of the tourists did their visits on the 4th and the locals stayed away due to the rain.Around Williamsburg We grabbed lunch at Shelds Tavern and being that it was the 4th of July weekend we had to order the All American Meal :)Around Williamsburg
What a great time we had visiting the sites neither of us had seen in years and relearning much of the history we had forgotten. It was a reminder that we need to take advantage of where we live more often and get out and see more of these historical sites.
Guy and I decided to skip the whole craziness of traveling on the Fourth of July again and instead stay home and do things around the house, visit with family and if the weather cooperated maybe visit one historical site near the house as we had made a commitment to do this more often. We discussed a few places and then decided on Williamsburg this time, if the weather cooperated (we live so close no reason to go and be miserable if it was going to be 95-100 degrees ).We started the weekend of with a great breakfast visit with Chris, Mallory and Avery. That girl, she is so darn cute! She is now starting to talk become more toddler than baby. Such a fun age. She showed me her belly over and over and then told us the Rooster in the kitchen (fake) was a CooCoo, she said this over and over. Apparently, this is the latest animal in her books that she is fascinated with. Unfortunately the neighbors who have a rooster were not outside or I would have taken her to see it.It was such a beautiful morning that we decided to take Avery for a short walk and then her first ATV ride on our Polaris. She loved it!! The noise at first made her jump but after that she went on a short ride with Grandpa and daddy and then a little longer one with me and Mommy. She is going to have so much fun on this as she gets older. I know Guy can't wait.After the kids left we decided to head over to the new Cabella's that was built in Richmond since Guy needed new shorts and loves his Cabella branded ones. All I can say is we were not impressed. For all the talk about how great the store/chain is, we didn't like the store. Prices were a bit higher than Bass Pro and I don't think the stores floor plan flowed all that well. It's nice to know it is there but I think we will stick with Bass Pro.After hot dogs and corn on the grill we decided to sit on the front porch for a little while when Guy realized the new neighbor had started burning his clearing pile. He headed up there to watch and later came back and picked me to go see. This was one large fire, it seemed he had a full acre of the brush he cleared flaming away.We hung out for a bit then headed to bed as we had a early alarm going off as we had decided a 80 degree day in July, even with the threat of rain was as good as it would get and we were heading to Colonial Williamsburg.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Avery's first ATV Ride:
We weren't able to plant seed or sod when we moved in last December so we had hydro seed this spring. Of course once we did we then had the rainiest May in history so we were afraid most of it washed away but glad to report that much of it has sprouted and while not thick and knowing we will need to seed and over seed again this fall it is a start.I just love this house more and more!
I saw these races advertised on Facebook and since neither Guy or I had ever seen drag boat racing we decided to head over and check them out. What fun it was. First it was a beautiful, sunny, warm June day with little humidity which made sitting on the shore so comfortable and then you add in a great crowd, a gorgeous view of the river and some speed boats and we just had the best time. We will certainly attend again.
