75. take a skiing/snowboarding trip

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 Rachel Atwell4 Comments

Well this is a little awkward. It’s spring time and I’m about to tell you about a ski trip and below freezing temperatures.

Ski Trip | Atwell Adventures.018

Back in February we planned a weekend getaway. At Christmas we decided instead of gifts we would plan a ski trip instead! So the weekend before G’s 28th, conveniently also Valentine’s Day weekend, we made our way to North Carolina!

And there might have been a slurpee pit stop on the way.

G found Red Rocker Inn, a bed and breakfast in Black Mountain about 25 minutes outside of Asheville and about an hour outside of Sugar Mountain, where we planned on skiing.

Ski Trip | Atwell Adventures.005 We checked in and had a late lunch at a pizza place in downtown Black Mountain. And then did a little window shopping where I found this strange faux-real animal scene.As luck would have it, the weekend we planned our trip was COLD. It began to snow on us in Black Mountain and later that evening when we went to dinner in Asheville.

Speaking of Asheville, we passed the cutest chocolate shop, French Broad Chocolates, on our way in to town, so we knew we wanted to have Valentines dessert there after dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe. Little did we know that French Broad Chocolates Google map location was pointing us to their old location, so after 15 minutes of walking in the FAH-REEEEZING wind, we were able to find the address to their new location.

And finally we made it.

And approximately two minutes after we snapped that picture, G remembered he left his wallet in the car. Now most people would give up at this point and just decide to go home. Not us. So backkkk to the parking deck we went to retrieve the wallet and then back to French Broad so we could satisfy our sweet tooth. The salted caramel hot chocolate taste was worth every step of our trek around Asheville and the temperature of the drink made me forget about the wind that had made my face gone numb.

Speaking of faces feeling numb, when we woke up the next morning I decided to check the forecast for the day. Do you see that feels like temperature? NEGATIVE 28 DEGREES. And the high for our afternoon skiing adventure? 13 degrees.

Picture me crying and not wanting to move from the bed.

But move from the bed we did! I think I had abuot four layers but even with that this is about how we felt.

Ski Trip | Atwell Adventures.016

This was G’s first adventure on skis and he did well after getting in a few practice runs!

The sun was out all afternoon as were the Valentine/President’s Day weekend crowds.
And by afternoon time, even my iPhone was confused about what to do with such cold weather.

It was a fun day of trying something new with G!The next morning we woke up to our second morning of buffet-style homemade breakfast by the innkeepers at Red Rocker. Normally I’m one to enjoy a few extra minutes in bed, but I was eager to get to the dining room and snag a table so we could enjoy breakfast fireside. Both morning breakfast selections were SOOO good as you can tell by my full plate.

Mmm, Red Rocker. I miss you.

Thanks, G, for a memorable weekend!

Atwell Adventures · From The Road

We’re going to Madagascar!

March 6, 2015June 1, 2015 Rachel AtwellLeave a comment

This May, Gary and I will join four other members of our church in sharing the joy of our Savior to the other side of the world!

Our church has partnered with a missionary family in Madagascar and through them, we’re focusing on reaching the Antandroy, a people group with little or no access to the Gospel. On this trip, we’ll share the creation to Christ story to the Antandroy people in the village of Bekily. We pray that through these stories, they will come to know and accept the redemption that our Savior has offered us from this weary world. As they believe and understand, we’ll accompany them to take the Good News to their neighboring villages! The ultimate goal of our partnership over the next few years is to build a body of believers through discipleship and eventually form churches in their community!

Christmas Card-2014

Will you pray for us, please? We’ll be preparing in the coming days and are also raising support along the way. We’d love for you to consider supporting us financially. The cost is substantial but we trust God will provide a way for us to go! We look forward to giving you another update when we return.

If you’d like to donate via paypal click the donate button below. Please note, donations via PayPal are not tax deductible and will have a fee (in the U.S. is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD of the amount you send).

If you’d like to donate but are interested in a tax-deductible option, you can send a check (with MADAGASCAR in the memo line) to the following:

Berea Baptist Church
c/o Atwell Madagascar Trip
4408 Evans to Locks Road, Suite H
Evans, Georgia 30809

Update: Our trip has been completed, but if you’d still like to donate to help send people on future trips, contact me!

Lastly, here’s a video that gives a small glimpse into the trip that lies ahead of us and ways you can be praying for the Antandroy people.

From The Road

one year anniversary trip | Portland, Maine

July 21, 2014 Rachel Atwell8 Comments

It’s been two weeks since our first anniversary – yay for 54 weeks of marriage!

Earlier this year, we started talking about how we wanted to celebrate our first year of marriage. We tossed around a few ideas, and ultimately decided to visit Portland, Maine! Neither of us had been to Portland before and we both enjoy exploring new places, so with Maine’s cooler summertime temperatures and a variety of things to do, Maine was a relatively easy decision!

While we didn’t create a strict schedule before we went, we did make a list of a few things we wanted to do, booked our hotel – The Inn at St. John, scheduled a car rental for one day, and even found a blog {Map & Menu} that served as a great resource!

Portland in some ways reminds me of Charleston, South Carolina {which can you really go wrong with Charleston?}… beautiful buildings, coastal vibe, walkable {important if you’re not renting a car}, and has a variety of unique things to do and restaurants to try.

We flew out of Atlanta on Thursday and returned the following Tuesday, so we had four full days to explore the area.

While we were there, we walked everywhere we went {which made me not feel quite as guilty with about all the delicious food we experienced} and used the car rental for Sunday – the day we went hiking at Mount Major in New Hampshire, which was about an hour and a half away.

On our way back, we stopped by the beach and thanks to a parking meter, had thirteen minutes to experience the FRIGID ocean. I still don’t understand how people were in the water!