Georgia Pellegrini is a trained chef and published author, beautiful, smart, incredibly talented and fearless – as in knows-how-to-use-a-gun-hunts-fishes-kills her own food-cleans her own food-plays-hard, kind of fearless.
A couple of years ago she put together her first Adventure Getaway and invited several of us to join her; I had a family crisis at the time and couldn’t attend but I’m friends with most of the women who went and they returned home changed from that experience. I’m sorry to have missed that getaway and have secretly wanted the opportunity to participate in another one; I’m not necessarily into guns but I’ve wanted to learn to fly fish for a while now – and the adventures just look like great fun!
I thought our readers might enjoy an opportunity to learn about Georgia’s getaways – and she’s graciously offering a beautiful up-cycled necklace as a giveaway – don’t miss the photo at the end of this post.
In the meantime . . . say hello to my good friend Georgia Pellegrini!
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Recently I have been thinking a lot about my close girlfriends and how important those relationships are to me. When I look back over the years I realize I met so many of them during those unforgettable bonding experiences that life brings your way. There is a lot that I love about the Adventure Getaways that I’ve been doing over the last two years, but my hands down favorite thing is watching women come together from across the country, meet each other for the first time and leave at the end of the experience as lifelong friends.
Since I hosted my first Adventure Getaway a year and half ago, I have been amazed to see how many different types of women have had a desire to come on these adventure trips with me, to experience life more viscerally and challenge themselves to experience new things.
There is something about these Getaways, every single time I say to myself, “wow, I couldn’t have hand picked a better group of women to come together as total strangers and bond as if they had known each other for years.” I feel very lucky to witness and take part in this sort of togetherness and am grateful to have met so many wonderful people along the way and to share all kinds of adventures, laughter, and good food with them. I’ve made friends for life.
The inaugural event happened with some of my favorite food bloggers on the planet.
Since those first successful trips, I have expanded the adventures in weird and wonderful ways, and these are some of the highlights I thought I’d share.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend is the girl bonding by the fire pit. There are lots and lots of s’mores. Some women even bring their own retractable s’mores sticks, they mean business.
There are really cozy accommodations, sometimes we even each have our own little house with a wood burning fireplace. Other times, it is a log cabin with mountain views.
And my personal favorite are the many types of bubble baths. A woman needs that after a long day of adventure.
I also love the food we have had on our menus, from elk, to venison, to frogs legs, oh my! Plus the delicious berry mousses and beignets smothered in ice cream. Sometimes we even have special Bourbon Dinners with live entertainment.
Since I am a chef by trade, I’m all about the learning. We have cooking classes galore. Ever wanted to know how to clean and butcher a bird properly? No problem. How about some amazing Texas shaped cookies? We’ve got you covered.
On special occasions, we even have guest teachers who teach us to make amazing cookies and cake pops.
Then there is the adventure. We ladies get together on ATVs and drive 10,000 feet into the Montana mountains.
Or walk in the snowy hills and hunt wild birds, wild hogs, deer and the likes, many of the ladies do this for the very first time with professional guides and beautiful bird dogs along with them.
Sometimes you’ll even find yourself hunting with men in kilts (see above, yikes!).
We fly fish and listen to the meditative sounds of the rivers rushing around our ankles while we wear our waterproof waders.
There are plenty of ranger rides… and clay shooting too, another first for many people.
And of course there are presents, because what’s a party without them?!
Once a year, I host one co-ed couples event. As I like to say: The couple that prays and makes venison sausage together, stays together.
And the best part of all…
…is all of that girl bonding that happens. We all make friends forever, support each other to roll up our sleeves and step outside our comfort zones… we all have a desire to experience life more viscerally.
To surprise ourselves!
And give each other hugs.
Sometimes, we even dance the night away.
And now if that weren’t plenty, this summer, by popular demand, I began hosting private customized Adventure Getaways, my favorite of which is for bachelorette groups!
I’ve become familiar enough with the amazing venues around the country, that I can customize experiences each with their own unique attributes so that no one trip is ever the same.
Here is my full Adventure Getaways Calendar to date. We have some exciting media joining us in Montana in late September and can’t wait to meet the great ladies that attend. (there are a few spots left!)
As a special something for the Smith Bite readers, we’re offering a 3rd night stay free for those who sign up with a friend for Montana.
And of course, if you want to drop someone a hint for a future date, there are gift certificates too.
And as an extra treat today I’m giving away a piece of my favorite upcycled jewelry from one of the Adventure Getaway sponsors “Sure Shot,” who fills our gift bags with the most beautiful jewelry made from upcycled shotgun shells.
To enter to win my favorite necklace:
Leave a comment and tell me: ‘My ideal Adventure Getaway would be . . . ?’
For Additional entries —>
Tweet about giveaway with the hashtag #adventuregetaway and come back let me know in the comments
Share the giveaway on facebook, and come back and let me know in the comments
You get a total of 3 chances to win!
Giveaway starts Wednesday, August 14, 2013 and will end at midnight EDT on Saturday, August 31, 2013 at 12 noon. One person will be randomly chosen to receive the above Sure Shot necklace and will be emailed about the details! Winner will be announced on the Smith Bites Facebook page and contacted by email. Giveaway is for U.S. residents only – good luck!
Full disclosure: Georgia is a personal friend and I’m helping to spread the word about these great outdoor adventures! You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Giveaway ends 8/31/13 at 12 noon EDT.
© 2013, Debra. All rights reserved.