My Southern Sojourn

I just turned 33 and it was a good one! I am starting off my 33rd year with a vacation I have been wanting to take for some time now. It's not your average laying-on-the-beach-pina-colada-in-hand type of vacation but rather one that has much more depth & meaning to it. I am packing light with little make up and jewelry as where I am going, there is no need for it. I am traveling south and heading to Athens Georgia where I will be temporarily staying with my dear life long family friend Jason Mann. I plan to get a little taste of all he is doing in Athens which is awe-inspiring to me. Jason is Farm Director of Full Moon and Moonshine Meats, and President of the Settebello Restaurant Group, LLC. He oversees the financial, political, and culinary direction of Farm 255. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000 and is currently a doctoral candidate in Ecology at the University of Georgia in Athens. For the past 13 years he has been directly engaged in all sectors of the food and beverage industry. With his extensive connections and experience within the organic agricultural community of the Southeast he helps facilitate the sourcing relationships that are paramount to Farm 255’s long-term strategic vision. Jason is also a founding partner of Farm Burger, Farm 255's sister operation in Decatur, Georgia, as well as 1000 Faces Coffee in Athens. Jason and his wife Laura are responsible for cultivating their vegetables, the animals, and their rising star butcher farmer entrepreneur-in-training Baby Judah the Lion, their first born son.

I wanted to share my itinerary from Jason's assistant Darla. Together they mapped out a pretty sweet agenda for me. I don't know how it can get any better then this and I feel so thankful they put so much thought into my trip!
I am signing off for the length of my southern sojourn to really be one with nature, the animals, the food of the earth, the people I meet, and myself. So expect a full report when I return. Several full reports!
I am beyond excited. This trip is going to change me, inspire me, challenge me, and teach me.
I am so ready for all I am about to discover.

My Southern Sojourn Itinerary
marci:
jason and i sat down tonight and put a pretty little plan together for you. hope you're happy with what we came up with (subject to change due to chef/farmer availability and the precarious whim of a vacation):
friday, april 29
arrive at 1:30. i'll be at the airport to pick you up. call when you arrive and i'll be there with bells on. we'll drive to athens where you'll check-in to chez mann and have dinner at farm 255.
saturday, april 30
it's a good day to be in athens. there's a huge seed swap and farm festival as well as some block parties and a national-recognized nighttime bike race. dinner back at the mann compound.
sunday
tour of the animal farms and dinner with the family.
monday
lunch at farm cart followed by a farmthought session (a really great thing that we do every 6 weeks or so...to be explained upon your arrival) and a farm 255 bocce tournament at the roaster.
tuesday
harvest at one of our vegetable farms in the morning followed by a day in the life of a farm 255 chef.
wednesday
off to atlanta for some jeju with jason (an authentic korean spa) and dinner/slumber in the city.
thursday
a tour of west georgia processing (where the animal becomes the meat), lunch at farm burger and a 3 pm departure.
sound like a plan? i look forward to meeting you oh so very soon. darla

and i look forward to seeing you all very soon jason, laura, judah & darla and i can't wait to meet the whole family.

Until my return ya'll. Heading South now and I will see you in May. xo