I’m all about making memories and creating traditions we can enjoy for years to come. Last weekend was one of those perfect times when everything falls into place — laughs were long and plenty, the beer was good and the friends were even better.

On Saturday morning we pointed our car west and headed for the hills. No, really. We drove up to Asheville for Cold Mountain Saturday at Highland Brewing. I couldn’t believe Justin agreed to drive two hours for beer, but I wasn’t going to question his sanity since Highland is the mecca for craft brew lovers and Cold Mountain Winter Ale is the holy grail.

Our close friends, Tyler and Casey, drove up from Charlotte to stand in line with us for two hours and to celebrate their two year wedding anniversary. The brewery was scheduled to start selling bundles of Cold Mountain at 2 p.m., so naturally we got there at noon. We were among the first in line, and we waited and waited and waited until we could finally hand over our hard-earned dollars for some of that spiced winter goodness.

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$71 later, here we stand with 12 bottles of our haul.

We celebrated our accomplishment with a pint of Cold Mountain straight from the tap room. That first sip was the equivalent of an orgasm and set the pace for the rest of the day. Those are happy faces.

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The weather was perfect for sipping winter brews.

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We didn’t linger too long at Highland, though. We wanted to show Tyler and Casey as much of Asheville as possible, so we ventured downtown and found ourselves at Wicked Weed Brewing (one of my favorites).

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I devoured the Carolina Bison Burger and a pint of Tyranny.

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The next few hours are a bit of a blur as we stumbled around downtown Asheville, enjoying sips at hometown favorites. I do know, however, that our selfie game was strong.

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We finished the night back at my dad’s sitting around the fire pit with a Cold Mountain in hand. Obviously, I’m the cutest in this picture.

It would appear that we’ve found a new winter tradition, folks. I look forward to next year when we get to do it all over again.