Here’s my travel video from my trip to Austin! You have to watch it past the credits for the bloopers. It’s my favorite part. I also loved giving a country makeover to my friend Greg. What a fun city!
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Tag Archives: road trip
Travel Throwback Thursday: Hoover Dam
November 2013, I went to Las Vegas with a friend for her 25th birthday. We rented a car for one of the days that we were there and drove out to the Hoover Dam. It was definitely worth the trip! The desert was beautiful and the weather was perfect. If you’ve got some extra time, you should make the drive!
You should also (carefully) try this…
It feels like you’re riding with the top down and going 70 MPH..
Anyway, hope everyone is having a good week!
Key West on the Cheap
I already posted about my favorite things to do in Key West. Now, for all the things that you can do on a budget…
1. See all the typical Key West landmarks.
The Southernmost Point. Get your picture taken with the famous monument, and grab a snow cone from the vendor that is always there on the street. Trust me, you’ll be hot enough to want one.
Mile 0 of highway 1.
The Sunset Celebration on Mallory Square.
2. Shopping! Both window and otherwise.
There are plenty of touristy stores where you can find souvenirs and handy travel underwear..
Or you can pop some tags in one of the many thrift stores…
3. Go see the Key West Aquarium.
It’s tiny, but well worth the $15 entry fee. You can even get cheaper tickets if you pre-purchase them online.
There’s a petting tank with stingrays and other ocean critters..
You can feed some fish and see some pretty large sharks…
4. Grab a cheap book for charity and do some reading in the sunshine.
On your way down the Keys, you’ll pass Baby’s Coffee…
…stop in and grab a drink, I recommend the chai iced latte, but all the drinks are good..
… then grab a book and give a donation. If you have any books with you that you’ve already finished, here is the perfect place to drop them so another traveler can enjoy them…
… Then go sit by your hotel pool or the beach with your chai iced latte, read your book and work on your tan.
5. Play pool at the Green Parrot.
The Green Parrot isn’t right on Duval, which makes it more of a locals hangout. “Locals hangout” can also be translated too “full of strange Key Westers who make for good entertainment via people watching.”
I’d love to hear any other suggestions!
Ready for a ride in the C-A-R
Having a dog around is a lot like being around a little kid, you end up doing a lot of spelling. C-a-r. B-o-n-e. C-a-t. W-a-l-k. B-a-t-h. Those are words that can only be said, instead of spelled, if you are trying to elicit some response from the dog. Almost all of those words are met with jubilant responses, apart from b-a-t-h and c-a-t. “Bath” makes him run to the farthest corner of our backyard and bark awkwardly. He never barks so it sounds very silly and unnatural.
Rides in the c-a-r are normally his favorite thing, so if you are wondering why he is making such a ridiculous face… There is a perfectly good explanation..
If he only knew getting in the c-a-r is the last thing the c-a-t wants to do…
Nashville Farmers Market
We found the Nashville Farmers’ Market by accident while we were driving around the city and we were not disappointed by our decision to stop. They had plenty of BEAUTIFULLY ripe fruits and vegetables..
Local honey..
Jams and pickled things…
Inside, they had several small booths selling different beauty products and candles etc…
This candle booth had candles that smelled like everything from fresh linen to fruit loops to leather. I was boring and just went with “Breeze.”
There is also a nice cafeteria…
…with everything from Indian food…
… to BBQ..
You know you are in the south when there is an entire menu section dedicated to varieties of Grits!
My favorite was probably the kettle corn place.
I have never seen so many varieties of kettle corn! We sampled many of them, and they were all fantastic!
Of all the food we tried in Nashville, this was probably the best. I have to recommend that you go there and buy a couple of bags. I can’t believe I never noticed the White Cheddar Jalapeno and the Dill Pickle! That’s it! Time to go back!
Tennessee Thrifting: Part 2
I mentioned in my last post about the really cool mod clothing store where I couldn’t buy anything because I had already purchased too much. Here are a few of my favorites…
Anthropology Skirt- $10
Plaid Old Navy Shirt- $5
I have to admit, I wasn’t 100% sold on the skirt, until I found out that it was from Anthropology. Have you been to that store?? It is my absolute favorite place, but I can’t afford anything there. I first discovered Anthropology in the Chelsea Market and I’ve been dying for something from that place ever since.
Columbia shirt- $12
That’s normally more than I would pay for a shirt, but Columbia fishing shirts are pretty popular in Florida. I’ve been looking for one for a long time and you never find them in thrifties down here.
Brand new Tommy Hilfiger Bermuda Shorts- $5
These are nothing exciting, style-wise, but they are perfect for work. They were actually $10, but this particular thrift store was having a half-off sale and I needed some new work clothes.
Priceless V8 Sweater- $6
We also got this for half price. It was just so ridiculous, she couldn’t pass on it.
$75 pants from The Limited outlet store- $17
I know this isn’t technically a thrift store find, but they were such a great deal that I had to include them. The outlet store was having a 30% off sale AND these were already on the sale rack. So, just a re-cap, that’s 30% off jeans that were on the sale rack and already discounted by the outlet store. How ’bout them apples. I also got a few other shirts, but no pictures of those, unfortunately. I did so much shopping that week, but it was hard to pass these things up!
Tennessee Thrift: part 1
I bought so many clothes on this last trip to Tennessee that I had to buy a second bag to get them all home! There were many great thrift stores, so it was hard to resist! My favorite one BY FAR was called “Pre to Post Modern,” just outside of Nashville. They had so many adorable clothes from every era..
I didn’t actually buy anything here because I was already over spent, but there were such good finds. I LOVED this jacket, but leather jackets are far from optimal in Florida.. 😦
Bed Jacket anyone?
Hats? Yes, please.
I need this light…
I took mostly video (go watch it!) here, so my photos don’t do it justice. I promise if you’re in the area and you stop in, you won’t be disappointed. The address is..2110 8th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204…
Tennessee Video 2013
Makes Me Want To Take A Backroad
Hellooo writer’s block. I have to take my GRE this morning so of course my brain thought it would be an excellent idea to wake up at 5AM for absolutely no reason. Fantastic! There isn’t really a method to the madness of writing these posts. I just scroll through my pictures and the first thing that catches my eye gets a post. This morning, at 5AM, it was the things we saw on the back-roads of Tennessee.
We took the back-roads often, but we mostly only drove on the first and last days. The rest of the time, we were in Nashville. We arrived there and found it impossible to leave, so we did a lot less driving than we had originally planned.
Our first stop, once we were outside of Knoxville, was Oral’s Elegant Junk…
Who wouldn’t stop there?? Unfortunately, it was closed. That may or may not have kept us from being chopped into tiny pieces and thrown into a river. I guess we’ll never know. Then we stopped at a few smaller antique/thrift shops which were not what I would call exciting.. but then… we saw this beautifully promising sign..
Bargains AND MORE? What could you possibly want beyond bargains? We had to investigate. Upon driving up the long twisty driveway, this is what we found…
Why yes, that’s a 6′ by 10′ shed… I’m not sure how much “bargains and more” could fit in this place, but there was no turning back now…
Apparently, she’s a couponer and she sells her extras, using a deceptively large sign to lure people in. I only say deceptive because her sign was probably bigger than the whole shed. At least she “excepts” major credit cards…
The people were really very sweet, and I was able to buy some paper towels which definitely came in handy so I can’t really complain. It’s always an adventure.
Our best stop was probably on our way back home. We had just been to a park for some relaxation and river frolicking and we’d worked up a pretty good appetite. That’s when we saw this place…
The food is very southern, which means a lot of fried food and a lot of meat. For us vegetarians, there is a grilled cheese option that they make with Texas toast. Add some tomatoes and it’s perfection! The owners were there and so friendly! They gave us a lot of recommendations on things to do in the area like white water rafting, kayaking, parks etc. Too bad it was our last day!
The decor is very hunter chic..
One deer even gave the place two thumbs up…
Terrible joke. I apologize..
Here’s the address, 3292 STATE HWY 158 SOUTH, GEORGETOWN, TN 37336. If you’re driving from Chattanooga to Knoxville, I definitely recommend stopping for some lunch.
A Coronation, a Road Trip and Your Suggestions!
For all of us Dutchies out there, don’t forget to wear your orange today! There’s a new King in the Netherlands for the first time in over a century!
The shirt really is orange, I promise. Two Thumbs up for the House of Orange!
In other news, tomorrow I leave for Tennessee…
I’ll be staying within the triangle of Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. I think we’ll be heading right to Nashville to catch the memorial service for George Jones on Thursday. For live updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Other than that, I want your suggestions! Where should I go? What should I see? Are there any good races happening? What things are purely Tennessee, that we definitely should not miss?? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Two Thumbs 