Tennessee to Maine (and places in between)

Last week, Mike and I went on our biggest adventure together yet*: a 5-day road trip from Tennessee to Maine! It was full of new experiences for me, as I'd never been to the northeast at all, or on a major road trip (much less with him).

So.much.fun.

We left bright and early at 7am from Cleveland, Maryland-bound for the night. One of our best friends, Jon, is from there, so we stayed with his parents for the night. We didn't originally intend to do much extra exploring, but by the time we got close, we realized that we had made incredible time, so we decided on a spontaneous side-trip to Washington, D.C. for a few hours!

Washington, D.C.! 

Georgia & Kentucky, and now Tennessee!

Lincoln Memorial

Love D.C. at night!

I hadn't been there since I was like, seven, so it was really fun to explore the National Mall for awhile! I wish we'd had time to check out a few museums and such, too, but oh well--it's just an excuse for another adventure in the future. ;)

The next morning, we decided that, heck, we made such good time on the first leg of the trip, why not hit another city on the way to Maine? Our choice: New York City!

New York City!

I'll be honest: I was super excited about going. As a general rule, I'm not much of a city girl, but I do enjoy visiting, and NYC is one of those places that I have always wanted to visit at some point. Our friend, Chris, has been, and he basically saved our lives by suggesting we park in New Jersey and take this thing called PATH (basically a subway train from NJ to NY) into the city. Best. idea. ever. For real, if you're ever stopping by, that's the way to go. It's only $2.25 a ticket, and saves you from the nightmare of driving in Manhattan. Believe me--it's worth it.

Anyway. After taking the train to 33rd St. (as far as it goes), we decided to walk to Times Square (super limited time to see the city, so we decided walking was the best way to take in as much as possible). SO CRAZY. Anything you've ever heard about how crowded and lively and huge NYC is? All true. Trust me. It is one city I can honestly say lives up to its reputation.

After that, we decided we wanted to see Central Park. When I say it feels like a breath of fresh air, I'm not kidding or trying to be cliche. It literally feels like you can breathe all of a sudden. (Like I said. Definitely not a big-city kind of girl. Give me mountains and rivers and big open skies any day.) We only walked around the first tiny bit, but I'm pretty sure we'll be visiting again--there is way too much to see!

The little birds made me so happy :)

Since we had already been there for 2 hours and needed to get back on the road, we took the subway back to the PATH station. (Am I lame for having always wanted to ride on the subway in New York? Oh well--another thing to check off my list!) After that, it was a nonstop trip** to Harmony, Maine!

Maine is beautiful. Lots and lots of small towns and rural areas, and trees and mountains and just plain gorgeousness. (It's an interesting experience visiting Maine and NYC in one day. Talk about your polar opposites.) We got there pretty late, but the next day, we got to do some exploring around Moosehead Lake! (We really wanted to see a moose. No such luck, as far as live ones go, but we did see a dead one in the back of some hunter's truck, which was still kinda cool…)

(Random side story: Apparently cops are not the norm. We were looking around in a little shop, when all of a sudden:

"Holy s***!!! What in the world is that doing here?!"

We look outside to see them staring a police car driving through town. ? I found it pretty funny.)

Anyway. The wedding we went to was lovely, and it was good to see a few people I hadn't seen since graduation, albeit a little awkward because I knew very, very few people overall. Oh well.

On our trip back from Maine to Virginia, we really wanted to stop in Boston, but it ended up raining THE ENTIRE TIME from Maine until Hartford, Connecticut. Ugh. Our biggest adventure of that part of the trip was definitely New Jersey.

Oh my goodness. Never again.

Illegal to pump your own gas. (A little bit of shock when a random dude comes up to my car and asks for my credit card. Um, no?) Crazy drivers. To turn left or make a U-turn, you have to turn right (?). There's a town named Buttzville (yes, with a Z). There are signs all over the interstate that say "No Turns Allowed"…when there is nowhere to turn anyway, even if you wanted to. (Like, to turn, you would literally have to jump a guardrail and a ditch. Are these people insane?) Their nickname, "The Garden State," has no particular reason behind it. (Again, ?)

Lesson learned: avoid NJ at all costs on future road trips.***

We finally arrived in Virginia (staying with Jon's brother and sister-in-law this time around), and after waking up to a gorgeous sunrise the next morning...

Not. even. close.

...we headed for Shenandoah National Park to take Skyline Drive (105 miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fall perfection). So, so, so beautiful, especially this time of year! It was peak season for fall foliage, and absolutely worth the $15--even though it rained half the time we were there. Still worth it.

So! There's the abbreviated version of my trip. We're already planning our next one--it was so much fun! (And surprisingly affordable, too, if you do it right.) My only complaint is that I wish we'd had more time. 5 days was nowhere near enough!

*Well. As far as the traditional, concrete, "exploring a place we've never been" sort of adventure goes. Our whole relationship has been something of an adventure, from day one, but that's beside the point here.

**That is, nonstop minus the insane New Jersey traffic. Seriously, I hate driving through NJ.

***Sorry to all you New Jersey natives. I'm sure the state has some wonderful qualities, but forgive me, because I did not see them.

Just beachy

Listening to: "Little Balloon" by Jenny & Tyler
Their newest album, Open Your Doors, is available on iTunes for only $3.99! No idea how long that'll last, but I do recommend checking it out!

Once again, sorry for the lack of updates--I was spending the week at the beach with my family! I'll be back soon with the rest of my list, but for now, here's some pics from the beach!

Mexico Beach, FL

Pretty pink sunset.

Gorgeous rainbow over the ocean!

Shells and seaweed.

Seashell. This picture was a total accident,
but I love the bubbles.

Watching the waves is the best.

Another pretty sunset.

Sunlight, sea, and shadows.

Lines in the sand.

I caught a fish!

Now it's back to Cleveland--and back to work. Oh well. It was a nice break while it lasted!

Happy birthday to me (and America!)

Photo Credit: Unknown

Listening to: "God Bless the USA" by Jump5. (Naturally.)

Don't judge me. Please. (At least my mom thinks I'm cool.)

Actually, my birthday was yesterday. Yay, 22! (Actually, I think I've officially hit the point where getting older isn't a big deal. I mean, what's so special about 22?* That is not to say, however, that birthdays aren't a big deal. They will always deserve to be special!)

Anyway, it ended up being a good day. Even though my (wonderful) boyfriend wasn't able to come spend it with me, he made up for it by calling and texting me throughout the day. Then, after I got off work, I went to see fireworks in downtown Chattanooga with several of my friends. (They do them on the 3rd instead of the 4th. Obviously, the whole city just wants to celebrate my birthday.)

Pretty, pretty. I love fireworks!

Then I went over to Christy & Luke's to find that they had a cake waiting for me!

They didn't have candles, so they made a "B" out of sprinkles instead.

Today, I cooked out with some friends and basically just chilled and watched Seventeen Again. We were all too sleepy to do much else. Oh well. Still a fun time. :) After that, I ended up coming home, reading a book, and watching Friends. Ahh, I love holidays off work!

P.S. I'll be back tomorrow with Day #6!

*Besides the fact that I find it really weird that I'm 22. Shouldn't I still be like, 15? I'm not old enough to be a college grad!!! I'm not even old enough to be in college yet!

My Life in Instagrams

Listening to: "Safe & Sound" by Taylor Swift (from The Hunger Games soundtrack!)
(Yes, I have jumped on The Hunger Games bandwagon. The books are great, minus the ending, and the movie was pretty good too. I went to the midnight premiere with Mike, Chris, & Elyssa, which was a first for me, but it was fun.) 

Once again, my life in a word: BUSY. Other possibilities include stressed, overwhelmed, and DONE. (Basically, I have senioritis big time.) I'm actually supposed to be researching for a presentation, along with applying for grad school, so I'm going to make my procrastination break quick and update you on my life via Instagr.am pics. It's kind of a sporadic list, but hey, better than nothing, right? (You can click on the pics to make them bigger if you like.)

I've been getting plenty of use out of my Eno that I got for
Christmas! We've had such perfect hammocking weather lately.
I was even interviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press
about it when I was laying out in Schimmels Park the other day.

Mike, Darren, & I decided to go canoeing over spring break.
We rented them for 4 hours, and then discovered that the giant
lake was more like a medium-sized pond...

The Kentucky half of spring break consisted of 5 inches of
snow. Random. But really beautiful!

Environmental Science has definitely proved to be my most
entertaining class, for various reasons. I'll have to share a few
quotes sometime. The labs are fun though. Last week, we went
wading in a creek to catch fish. The outfit choices were
quite fashionable, as you can see here.

Another reason to enjoy Environmental: for another lab, we
got to go hiking to see this. FOR CLASS.

I have become addicted to smoothies lately. I've been creating
all sorts of combinations. I've also discovered that you can add
fresh spinach to anything and you cannot taste it. Case in point:
I made some iced coffee the other day and blended it in. Yum.

I FINALLY got around to reading The Hunger Games trilogy.
I know everyone on the planet is talking about them right now,
but they really are good. The movie was pretty good, too. It
could've been better, but I thought they did a pretty good job
at sticking to the storyline (the changes were minor details,
people. Minor details. Calm down).

I've been spending some late nights at IHOP lately. Like right
now. Ugh. Fortunately, my waitress likes to give me what she
refers to as "crack." Basically: doubly strong iced coffee with
a shot of espresso, plus extra flavored syrup and enough sugar
that it's too sweet for me. That's saying something. Trust me.

Spring has sprung! It's so beautiful outside these days. So
many flowers and leaves and just GREEN! I love it.

Pretty, pretty rainbow I saw yesterday. It was so big & bright!
You could see every single color so clearly. I love it.

Spending a lot of time with this guy lately. He's pretty cool,
I guess (see picture). I kinda like him. ;)

Well, that's my life lately. It really is good, just ridiculously busy. I've never been so ready to graduate! Anyway, I better get back to researching for a presentation I have tomorrow, so until next time, enjoy the pictures, at least!

Finals week, fall 2010: Success!

Listening To: "If It's Love" by Train

I think it's safe to say that this finals week was the best yet. The exams weren't exactly my favorite, but I think all the fun stuff in between more than made up for it!

On the 3rd, after a much-needed roomie date to Rembrandt's...

Roommate, coffee, good conversation... Yes.

...I went to see Conrad Anker speak in Chatt. He's led several climbing expeditions, including some to Everest and Antarctica. Pretty sweet. I was originally supposed to go with Mike, but since he had to work, Kristi came along instead. I'm really glad--I've been needing some time with her anyway! After that was over, we walked around downtown a little. We ended up going into this organic grocery store called Greenlife and discovered they had a little café-type thing inside where they sold GELATO. Best. Discovery. Ever. Who cares if it was below freezing outside? Gelato is worth it.

Mango-pineapple gelato. Sooo good.

We always manage to have a good adventure!

The next night, I went with Mike to DJ a middle school dance. That was pretty fun--boyfriend, music, and getting to watch a bunch of kids act ridiculous. Sounds good to me! After we finished there, we went back to his place where a bunch of our friends were finishing up a Christmas/Hanukkah party, so it was fun to hang out with them for awhile.

Next up: Gingerbread houses! Kristi & Jaynese invited Mike, Jon, Will, Chris, and me over for dinner, followed by building and decorating gingerbread houses. I haven't done that in forever, so that was definitely a lot of fun!

This picture is my life.

Our house collapsed :(

The finished product!

After cleaning up, we went to Jon's place to hang out. We had already made plans to stay up all night and go watch the sunrise. We were all pretty exhausted though, so around 3:30am, we all crashed in Jon's living room for an hour. Around 4:45am, Mike, Kristi, Chris, and I headed up to Chilhowee. It was freezing (19 degrees, plus lots of wind), but this made it all worth it:

Good morning, world!

Seriously, most gorgeous sunrise ever. Check out more pictures here, here, and here. I wish I had the motivation to go see more sunrises because I like them just as much as sunsets. I just hate the early morning factor!

After sleeping for a few hours, a group of us went to Chatt for dinner and a movie. We went to Chili's to eat, and then ended up going to see The Town at the dollar theater (I love $1 Wednesdays!). This wasn't really my choice, as I'm not a fan of going to see movies like that without knowing what the heck to expect, but I survived it. It was pretty intense, but a good movie as far as storyline goes.

Friday, I spent the day running errands with Mike, going with him to DJ the Taekwondo awards ceremony/Christmas party (side note: I skipped rank!! I'm officially a level 2 green belt, which is pretty exciting for me. Totally wasn't expecting that), and then going out to Applebee's, courtesy of my parents (they gave him a gift card for his birthday). All in all, definitely a good day.

Saturday was Jaynese's graduation (I'll try to add pictures later, when I get them). So crazy--I can't believe that'll be me in just 3 semesters! Scary thought! After that, going out to eat (again), taking a short nap, and packing, Darren and I headed back to Georgia for break, which is where I am now. 4 weeks of being at home... We'll see how that goes!