5. Road Trip To A New City
Here it is! The first of my 25 list posts :)
A few weekends ago 9 members of ‘The Core’ set out for an epic adventure weekend in The City That Never Sleeps. We went all out and rented at 15-passenger van (henceforth to be known as Holy Helen) and drove all through the night to reach our destination. I have to admit, I had some reservations about spending 13+ hours in a van but in retrospect it was a wonderful adventure and something I will remember for the rest of my life.
Our Route (Approv 737 miles). I-95 became our bff. 
So ready to go! 
Pre-Deliriousness. Probs hour 4 of 14. 
Side Note. We are kinda obsessed with this game called Pelt. So much so that we would play it at every gas station we stopped at. 
We drove over many bridges and through many tunnels. And paid many tolls. 
“I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.”
Buddy The Elf
I also learned that I can sleep anywhere and through anything. 
Somewhere between Philly and NYC. We were happy, delirious, and sleepy.
I screamed for joy when I finally saw the Manhattan Skyline.
On the return trip we made a quick pit stop at our Nation’s Capital. 
Where I successfully gave Lindsey a piggy back ride. (delirious I tell you.) 
and of course we played Pelt. 
Some may call us crazy..But oh well!!
The 25 List
My friends and I are on a bucket list kick at the moment. We are smack dab in the middle of a wonderful season of our lives where nothing is really holding us back from doing all the wonderful things our hearts desire. (Example 1: Driving around the middle of nowhere on a Wednesday night to cut down our very own Christmas Tree) I turn 25 in approximately 515 days and this has spurred me to create my own bucket list of sorts to accomplish before Cinco de Mayo 2013. So here it is. 25 things I want to do before I am 25.
- Go to London to see the Olympics
- Dance Under The Stars Barefoot
- Start a Trend
- Be in a Flash Mob
- Road trip to a new city
- Experience New York City at Christmas
- Go on a date
- Read the entire Bible
- See John in Concert with friends
- Go to Los Angeles and The O.C.
- Experience Downtown Nashville for more than 2.5 seconds
- Shoot Skeet
- Run a 5k/Half Marathon
- Go back to school
- Go to an NFL or College Football game
- Memorize Romans 8
- See Wicked
- Eat at The Red Bar
- Cook every meal I eat for an entire week (like for real cook aka new recipes)
- Find a new hobby/interest
- Learn a rap song in its entirety
- Sleepover with d-group girls
- Take a picture with The Dirty Guvs
- Get re-tweeted/@reply by someone famous
- Finish decorating my bedroom
and just for kick and giggles:
26. Pilgrims Progress (Because George said so…)
So hopefully over the next few months I will be marrying adventure and doing anything and everything this little heart desires. Starting with a little trip here next weekend:
Excited beyond words.
Many more blog posts to come.
xoxo ltf
― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle — loving this quote and longing for this day! #heavenisgoingtobemindblbowinglyawesome
I was there and it was AWESOME! Props to T Swift for a great show and thanks to Hayley for being the best surprise guest ever!!
Last night I got to sing with one of my good friends, THE miss Taylor Swift.
My respect and admiration for her as an artist just shot through the roof while I was watching her go through 2hr set. Her voice sounded incredible, she played like a million different instruments, and she told great stories. That is easily my favorite thing about Taylor. Her storytelling. If you haven’t seen her show or never bought one of her albums, you’re seriously missing out. Of all the friends I have who play/write music, I’ve never seen anybody do it all with as much heart and grace as Taylor does.
If you were at the show last night, thanks for singing along to “That’s What You Get”. Ya’ll made me feel very welcome!
Baby Jonas does it again. That voice. That new hair. If only you were not my youngest brothers age. This little video has been making its rounds recently and even Gaga herself is praising Nick. I usually don’t like Gaga’s music but Baby Jonas is making me reconsider!
Side Note: So this one time I was kinda completely obsessed with the JoBros. I know I know…but for real. Like I might of even gone to their concert where I was probably the oldest person there without a guardian. And I might of driven all over Orlando in search of the People Magazine that had Kevin’s wedding pictures. And I might of been in college when all this occured. Please don’t hold it against me.
True That.
What it’s like living in Augusta as the Masters Tournament approaches.
Current city: Augusta, GA. Home of the Master’s Golf Tournament, James Brown, Josh & Charles Kelley, and now ME!
Why Augusta you ask? Two words. Vision Pathways. What is Vision Pathways you ask? Wellll we like to refer to it as something like the Real World. 14 college grads (pictured above), choose to move to downtown Augusta, desiring to connect, grow, and serve together as we are being invested in by First Pres Augusta and try and figure out this thing called the “real world”. I am not sure how I would of transitioned off the campus without something like this. If my summer taught me anything it’s the importance of community. And now that we are two months into VP, I couldn’t of imagined doing anything else. These 13 friends are becoming like family and the Lord is doing something big in the inner city! This time last year, I couldn’t of imagined myself living in downtown Augusta, working at my fave quick service restaurant, and investing my life into kids who are nothing like myself. And even though it is nothing like I expected (didn’t really envision working at Chick-fil-A with my hard earned Mass Comm degree…) I wouldn’t change anything right now. Can’t help but think of Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Trusting is this promise through this year in Augusta and whatever the Lord has planned next!
Recently my heart has been burning to go back to this place. A place where loving on these precious precious children was all I was concerned with. A place where community was raw and real. A place where Jesus showed me just how big this world was and how much his heart beats for the nations. A place where worshiping in a different language brought such a smile to my face. A place where there was no Twitter or Facebook or cell phone to distract me from the living and true God. My summer in South Africa was the best experience of my life and I pray that the Lord will bring me back there, or some other foreign world, real real soon.
Sweet Savannah
Kate and I at Forsyth Fountain during her short visit :) (aka the only pic I have from Savannah. New resolution-take more pictures)
It feels like just yesterday I returned from Spain and headed out for a summer in The Hostess City. The city lived up to its name and I have felt welcomed by her moss-draped roads and southern charm since the minute I drove onto Abercorn. The few weeks I’ve spent here have been a breath of fresh air and a part of me is sad to part with her. As I prepare for the newest chapter in my life, here are a few things I’ll miss about Georgia’s First City:
- Savannah Lodging: Not just because it’s where I spent most of my time in Savannah, but also because of the people I’ve worked with. Getting to catch up with one of my closest sorority sisters, and grand-big, has been much needed. Not only did I learn about marketing and the hotel industry, but the girls in the office gave me some much need post-grad life advice. I am going to miss our daily lunch chats, endless supplies of Diet Coke, teaching them about Twitter, and I will even miss the crazy tourists wanting their Paula Deen Tour refunded.
- Parker’s: AKA the best convenient store ever. For 79¢ you can get a huge soda with CHEWY ICE! Oh yes! Parkers Gourmet is also the prettiest/nicest gas station ever. Complete with fresh biscuits every morning and candy bars from Spain!
- Puppy Parties: For the past 17 years the Ardsley Park neighborhood has thrown a puppy party every night at 9 p.m. Dogs of all shapes and sizes gather to run around and socialize while their owners catch up on the day’s events. Southern Gentlemen with their cocktails and revolvers in their back pockets make for interesting company.
- Herano’s (aka $3.95): For a mere $3.95 you get a salad and a large helping of teriyaki chicken and rice. We eat their weekly and I get at least two servings out of it. Writing this is making me want some right now.
- La Berry: Before I spent my summer in Savannah, I had only heard rumors (slash dreamed) of these places where you could get all the frozen yogurt you wanted with all the toppings you wanted such as cereal and fresh fruit. One night, while driving down Broughton we spotted next to Urban a sign that made all of our dreams come true. La Berry Frozen Yogurt-Coming Soon. Since it’s opening a few weeks ago, I have fallen in love with some root called Taro or Peanut Butter FroYo with Captain Crunch, waffle cones, and bananas.
- Tybee: Living 20 minutes from the beach has been awesome. Wished it wasn’t such a tourist attraction and parking wasn’t so expensive!
- Free Pralines: Whenever we ate at City Market or the rare occasion we found ourselves on River Street, a stop by Savannah Candy Kitchen was a must. Free Pecan Praline samples, especially when they are hot and fresh, are the best ending to any meal.
- Zunzi’s: I loved this little restaurant most likely because it’s got South African influences. Even though I never ate anything like what they serve in South Africa, it still has some great food and a fun atmosphere. MustTry: African Sweet Tea.
If any of y’all find yourself coming to this city in the near future, let me know and I’ll pass along some more must see’s and do’s :)
Dear little blog of mine,
I apologize for ignoring you for the past week. It seems that traveling across the ocean and moving to a new town takes a lot out of you. Gosh. I really don’t know where to begin! The 27 hours it took me to get from Valencia to Albany or the fact that I am currently in one of my favorite cities ever enjoying sweet tea and all things Southern. My last few days in Spain were full of studying, shopping, and spending quality time with El Groupo. Our last night in Spain was probably one of the best we had. All 22 of us went to one of our favorite restaurants, where everything costs 1 euro on Wednesday nights!, and even though the wait was super long, it was worth it. We all knew that the day we left was bound to be interesting when we arrived at the airport to find our flight delayed 2 hours. We were also on a much smaller plane than the one we flew to Barcelona, which meant no personal entertainment system and no in-flight trivia. such.a.bummer. But thankfully I had my friend Harry Potter to keep me company for three of the eight hours I was stuck on the plane. When we arrived at JFK, we scurried through customs in order to catch our connecting flight, which we ended up missing. Thanks to the $6 meal voucher we received, I had my first American meal! Chilies was delish, but it was no Chick-fil-A. We finally arrived at our beloved ATL at 11:15 (four hours later than expected). Friday I slept pretty much all day and I think the sight of my full sized bed with mattress topper and ceiling fan gave me the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life. The little things in life can make such a difference! After a weekend of music trivia, pedicures, and two trips to Chick-fil-A I packed up little Chloe and we set out on an adventure to Savannah, my home for the next month and a half. I am already loving this city and her delightfully Southern charm. So many good restaurants to be eaten at and so many sights to see! Adios and Hasta Luego from Georgia’s first city!
