A Day in Baltimore

Back in the spring (hence the long hair), I had a fleeting few days off work and decided to venture on my first solo road trip to visit a friend. She lives right outside Annapolis & Baltimore so it was perfect for my wanderlust self.

Side note: I think many Americans think international travel is the only way to get an amazing vacation and "really travel." While it's cool and exciting to get another stamp on the passport, I think we don't realize what is sitting right in our backyards. There are so many cities rich in history and unique spots only short road trips and weekends away.

Anyways.

In Baltimore, we started our rainy day adventures at one of my favorites, Shake Shack. YUM. I have a theory that anytime you eat burgers and fries, the calories don't count. Especially Shake Shack. And cupcakes.

Right across the street was the harbor so we spontaneously purchased tickets to tour four famous historic ships. One was a submarine. That was the first I'd been on and seriously hope it is the last. Talk about claustrophobic ... I can't imagine being underwater for months in something like that. I applaud whoever has. Another one was actually the last surviving ship from Pearl Harbor. I'm such a history geek and like to read every single little plaque describing every little detail so I could go on and on. If you aren't like that, you would hate traveling with me.

After that we just walked around some of the shops in the harbor. They are all in restored old brick building so the character in some of these places was definitely worth seeing. All in all, I would visit Baltimore again!

Grand Canyon

One word: UNREAL.

For some reason, before we went I was thinking this was going to be a quick, pull up and take a photo, then keep on driving type of thing. Then when there were tons of welcome signs and we had to wait in line get in, it suddenly dawned on me that this is kind of a big deal and kind of a national park. Duh - it's not a quick pit stop. 

That being said, I wish we had more time to explore the Grand Canyon. I wish the weather wasn't so cloudy. And I wish these photos could capture what an incredible beauty of nature it is. Regardless, I'm so glad we stopped quickly. 

I could have stared at the view all day long. And then some. It was incredible!

If and when I go back, I think it would be amazing to do a helicopter tour or go down to the bottom. Def worth the trip + spending more than a few hours there. But Cali was calling- by now we drove  30+ hours and we were ready to just get there!

Road Trip: Day Four + Five

Day Four + Five: One of my favorite things about the road trip was seeing so many different parts of the country. Many times I had to remind myself to pay attention to the road because I was just in awe at the views. I think it was in moments like driving across Texas or Arizona (or visiting the Grand Canyon) that I realized while manmade structures are really cool to see, there is absolutely nothing like natural beauty. In Amarillo, Texas, we had a quick pit stop + saw Cadillac Ranch which was literally on the side of the highway. Def worth the stop if you are passing through! As soon as we got to New Mexico the land changed from being so flat to somewhat hilly (I'm not sure that's the right word... mountainous?) We spent the night in Albuquerque which was quite interesting. Needless to say, by this day we had memorized some songs because we heard them too many times and our voices were strained from singing too much. 

Road Trip: Day Three

Day Three: Oklahoma bound, we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas which was a little surreal - it's just one of those states I never thought I'd go to! All the sudden the drive got very flat, the temperatures started to rise, and farmland was all we could see for miles and miles. We were originally going to head to Texas for the night but an impromptu Instagram meet up changed our minds. We were able to get the small town Oklahoma experience staying with the Morris family on their lovely farm. Ju + I were so thankful for their warm hospitality! Before we left the next morning, we went downtown to Hoboken Coffee Roasters. After buying souvenir mugs and sharing unforgettable coffee talks, we were back on the road, but not without a layer of red dirt covering the car!

Road Trip: Day Two

Day Two: Leaving Virginia, we headed to Tennessee where we stayed with some family friends just outside of Memphis. This honestly felt like the longest day of the trip because the day before we went through 5 states, breaking up the drive somewhat. We did stop in Nashville for a hot second to taste some Barista Parlor, which was amazing, but other than that we went from one side of TN to the other. (me & Ju def wish we planned more time to explore this cool city more... we will be back!) For the last few hours of the day, we got to experience some true two-lane country in some major farmland at sunset. It was one so beautiful, iPhone pics don't do it justice at all. You can bet we throughly enjoyed it with the windows rolled down, country music blasting and singing along too loudly.

A21 + Road Trip: Day One

After graduating college, I moved back to CT to really figure out what the next step might be for me. I knew it would be temporary - to spend time with family and save some money... because we all know the life of a poor college student is very real. So I dove into working two jobs and that kept me busy to say the least.

My senior year of college I took a class on human trafficking. It was then that I discovered how prevalent it is in our society and how passionate I am about fighting this atrocity. Even amidst working like crazy, I couldn't let go of the drive that I wanted to do something to make a difference within this issue. On a whim in February, I applied to volunteer for the summer with the A21 Campaign, a global anti-human trafficking organization, at their California office. I went into the whole application and interview process thinking, "if I get this, I know it's the next thing for me to do... but I probably won't." 

Turns out, I got it. 

Because it is solely volunteer work, I set out to raise $4,000 to support me during the program. Three weeks later, I had every penny and was packing my life into my new car to drive across the country. To say that God provided for more details than I can even list is an understatement. That's how I know this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing at this time in my life. I can't thank everyone enough who has contributed to this experience, by giving monetary support or through prayers. 

That being said, my sister Julia and I embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime, would-do-it-again-in-a-heartbeat, never-will-we-forget road trip from CT > CA.  First stop? Lynchburg, VA. To see my dear friends Seth and Jaime. Time with them always includes deep life talks and laughing too much. Here's a few pics from day one.

Starting the trip off at 5:30 am...

We got pics of every state welcome sign except New York and Virginia.

10 hours later we made it!