Travels During {January - April}

These past few months we've been spending a lot of quality time in Dallas. We made a goal this year to slow things down a little and I would say we've succeeded! It's been nice to catch up with friends, chores, sleep, etc. Here are a few highlights:


Trying new restaurants

Spending Time with the Pup

Jason's old car was totaled....

But we got a new one!

Spending time with friends

We have still been taking a few short weekend trips to see family and friends in the past few months. Since these are all places we've been many times before, I thought I'd just combine them all together here in one post.

In February, I flew up to my hometown of St. Louis to visit my grandpa and other family that lives there. It was his 91st birthday, so I got to help celebrate.

Since my parents live in Houston, we made a trip down there to catch up with them and celebrate Jason's birthday in March. 

My dad's Chicken and Waffle Mac and Cheese. YUMO!

In March, we went down to College Station to see Jason's family. Jason played golf, we caught up with some friends at The Backyard, and most importantly, we got to celebrate my mom-in-law's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants there - Madden's! 

Sunday morning we had time for a run at an off leash trail with Indy-bear at Lick Creek Park before we had to head back to Dallas.

One of my best friends just had a precious little baby girl, so I've been up to Oklahoma City twice this year for both the baby shower (January) and then again to meet little Cora (April). It was great to see them both - hopefully I can make it up there again this summer!

I was also hoping to make it to Albuquerque this past weekend to see my grandpa, but flights just didn't work out. Things like that are definitely the downside to non-rev traveling. I'm hoping to get out there to see him over the summer though!

My next trip will be a work trip to Tampa, FL for a work conference next week. I've never been, so recommendations are welcomed!

As a side note, the blog has reached 15,000 views! Thanks to everyone that is following along with our journey. This blog started as a place for Jason and I to document our travels, but turned into a really great way to keep family and friends up-to-date on our lives.

Kansas City, MO

Jason and I had a wedding to attend for a college friend, so we took a quick weekend trip to the Midwest. Jason had been to Kansas City before, but only for work, so I went to scouring the internet for the best things to do in the few hours we would have before the wedding started.

First thing's first - we HAD to try some BBQ! Oklahoma Joe's seemed like the most-loved option. There was already a line when we arrived at 11am. It was honestly fine, but nothing special. I got the Z Man Sandwich with brisket and an onion ring, and while the idea was good, the brisket just wasn't up to "Texas" standards. Jason got some ribs which were quite yummy!

Next up, we did a tour of the Boulevard Brewing Company. Jason and I had been fans of this beer for a while, so we thought we could spend a perfect afternoon here. Holy waitlist! We quickly found out that tickets for the free tour are scooped up MONTHS (like 4) in advance. I'm glad I plan everything early because the Unfiltered Tour (paid) opened up to sales 1 month in advance. We got super lucky and snatched tickets to this before they sold out within 5 minutes! A girl on our tour said she tried for a year and 1/2 to get on our tour!

We arrived here after our BBQ lunch and the tour started at noon. There was a lady from the Kansas Star newspaper taking pictures of our tour, so we may be famous in a few weeks :) The tour lasted an hour and a 1/2 and in that time, we had 6 beers. We tried a beer not in production yet, 80 Acre hoppy wheat (my favorite), Tank 7 in their Smokestack Series, Long Strange Tripel, Dark Truth Stout, of course, their Unfiltered Wheat. I really enjoyed every single one. It was so fun and we're really glad we splurged for the paid tour. We even got a souvenir glass to take home.

After our beer tour, we headed over to see Kelly and Zach get married. It was a great night - congrats you two! For only having 1 night in KC, I think we did some great things! I think after this weekend, I will need a detox though...

The next morning, we caught a quick flight back to Dallas. Our weekend was short, but we had lots of fun. In just a few days, we are leaving on our big trip. Stay tuned to see what our plans are!

St. Louis, MO

Jason and I just got back from celebrating my Grandpa's 90th birthday. It was so great to see my family that lives all across the US. The party was an amazing celebration of his life. He has 6 kids and 13 grandkids (not including inlaws) - what a legacy! It was extra great because we got to celebrate two engagements.

For those of you that don't know, I grew up in the Midwest - across the river from St. Louis in Illinois. I absolutely loved growing up there. In so many ways, I feel like I had the perfect childhood. I know things are idealized, but I really miss it sometimes. Since I spent a large part of my life there, I thought I would give a guide to a few of my favorite things to do in the St. Louis area.

The Arch (obviously): There is a neat museum underneath that you can go to for free, but you do have to pay to get to the top. This is a fun experience if you aren't claustrophobic or afraid of heights. You ride up in these little pods for 6-7 people and the ride takes about 4 minutes. You get a great view of the city once you're on the top!

(These pictures are from when B came up with me to St. Louis for my wedding shower in 2009.)

Everything is FREE! The Zoo, Science Center, Art Museum, even outdoor shows at the Muny, are all completely free of charge. I love this about St. Louis. Obviously, there are paid exhibits, but you can definitely go here on a budget. Now you do have to pay to go to the City Museum, but I would advise anyone to go - tons of fun! When it's not as cold out, they open an "adult playground" on the roof made of...well, see for yourself.

 

(These next ones of Jason and I are from 2006 - aw, we're so young and TAN!)

 

 

Cardinals games and a concrete: The new stadium has a great view of the arch. Also, Cardinals fans are the best fans! No trip to a cardinals game is complete without a trip to the original Ted Drewes for a concrete afterwards. We always make a trip here no matter the weather. I've stood in lines 20 people deep when it was below freezing! It's a historic spot along Route 66, so make sure you stop here!

 

 

Breweries: Obviously the Anheusher-Busch brewery is here, but there are a lot of other local breweries that are great. Schlafly Bottleworks and Square One Brewery are my suggestions.

 

Imo's Pizza: This pizza has incredibly thin crust, but the thing that it's best know for is the use of provel cheese instead of mozzarella. Provel is a combination of swiss, cheddar, and provolone cheeses and it makes the pizza super creamy. You either love this pizza or hate it, but you HAVE to try it. There are locations all over the city, so find your closest one and try it out!

 

 

Pick your own: In the mood for some old-fashioned fun? Venture out across the river to Eckert's farm in Belleville, IL (my home town!) for some great produce. There are beautiful orchards where you can pick strawberries, apples, pumpkins, and even cut your own Christmas tree. It's so quaint and wonderful. Their sarsaparilla and homemade peanut coffee cakes are to die for.

 

 

 

There are really SO many more things to do in St. Louis. Grant's Farm, the Botanical Gardens, exploring the Delmar loop, eating some Italian food on the Hill, I could go on and on... It's not typically a "destination" city, but I really think it should be.

 

Our next trip will be for Jason's birthday in March. He would love to go tour the Kentucky Bourbon trail or go skiing in Tahoe. We'll see where we end up!