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!

Key West, FL

We just got back from celebrating my birthday in Key West, Florida. It has been so cold  (it is currently snowing) here in Dallas, that we just couldn't wait to get somewhere beachy. We actually started our trip flying into Miami Thursday night. Between our free hotel stay at a JW Marriott (yay Marriott credit card) and 13$/day rental car, this trip started off right!

We woke up the next morning and spent the morning driving around South Beach and then on the Overseas Highway between the beautiful keys (Key Largo, Marathon, and Big Pine Key are among the biggest). We stopped at the beach in Bahia Honda State Park. The water was stunning.

We drove to Key West and Jason surprised me with some champagne in our room. We took it out to our porch and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Seriously, the highs are in the upper 70s and lows are in the lower 70s - perfect! After this, we went to grab some Cuban food and sangria at El Siboney.

We also ventured out to Duval street. We had heard it described as the Bourbon Street of Florida, but honestly we thought it was 10 times better! There was still the live music, drinking on the streets, crazy people, etc., but it was cleaner and WAY more chill.

Holding the photographer's drink :)

The entire island of Key West is 2 miles x 4 miles, so renting bikes (or a moped) is definitely the way to get around. We stayed at a little B&B called La Pensione Inn, which was only about a 5 minute bike ride to everything on the island. We had never stayed at one before and were both pleasantly surprised.

Saturday was spent exploring the area around us. We grabbed brunch and mimosas at Blue Heaven. It was AMAZING! We biked to the Southernmost Point, Duval Street, Mallory Square - really all over the island. That night, we celebrated my birthday at The Flaming Buoy and ate some Key Lime Pie (of course).

Every night, there is a sunset celebration in Mallory Square to say goodbye to the day. There are street shows, people selling key lime EVERYTHING, and musicians. Also, you can't forget the beautiful sunset! We tried conch (rhymes with honk) which was...interesting.

Sunday, we only had time to grab a quick breakfast at the B&B before we drove the 2 miles to the airport. The airport was awesome - 6 total gates, 1 restaurant, and zero security line.

As Jimmy Buffet says, "Key West is the original changer of latitudes and attitudes" and in just one weekend, we found that to be true. I can't wait to make another trip back here! It was one of our favorite trips we have taken during Jason's time at Southwest.

New York, New York

It was by pure chance that I got the experience to visit NYC during the Christmas season. A work conference moved due to Sandy was rescheduled right in the midst of the most wonderful time of the year. I went to visit a few years ago during the summer, but honestly, nothing compares to going in December!

I stayed at the New York Hilton which is right next to Rockefeller and Radio City Music Hall. It was a great hotel, but I honestly wouldn't have picked it if my conference wasn't being held there. It was great to be centrally located though.

 

 

I got the great chance to meet up with my cousin who lives in NYC, a friend who was there for business AND go to the Rockette's Christmas show. It was a busy trip for sure!

I got the chance to wander around and see all of the beautiful store windows, dropped into FAO Schwartz and did a little shopping on 5th Avenue. My favorite area that I visited was Bryant Park. They have a Christmas market set up with shops selling apple cider, homemade gifts and Christmas treats. I wish I had time to skate on the rink, but it was fun to watch for a while.

 

 

St. Patrick's Cathedral was also completely decked out for Christmas. I especially loved the nativity scene. No baby Jesus - it's not Christmas yet!

 

 

 Last, but not least, I had to go get a glimpse of Johnny's new ad in Times Square. Whoop!

 

I was only in NYC for 3 short days, but it was great to see the city at it's best. The only thing that could have made the trip better was snow. It was actually warmer in NYC than it was in Dallas! I didn't see the effects of Sandy where I was, but heard from many people in the conference about the absolute devastation in some areas. Hopefully things can get back to normal as soon as possible for those people.

 

Travel updates: That's it for 2012! We're looking forward to getting some family time in and relaxing. In January, we're hoping for Orlando.

 

ALSO, news on the big trip front and it's looking like it's going to be Australia and New Zealand this year! Sorry, Southeast Asia, but you have really cheap tickets. It doesn't make sense for us to risk standby to only save $200/person. Don't worry, we will visit you soon...

 

So guys, until next year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Take Me Back: San Juan, Puerto Rico

In honor of Southwest's new service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, I thought I would blog about the two times we have been there.

Our first trip was over Thanksgiving break in November 2010 with my parents. We stayed at a Mariott in the Isla Verde area. While the beach was very nice, it wasn't our favorite location. It was definitely the more touristy area; laden with Burger Kings and KFCs.

The second time we went was in September of 2011 for our Southern Caribbean cruise. We stayed at the La Concha Renaissance in Condado and we absolutely loved it. I would definitely recommend renting a car when you go to San Juan - it's relatively cheap, but completely necessary if you want to get to some of the further away attractions (and you definitely do!).

Our favorite parts:

Wandering around Old San Juan



Kayaking in the Bioluminescent Bay - Fajardo

You can't take decent pictures of the Bio Bay, but suffice to say, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done! The organisms in the water react to motion, so as you are kayaking through, you leave a blue trail in your wake. You kayak through mangrove trees to arrive at your final destination. When we went, it was sprinkling outside, so every time water fell through the trees, it sparkled when it hit the water. It was magical.

El Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal

Kioskos de Luquillo - There are about 60 different food vendors which serve anything from down-home Puerto Rican basics to gourmet burgers to ceviche. We also tried some delicious mojitos here, so it's really a foodie's paradise. It looks kind of shady, but it's local staple!

El Yunque Rainforest - ATVing and Hiking/ Swimming in Waterfalls

Our first time, we took an ATV tour and it was a BLAST! About 1/2 way through, you stop at a river to swim. You can also do a similar tour on horseback.

The Beaches

I really loved Puerto Rico and I'm so excited that we can now fly there for free with Southwest. I would definitely recommend putting Puerto Rico at the top of your travel wishlist. It's only a 4 hour plane ride from Houston and you don't even need a passport!