Even Me: A Year in Review: 2012 Roadtrips

This summer I went on 6 roadtrips.
Some big.
Some small.
Some planned.
Some sorta last minute.
All fun.

April 2012: Nashville, TN

This April, when I was in between places, I drove down to KC and then hopped on a plane to Nashville, TN.

My trip was two-fold: visiting family and running my first out-of-state race.

When I first got there, I spent some time just relaxing on the front porch with my grandma and aunt- catching up!

My grandma and I hung out the whole time I was there. We went to the farmer's market downtown.

And also checked out the bicentennial wall.

Isn't she the cutest?

My grandma also drove me to the pre-race festivities downtown. We had a great time checking out the expo.

All you runners will appreciate this one

The Batman building!

These boys also loaned me their bunk bed for the week. I paid them back with a trip for fro-yo!

We went to Five Points Pizza in East Nashville for my favorite pre-race meal...

Pizza and beer. :)

We had to get up REALLY early to drive downtown for the race. I woke up to all these awesome signs.

Since I bought some gear at the expo, I got my own elite bathroom with special runner toilet paper!

Waiting for the race to start!

These were the people in the corrals behind me. There were a LOT of runners

It was a pretty good race and I was so close to breaking 2 hours! My final time was 2:01:33

That night, my aunt and I hit the town!

And on Sunday, I went to church with my grandma. Blue grass band!

We also considered large garden hats. Seems appropriate in the south.

And more pizza! This time at Mellow Mushroom.

We had a blast hanging out all week!

I got to run in the country every day and spend mornings with coffee and books on the porch. It was awesome!

After I had been rushing to get everything moved and packed and cleaned, it was such a relaxing time! I returned home feeling so relaxed.

June 2012: KCMO

This trip was both planned and spontaneous. T was out of town with friends, but flying into KC on his way home, so we planned to meet there and hang out and shop at the Plaza and stay the night. Instead of driving down Saturday to pick him up, I decided to drive down Friday instead and have a little mini vacay solo.

I have to say- if you've never traveled anywhere by yourself- you are missing out. This was probably some of the most fun I've had alone.

First of all, I love The Plaza area of KCMO.

I decided since I was by myself to walk over to the art museum. I loved these little apartments I passed along the way.

And the museum was amazing. I went through the entire main level, so next time I'll have to move upstairs. So much art to see!

Then I grabbed dinner at a local restaurant near the hotel called Tomfooleries. It was pretty delicious.

The next morning I got up and took a run around the Plaza.

and through the sculpture park.

Isn't this the coolest statue?

Then I walked to a little cafe called Eggtc. I had a fantastic greek stye omelet- great start to the day.

Then I got myself a little pedi and did some shopping before picking T up from the airport. It was a great morning for a little alone time.

After I got T, we had lunch at this amazing little place called Blue Bird Bistro.

The food is all locally sourced and fresh. They even made some of their own liquor. It was so fresh and flavorful.

I brought a little dress for when we went out.

We had dinner at a local brewery called The Foundry. I had a black bean burger that was probably one of the best I'd ever had.

The Foundry has a really awesome patio too.

Then we just hung out in Westport doing a little bar hopping. It was a great day!

The next morning we had the obligatory BBQ and then drove home. Perfect impromptu trip!

July 2012: Frederick, MD

I had an opportunity to go with T back to his hometown this summer. I had never been to the east coast at all, so this was a real treat!

It was pretty exciting to visit T's home state I had heard so much about!

Considering how dry it was in Iowa, MD was so lush and green.

For dinner, we met some of T's friends at his favorite Frederick restaurant- The Tasting Room.

We sat at the bar, it had a really cool ambience.

Fancy butta.

And, of course, Maryland crabcakes! And yes- they live up to the hype. Best I've ever had.

The next day T had some work meetings so I just hung out in downtown Frederick all day. At the recommendation of one of T's friends, I went to Cafe Nola for breakfast and a little reading time.

I had the Fresh Start breakfast sandwich. It was fantastic.

I loved the style of this coffeeshop/restaurant. It's how I envision NicNac looking some day!

They were showing some local artists work that I really liked.

They were beautiful paintings.

After I had my breakfast and hung out a bit, I walked through town to the Frederick's visitor center. There is a little riverwalk that goes through town that is just beautiful.

The visitor center is pretty new and there is an app you can download for your Iphone that will walk you through town and all the historical sites.

I had a great time. The architecture was amazing. I really really loved the downtown Frederick neighborhoods.

There were also little shops scattered around that I was able to check out.

Aren't these pillows awesome?

Again- loved the houses.

I walked around all morning checking out the historical sites. For lunch, I popped into another local restaurant I had scouted out online, The Orchard.

I had a veggie pita melt that was amazing. They make a homemade tomato tamari sauce that was almost drinkable- Highly recommend!

Then I did a little more shopping in the afternoon.

This made me laugh.

I ended my tour with a little writing time at the coffee shop right when it started pouring. Perfect timing!

When T got off work, we grabbed some beers and apps at Magoo's and watched a little baseball.

We went for a little walk after dinner

and found this!

It was a HUGE tree.

I also got to see the Francis Scott Key memorial which was pretty cool.

I thought this church was so beautiful in the sunset.

Although I didn't really get to meet any of T's family, I really enjoyed seeing where he grew up and checking out his old stomping grounds.

I also got a mug for my collection!

August 2012: Missouri

In August, we went down to spend some time at my mom's cousin's house on a lake. It was such a relaxing time and I was glad T was able to meet some of my extended family.