#epicroadtrip Day 5

Day 5: Pine, CO

We stayed with my grandma's good friend from growing up Linda Dietz (and her wonderful hubby Lowell). They own 80 acres of beautiful mountain land in this beautiful small town of Colorado. They actually built a disk golf course on the land and it ended up being ranked #2 in the world! We were able to play around their course, hike the mountain, and just enjoy the amazing views from their porch. Also on day 5 Linda and Lowell drove us up to Georgetown; this cute little town which used to be a mining town. We saw the snow capped mountains which was super weird with it being summer and all, it was playing tricks on my mind for sure. And we saw the train drive through the town which was really fun. Anyways, after adventuring around that area we drove back down to Pine and had dinner at their favorite restaurant: Zoka's. It was amazing!!!!! The food, the beer, the dessert, the folks there. You could feel the small town, hippie vibe and it was right on;) I even got to talk to their farmer, Adam, and go sneak around their garden out back. After dinner, we headed back up the mountain and we watched this wonderful movie, Hopscotch, that Linda and Lowell had wanted to show us. We were wiped, such a great but full day so we hit the hay.

#epicroadtrip Day 3

After going through Kentucky and Illinois we saw the arch of St. Louis in the distance, so amped! Sara's mom flys weekly for her job and therefore has a plethora of frequent flyer points and free hotel points, and she gave us some of those!! All that to say that we stayed in a beautiful Embassy Suites hotel in downtown St. Louis. We had a king bed and a queen pull out, I slept like a baby!!! Let me back up. Once we arrived we drove straight to the hotel, dropped off our car, and dropped our stuff in the room. Apparently Sara's mom also has this cool hotel honors status or something aka when we arrived we went to floor four and got free snacks and two free drinks, ohhhh yeaaa. Free stuff is the best. Then we walked to dinner because it was about 8pm at this point. We found this super cheap and super yum sushi place. After dinner we headed to see the oh so famous St. Louis arch. It was pretty breathtaking. Just massive! And super triply to look at from directly under it. We ventured around that area and the capital building, then strolled on back to the hotel. This morning, Steinke and I went for a city run. What a great way to see a city! We found the city gardens which were very pretty and had some cool sculptures scattered about. Then at 8am we hit up the free breakfast before we headed out for the day. We went to the City Museum which thus far I have found near impossible to describe. You should google it though:) Anyways, it's this epic children's museum (where all ages are welcome!) where there are endless paths, tunnels, sites, play areas, music, etc. It was like a massive jungle gym but way nicer, more industrial (lots of metal and other unique materials), and incredibly aesthetically pleasing. We went buck wild in there and played around for almost 3 hours. It was so neat!! So glad we went. After that it was about time to pack up, check out, and drive on. We drove through Missouri and into Kansas. 

 

#epicroadtrip Day 2

Tuesday morning Sara and I hit the road at about 8am. We rolled out of Huntersville, NC with a big storm looming over our car. Not the most settling way to start a road trip, with such intense rain, but we prayed for protection and provision and drove uber careful! We were headed on 40W when we saw a sign for the Great Smokey Mountain National Park… so we whipped off the interstate to head there. We realized it was taking us there, but that decision would completely alter our travel plans haha. Taking us on a small “interstate” 441 literally through the Smokey Mountains which takes us through Gatlinsburg versus through Knoxville. As we got deeper into the mountains (and into a Cherokee Reservation) we lost service/ got lost twice/ realized we really did not want to arrive in Nashville 3 hours later than intended. So we straight retreated and got back on 40W. Good life choice for sure. We kept trekking to Nashville, seeing some really neat little towns and sights along the way. Once in Nashville, we went to Centennial Park to see the replica of the Parthenon then headed to 12th Street South to see Sevier Park where we stumbled upon a lovely farmers market and some food trucks. From there we walked around Belmont and Vanderbuilt, then ended up in East Nashville where we met my friend Shannon (our Nashville host) for dinner and Margs at this super cool Mexican restaurant called Rose Pepper Cantina. It’s about 10pm now and you’d think we’d be about done considering our long day… but NAHHHH. We headed to the airport to pick up our friend Steinke (Sarah Steinke, here to after referred to as “Steinke”). The three musketeers, ready to cross this beautiful country of ours. It’s about 10:45pm now so what better time to go to Broadway Street in downtown Nashville. We arrived and were overwhelmed and amazed by a massive street lined with bars lite up and glimmering with flashy signs. Soulful country music flooding out of every bar. A collection of characters strolling up and down the perfectly stimulated street. It was endless entertainment. And picture this, all this glitz and glam and us three tourists with running tights and sweatshirts on, frizzy hair knotted in a bun, no make-up, and eyes of bewilderment just wondering the street to soak it all up. So clearly we are real tired at this point and last maybe 45 minutes walking around Broadway. We pack on up and head to Shannon’s to crash so hard on some air mattresses. This morning we woke up around 8am, had breakfast (pre-bought and packed to save the monies—yeeee), and headed into the city by 9. We did the rest of downtown Nashville: the old post office (where John, this lovely yet sassy elderly man gave us a historical tour of the building and told us about a few other important buildings in the city), union station, the Nashville Music City visitor center, the Bridgestone Arena, etc. We really enjoyed Nashville and hated to leave, but it was time to head on out. Next stop? St. Louis, MO. As I typed this post in the car we had exited Tennessee, drove through Kentucky, drove through Illinois (aka farm land..), and made it to St. Loius! I should be draggin hard right now, didn’t sleep the best but I’m so hype right now! This is incredible thus farJ

It's not good-bye, but see you later

Yesterday was my last night in Raleigh for a while, bittersweet for sure. Had a wonderful family dinner with the Bolash's (my host family for the past 9 months!) followed by an adventure to Shelley Lake for a fam photo shoot. The Bolash's have become my family this year as we have done life together, and I am forever grateful to them for how they have cared for me and loved me well this year as a Raleigh fellow. Now before I "settle-down," whatever that means, I'm trekking across the states with two friends to end up in Marina Del Ray, California for the summer. Today I began the journey by getting a ride to Greensboro, NC where Sara (my partner in crime for the summer) picked me up and drove me back to Huntersville, NC where we will begin our road trip. Let the shenanigans begin:)

Eric, Robin, Me, Mila, and Risa

Miss you already Beth

Ta-ta for now Raleigh

Snow Day Adventures

Friends, Fun, and Food

The last few weeks since being back in Raleigh have been a blast (despite my horrible car accident...). Last Saturday Bethany and I had a Girls Night Out with our director's daughter, Molly. It was such a blast. Molly wanted to go to Golden Corral, and how could you say no to that face! After eating disgusting amounts of food, we headed home and watched Taylor Swift and One Direction Youtube videos and sang on the top of our lungs. My kind of night.

Molly Girl:) Girls Night Out

Then Sunday night my two good friends Sara Tinsley and Sarah Steinke came to Raleigh!! They joined me for my middle school event at Sam's pizza. It was really sweet getting to combine two different worlds and let my college friends meet the girls who I'm pouring into this year. And my 6th graders are just absurd and hilarious which always lends to eventful nights.  

6th grade small group girls!

 MLK day with Sara and Sarah! We had an amazing brunch at the flying biscuit (a Raleigh favorite) and then walked around downtown. The weather was amazing and it was just a breath of fresh air to hang with those two girlies:)

Sara(h)^2

So incognito 

Fellows Mid-Year Retreat

Last week the Fellows had the opportunity to go to Fancy Gap, VA and stay in a beautiful mountain house for our Mid-Year retreat. We had Bill Fullilove come on the retreat with us and speak on the important of vocation and calling. We had done the Highlands Ability Battery Assessment and the Belbin Team Roles Report before coming. While there, we each had a session with Bill to go over our assessments and talk practically about next year, job applications, and general career paths. IT WAS EPIC!!!!! So practical and helpful. Bill is the man! Plus, the location was incredible and we got to play and just enjoy time with each other:)