Setting aside the suitcases for diaper bags...

I originally started this blog with plans to share all my travels, which normally includes around 4 trips a year. In between "new" trips I planned on sharing favorite memories of previous trips since these are something I think about often. While I haven't been the best at keeping up with regular posts the news I received earlier in the year that we had a baby on the way derailed most of the travel plans we had for this year, thus making my contributions to this blog even less.

We haven't completely put all plans on hold - after all, this year I've managed to travel to London and to Washington DC, and we have potential plans to go to the Outer Banks for a few days next month. However, we have definitely slowed down with regards to trip planning and made sure to plan quick getaways to places that are close by versus trying new places. Once the baby comes I'm sure these plans will continue to slow until we feel more comfortable taking her to new places. Our hope is that having a baby will not completely change our vacation habits, we'll just need to visit more family friendly destinations and choose our activities a bit more wisely.

My new goal for my blog... whether through this one or another one, is to write about my experience with pregnancy and motherhood. I'm hopping on this band wagon a bit late considering I will be 28 weeks (7 months) this weekend. But there's still plenty of time to share!

Quick getaway before the baby

I've been itchin' to travel since my last trip, which was to London in March. I had so many plans for this year - Charleston, Outer Banks, and wherever else we could go. However, when news that I was pregnant came in February all that went out the window. The London trip only happened because a friend of mine and I had already booked our tickets and it was a deal we just couldn't pass up.

I hit 25 weeks (or 6 months) as of today and traveling long distances is just not something that sounds appealing. My husband mentioned taking a weekend to go to Northern Virginia/DC to see a baseball game, visit family, and do some sightseeing. While it could have been just another trip to that area we made the most of it and got to have a mini summer vacation before all goes crazy.

We stayed about a mile from Old Town Alexandria and after checking into our hotel we walked to King Street in Old Town to grab some lunch at Hard Times Cafe. It was small, country-themed restaurant with great food and friendly service. Considering this was a completely random meal choice we could not have been happier. That evening we took the metro into DC to watch the Nationals play the Orioles in the first of three games in the Battle of the Beltways. We splurged a bit on club level seats and it was definitely worth it. The weather was a bit iffy and there were several showers that came through, delaying the game by an hour. Thanks to our awesome seats though we were able to step inside whenever it did rain.

The next day I let Brian sleep in and met up with a friend of mine from college and her son, who is 9 months old now. It was quick catch-up over some coffee (decaf for me) and a walk around Old Town's weekly Farmer's Market. It was great to finally meet her son - he is such a cutie - and to chat face to face instead of Instant Messenger or Facebook messages. After being dropped back off at my hotel, we headed out to Annandale to visit Brian's Aunt & Uncle, two of the most interesting people I have ever met and always look forward to seeing when we're in the area. We always feel bad dropping in on them with last minute notice but it's always great to catch up and gives us plenty to talk about afterward. We enjoyed lunch at a nearby Thai restaurant and spent sometime back at their place chatting and checking out all of Uncle Mark's collections (telescopes, rocks, etc).

Once we left Brian's family it was time for our date night to begin. A week before Brian and I were watching a movie and he asked if he could take me on a date the following weekend. He had decided we'd do a relaxed dinner in the city and go sightseeing at the monuments that I have never seen up close. We started with a walk over to the Jefferson Memorial - about a mile or so each way - and then took the metro over to Ben's Chili Bowl. Ben's is a local favorite frequented by many celebrities, as well as President Obama, in fact, their signature dish is a favorite of Bill Cosby. We took a seat at the counter and order our chili half-smokes. The service here was excellent- everyone was friendly and more than willing to help us with whatever we needed, not too mention they were all enjoying their jobs and serving the multitude of people coming through the door. There were pictures covering the walls and I was excited that Paula Dean was one of the many folks who had visited. As we left a jazz band played out front of the restaurant adding to an already excellent evening. We then headed back to the Mall on the metro and made another long trek over to the Lincoln Memorial. On the way we passed the Washington Monument, the White House, the World War II Memorial, and the area where the reflecting pool once sat. After a quick visit with Mr. Lincoln we headed over to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, which is a bit eerie due to the life-size statues that fill the site. At this point we were absolutely exhausted and sore from all the walking we did throughout the afternoon so we headed back for one last metro ride back to our hotel. Along the walk we witnessed many lightning bugs dancing in the early evening and everyone, kids and adults included, were excited by the visitors. We spent the rest of our evening relaxing in our room watching tv, which was a perfect end to a wonderful trip.

It was nice to get away but it's always nice to be home again. Sitting on my couch, surrounded by my animals, I couldn't have asked for a better getaway.

A few years back my husband and I took a road trip from Virginia Beach to Maine. Along the way we stopped in Salem, MA and made our way into Boston via the train. It was a relatively quick trip as I only got to see Quincy Market and hang out with some wonderful friends of ours - catching up, having drinks, and laughing late into the night. At the end of our evening we managed to miss the last train out and had to take a cab back to our inn in Salem. It was quite the adventure.

Since then I've been back to the Boston area about once a year for work-related reasons, all day meeting focusing on our HR agenda and goals for the year. With each trip I fly into the city, drive out to Woburn, and spend my time locked away in an office building getting to know my team a little better. It's a great time overall, especially the group dinners and activities once the meetings are done. This year's trip was no different. Of course, I'm now sitting in Logan airport, irritated that my flight has been delayed by an hour. After a long day, I'm just ready to go home.

Last year was the exception to my fly in/fly out Boston experience. We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Battery Wharf Resort right in the city. Both nights we were able to walk around downtown and explore the city a bit. On our first night, one of my co-workers took us around to see some of the sights including Paul Revere's house and we stopped at Mike's Pastry for a cannoli. On our second evening after enjoying a wonderful dinner we walked to Modern pastry for another cannoli and then everyone split up to go their own way. A friend of mine and I headed to Quincy Market and enjoyed drinks and people watching at the Hard Rock Cafe. While I didn't get to see all the sights in Boston, having the chance to explore the city a little bit while I was in town made for a much more enjoyable experience than in past years. Maybe one day I'll actually get to visit for pleasure and really get a taste for this city!

You must be trippin'

It's hard to believe that our first real road trip was almost four years ago. Traveling from Virginia Beach to Maine and back again in my '96 Chevy Cavalier with a broken driver's side window over a span of four days was quite the adventure. A friend suggested we take along a GPS and offered to let me borrow one of his; however, I decided we'd be fine without one and what would be the fun in a road trip if we knew exactly where we were going. Of course, ever the planner we did actually book lodging along the way so we had to be at certain places each night along the way.

During the course of our trip we made stops at Dover Downs, Philadelphia (though we got lost and barely found our way to a cheese steak), West Chester, PA (where we spent our first night camping and canoeing), Salem & Boston, MA (where we stayed at a "haunted" inn and I enjoyed my first - several - shots of Patron Tequlia before missing the last train back to Salem and having to take a cab ride back), Southern Maine (got to visit some good friends of ours, ate lobster for the first time, and enjoyed a quaint pizza restaurant that I would gladly go back to again), and our final stop before the long ride home was Foxwoods Casino. Along the way we flew past NYC where I ran a 10.00 toll right in the middle of the Bronx and the pink fluffy bunny gang was born! I also fell in love with Connecticut due to the beautiful scenery we drove by, not to mention the state smelled good. Seriously, it actually smelled good! Fresh air is an amazing thing when the stench of Jersey has been seared into your nose. While there were many highlights to the trip and several laughs, there are two things I won't forget. Getting to spend time with people I adore in the most interesting of places and having to open my door every time we had to pay a damn toll. You can bet after this trip I broke down and had my window fixed.

We tried to recreate our road trip experience the following summer and decided to make a grand tour of the south since we had already had some northern exposure. Due to poor planning in the financial realm we ended up taking a few days in Savannah, GA which was absolutely wonderful though not quite the same experience as the summer before.

Check out one of my best photos from our northern road trip... taken from our campsite in West Chester, PA.

Keeping things going... the life's to-do list

Throughout my life I have made mental notes of the different places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do. I clearly remember wanting to trek through the rain forests, which now just seems ridiculous considering my overwhelming fear of spiders of all sizes and bugs in general, and wanting to explore the pyramids of Egypt due to my fascination with their ancient culture and mummification process. Over time my notes have changed or have been forgotten. Several years back, after creating a mental travel list with Brian, I decided to actually write things down. This list included both travel destinations and a variety of things I wanted to. Most would call it a bucket list but I feel I'm far too young for that, so I refer to it as my life's to-do list. My original list was lost after my computer was mistakenly reformatted by one of Brian's friends and though I created a new one shortly after that I couldn't remember every item on the original and cannot find that copy now when I search for it. So, for the third time I have created a list - which I have posted below in case you're interested.

With my mom outside Harpo Studios after watching a taping of the Oprah Show during the 25th and final season!

What I find interesting about the list is how it has changed over the years and I'm sure will continue to change. Items get marked off as I travel and seek out these items each year (which always makes me a little giddy) and new things get added as I learn of new places to visit or get interested in new activities to try. Some remain constant because they will take a while to get crossed off. Keeping track of my life's to-do list allows me to choose new travel destinations and different activities to seek out instead of always going back to the same old places each year. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have my favorites. Whether I've been there multiple times (ex. Las Vegas, Disney World) or I enjoyed it so much the first time I can't wait to go back (ex. New Orleans, Denver, Savannah) I almost feel guilty going back to the same places because it takes away from the opportunities I have to travel elsewhere.

Brian & I rafting on the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado

I encourage everyone to keep a life's to-do list. It doesn't have to have a theme and it doesn't have to be travel related, it can be anything you have an interest in. Keeping a list allows you to have a variety of goals instead of just living for the weekends, getting a higher salary, buying a house, or raising a family. If you don't already have a list created take some time to jot down a few things today.

Sunset off the coast of Clearwater, FL

Here is my latest list... can't wait to see what items I cross-off next!

Life’s to-do list

Travel:

United States

· Alaska

· Austin, TX

· Charleston, SC

· Key West, FL

· Nashville, TN

· Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ

· Portland, OR

· Seattle, WA

North/South America

· Vancouver, Canada

· Jamaica

· Costa Rica

Europe

· Italy

o Rome

o Pompeii

o Venice

· France

o Paris

· Belgium

· Iceland

· Germany

· Greece

· Russia

· United Kingdom

o London, England

o Stonehenge

o Ireland

o Scotland

Asia

· Cambodia

· Japan

· Laos

· Vietnam

Africa

· Egypt

· Morocco

Activities:

· Hot Air Ballooning

· River Tubing

· Zip-line

· Visit the Grand Canyon

· Deep Sea Fishing

· Watch the Aurora Borealis

· Dine at a AAA 5 Diamond restaurant

· Spend a full day at a spa

· Snow Tubing

· See a concert at Red Rocks (Colorado)

o Preferably Dave Matthews Band

· Tour the White House

· Stomp grapes

· Take a Cruise Vacation with port calls

Items already completed:

· Obtain a Master’s Degree

· Attend a taping of the Oprah Show

· Watch a sunset over water

· Go White Water Rafting

· Visit the Biltmore Estate

· Visit California’s Wine Country

· Denver, CO

· San Francisco, CA

· New Orleans, LA

· Savannah, GA

Majestic!

I'm keeping my first post of the New Year simple with a picture from my trip to Denver two years ago. I found many of the views in Colorado to be amazing and majestic; in fact, my first view of the Rocky Mountains on our way to go whitewater rafting brought me to tears. This one, taken from the visitor center at Red Rocks, is one of my favorites and I often find myself coming back to it every time I look at my Denver album. Enjoy! I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that you each have experiences that taken your breath away and leave you amazed.

Travel Year in Review

With one last day left in 2010 I decided to take a cue from a friend who posted a year in review blog to talk a little about my travels over the past 12 months. Looking back I feel this year in travel was a little bit less exciting than previous years, which I believe is mainly due to Brian's crazy work schedule including close to a 3 month detachment to Haiti and 5 1/2 months in Bahrain.

Here's a rundown of the places I've been in 2010:

• Asheville, NC - visited the Biltmore Estate and celebrated my 6th wedding anniversary. Highlights were live bluegrass music, touring the Biltmore, the Biltmore Residences - our home away from home - complete with fireplace and in-room massage!
• Boston, MA - work trip but got to take an evening tour of the city and enjoy a bit of Quincy Market while I was there
• Orlando, FL - visited Disney World with my parents - trip highlight lunch at the Les Chefs de France in Epcot
• Atlanta, GA - visited my best friend and had possibly the most educational trip of the entire year. Bodies Exhibition, Dialogue in the Dark, Georgia Aquarium, and the Renaissance Festival
• Nags Head, NC - family beach vacation including playing laser tag for the first time ever, playing cornhole on the beach, fishing off the pier, and climbing the Hatteras Lighthouse.
• Chicago, IL - attended a taping of the Oprah Show (cast of Sister Wives), got a bird's eye view of the city from the top of the Willis Tower, and got to catch up with an old friend, Jade, over deep dish pizza.
• Miami, FL - 2 night cruise on the amazingly beautiful Celebrity Eclipse and a 2 night stay at Kimpton's Epic Hotel in Downtown.

Looking ahead to 2011 I hope that I will be able to be fortunate enough to continue to travel, see new places, experience new things, and enjoy the world in a way that is both fun and inspiring. Tentatively on my list for the upcoming year are the following: Las Vegas to celebrate mine and the bestie's 30th birthdays, San Diego for ComicCon 2011 (if we ever get tickets), another trip to the Outer Banks for family vacation, a trip up to Northern Virginia/D.C. for the first time in 2 years, a trip to Charlotte, NC for a mini-SBC reunion (can't wait to see all my girls!), and hopefully a trip to Europe or another domestic city on my list of places to see - there are so many of them I don't even know where to begin (ex. Austin, TX; Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ).

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and adventurous New Year!