Blue Ridge Parkway

Staunton, Virginia 1180 miles

Once again, we left for this one in the evening and drove through the night. The sky was on fire the next morning when we were passing through Louisville, Kentucky.

We stopped for breakfast at Wild Eggs where we tried Tennessee hot chicken & waffles - news flash, it's hot.

Since we were passing through the horse capital of the world, we stopped at Thoroughbred park to admire the bronze statues... and dogs playing in the fountain.

The breakfast fuel was wearing off, so we didn't stop too many places along the way to our next hotel - we wanted to get there early and rest up to hit the parkway bright and early for sunrise!

Boone, North Carolina 275 miles

The day started off with a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. The weather was cool and brisk, just how we like it. There weren't many other cars on the road so we were able to take our time as we started at milepost 0 of the blue ridge parkway.

Our first stop was the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center where we walked around to look at relocated 1890 farm buildings - right up Phil's alley! It was a relaxing way to kick off the day.

From there we just continued cruising and stopping at various overlooks to take it all in. Our GPS decided to stop working so we made our way towards Roanoke where we stopped at Best Buy to replace it. At this point, I was ready for some good coffee so I did a quick search online and came across a little place called... Sweet Donkey Coffeehouse 🥰. I obviously had to go. I'd like to think that if I had a coffeeshop, I'd name it something as cute as this.

We stopped at a farmers market near Meadows of Dan, Virginia where we picked up some homemade blackberry jam before continuing on our quest for the perfect sunset.

We didn't quite get it, but once we made it to our hotel in Boone, we were rewarded with some of the best nachos I've ever had at Wild Craft Eatery. This place was absolutely perfect! They have stained glass hanging everywhere in addition to the cutest details in every corner. I can't wait to come back here someday!

Asheville, North Carolina 200 miles

This is the day that the rain moved in, and it did not let up until late afternoon. While it made getting out of the car to sightsee more difficult, I think it was still one of my favorite days of driving. Not only were the roads mostly empty, it was just a really cozy drive!

Before setting off on the parkway again, we stopped for coffee at The Local Lion and browsed through hand-made gifts at Hands Gallery Art where I picked up a beautiful stained glass panel souvenir for myself.

The drive started off slow but steady, we stayed in the car most of the day but stopped in a couple of spots to get a few quick photos - I'm all about the "documentation" of each trip! As we made it closer to Asheville, the rain got heavier and a little scary - at certain points, there was water flowing over the roadway and I was ready to be done.

It seems that all the rain was on one side of the mountains, because eventually the sun came out and you wouldn't believe it was the same day. We made our way to the hotel and settled in, then ventured out for dinner at Buxton Hall BBQ followed by dessert at Sunshine Sammies.

Nashville, Tennessee 340 miles

We had seen signs at the BRP wasn't 100% open at some of the highest points due to high winds, but we attempted to drive through on this day - unfortunately we had to turn back and find an alternative route.

The upside to this is we got to drive through Pisgah National Forest and stop at Looking Glass Falls for some great photo ops. This is where I almost lost my favorite Ray-Bans, but I noticed early enough that we were able to drive back and there they were (whew)!

We were eventually able to get back on the parkway and continue our journey. We had perfect weather again so we made plenty of stops to admire the fall foliage.

Where the parkway ends, the smoky mountains begin! It was so busy in the park, we ended up getting caught in a lot of RV traffic! To avoid getting stuck behind too many, we didn't make any stops and enjoyed the views from the car.

We made our way into Nashville and got settled in to our self check-in room at the Sobro Guest House (now Stay Alfred). This place was really cool, so we opted to get takeout to bring back so we could take advantage of the space. We wanted some hot chicken so we went with Hattie B's and it was a great choice!

Biloxi, Mississippi 500 miles

We spent some time walking around the Sobro area of Nashville in the morning, then made our way over to Hillsboro Village for some sweet potato pancakes at the Pancake Pantry and lattes at Frothy Monkey.

Having a little more time to spare before the drive, we stopped at the Nashville Farmers Market before gassing up and hitting the road.

We were about to mark another state of the list, so I started searching for something really "Alabama" on our route so we could stop for photos. Whenever we do our trips, I try to get at least one photo from each place that I'm able to put in album. A giant peach? That sounded pretty Alabama to me. We stopped at Peach Park in Clanton and wandered around until it was no longer light enough to get decent photos, then we were back on the road.

Unfortunately now that it was dark, we couldn't see much. Judging by the GPS, we were driving over a whole lot of swampland so maybe it was for the best! Side note: I never realized how many bridges are in the south! We arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel around 11pm and got one more photo before settling in for the night.

New Orleans, Louisiana 230 miles

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the gulf and got to see some dolphins! Our next destination was New Orleans, but we were first stopping to visit a friend in Baton Rouge so we checked out early to get a head start.

Donuts were sounding really good, so Phil did a quick search and found a place - I can be a little picky so when I heard the name "Fantasy Donuts", I wasn't so sure about it - but I was wrong. Some day we might plan a trip with the final destination being Fantasy Donuts in Biloxi.

We stopped along the beach to enjoy our donuts and watch all of the butterflies swarm around us. I was so excited to get a few photos here!

After getting back on the road (trying to ignore the full box of donuts that we picked up for our friends), we made our way to Baton Rouge to see some familiar faces and visit for awhile!

By going to Baton Rouge first, we had to backtrack a little to get to New Orleans, but since we didn't have as long of a drive on this day it wasn't too bad. We checked into the adorable and 100% "New Orleans" Frenchmen Hotel and relaxed for a bit before going out to explore.

I was IN LOVE with all of the bright colors and charming details on every corner - potted plants and greenery lining every porch step. It was a nice change of pace to be able to walk the city! As we made our way closer to Bourbon street, the crowds started to increase pretty dramatically and people were noticeably more.... rowdy?

Phil and I aren't big drinkers, so this wasn't necessarily our "scene", but it was pretty cool to people watch. We don't really have anything like this back home! We started to feel a little hungry, so we made our way to the famous Cafe Du Monde for some beignets to regain some energy for the evening.

Since our hotel was so close, we went back to hang out by the pool for a bit before going out again. This place was even more dreamy at night! What's nice about NOLA is that everything is open late, so we made our way out and stopped at the Frenchmen Art Garage where I found the perfect souvenir for my sister at ReStrung Jewelry where they fashion pieces out of recycled guitar strings - pretty cool!

We wrapped up our night by listening to some street jazz before going back to our room - a true New Orleans experience!

Austin, Texas 520 miles

Today was Phil's birthday! We celebrated with breakfast at Jimmy J's in the French Quarter, followed by a stroll back to our hotel, watching all of the local business owners hose off their sidewalks (eww!)

We checked out and drove random streets, looking for more colorful homes to admire. We stopped quick at La Belle Esplanade so I could snap a few more photos before making our way out of NOLA.

For some reason on this trip, I started developing a slight fear of bridges... I think it probably has something to do with the fact that everything is so swampy and I worry about what's in the water. I'm crazy, I know. On our way out of the city, we wanted to at least drive by a plantation home, so we decided to drive to the Oak Alley Plantation. In order to get there, we had to cross over the massive Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi - TWICE. That thing is HIGH!

Since we were passing through Baton Rouge again, we met up with our friend for lunch at Boil & Roux before setting out on our long drive to Austin.

The drive didn't get any shorter once we encountered an accident on I-10 just outside of Lake Charles. This set us back at least 45 mins. Phil was not amused! 😆We eventually made it to Austin and checked in to the Lone Start Court.

Fortunately, we were staying here 2 nights so we didn't feel obligated to go out that night. That wouldn't stop me from taking a few photos of our cool retro room before I let Phil set things down!

Free Day in Austin

You read that right... we did NOT drive to a new place on this day. What were we going to do with a whole day? We found stuff. We started off our day with breakfast tacos at Gringa's Street Tacos and then made our way to the "Greetings from Austin" mural on south first street.

Being the art-lover that I am, we headed to the original Hope Outdoor Gallery location to check out the grafitti and glitter paint - obviously. This gallery is now closed but will reopen in 2020 across from the Austin airport.

Next up was the Viva la Vida parade on 6th street. We're usually not so much for parades, but this one was so festive! We spent a little more time here and then on to the next activity.

We made our way to south Austin where we shared another amazing donut at Gordough's food truck - the Granny's Pie covered in banana, caramel and walnuts. Get it!

I really wanted to see some Texas longhorns, but they're kind of hard to come by in the city (weird??) - we did end up tracking down a place that had 1. Phil was a little nervous about how he was eyeing me up, so we didn't stay long - just long enough to get a few photos :)

We started making our way back north towards our hotel and stopped for souvenir shopping at Austin Gift Company before trying to decide where to go for dinner.

Phil wanted a good steak, so we decided on Saltgrass Steak House before heading back to our hotel and walking around the fire pits before settling in for the night. It was going to be a looooong drive the next day!

Home 1200 miles

We got up at an impressive 4am to hit the road, knowing that we were probably going to drive all the way home. Since Phil had driven the majority of the trip, I was prepared to drive - and then I sprained my ankle in the parking lot as we were loading our bags :(

It was so early, that we didn't attempt to speak to anyone at the hotel - even though we probably should have since it happened on the premises. Alas, we got in the car, I attempted to keep my foot elevated and we started our journey home. We passed through Dallas right around sunrise.

Having grown up on a dairy farm, I don't think Phil will ever fully understand my obsession with cows... but I made him stop anyway so I can get a photo of these little guys. 😍

Even with the sprained ankle, I insisted that we take a somewhat-longer route back so we could dip into Arkansas to cross it off the list. From that point, we pretty much cruised all the way home, stopping quick for dinner at Zaxby's in Kansas City. I couldn't tell you what time we ended up getting home!