TRAVELTOBER
October is going to be...and already has been...pretty crazy for me. I’m traveling three out of the five weeks this month. Two weeks for work and one for funsies. I only have one weekend that isn’t spoken for--filled with all the plans--and it has come and gone...so there goes that! 😳
Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling. I love exploring new states, new landmarks, new restaurants...anything really! This past week I went to Asheville, North Carolina. The only times I’ve been to North Carolina were layovers between a long journey to a different final destination. So, I don’t count just being in the airport. This was my first legitimate visit to the lovely state. And lovely it was! Seriously, Asheville is so pretty; you must go there. Go eat some sweet potato pancakes (trust me) at Tupelo Honey in downtown Asheville, buy some local honey from Asheville Bee Charmer (I strongly recommend the blackberry honey and meadowfoam honey, which tastes like marshmallows!!), watch the sun set behind the Blue Ridge Mountains, and tour the grand Biltmore Estate.
This week I have a bit of a respite, meaning I’m not traveling; but the week is still filled with festivities. I will be attending a gala....yep, that’s right, a gala’ing I will go once again! This time I’ll be adorning my fancypants cocktail attire for an organization I love, The CALL of NWA. Anne Meythaler is a friend of the blog, and The CALL is definitely one of the Cool Kids. And this weekend I’ll be traveling with my sis--not too far away--for my church’s yearly women’s retreat. I love my church and the people in it, so I jumped at the chance to retreat with some amazing women.
See! So many good things!
The next week I will be off to Cincinnati (or Cincy as the locals call it), Ohio for work once again. I’ll be going for some Excel training. Yes, you read that right, Microsoft Excel training. Yay! Ok, ya, this one isn’t too thrilling if you just see the training part, but if you look harder at my schedule you’ll see I have some good times sprinkled in. One afternoon a coworker is taking me to a place called Jungle Jim’s, which apparently is this huge international supermarket! Y’all. One of my favorite things to do when I go to another country is go explore their grocery store. You just never know what neat tasty treats you will find! I’m so stinking about this! Apparently they have a whole area just for Eastern European countries! Then we will spend our last evening in Cincy at the Hofbräuhaus, which is all about some good ole German cuisine. My heart (and likely also my stomach) is going to explode!
The fourth week will be another short time of rest before my last trip of the month. I do, of course, have a couple things planned, as I apparently cannot sit still for too long. I will be going to a Zac Brown Band concert (locally, thankfully), which I am pumped about. Love me some “Chicken Fried” and “Sweet Annie!” That weekend, I am taking my little mini-me, my niece Olivia, to Silver Dollar City! I took my nephew Benjamin last year, and Olivia has literally been asking me all year when it’s her turn. Well, Ladybug, the time has finally come! Off we will go to ride her first roller coaster and hopefully not traumatize her...hopefully.
To end the month with a grand finale, I am going to Santa Ynez, California for my dear friend Lauree’s wedding...at a vineyard...what?! Nothing like a wedding at a vineyard to make a girl feel fancy. I have bought a new dress...ok, I bought four because I couldn’t decide, but I promise to narrow it down. There will be no costume changes on my part throughout the duration of the wedding and reception. I may kick off my heels when the dancing starts, but I’ll keep myself together for the most part. 😉 I’m going to spend my first night at an Airbnb by the beach in Santa Barbara (just typing that makes me giddy), then will meet the rest of the crew in Solvang which is a small Danish town in the Santa Ynez Valley. Now doesn’t that sound like it’s right up my alley! The beach, the Danish, a vineyard, and celebrating my beautiful friend...I cannot wait.
AND there you have it! My September 30th to November 3rd. SHEW! Maybe I should say no to more things...probably, but look at all I will get to experience! I want to live my life to the fullest, even if it’s a little too full sometimes.
Busy? Quite. Exhausting? Definitely. Worth it? Absolutely!