Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Wanderlust Wednesday: Featuring A Southern Twenty-Five

Hey y'all and happy hump day!
Caroline finally made it to Chicago after a five hour stay at the Philly airport but all is well and on schedule now. Since she is away, we thought we'd keep Wanderlust Wednesdays going strong and introduce a fun guest blogger! Today, I am personally excited to introduce you to one of my dear friends, Chesson, from A Southern Twenty-Five. She and I have been close friends for about 8 years now! We roomed together at Clemson and she was even one of my bridesmaids in my wedding. You should definitely check out her blog! So, without further introduction...take it away, Chesson!
xoxo, Ashley



Hi!


I'm Chesson & I blog over at A Southern Twenty-Five, but today I'm stopping by Virginia Sweet to hang out with y'all while Caroline is traveling for work. I've known Caroline for probably 4-5 years now and the short story is that I went to college with her husband, Reid. The long story is that I know Reid through my friendship with Ashley, who I've known since high school, lived with for two years in college, and whose wedding I was a bridesmaid in. Small world, right?

It's that time of year where everybody is hitting the road, the skies, and the seas to travel to new places. I have friends that are gallivanting around Europe {some who seem to permanently be doing so}, friends that are going & coming from honeymoons in the Caribbean, and friends that are celebrating graduation with big trips. It makes me really want to travel too!


Four years ago I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Europe a few weeks after I graduated from Clemson. It was a great trip but I have to say, at the end of the day, all I really wanted to do after going on this trip was explore more of the United States. I didn't realize how much of my own country I hadn't seen until I visited a different one.



The next summer, my family went out to visit my brother in Seattle. I fell in love with that city... everything from the great wine to the soccer games to the football team to the good breakfast places we stumbled across. I wish that I could visit here more often, especially during July and August when the weather is an ideal 75 & sunny and you have like 15 hours of sunlight.

Now I'm on a mission to find other cities that I can fall in love with, just like I fell in love with Seattle. I've been to a few like Chicago, Indianapolis, San Diego, San Antonio, and Washington, DC but there are so many more out there that have yet to be explored by me. Here's a list of cities, in no particular order, that I have never been to that I want to go to sometime in the near future:

Savannah
Technically, I have been here but it was for a bachelorette weekend earlier this year but it definitely wasn't enough time.

Nashville
Fingers crossed that I'll be heading out to Nashville in September! I'm hoping to swing a trip where we can go to a Vanderbilt football game and still have plenty of time to play. I've already started saving some money and researching things to do... hopefully it works out!

Boston
The farthest north I've been on the east coast is Washington, DC. Probably time to change that.

San Francisco
We threw around the idea of a family trip out to San Francisco and Napa Valley last year, but decided instead that a week at Kiawah was a much better idea for a family vacation {it was!} I still want to go. Any trip that focuses on wine is a trip that has my name all over it.

Houston
Why not?

Portland
I want to tour some local breweries now that I've learned to drink & enjoy beer, and I kind of want to check out the University of Oregon.

Miami
Because sometimes you need to travel to a place with gorgeous beaches and sunny weather so that you can just lay on the beach all day, read a good book, and relax.

Phoenix
I've never been out to a desert. Might as well, right?

Denver
I'm on a mission to see every NFL stadium. I've been inside four, seen games at two {Panthers & Falcons} of those four and taken a behind the scenes tour at the other two {Seahawks & Colts}. Denver has an impressive stadium and that might be my biggest draw to get out there soon.

St Petersburg
I couldn't even begin to tell you why I want to go here other than it looks like an interesting place to explore. It's also super near another NFL stadium... and my favorite beach in Florida {Longboat Key}



Williamsburg
Oops, another city that I've already been too. But it doesn't count when you're ten years old and don't remember much from the trip. I do remember Busch Gardens being worth a second visit though and I'd like to go back again soon. 

Minneapolis
They're supposed to be the most bike friendly city in the US and I'm a huuuuuge fan of biking. My bike lives in the back of my car and goes with me almost everywhere when the weather is warm and the days are long. This seems like a city I need to visit just so I can go biking the entire trip.

Omaha
I'm starting to think that I want to go to a bunch of places just for the sports aspect. Going to the College World Series has been on my bucket list for the last 15 years or so. Preferably, I want to go when Clemson is playing but I won't pass up the chance if it comes by when Clemson isn't there.

Nashville will be the first city that I cross off of this list, but what should be my next city?

My camera and I are impatiently waiting to load up the car, hit the road, and set out exploring!


xoxo, 
Chesson




4 comments:

  1. Great list! I've been to a lot of those places but also would like to visit some of them! I hope you get to make it to all of these places!

    <3, Pamela
    sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com

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  2. Awesome list, at least three of these are on mine for this year too!!!

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  3. Nashville is one of my favorite cities in the world! It is just such an "alive" place. If you're looking for a yummy little place to eat, try Demo's. Also, we stayed in an Embassy Suites about 20 minutes out of Nashville, but they offer free drinks from 5 to 7, so it's definitely something to look into if you can't get a room downtown or are looking for a more affordable option!

    XX, SS || A Little Seersucker Sass

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  4. Love your list, although I definitely think you should add DALLAS! There is so much to see and do in the USA and this post definitely has me craving a road trip.

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