A Week in Colorado: Where We Stayed

Good morning y'all!  While my summer vacation technically started last Monday, today is my first Monday with no alarm to set.  Last Monday some friends & I started our week long road trip to Colorado.  Rather than overwhelm you with every thing in one post, I'm gong to break it up for you over a few different posts.  Also because I got home at 5:30 in the morning on Sunday, after like 20 hours in the car, I'm going to start the series off nice and simple because I'm definitely typing this up at 9:15 Monday morning due to not doing anything at all Sunday.  Linking up with Biana!

Denver

We stayed at an AirBNB about a mile and a half away from Sports Authority (Mile High) Stadium.  We could see the stadium from the front yard.  It was the first time any of us had ever used AirBNB before.  The hosts hand promised us both a welcome basket with local beers (one of the hosts worked at a brewery) as well as a "Food Bible" where we could find all of the great places to eat in the area.  Luckily Helen & I are Yelp queens (more on that in my "Where We Ate" post) because neither a basket nor a Food Bible were left for us.

Still the house was super cute & had lots of charm.  We walked through the front door & I instantly fell in love with the decor.

This is where I slept.  There were 2 bedrooms, and one of them did have bunk beds, but I love couches and wanted my own space.

My favorite part was the dining room.

Seriously though people, these walls!  If I had enough money to live in Colorado and buy a home, neither of which are actually in the cards for me right now, this would be a perfect starter home.  It was an adorable 2 bedroom 1 bathroom.  Well there could have been more in the back which we didn't have access to, but as far as what we did have access to it was nearly perfect.

The adorable kitchen with wine cork back splash & a farm house sink.  The downside to the house?  Besides the lack of coffee, beer basket, & food bible, the air sucked!  It was our only major complaint about the house.  The house was built in 1911 which I'm sure had a TON to do with it.  However, it didn't matter how low we set the A/C, or if we opened the windows at night when it was in the 50s, the coldest it ever got was 75 in the house.  It was usually closer to 80.  Part of me wants to say luckily we did spend a lot of time away from the house & were really only there at night to sleep.  But when I'm sleeping is when  I like it cold.  I'm already a hot sleeper as it is.  I woke up multiple times each night just sweating.  It was awful.  Other than that though the house really was nice & I would use AirBNB again, just not there.

Breckenridge

We actually stayed about 30-40 minutes outside of Breckenridge near Fairplay.  We stayed at my friends', friend's parents' house.  There were a ton of us there but it was a lot of fun & the house was amazing.  It was the 4 of us that were on a road trip, my friends' friends & their baby, the one friend's parents, & a grandparent.  That's right 10 of us.  This was the view from their dining room.

And this was their dining room.

The living room.

I really wish I would have taken more pictures but alas I did not.  This was the loft from the living room.  Up there there was another bedroom & sitting area.

This was the room that the 4 of us stayed in.  And where I did a Skype interview for a teaching job (fingers crossed people, fingers crossed).  The beds were SO comfy!  Like better than the bed I have at home.

This was the downstairs bathroom that we used.  Not pictured in here is the equally awesome shower with 2 heads in it.  Seriously, if the Denver house was starter home goals, this house was forever home goals.  It was so nice, and we felt so welcomed and at home there.

Road Trip Essentials

This week I road tripped from Dallas, Texas to Denver, Colorado with some friends.  That's a 12 hour drive.  While that's certainly not the longest drive I've ever made in a day, it's still a long trip!  Here are a few of my must haves to survive a long road trip!

A Good Playlist

I don't know about you but I am always listening to music.  And every good adventure needs its very own playlist.  There has to be a solid variety of genres as well as a good mix of upbeat music and low key songs.  According to Weather.com here are a few of the "Best Summer Road Trip Songs of 2017"

1. Green Light - Lorde

2. That's What I Like - Bruno Mars

3. My Old Man - Mac Demarco

4. Cool Your Heart - The Dirty Projectors

5. This Year - Beach Fossils

Snacks

Snacks are also key!  Especially if you're going to be in the car for a long time.  Having something to munch on so you don't have to stop all the time is great.

A Back Up Charger (or 2) For Your Phone

My phone has crap battery life.  In fact every phone I've ever had does.  I always bring along my cord so I can charge my phone in the cigarette lighter (which is not what it actually is anymore but I will forever refer to it as that.)  However, when you're traveling with others and plug ins are scarce, or even when you're out & about on your adventures, it's nice to have a portable charger to make sure you can keep your phone alive.

Camera

"If it's not on social media it didn't happen!"  Just kidding.  But having a camera along to capture memories & the scenery is really important to a picture lover like myself.

GPS...

While getting lost certainly adds to the adventure, when you're traveling somewhere that you've never been to before it's nice to have a GPS along so you know how to get to where you're headed.

...and a Back Up Map

Sometimes your GPS will fail you.  Whether it's on your phone or an actual GPS, there are times when it's going to let you down for one reason or another.  That's when real maps come in handy.  Buy them.  Learn them.  Use them.  Love them.  I went on a road trip once where all we used was actual maps.  It was actually a lot more fun & felt more adventurous than just trusting a GPS.

Good Company

Road trip from DFW to Amarillo for New Years Eve at Palo Duro Canyon

Make sure if you're going to go on a trip with someone you can stand to be around them for more than just a few hours, and in close quarters with them.  I am pretty easy going & take things as they come as far as trips & adventures are concerned, but there are certain people that I don't care how much I love them, if you stuck us in a car for hours/days at a time, we might not come out of the trip as friends anymore.

Your Sense of Adventure

Don't try to plan too hard or too much.  Take things as they come & don't stress out.  You will enjoy your trip so much more if you're willing to stop for random little roadside attractions & don't let little bumps in the road be the downfall of your trip.

Nashville Wouldn't Be Nashville Without You

This past weekend I spent just over 36 hours in Nashville with my friend Alicia celebrating my 28th birthday.  It was a relatively low key weekend, and if you follow me on SnapChat (nrthmeetsouthe) or Instagram (briannemcc) you've pretty much seen all that I'm about to show you.  But, you don't all follow me and a recap was promised so a recap you shall get.

Where We Stayed

I'm going to start off by saying this is not a recommendation, just a fact.  Originally we were going to do AirBNB but I procrastinated too long & everything was either gone or ass expensive.  Why?  Well the Predators played at home, the Titans played at home, it was Vanderbilt's homecoming, & it's Nashville.  

We stayed at an America's Best Value Inn.  It was about a 10-15 min drive from pretty much everywhere we wanted to go.  We stayed there though because despite both of us approaching 30 rapidly, we still stay at places that are just above needing hobo stab insurance.  Kidding.  Kinda.  We lived.  Actually, despite being next to a Hooters & a sketchier looking hotel, the inside had definitely been recently remodled & it served it's purpose.  Plus it was just over $150 for both nights.

There are no pictures because it was nothing special...it was just another motel.

Where We Ate

This is obviously the most important part.  Any trip that one goes on with me is quickly all about food.  What can I say?  Food is life.

We got into Nashville around supper time & we were both starving so before hotel check in or anything, food was first.  We hit up Hattie B's Hot Chicken on Charlotte because when in Nashville...  Seriously y'all I'm so glad we went there.  We both got the small dark plate, medium heat, with pimento mac & cheese and red skin potato salad.  It was so good.  The chicken & potato salad were to die for.  Just thinking about it right now is making me hungry.

We ate again late that night after bar at The Italian Kitchen.  This wasn't our best food choice of the trip.  We didn't really have a choice though.  It was the only place within walking distance of the bar we had been at that was open at 2 am.  Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't stellar.  For starters we ordered a small pizza...they accidentally made a calzone which was supposedly more expensive.  They asked if we wanted our pizza instead but we were hungry & tired so we ate the calzone.  It was mediocre & not worth the $20 we had given them... I wouldn't go back.

The next morning we went & got coffee and breakfast from the hotel quickly before getting ready to head out for our day in Nashville.

While out & about we both decided we need more caffiene, and caffine that tasted better than hotel coffee.  We stumbled across Bond Coffee while we were in The Gulch.  Despite not being a fan of anything pumpkin, the barista talked me into ordering October Sky.  Surprisingly it was really good.  It was a mix of pumpkin spice & salted caramel.  The pumpkin wasn't overpowering at all which is what made it great to me.

Lunch time on Saturday we found ourselves in East Nashville.  We talked about burgers but decided on tacos.  This was a solid choice.  I looked up best tacos in East Nashville & we wound up at Mas Tacos Por Favor.  This place was awesome.  The line was out the door & we quickly understood why.  Despite it's unassuming appearance, the food was incredible.  We both got a pulled pork taco, carne molida taco, elote, & a Mexican coke.  So so good.  I had elote for the first time this summer & I'm now obsessed.  Theirs did not disappoint.  It is cash only but the prices are very cheap.

We knew we wanted to be on Broadway Saturday night so we just ate at one of the bars there.  We decided on Honky Tonk Central.  We each just got a burger with tator tots.  I got the Cowboy Burger which came with provolone and jalapenos & then I added bacon...because bacon.  It was really good & the tots were the perfect crispiness.

Sunday morning we had intentions of going to The Flipside for their massive bloody mary but they didn't open until 11 & we needed to be on the road before then.  When we were in The Gulch the previous day we had seen a long line outside of Biscuit Love so we decided to go there.  We wanted to get a bloody mary from there as well but because we had arrived before 10 am & it was a Sunday, we couldn't get alcohol.  The food totally made up for it though.  We both got the Southern Benny & holy shit their sausage gravy.  The door guy had talked up their Chronic Bacon so I got a side of that as well.  I wasn't impressed.  The benny was more than enough food though so I wasn't too disappointed.

What We Did
We had no real plan for Nashville.  We knew we wouldn't be there for long so we didn't book any tours or create a long list of things we wanted to do.  Instead we just sort of went with the flow.  We knew we wanted to do karaoke so that's what we did Friday night.  After eating at Hatti B's & getting ready at the hotel we took an Uber to Ms. Kelli's Karaoke Bar.  We met a really fun couple there that we wound up hanging out with.  Alicia sang a little Merle Haggard & Kelli Pickler.  Together we sang 'Somethin Bad' by Miranda Lambert & Carrie Underwood because it's kind of our song.  We sang, we danced, we drank more than we intended, & spent too much money on an Uber back to the hotel after we hit up The Italian Kitchen.  Oh & those pickles?  I deemed those my purse pickles.  I love pickles...and they were extras from Hatti B's which were already in a handy to go container so I put them in my purse.  And yes, I ate them while at the bar.  No shame.  Probably going to make that a new thing actually...

Saturday was our day to really do whatever we were going to do.  Our only real plan was to find some murals.  So after our hotel breakfast of mini muffins & bad coffee, find some murals we did.  We went to The Gulch.  We went to East Nashville.  We went to some train tracks.  We went to South 12th.  In between finding murals is also when we got coffee at Bond Coffee and ate lunch at Mas Tacos Por Favor.

In between East Nashville and South 12th we hit up Centennial Park to see the Parthenon & enjoy the beautiful weather.  It was great to be able to enjoy the fresh air, see some leaves that were changing colors, and even hear the end of an impromptu performance by a couple of musicians.  The random musicians playing everywhere was probably one of my favorite parts of Nashville.

While in the South 12th area of Nashville we found a Sprinkles Cupcake ATM.  We both were wanting something sweet & this was on my "Fun in DFW" list so when we came across Sprinkles we had to make a pit stop.  While waiting for the line to go down for the I Believe in Nashville mural we sat on a bench eating our double chocolate cupcakes.  So sweet but so good!  I considered this a check off for my to do in Dallas even though we were in Nashville.  However, the cupcake was so good that I might just have to hit up the one in Dallas as well.

After South 12th we decided to head back to the hotel to relax for a bit & get ready for supper/going out that night.  As soon as we were ready we called an Uber to take us to Broadway.  Traffic was insane because of everything that was going on in town so we just had the driver let us out once we got close.  Neither of us were starving yet so we found the walk of fame & then tried to find the Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson murals that we hadn't found earlier in the day.  We couldn't find the Willie Nelson mural at all but we did find the Johnny Cash one...it was mostly covered due to construction.

Finally we decided to walk our way to Honky Tonk Central for dinner.  After we were done eating we spent some time there listening to music on the first & third floors.  We quickly decided to find a new place.  I found a place that said they had line dancing, the Wildhorse Saloon.  We walked in the door & right back out the door.  It was bright & the were line dancing to some modern pop song...no thanks.  We were briefly drawn into a couple of other bars simply because of the music we heard, one being Benchmark & the other one I don't recall the name of.  We then made our way to The Stage where we finished out the rest of our night.  While waiting for an Uber home we listened to Lexi Lew perform outside of some of the bars on Broadway.  That girl was good.  You should definitely give her a listen.

But Wait!  There's More! Memphis

The next morning we ate breakfast at Biscuit Love, failed to get more coffee from Bond Coffee because they're closed on Sundays, & then made the drive to Memphis.  Alicia had flown into Memphis because it was cheaper for her to fly into there than Nashville, & because I was driving through there since it was cheaper for me to drive to Nashville than it was for me to fly into there.  With it being a Sunday, & us not having a ton of time, we didn't really do much.  I took her to Beale Street so that she could see it since she had never been & also so that she could try some Memphis BBQ since she had never had it before.  We each got a bloody mary at Rum Boogie Cafe.  She also got a BBQ sandwich but I decided not to eat there.  I am definitely more of a Texas BBQ kind of girl & since I had already tried Memphis BBQ in the past I wanted to eat elsewhere.  After that we crossed the street & went to Silky O'Sullivans.  Silky O'Sullivans is actually where I spent part 2 of my 26th birthday/Halloween 2014.  We each got another drink & I got an order of oysters.  It had been so long.  It was a good choice.  We listened to some blue's music, ate, drank, talked, & then it was off the the airport.  I then made the remaining 7 hour drive back to Fort Worth.

I definitely want to go back to Nashville someday.  But next time with more time & money.

South Padre Island: Day 3

We missed free breakfast...again.  Seriously what hotel only runs breakfast from 7-9?  Especially when it's spring break.  We totally would have made it if it was until 10 everyday.  We went to the same place as we did the day before, this time without the shuttle.  Having rested most of the night before Darin, Devin, & Rody were ready to go.  Gregg & I on the other hand having hit it a lot harder were not so keen on the drinking idea.  We all still drank but definitely not as much.  I mostly drank so I didn't have to bring alcohol back with me. (I still ended up having to bring a bottle & some beer back.)

 

We headed back to Coca-Cola Beach for the day.  Here these young fellas are making their parents proud by being arrested in swimwear.  Later there was another guy being arrested & filmed for I assume the news.  You stay class South Padre.

 They had a Bic station set up so Gregg & Rody decided to get their faces shaved.  Even though they didn't need it I got my legs shaved just to have someone else do it for a change.  I got a free tank top out of the deal.  I also got a free hat from the National Guard stand.  Yay for free stuff.

Here we see parenting at it's best.  I get it.  People actually live on South Padre Island & take vacations there with their families.  However, there is NO need for you to take your small child into the Coca-Cola Beach area.  It is literally walled off & separated to the point where you need to be ID'd & have your bags checked.  Dear lady, please take your daughter elsewhere...she doesn't need to be around belligerent (see guy getting arrested for fighting), half naked, drunk people. 

 

These lovely church people were also at Coca-Cola Beach everyday telling everyone they were going to hell & what for.  It honestly made me miss college a little because they would come preach on a hill at my school just to get a rise out of people.  I also got into a verbal argument with these people at Mardi Gras last year.

 

After the beach we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night.  Gregg & I ended up passing out for a few hours while the other boys got haircuts & did who knows what else.  When they came back we ordered pizza & showered before heading out to Louie's one last time.  We weren't there real long before heading to a smaller bar next door that had a live band.  It was a lot more chill & a good way to end our trip.  We ended up closing that bar down.  The next day we woke up, picked up the hotel room, & drove the 6 hours back to Houston.

 



South Padre Island: Day 2

After missing free breakfast at the hotel we went on a mission to find a place for breakfast.  First we headed back to the dive bar to get Bloody Marys.  After being told a place to get free breakfast we hopped on a free shuttle to get to the place.  Turns out not only had we been 2 blocks away so we could have just walked there, we got on a completely wrong shuttle that took us first off the island than back on the island where we basically toured the whole place before being dropped off ultimately where we had started the morning.

 

This time we took a cab so we could actually make it to Coca-Cola beach.  We had given up the day before because we started at the wrong end of the island.

Coca-Cola beach was hoppin but still not quite what I expected.  Honestly, I expected it to be a lot crazier than it ever got.  Most of those flags are college flags.

We all got separated again.  Devin & Rody went off to find girls, God knows where Darin went, & Gregg & I decided to try the National Guard challenge to get some free stuff.  Push-ups are apparently not my thing.  I still got the free towel anyway.

 

Once again we all found each other & just hung around the beach for awhile drinking.
Rody, Gregg, Darin, Me, Devin

 

They boys were all tired so Rody, Darin, & Devin napped while Gregg & I headed to the dive bar for a couple drinks so the others could rest before heading out for the night.

Rody, Darin, & Me

The plan: get a drink or two, go back for the other boys, go to the club.
What actually happened: Gregg & I went to the dive bar & got a couple drinks.  Those couple drinks led to us meeting & sitting with a group of Canadians in their probably 30s-50s.  Sitting with those people led to a few rounds of karaoke.  That led to us meeting a couple more people after the Canadians left.  Apparently Rody & Devin showed up at some point but I don't really recall that other than their vague existence.  The boys all played pool where I poured my heart out to the lady, again probably in her 30s-40s, about being the other girl which led to me trying to throw up while she sat in the bathroom with me.  That led to the boys taking care of my tab & getting me a cab back to the hotel while they went to the club.

South Padre Island: Day 1

We arrived in South Padre around 1-1:30 on Saturday afternoon (3/9).

After getting all settled in at the hotel we all changed & headed to the beach.
Devin, Me, Gregg, Darin, Rody

Of course it being spring break & in Padre we decided to hit up a few beach bars & shots ensued.
Devin, Gregg, Darin, Rody

After a few hours at the beach we headed to the hotel to get ready for a couple drinks at a dive bar & then dinner.  The boys decided to be...well boys...& were wrestling around the hotel room.  This happened literally everyday.
Gregg & Rody

We finally made it to dinner.  Where we lost Darin.  He went to the bar with Gregg to get a drink & didn't return until we all magically showed up at the hotel at the same time.  Great start to the weekend.
Rody & Gregg

We changed once again & headed out to Louie's Backyard.  Within about 10 minutes we were all separated & doing our own thing.  Darin found some girl, Gregg went God knows where, Rody went up on that stage, Devin found people to smoke with, & I wandered around where I found someone I went to college with.  Gregg & I eventually ran into each other & tried to find everyone else.  After a few rounds of the bar & phone calls we decided to head back without them.

 

That would be where Gregg (drunkenly? semi-drunkenly? soberly?) confessed feelings for me which ended up in us hooking up & me crying about the whole thing, while he tried to hold me & calm me down, because he's been seeing someone one...sort of.  They work together & sometimes hang out outside of work but never with each other's friends...I don't know weird.  Whatever.  We were cool the rest of the weekend but have yet to talk about it & quite frankly I don't know that I want to.  He's a really great guy but a)I don't want to potentially ruin a friendship b)he is sort of seeing someone & c)he's ultimately not really my type.

Itasca State Park

I had every intention of posting this yesterday when we got back. My body however, had different ideas. I have a terrible head cold so when we got back yesterday I drove the hour to my parents' & then just relaxed & crashed. I am hoping to feel better by tomorrow but I better be all better by Wednesday at the latest.

Anyway... Itasca. It was a good time. We went walking around and just relaxed. We were in bed by 9 on Friday & didn't get out of bed until 9 am the next morning. Saturday we did some more exploring, saw the headwaters & fire tower along with many other things, and watched the sunset. I ate my very first MRE. If any of you don't know what that is, it stands for Meal Ready to Eat. They are given out in the military & Branden happened to have one laying around from when he had his 2 week training a couple weeks ago. Sunday we were up & gone by 7:30 because he had a ton of homework & I wasn't feeling well.