A Trip To Iowa For A Family Graduation

Jotting down and scheduling this post ahead of time, as when it's published I'll be away on a lovely trip for a friend's wedding (plus a vacation we tacked on to the end of it). May is a busy, travel-filled month for us. Here's a recap of our recent trip to Iowa to attend my cousin's college graduation!

We arrived on a Wednesday morning around 1:30pm after flying into Des Moines. Even though Chris and I travel a decent amount, we don't typically fly together. Often, he's visiting me or we're meeting up somewhere! So it always feels like a treat when we actually are on the same flight and sit together. 

After landing, we picked up our rental car. For some reason getting a completely ridiculous but fun Ford Bronco off of Turo was the same price as renting something far more boring from the airport, so how could we not?

We spent the rest of the day meeting up with my cousin Ena and her boyfriend at Zombie Burger, then heading to my great Aunt Mary's house where we were going to stay for the weekend. We went for a walk, had a coffee run to Reading in Public (which was so cute), and then dinner at ice cream at home. 

The next morning, we had a slightly lazy morning before heading out to pick up my mom and aunt from the airport and then getting brunch as a big group at The Breakfast Club. After splitting up into a "nap" group and "explore" group, we headed out to the Des Moines Botanical Garden. My Aunt Mary volunteers there and it was so fun for her to show us around! After that we explored the Sculpture Park, before Chris and I stole away just the two of us for a happy hour drink at Exile Brewing. We followed that up with a coffee run to Smokey Row before taking a family drive about an hour south for dinner in my cousin's college town. 

Friday morning Chris and I went out for breakfast just the two of us to La Mie Bakery. The pastries were incredible! It was so hard to choose and honestly I wish I could have tried everything. We also ordered Cafe Au Laits which have been our go-to coffee order when we want something special but want it last longer than a latte. We picked up my mom and Aunt Mary for lunch at the local drugstore where I think every single customer knew Aunt Mary, and we each ordered a huge ice cream soda along with our sandwiches. 

This photo cracks me up.

The rest of Friday included resting up before heading back down to my cousin's college town to grocery shop for a family BBQ, check into a motel for the night, grab dinner with some other family, and then go out with a bunch of college kids. It was a good time! 

Saturday morning we woke up in town and had a much-needed greasy breakfast sandwich at Smokey Row while watching a downpour. We showed up early to graduation to save seats, then has a family BBQ while keeping an eye on a tornado watch. We even heard the tornado sirens going off a few towns over! A very midwestern moment. After a lovely day chilling with family and sitting outside, Chris, my cousin and I stopped at a tap room for a few last drinks before Chris and I drove back to Des Moines. Sunday morning we were up bright and early, on our flight, and sitting in our apartment by 1:30! 

All in all, a great few days with family and a wonderful little re-set while life at home and work was starting to feel chaotic. Looking forward to an even longer reset this week!

a weekend in Bristol, VT

Hey friends.

Chris and I spent last weekend up in Bristol, Vermont, tagging along on his parent's leaf-peeping getaway. The forecast said rain, but the weather turned out to be perfect: crisp without being cold, lots of sun, and crazy blue skies. I have lived in New England my entire life, and I will never get over how beautiful autumn is. The speed and vibrancy of the change surprises me every year.

We have been to Bristol and the surrounding towns (Vergennes, Lincoln,Middlebury, and Starksborough) three times over the last year. Exploring new places is always exciting, but I've loved getting to know this little town. It is so fun to begin to know our way around, and arrive looking forward to visiting favorite spots. So far, we've been twice in the fall (October '18 and last weekend) with Chris' parents, and then once over this past Memorial Day weekend for camping. It's beautiful and charming both times of year. 

This time, we left in the morning on Saturday and met his parents at Oktoberfest at Mount Snow. It was wicked crowded, but this was my first Oktoberfest and I had a great time trying perogies and carrying around steins of local beer. Plus there was polka music and plenty of people dressed up, so even waiting in line for food felt like an activity.

Bristol is about 2.5 hours away from Mount Snow, so once we were done we loaded up again and headed to our Air BnB! I loved this place. The inside looked like a general store, the bedrooms were cozy and filled with books, and they had a woodstove in the living room! My parents have always heated the house with wood, but it was weirdly exciting to make and keep a fire going in a new-to-me-stove. Coupled with no service and slow internet, it made the whole weekend so refreshing. I could sit and stare at a fireplace for hours.

The Air BnB was also on Sentinel Farm, so we got to meet their horses. The cows weren't on the property, but they also raised their own beef, and had freezers in the back of our kitchen filled with their products! I will forever be interested in how small, full-time farmers make their businesses work, and it was very cool to how many different projects they had going. 

It was pretty late on Saturday night by the time we headed out to dinner, so we went to Cubbers, which is an adorable little sandwich and pizza place on Bristol's main street. Super casual, but really good pizza, and the staff were very friendly. 

After dinner, we walked across the street to our favorite Bristol spot: Hatch 31. Last October, Chris and I stumbled on this bar while waiting to meet his parents, and we have been in love with it ever since. They always have live music, we've had the same bartender all three times, the locals that go there are always high energy and super friendly. The first time we went there, there was a five or six person folk band all playing instruments and leaning in to sing around one microphone. Something about that set our hearts on fire, and we've looked forward to dropping in every visit since. Hatch 31 is a treasure.

After sleeping in Sunday morning, we stopped for breakfast at Bristol Cliffs Cafe. It's a fresh, bright breakfast and lunch spot, with lots of muffins, eggs, and sandwiches. We enjoyed noticing all the different salt & pepper shakers on the tables, our favorites being the potato shakers on the table next to us. I got an egg sandwich with lots of veggies and onions, and loved it. Sometimes eggs taste weird at restaurants, but these were obviously fresh and local. I also picked up a slice of carrot cake and a slice of cheesecake to have later that night. The carrot cake was amazing!! The cheese cake was a little gross. All in all though, I can't wait to go again. 

After breakfast, we walked along some trails to enjoy the scenery. We weren't looking for a real hike, so we just did part of the Cooley Glen-Emily Proctor Trail. I know this isn't breaking news, but guys: fall in Vermont is beautiful. The sky and the leaves and the water: everything was perfect. And the farm houses! Every two feet I was shouting "that one! that one! how about that one?!". They were the kind of fields and houses that make you want to be a better person.

After our walk, we headed over to Middlebbury VT, a little bit to the south, to Happy Valley Orchard. They make incredible cider donuts and their own apple cider, so of course we got some. I also bought a really cute pumpkin called a 'sunburst pumpkin', which is small and perfectly round and yellow, with orange streaks. We also took a bunch of photos, because it was beautiful, but also because we took photos here last year, and who doesn't love a side by side?!

2019

2018

After that, we spent a little more time in the Air BnB and then Chris and I headed home! It was the perfect, quick weekend away, and a great excuse to take some time off work and soak in my favorite time of year.

In our year and a half together, Chris and I have managed to explore quite a few places. Our favorites, though, are always the spots that let you see them the way locals do. Nothing gimmicky or touristy, just friendly and unique and authentic. There is something really pleasant about going back to Bristol, and I hope this little tradition continues. 

Other Bristol favorites:

A great camping spot.

Hike to a plane crash.

Local brewery (that also serves rabbit pot pie).

Hipster pizza & beer spot. 

A brewery we haven't been to yet, but can't wait to visit.

Favorite Things in Orlando, FL 2018

This past Christmas season, I got to live in Orlando, FL for two months while skating in Sea World's "Winter Wonderland on Ice". It was an incredible first show experience, and I loved the work. I'll probably talk more about the skating in another post, but I wanted to share some of my favorite places and experiences I got to enjoy in Orlando!

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Village Resort.

Disney Springs

I ended up visitng Disney Springs a few times over the contract, and loved it more each time. It's fun, whimsical, and there's a little something for everyone. While it's definitely theme-park expensive, everything is so well curated that even just window shopping is fun.

The first time I went was during my parent's and Chris' visit. We walked around a lot, and ended up getting lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The second time, Chris and I went back to see the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian Village Resort.  We got there early, and got to walk around in Disney Springs with some beer, and then took the ferry to the resort and explored until the show started. That cast was fun and very good, the food was good (if not great), and we thoroughly enjoyed our server.

Exploring the Grand Floridian at Disney Springs.

My big recommendation for getting a Disney feel on the cheap is taking the buses, ferries, and trains to as many resorts as possible and just walking around. We took the ferry to the Grand Floridian and it may have been my favorite part of the night. Everything was decorated for Christmas, and it felt like you were walking around the movie set of Mary Poppins. I loved it.

Other highlights for us at Disney Springs: Wine Bar George (very classy; ask to sit upstairs. The mulled wine and olive oil cake was amazing); Raglan Road (incredible irish pub with amazing cocktails and music), and House of Blues (more great live music and beer!).

I also loved that there were always performers in the streets. We stood at watched Bryan Malpass one night, and he was absolutely incredible. Check him out.

Universal CityWalk with my family!

Universal CityWalk

Similar to Disney Springs, Universal CityWalk is another theme-park downtown area. After a certain hour parking is free, and I'd definitely recommend it as a night time spot. We saw the Blue Man Group there with Chris and my parents, which was a really fun show because the crowd was so excited to be there.

That night we grabbed dinner at Vivo Italian Kitchen and then dessert at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. The food and service at Vivo was incredible, and I loved the steampunk, Willy-Wonka vibe of Toothsome.

To me, the best part of CityWalk is Pat O'Brien's, an Irish pub with dueling pianos. I'm a sucker for live music, and the atmosphere was so fun. I wish we had stayed longer the night we were there.

A day spent at Discovery Cove.

Discovery Cove

Since I was working at Sea World while in Orlando, I was able to get discount tickets to some Sea World parks. Me and two other castmates spent one of our days off at Discovery Cove, a resort-style wildlife park owned by Sea World. Discovery Cove is fun because it's all inclusive. Once you're in the door, you get breakfast, lunch, plus unlimited snacks and drinks throughout the day. You swim through a series of beaches and lazy rivers, and get to swim with fish and stingrays, feed tropical birds, watch otters, and do a dolphin swim (for an extra fee). I loved it, and would definitely do it again.

It's an expensive activity if you're paying full-price, but the food was great and I'd say it's worth it if you commit to spending the whole day there.

Downtown Orlando

One big regret from this contract for me was not spending more time in downtown Orlando. Not having a car, I definitely didn't get out as much as I wanted to; and I wish I'd explored downtown more than I did. We did a cast dinner one night at a great downtown restaurant with a view of the Orlando Eye (the big Ferris wheel). I wish I could remember what it was called; they had a great beer list.

A few non-Orlando highlights.

Bonus Loves

These experiences weren't in Orlando, but are some other places I loved:

On one of our series of days off during Chris' visit, we rented a car and drove down to the Fort Lauderdale area. Since it was early December, the beach wasn't busy, so it was fun to just walk around and stop by cute beach-side bars. Lots had live music, which is always a plus for me.

My absolute favorite thing, though, was the Cuban food. Especially in the Fort Lauderdale area, we got to get pastries, Cuban coffee, and try a few restaurants. I am now a huge convert to colada, and a big believer in trying as many local places as possible. Our favorite was Vicky Bakery, by far.

One of the things I love most about doing contracts is the chance to spend time in places I probably wouldn't choose to go. I don't think I'd every randomly decide to vacation in Orlando...but getting to live there for 2 months, and have family visit, was filled with so many great experiences. If I end up doing that contract again, I'll be excited to update this list of favorites!

Thanks for reading! Be the grittiest.

xoxo Gillian