road trip essentials

i am on the road a lot. a ton really.

my commute to work is about 2 hours. 91 miles. one way. i luck out in that i don't have to make the drive everyday, but it still a haul nonetheless.

i love taking a good road trip. i find them fun and soothing.

that may be because i grew up going to a beach that was 9 hours away from my house. you learn to embrace the car ride.

now because i have spent a good portion of the last few years of my life driving trucks, trucks and trailers, my car, u-hauls, and my dad's car around the southern half of the US, i have made a sort of strategy for road trips.

source

if you can, take a friend. the car party is worth it alone. and they make the middle of the trip - ya know the butt asleep boring part - way more fun.

 even if she sulks and isn't much of a talker......ahem praia. geez. 

source

snacks.

i can't make this point enough. snacks will save you from yourself. i am a fan of peanut butter crackers and water. enough water to float your back teeth. but if you ride with me be wary because i hate HATE stopping on road trips.

alternatives: sandwiches, macarons <-- that one, and cheetos are always acceptable, messy but acceptable.

perhaps even a giant rocket fuel sized diet coke. just stay away from me if i've had one. it's not pretty.

and if you really must, i do approve of obnoxiously flavored coffee from the 'bucksdevil.

i take my coffee in baby sizes. seriously.

take whatever snacks you want, but make sure they are small, portable, and easily accessible. i have been known to put mine in the trunk....fail

source

as i mentioned in point one of taking a friend for epic jam sessions, you need the jams for said sessions.

i personally like terrible 90s music and anything a white girl can car dance along with. girl talk, white girl rap songs, old school rap. ya know the usual. but don't you dare put country on in my car. ever. seriously.

i am a big fan of the big tymers pandora station at any given time of the day, so you best believe it is amazing in the car. and if you are really lucky, we can listen to this on repeat for a little while.

whatever music is your music, break out your best and most embarrassing jams and own 'em. have the time of your life.

source

drive to beach at every waking moment of your life that you can spare. no that's not really number four, but is usually what is going through my mind at any given moment in time.

pack lightly. this is a road trip after all. you don't need your prom dress, that extra purse, those jimmy choos, i promise. leave it at home. bring the essentials and a just in case/emergency outfit.

source

ain't nobody got time for that. nobody. not this body at least.

i pack lightly because i go places that i can be in my swimsuit for most waking hours of the day. and when i'm not in those the other option is a dress or my running clothes. the end.

something i learned a long time ago from my mother is that inevitably where ever you are headed they will have some form of store for something you may have forgotten.

high FIVE

this one i cannot express enough. even more than snacks. and i don't kid around with snacks. have fun. no matter where the road trip is going to end, take a minute to appreciate what is (or isn't) around you. having fun makes any road trip bearable and go by faster.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11648597/?claim=ucgzerzetdx">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

advice from the best little lady ever.

i have this really amazing friend. absolutely amazing friend. she has been there for me through a lot of rough and happy times in my life.

she was there for me when i went to costa rica all by myself. this pretty little lady has been on countless trips of her own and is quite the world traveler.

after a rough morning of rescheduling flights and running through the airport, she sent me the confidence boost that i needed to make this trip the best i could ever have.

i highly recommend finding a friend that will go on adventures with you and at the very least will encourage you to take adventures.

there is nothing better that you can do for yourself than to completely put yourself out of your element and your comfort zone. it's terrifying, but you quickly learn to sink or swim. odds are good to excellent you will swim and have a better time than you could ever imagine.

that is certainly what happened for me. and knowing those words were sitting there for me to read at a moments notice made the trip all that more fun.

let me see the tootsie roll.

sometimes traveling doesn't mean getting on a plane and heading to a foreign land where your passport is required.

it can be just as fun to grab a friend, hop in the car, and head back to their hometown and see the sights. it works exceptionally well if you've never been to their hometown, but it is also fun to have someone else's family feed you until you may pop.

firstly you get a pretty kicking car concert. and who doesn't love a fun car ride? music up just a little too loud, voices shakily out of tune, and laughs a plenty. it's a surefire recipe for a good time.

this past weekend, i did just that.

i picked up my best friend MC and boogied south to Moultrie.

you better believe that happened.

i have driven through Moultrie - well i may have blinked and missed it - but i have never actually stopped and stayed.

friday afternoon we arrived in the bustling metropolis of Moultrie, GA. it was love at first sight to me. little towns are absolutely fascinating.

we started with a rousing game of what do you think my house looks like. which in all honesty is one of my favorite games to play with myself when i visit people's homes for the first time. and i was weirdly spot on for MC's house.

we were welcomed with hugs, hugs, and more hugs. for knowing someone for 7 years, i had never actually met MC's parents and they were everything i imagined they would be.

the weekend was a blur of family, food, beer, some more food, sightseeing, intense games of cards and realizing that it is indeed true what people say about small towns. everybody knows everybody.

the sights:

well moultrie is fairly small, and by fairly i mean you could see it all in one day. but we spread it out and did a few more car concerts while i got the grand tour.

we saw the giant white elephant.

actual headstone

the story behind this headstone is that it is for a circus owner who passed away before he could actually put on the circus. rumor has it the elephant followed him all the way to the hospital. i love elephants, so this struck a chord in my heart. i love him and want him.

we ate at all the local restaurants and they were delicious.

yes. you are reading that correctly

we tried on some ridiculous clothes in boutiques.

we shot a rifle, drank some whiskey, and climbed a fire tower. you decide the order. and yes they were all in the same place.

MC's dad was a pilot in the Navy so we went flying on sunday. i forgot how much fun it is to ride in those little tiny planes. we did a wing over, and MC claims i had a panic look on my face, but it was AWESOME.  seeing Moultrie from up in the sky was a pretty spectacular sight. so much greenery. that's all i could remark on the whole weekend was how green everything was. atlanta does not have quite the extent of greenery.

crammed into a teeny tiny seat

take-off

getting ready for the wing over

oh hey clouds.

see all that land? yea, that's where we drank whiskey and played.

landing in the cub

we hung out on back porches with neighbors and drank some beer. and of course ate some more. or as MC and i like to say "all the foods."

oh dairy queen

and yes, yes that is a cup of cheese with a french fry and a chicken finger in it. when in rome? well moultrie, because it's the only dairy queen where you can get a cup of cheese instead of gravy.

it was all in all super relaxing and most definitely a weekend i will not be forgetting anytime soon.

small town living at it's finest for sure. 

one thing i really love about small towns is that since they all know each other, it also means they know you are not one of them. you get stares a plenty. but smile and put on that southern drawl and they will love you immediately. or at least i hope they do, because that's what i do. 

welp. here we go.

here's a little bit about me.

- runner

first marathon. done and done.

 - beer drinker

- surfer

- beach chaser

thanks bo :)

maine

alabama

florida

costa rica

georgia

-wanderlust traveler

there are a lot more ways that i could describe myself, but let's just say in my 26 years on this earth, i have been to a lot of places. up until recently i have taken those travels for granted. now all i want to do is travel (and surf). this little piece of the blog world is where i hope to capture some of those things that make my soul smile and cure my need for some wanderlust in my life*.

and these. these are what i believe in wholeheartedly. 

*nothing will cure my wanderlust. let's get real