Houston road trip

My family lives twelve hours away. We knew eventually we would have to make the drive but no one said we had to be excited about it.  We decided to break the trip and half and this proved to be a wise decision.  Beckett lost it towards the end of the drive each day.  I don't think any of us were quite ready to make the drive in one trip.

Beckett just learned how far away Houston is

No one rides for free

We decided to stop in Fredericksburg on our way to Houston.  Neither of us had ever been but everyone talks about how pretty it is.  It is also close to Austin, which meant my sister got to come and meet us.

The Hill Country in Texas is beautiful.  If you've never been you should plan a trip.  I will say that we saw more wildflowers on Highway 6 than we did on 290.  

Hill Country

First hotel stay

We met Shannon and some of her friends at the Sunset Grill.  It was delicious.  I had eggs Benedict on crab cakes.  What?!  It was amazing and everything was fresh.

The breakfast menu at Sunset Grill

My breakfast

Shannon and Beckett

And again

After breakfast, we walked around main street.  There are lots of cute stores. I found the cutest kids clothing store called Beulah's.  The girl clothes looked precious, but I couldn't look too long because it makes me sad.  The good news was that they also had fab boys clothes.  Beckett got a few outfits.

We had to head to Houston after shopping but I wanted to get Beckett's picture with the state flower, bluebonnets, before leaving.  Had I known how many there would be on Highway 6, I may have waited but I don't think it is so safe to stop on the side of the road with a baby.  We went to a wildflower farm to take his picture.

Shannon and Beckett goofing around

Enjoying nature

We will definitely be going back to Fredericksburg sans baby.  It looks like a lot of fun plus there were lots of wineries and I love a good wine tour.

Beckett's first official wildflower picture.  He is smizing, people.

The road trip was definitely long but it was worth it to see my family.  I think next time we'll be flying.  Beckett screamed every time he saw a car seat for about two days.

Savannah

It was important to both my husband and I to go on one last trip before Baby Brown arrived.  If you know me, you know that I am constantly planning my next vacation and will use just about any excuse to take one.  Having a baby seemed like the perfect reason.  This was our last trip where we could be completely worry-free and we decided to take full advantage.

My husband chose our destination.  We had been talking about taking a trip to Savannah for a while but I was actually leaning towards going to Chicago.  However, we wanted to go somewhere where we could relax and not feel like we were missing anything so Savannah seemed like the better fit.

It wouldn't be a Brown family trip without a horrible travel story.  Maybe it has more to do with the airline we always fly than us?  Our first flight was delayed and our flight from Houston to Savannah was cancelled.  By some miracle we got booked on the last flight of the day to Savannah.  Originally they told us that we would have to stay overnight in Houston.  Our new flight to Savannah was delayed and when we got there, we had no bags.  The lovely gate agents had forgotten to remark our bags for our new flight.  Oh and the flight our bags were supposed to be on the next day got cancelled.

So we arrived to Savannah feeling exhausted, gross, and we didn't have any of our belongings.  We went to Walmart to try and find a few things and the next day had to go to Target to get some clothes.  Nothing like being 20 weeks pregnant and not having all your stuff.  Needless to say, there were tears.
Thankfully the trip did get better.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast, which was a first for us, called the Hamilton-Turner Inn.  Each room is named after a famous citizen of Savannah and we were in the room named after Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the Girl Scouts.  The home was beautiful and breakfast was amazing.  They made a different dish every day and they were all good.

The Inn

Our room

Our view

The church across the street

Savannah is just as beautiful as you think it will be.  I loved the old trees and architecture.  My only complaint was that it was hot.  And not just hot, hot and humid.  Pregnant and sweaty was not a good look.  We went on a trolley tour of the city, which I highly recommend.  It helped us figure out what we wanted to see and it was hop on and off, so it helped us get around the city.

Tree-lined streets

Cute shops

Juliette Gordon Low's house

The old Cotton Exchange

Leopold's, which has some of the best ice cream in the country

There are lots of graveyards

Sadly, we did not see Paula

I loved this home

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Lafayette Square

The film set for the movie CBGB

We decided to go to Tybee Island since we had a rental car and Daniel loves the beach.  I imagine the beach is usually super nice, but it was very windy the day we went.  We saw lots of people being taken down by the waves.  We also saw a man who didn't quite understand the concept of boogie boarding.

It was a little rough

Whiteness

One of my favorite things about traveling is the food and since I was pregnant I decided that I could eat as much as I wanted.  So we ate a lot.  We had the best salad ever at Alligator Soul.  The croutons were grits that were breaded and fried.  Amazing.  We also had a lot of seafood which made me so happy.

I think we did a pretty good job of eating at all the top restaurants.  We waited in line for an hour or so to eat at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House.  Supposedly they have the best fried chicken in the South.  Now, I know fried chicken and while it was good, it needed a little more flavor.  However, all the sides made the wait (and the sweating) worth while.  On a side note, just because you are pregnant does not mean anyone will offer you a place to sit while waiting in said line.  We also had ice cream at Leopold's.  The pistachio ice cream was delish.    

Lunch at the Crystal Beer Parlor

I love a BLT

Scallops at the Olde Pink House

Huge slices of pizza at Vinnie Van Go-Go's

He was excited

I should have taken a picture of the hellacious line

We loved Savannah!

I think Daniel made an excellent choice for our baby moon but I would like to go back in the fall when it isn't quite so hot and humid.

Christmas in the City (#7)

I get to cross my first official item off my 30 before 30 list! We fulfilled a life long dream and got to experience New York City at Christmas. We both like going to New York, but I probably like it more. I love everything about the city. All the people, all the shopping, all the restaurants, and the fast pace.

We left town right before a blizzard and arrived in New York where it was a glorious 50 degrees. The weather was in the high 40s to low 50s the entire time we were there, which was amazing. A lot of people asked if we were upset that it didn't snow while we were there, but I can see snow at home and it hinders my shopping experience.

We stayed at the Hotel Plaza Athenee, which is on the Upper East Side (or Blair Waldorf adjacent). It is my favorite hotel that we have stayed at so far. By city standards the rooms were HUGE plus it was pretty fancy and I love fancy.


The hotel - picture from orbitz.com


Our room

As soon as we got to our hotel, Daniel got called by work. He had installed some new computer equipment at a feedlot and the touchscreen went down and of course he was the only one who knew how to fix it. So I spent my first three hours in the city drinking in the hotel room. I'm not going to complain too much because if it wasn't for his job I would be working full time and we wouldn't be able to travel. I'm also not going to complain because I got a new Burberry purse compliments of his guilt.

I plan pretty much everything around food and there are so many amazing places to eat that it is super overwhelming. The first night we ate at Bistro Chat Noir, which was like two blocks from hotel. It was cozy and the food was great. We had truffle mac'n'cheese (which was almost as good at the Cowboys) to start and Daniel ordered the Black Cat Burger and I got Pappardelle BLT. Supposedly Christina Aguilera ate there the week after us. I'm sad I missed her because I feel like she could use a good pep talk.


Food at Bistro Chat Noir

The next day we went and explored Rockefeller Center and shopped. We went to Top of the Rock, which was pretty cool but also very cold and windy.


The Rockefeller Center tree


The postage stamp-sized skating rink


Radio City


Central Park from the Top of the Rock


The Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock

That night we ate dinner at Il Mulino and we are still talking about how good it was. I read that it was hard to get reservations but we got in and it was amazing. Everyone is Italian and as soon as you sit down they bring you food. I liked the appetizers more than the meal. They gave you fresh parmigiano reggiano, bruschetta, fried zucchini, bread, and salami. We also were sitting next to a group of Jersey boys, which made the experience more authentic.


Getting ready to experience Il Mulino

We finally got to eat at the Clinton St. Baking Company. I got their cookbook for Christmas two years ago and everything looked amazing. There was an hour wait, but we took that as a good sign. Everything was delicious and I would definitely go back. Their jam was almost as good as Mama's in San Francisco and that jam changed my life.


The front entrance


The Farmer's Plate, how fitting


City lights at night


This picture does not even capture how crowded Times Square was

On a side note, if you are ever planning a trip to New York for New Years and are thinking about inviting us, don't. I'm going to save you time and say there are a 101 things I would rather do. I can't handle that many people in such a small area.


I love me some Mary


The theatre


Waiting for the show to start


It's starting!

I give Mary Poppins a 6 out of 10. I am a traditionalist and I really loved the movie growing up and the musical is not the movie. There are new songs and different characters, and all I wanted was some Mary and Burt. The other thing that made me sad was that people do not dress up for anything anymore. It was crazy to see kids in sweatpants. Dear America, I love a yoga pant as much as the next person but it will not kill you to dress up and make certain events a little more special.

So that was our trip in a nutshell. I'm glad I put it on my 30 before 30 list and I already want to go back this summer.