For Memorial Weekend, I knew I wanted to go somewhere. Originally, I wanted to fly to Arizona, as there was a convention happening the same weekend. While that sounded fun, I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough time to see everything I wanted to in the few days I was there. Instead, I suggested to my husband to explore Fargo. Fargo is in North Dakota, right along the border of Minnesota. It’s only a 3 1/2 hour drive, so it’s easily doable in a day. While Fargo isn’t on the same level as Arizona, I still had a blast.

I’m not sure what I expected from Fargo. It’s easy to say that North Dakota is known as a boring state to live in or to drive through. Fargo was a nice city! The downtown area has several cute shops, restaurants, bars, and art murals. I wasn’t expecting Fargo to be as artsy a city, but there were murals everywhere. My favorite mural was a Mario wall that was on a side alley downtown.

Besides art murals, there were so many ice cream shops. I’m not usually an ice cream fan, although the ice cream shop we stopped in was cute. The Silver Lining Creamery was right in the heart of downtown. I was impressed with the number of ice cream options there were. I tried a vegan Oreo ice cream made from coconut milk. To be clear, I’m not vegan; I simply like trying plant-based foods. It was delicious! The one thing I would say is that the coconut flavor was prevalent, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t like coconut.

We ended our trip by stopping at a few breweries. The first brewery was DCR Brewing, located downtown, and then driving to the second brewery, Drekker Brewing Company. Drekker was packed! It was a gorgeous brewery with multiple levels and outdoor seating. It was a beautiful day throughout Fargo, so I could see why the brewery was so busy. My husband has seen Drekker at various beer festivals he has gone to, but hasn’t been able to sip their beer. It was a cool place! I would have loved to spend more time there, but we had a 3 1/2 hour drive home, and I didn’t want to get home too late.

Driving to Fargo was a fun day trip. I would say a day trip was the perfect amount of time. It got to a point where we were running out of things to do. As far as my next trip, I still have my eyes set on Seattle in August for Emerald City Comic-Con.

Minnesota is the US state known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Minnesota has such beautiful areas of the state, and one of those places is the North Shore. The North Shore is about 2 1/2 – 3 hours away from the Twin Cities, and it’s along Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes. For reference, the North Shore is the northeast tip of the state. Our friends like to visit the North Shore once a year, and this time I decided to come along.

You might be wondering why I’m putting quotations around “camping”. The reason is that a friend ended up getting a hotel room because we aren’t big campers. I have been camping a few times before, but it’s simply not for me. I like hiking, canoeing, and kayaking, but I prefer indoor plumbing. It worked out perfectly! My husband camped outside, which he loves; it’s simply not my preferred way to enjoy the outdoors.

Throughout the weekend, we drove through various small towns along Lake Superior. One town is called Grand Marais, and it’s about 30-40 miles from the Canadian border. My husband is a big fan of a brewery up there called Voyageur. Voyageur had an upstairs patio, and it was heavenly to sit, have a pint, and goof off with friends in the sun. The day before, we also stopped at another brewery on my list called Castle Danger. I have always drank Castle Danger beer, but I have never been to the brewery.

It was such a fun weekend! It goes to show that you can do so much exploring in the state or area you’re from. Our friends were talking about making this an annual trip, and I’m all for it. The North Shore is calling me to come back.

May 4th is always a fun day. I love scrolling through social media and seeing everyone express their love for Star Wars. I knew I wanted to spend the day celebrating Star Wars, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I discovered that Dangerous Man Brewing Company brews a special Star Wars beer called “Blue Milk (Blue Razz Milkshake Ale)” along with playing the Star Wars films throughout the night. I convinced my husband to come with me, so I didn’t have to go by myself.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company is a brewery in Northeast Minneapolis. I have been to Dangerous Man once before, but it had been a while. As we arrived, I noticed there were several Star Wars banners hanging on the ceiling. I wasn’t surprised to see that the taproom was packed. The line, fortunately, was pretty short when we got there. I knew right away that I had to try the Blue Milk beer while my husband opted for a lager.

I’m open when it comes to beer. I don’t mind trying pilsners, lagers, fruity beers, and sour beers. I will admit that I was apprehensive as to whether I would like Blue Milk. I’m not a big fan of Blue Raspberry-flavored things; however, this had a mild flavor. It was smooth, fruity, and light. I let my husband try a sip, and even he thought it was pretty good. My husband hates fruity beer, so for him to say it’s not that bad is a big compliment.

Besides Blue Milk, Dangerous Man had special Star Wars-themed stickers to pass out. I took one as a souvenir. It lists Blue Milk with a few Stormtrooper helmets on some of the letters. Unfortunately, with the taproom being packed, we only stayed for one beer before leaving to go to another favorite brewery of ours nearby.

This was a relaxed way to celebrate May 4th. It sounds like Dangerous Man does this every year, and I would be open to making this a ritual. Let me know in the comments how you celebrated May the 4th!

For Easter, I go to my husband’s family outside of Milwaukee. One of our traditions is to go see the Peeps Exhibit at the RAM (Racine Art Museum). The first year we went, my husband thought it wouldn’t be that great, but he was pleasantly surprised. This will probably be a tradition for us as each year brings new art submissions. I wanted to share a few photos from this year’s Peeps submissions.

After completing the exhibit, you can vote for your favorite submission. The winner wins the “Golden Peep.” I voted for the Prince-inspired art while my brother-in-law voted for the Godzilla-like dragon. This exhibit is always a blast, and I can’t wait to go again next year.

In the last post of my Virginia/Carolinas road trip, I’m going to focus on Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. Charleston was our main destination and where we spent the majority of our trip. Savannah was our last stop since Savannah is only a two-hour drive from Charleston. This part of the US is stunning. Both cities strike the perfect balance, featuring Southern charm rich with history.

Our first day in Charleston was spent walking around downtown. Charleston has so many parks. Each park seems to have a historic statue, and the hanging moss trees are often seen in the South. I could have easily brought my book and read for hours in a park. One of the tourist areas, called The Battery, is a seawall that lines the coast. Without The Battery, Charleston would be underwater, as the city is below sea level. Strolling along The Battery is the best way to see all the architecture. The houses are colorful and historically restored. My favorite part about Charleston was staying downtown, walking the parks, and eating a lot of great food.

Charleston is a historic city in the US. One of the historical sites my husband and I toured was Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter was attacked, which led to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. It was a thirty-minute ferry ride, and we only had an hour on the Fort. It felt rushed as there was so much reading. I felt I had to skim a lot of it. There’s also Fort Moultrie, which played a big part in the Revolutionary War. I love going to a museum while on vacation, and Charleston has plenty.

After spending three days in Charleston, we drove to Savannah. Savannah is a city right along the river. Savannah is a city that has the best shopping. There were several blocks of shops with red brick sidewalks and a Gazebo in the center. There was music playing, restaurants lined the sidewalks, and various tourist activities. The first thing I wanted to do was visit the Prohibition Museum. The Prohibition Museum is downtown, and it’s one of the few museums in the US solely devoted to Prohibition.

Part of the significance of the Prohibition Museum being in Savannah was that Savannah was one of the last Georgia cities resisting Prohibition. The museum featured several displays, old articles, and a video on how to make Moonshine. Included in our museum tickets was a cocktail at the Speakeasy located inside. We felt so bad because there was a huge line with only one bartender. He was awesome, and I was able to Venmo a tip. I had a Gin cocktail which was so strong! I didn’t mind because I like Gin. My husband had a Gin cocktail with champagne, so it tasted sweeter.

After the Prohibition museum, my husband and I stopped at a brewery, along with visiting a comic book store called Nerdheim. I spent about $150 on comics, and I have no shame. After comic book shopping, we strolled along the Savannah riverfront, stopping for a beer or two. Finally, we ended our day by grabbing dinner before going to bed early to begin our drive back home.

This was an amazing road trip. Driving through the Virginias and the Carolinas was one of the most scenic road trips I have ever taken. Both my husband and I want to go back to visit Charleston, West Virginia, Asheville, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, as we felt we could have spent more time there. For future trips, I mentioned a potential Arizona Memorial Weekend trip; however, I decided against this. My husband wants to start house hunting soon, and I want to save for a trip to Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con in August.

Have you traveled anywhere recently? Let me know in the comments below.

Last week, I talked about West Virginia, primarily focused on the Mothman statue. I’m still in awe of how beautiful West Virginia was. For my second recap post about our road trip, I’m going to focus on Virginia and Asheville, North Carolina.

Starting in Charleston, West Virginia, my husband and I began our drive the following day. When I reviewed our route, I found a small town in Virginia that I wanted to stop in. Abingdon, Virginia, is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western Virginia. I looked at pictures online, and it looked stunning. Abingdon was on the way to Asheville, North Carolina, and I knew we needed to make a few stops along the way to keep the drive from feeling long.

As we drove through Abingdon, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I needed my sunglasses because I couldn’t escape the sun. It was the best feeling. As we pulled into Abingdon, I was amazed. One of the highlights of Abingdon is the Barter Theatre. It’s a historic theatre that’s been historically preserved. There are classic plays and various festivals throughout the year. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see a play, so we could only walk around and take pictures. There’s a small park right across the street from the theatre that we walked through. After stopping for lunch, we got back into the car to head to Asheville.

Asheville is in the western half of North Carolina. Asheville is known for being in the mountains and for being an artsy town. As I was looking online at what we had time to do, I saw numerous art museums, galleries, and hiking trails. As we approached Asheville, it was busy! People were walking everywhere. We thought that there was some event happening the day we stopped in Asheville. We ended up settling on an outdoor brewery where we had a pint and could enjoy the sun.

Asheville was another city we stopped in, where we wouldn’t hesitate to come back. It’s one of the negative parts of a road trip, as we weren’t able to spend as much time as we wanted in some of the cities we stopped in. On a positive note, I know that if I were able to make it back to Asheville, I know I would love it.

After Asheville, it was another few hours of driving time before we made it to Charleston, South Carolina. In next week’s post, I’m going to finish up my road trip blog post series with a detailed rundown of Charleston and Savannah, GA.

My husband and I got back from our road trip yesterday. It was such a fun and much-needed vacation. Similar to my other vacation posts, I’m splitting this up into three entries: West Virginia, Virginia & North Carolina, and South Carolina & Savannah, GA. This way, I don’t end up writing one long post. In this first post, I’m going to write about West Virginia and seeing Mothman.

We began our trip from Madison, Wisconsin, as my husband’s twin brother lives there. It was a nine-hour drive from Madison to Charleston, West Virginia. For the most part, driving through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio is flat and boring. Once we reached the Wayne National Forest in the Southeastern part of Ohio, it turned into a beautiful drive. The trees were so green, and there were hills we drove through.

Throughout our drive through the Wayne National Forest, I saw a sign for the Mothman statue in West Virginia. One of my favorite parts about driving is seeing the tourist things along the way. I knew we had to stop in West Virginia to take a selfie with Mothman. From what I know, Mothman is an urban legend stemming from sightings and events from the 1960s in West Virginia. I bought a non-fiction book about this at a bookstore to learn more. As we arrived, we were too late to go through the Mothman museum, so we took a picture by the statue instead.

After another hour of driving, we reached Charleston, West Virginia. Charleston is the capital of West Virginia, and both my husband and I were surprised at how small the city was, especially since it’s the capital. Charleston was surrounded by the river and rock formations on either side. Before this trip, I thought West Virginia was more of a “flyover” state; however, I was blown away by how beautiful the city was.

After settling into our hotel, we drove to 1010 Bridge for dinner. It was located on a hill overlooking Charleston. This came from a recommendation from a coworker to eat here. It was easily one of the best restaurants we went to throughout our whole trip. My husband and I both ordered the Beef Tip Bolognese. It was tasty! My husband and I joked that we would visit Charleston solely to go back to 1010 Bridge.

West Virginia was such a surprise! I wasn’t expecting much, and I was surprised at how pretty Charleston and West Virginia were. Charleston is on a list of cities my husband and I would love to come back to.

By the time this post goes live, I will be in Charleston, South Carolina, with my husband. We planned a road trip through West Virginia, Virginia, the Carolinas, and a final stop in Savannah, GA, before driving home. I haven’t done a road trip since Boston in 2018. I’m a big fan of road trips as I think it’s a great way to travel. I wanted to share my potential traveling plans for the year.

March 2022 – Carolinas

My husband and I knew we wanted to do a road trip. There were several places we had in mind, but we ended up settling on the Carolinas. I have been to the Appalachian Mountains when I went on my road trip through Nashville in 2017; however, I have heard lovely things about the Carolinas. Someone I went to college with has a family cabin in North Carolina, and she raves about the area. We will end up stopping in Charleston, South Carolina, for the majority of our trip, and I’m really looking forward to a beach day.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip – Arizona?

Phoenix Fan Fusion is happening Memorial Day weekend, and I thought it would be fun to attend. The only concern I have is whether I would be able to get up to the Grand Canyon and Sedona on the same trip. I’m more than likely to be flying into Phoenix, which would mean either renting a car or figuring out if there’s a bus or a train I can take to get there and back. Another option I considered was Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City, Utah, or Las Vegas. This way, I can be in one city without having to travel long distances.

Emerald City Comic Con – Seattle, Washington

Could this be the year I make it to Seattle? I was supposed to go to Seattle in March 2020 before the pandemic altered my plans. I ended up re-scheduling which was the right choice. Emerald City Comic Con has been rescheduled to August, and I really want to go.

This is an ambitious year for traveling, and I’m motivated to make it happen. With the pandemic stalling travel plans, I feel like I have a lot of traveling to catch up on. Let me know your travel plans in the comments down below.