First Trimester Road Trips - DC & Nashville

It's official.  I'm pregnant!  We're ecstatic!  Of course, constantly having the baby on my mind doesn't bode well for travel blog writing or traveling in general.  Nonetheless, we've braved some road trips, lived to tell about them, and even have a couple more planned for this summer!

If you've ever been with child, or traveled with a woman who was, you know it can sometimes be tricky depending on morning sickness and her oversion to odors.  We road-tripped to Washington, DC to visit family for the Easter holiday when I was only 8 weeks in.  I was just getting used to the idea of this living, peanut-sized person swimming around in my belly, let alone constant nausea and waxing fatigue.  "What's happening to my body!?" "Can people tell?" "Should I tell people yet? or wait it out a little longer?"  My usual I-can't-wait-to-get-there giddiness was replaced with "will I have time for a nap?" 

Some Tips for travel during your first trimester:

1. Bring plenty of bland snacks -- saltines, pretzels, granola bars, etc.  We've been told that you're better off with something in your belly, and it turns out it's true. 
2. Lots of water!  -- which results in a pit stop about every hour or so.  It's good for you though, so drink it.
3. Pack your prenatal vitamins -- You don't want to forget those, especially since we all tend to veer off course (as far as diet and nutrition is concerned) while traveling.
4. A fluffy pillow and room to stretch your legs. -- Try to share the driving with a pal so you can stretch out in the back seat.  Keeping your feet elevated will also help decrease ankle swelling and back soreness.
5. Get out and stretch your legs, walk around and get the blood flowing every chance you get.

Once you arrive, eat mini meals like you do at home, rest when you can, plan on hitting the sack early and rising frequently to use the restroom.  Bring super comfy shoes and loose-fitting clothes for walking around, and drink plenty of water during the day too!  If you're comfortable telling your news to those you're traveling with, they might be more understanding when you need to stop and rest more often than usual.  I chose to tell the family members we were with and chatting about it made it even more fun!

Next, we headed to Nashville, TN for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon.  We went with a large group of friends, mostly from OU so it was difficult to hide my non-alcoholic ways in the bars.  I ended up spilling the secret to the group to make things a little easier. 

Lucky for me, after running a half marathon, the rest of the group was just as tired as I was, often leading to early bedtimes and afternoon naps. I fit right in! 

Nashville was pretty cool, but I can't help but think it's a million times better when you're able to party sans nausea and fatigue.  Maybe we'll go back someday. 

Just remember, you're still yourself while traveling pregnant, you just need to be patient, give yourself plenty of extra time for pit stops, frequent meals and naptime.  The advice people keep giving me is "get out and do stuff while you can before the baby comes."  So, that's what I intend to do!

Trips on deck :: a relaxing trip to East Hampton, NY to play on the beach; and a long weekend on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland, KY.  Stay tuned for second trimester trips!

Babies in the District

It was a snowy and icy weeked in our nation's capital, but we were on a mission to meet our new neice once and for all. After a lovely drive through slush and pavement mist-flakes (the kind that seems to smear even more when you clean your windshield) and some groan-worthy encounters with Maryland slow-pokes who ride their brakes, we made it to Columbia Heights, a neighborhood in downtown Washington, D.C. 

Even after a foul weather roadtrip, there's nothing sweeter than cuddling up with a newborn.  That little bundle can paint a smile on your face quicker than you can say "gah gah, goo goo".  Instant love, I say.  Instant!

With a couple babies and 2 new mommies in our midst, we knew we weren't going to spend the weekend clubbing or taking shots left and right, and that was completely fine with me.  Instead, we decided to tackle the district in the 2nd best way we know how ... We'd eat our way through it.

Friday night was a blur of gastropubs, Food Network, and Travel Channel suggestions and neighborhood favorites, which blended into more of the same on Saturday. 

I went out with the guys on Friday night and the girls on Saturday night, and one thing I learned for all you single travelers out there is that if you're in the market for a significant other, go where they are. Seems obvious, I know, but the wine bars were crawling with women, and the beer pubs were overloaded with all male groups. Want a boyfriend? Skip the wine, and go get a beer! What a girlfriend? Dress up, grab a wingman and head to the wine bars.

Some notable stops on the way:

1) El Pollo Rico, Arlington, Virginia (see a clip from Anthony Bourdain's episode here):  We walked away from this place thinking, "Yep.  They did it right."  Known as the "best Peruvian chicken joint around", this cafeteria-style restaurant serves only one thing - charcoal-broiled chicken (either by the whole, or by the 1/2 chicken).  It was an inexpensive and delicious way to kickoff the food shuffle.  Highly recommended!


2) The Red Derby, Washington, D.C.:  Who doesn't love their beer in cans?  Red Derby is a hole in the wall local bar (we love those!), featuring a superior beer menu with a wide variety of microbrews and rare-finds, served up in cans with a complementary plastic cup.  That's how you know it's good!  It's a long narrow place, but perfect for a cozy game of trivial pursuit, scrabble or a modge-podge of other board games provided by the bar.  Good stuff, check it out!

3) Vinoteca, Washington, D.C.:  Perfect place for a girls night out!  Vinoteca has a great wine list, great bar service and a candlelight atmostphere perfect for deep conversation, catching up with girlfriends, or grabbing an after dinner drink on date night.  My bro- and sis-in-law had their engagement party at this location, so she was eager to share the love with us.  Crowded on a Saturday night, but a great meet-place overall!

4) Eat Bar, Arlington, Virginia:  This was such a chic stop!  Attached to Tallula Restaurant, this Gastropub had some fan favorite apps.  At Eat Bar, we loved the lamb sliders, mussels and risotto fritters.  Complete with a fab wine list, we were pleasantly surprised by the chilled out vibe, candlelit bar area and meat-themed T-shirts for sale. Would go back! 


5) Meridian Pint, Washington D.C.:  Eco-friendly and tres modern!  The guys loved the draft and cask beer selection at this place.  The service was a little lacking and the food was glorified bar food (we tried the nachos, wings and special dipping sauce, which we didn't care for), but the beer had a good range from 1st Amendment and Bell's to Dogfish and Great Lakes.  Good place for an after dinner drink!

DC never fails to impress.  And it doesn't hurt that we got to catch up with old friends, Alberto and Jen, along the way.  Thanks to Elisa, Mike and Zoe for a fabulous weekend, as always!

Pineapple in the Capitol

There were pineapples everywhere we went in DC and I'm not even mad about it!!!

Against all of my former grumblings and self-promises, I did it again.  I drove on the Pennsylvania turnpike.  This time it was dark, my contacts were fuzzy, one headlight was out (probably) and I was sleepy.  A whopping $15 worth of toll booth fees later, we made it to DC, and standing at the door at 1am to greet us was our lovely sister-in-law, Elisa.   

Friday morning, our hosts had to work (like normal people), but Adam and I were free to roam the District.  He decided to take a morning run to the White House (about a 1.5-mile jaunt up 16th street from Adams Morgan) and back, while I readied myself for a day of fun in the sun.  It was the perfect weather for site-seeing on foot -- about 50 degrees with sunny, clear skies. 

Armed with my leather bomber jacket and aviators, we headed out.  Our first stop was the Masonic House of the Temple described in Dan Brown's novel, The Lost Symbol.  It was on our way, so it wasn't much of a stop actually -- more of a point to it, snap a photo and keep on movin' kinda stop.

There's just something about being able to walk to the White House that just makes the United States government feel real to me.  Do you know what I mean??  I mean, you see things on TV, you read the paper, you try to stay updated with political happenings, but it's tough to do remotely.  Actually being there in the hub where it all takes place -- seeing the security officers, feeling awestruck in sight of American architecture and knowing that you are physically surrounded by International embassies, U.S. treasures in museums and the people who write and sign bills into law -- is one of the more overwhelming and humbling notions I've experienced.

It's just a house right?  Well ... not quite.  This thing is gigantic (photos just don't do it justice).  There's security everywhere and you can't get too close.  This is me reaching my hand through the bars:

There we were standing in front of Obama's house.  "OK, now what?" I asked.  Time for lunch!  We made our way down Pennsylvania Ave. and took a left at 19th.  We saw Stella Artois umbrellas in the distance and decided that's exactly where we wanted to be at 2pm on at Friday.  Elephant & Castle was calling out to us!  At this point in the day, we were starving and my Chuck Taylors weren't quite as comfortable as I thought they were.  My pub onion soup and ceasar salad were good and Adam's fish sandwich was great.  The sweet potato fries were the best thing we tried here by far -- besides the beers of course ;) 

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History was next on the list (It's free to get in!  Who knew?!).  We met E there after work, and got to see Julia Child's kitchen, the ruby slippers, Kermit, Fonzie's jacket, C3PO, part of the First Lady's exhibit (which was under construction), and lots of other fun stuff.

That night we headed to some bars ... finally ending up at Cashion's Eat Place for some "after dark" menu items - bison burger, ribeye sandwich and some hand cut fries.  The atmosphere was fun, the bartender, Krishna, was a self-proclaimed genius (knowing everything there was to know about pinneapples ... yet completely incorrect) and very entertaining, but the food was just mediocre for me.  I'd give it a 8 out of 10 for creativity.  

After a few more nightcaps, we cuddled up on our air mattress for a cozy night's sleep.  We woke up and ate what?  You guessed it, pineapples(!) and eggs.  Mike is apparently "good with a pineapple".  I'm still not quite sure I know what that means, but we sure did say it a lot.  ha.

We headed to the Capitol building -- Mike works there for a Senator and it turns out that he used to give tours when he first moved to DC.  Sooo we got a private tour of some of the "non-public" parts of the Capitol.  Pretty amazing.  The Capitol Rotunda was my favorite point of interest, mostly because it's just so damn awesome.  Just thinking about the artist, Brumidi, who hand-painted every detail and devoted the last years of his career on such an historical piece (my fave is the Apotheosis of George Washington) was freakin awesome.  Here are some pics that, once again, don't do it justice.  You have to see it for yourself!:

Hallway in the Senate Chambers -- also painted by Brumidi:

We walked through the Old Supreme Court Chamber, which was also really cool to see:

Other than the Captiol Dome itself, my second favorite part of the tour was walking down the inaugural steps.  Yep ... the actual steps the President walks down to give the inaugural speech, overlooking a crowd of thousands who are gathered in the mall:

This is a shot I took looking back up at the Capitol.  It's unbelievable when you're standing in front of it.  The detail, the precise meaning of every carving, column and opening.  This is priceless American history people! So cool.

Our next stop was Capitol City Brewing Co. where we had some lovely appetizers (soft pretzels with Jalapeno dip were great!), and some local brews.  We decided to hurry straight to the newly refurbished W Hotel for some drinks on the rooftop at POV.  It was twilight at this point, so the skyline views were breathtakingly picturesque (sorry no pics! ... camera doesn't take great photos at night through glass). 

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend in DC.  Kiiiiinda makes me want to move there, right Waskes!? 

Roadtrip to the Capitol

Last night my friend and I went on a magically ridiculous journey into the land of the 80s, complete with Greek gods, jorts (hilariously short cut-off jean shorts) and a roller disco.  Yep, we saw Xanadu!  Surprisingly, it was more entertaining than I was expecting.  Lots of "hazzahhhh!s"

Tonite we're roadtripping to DC (about an 8-hr drive), to see our wonderful sister- and brother-in-law's new place.  I'm told that there is some wine-tasting in our future, so looking forward to that is enough to help me get through the drive.

DC's always awesome ... just being there makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself.  I'm especially looking forward to this trip because we have no specific plans lined up ... except plans to do whatever we want to do when we want to do it!  Those are my favorite trips.  On a vacation with a friend's family a few years ago, I was told, "OK, Stacie, this is how our vacations work.  You eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and run when someone's chasing you." 

I never quite understood the last part (I think it was meant to be a joke ... hopefully), but the other 2 have been my mottos on most vacations ever since.  Why force yourself to follow a strict schedule if you don't really want to?  It's your vacation right!?   Right. 

I'm just going into the weekend with an open mind and a open schedule ... woot!