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Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Round Top & Their Amazing Antiques Shows
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Fredericksburg, Texas Trip 2023: The New Napa Valley
Amos and I decided to take a semi impromptu weekend getaway to Fredericksburg, Texas. I say semi because even though it was relatively last minute trip we did book stuff in advantage that made it easier during our trip to experience more in a short period. Another planning tool that Amos and I started (and I highly recommended) is we made a sharable list in the Notes app on our iphones where we listed wineries we wanted to visits, restaurants we wanted to try, and other areas to visit and we added a check mark on places we had confirmed reservations. Our list got pretty long (at least for the wineries) and we couldn't fit it all in our three day weekend, but we saw our top priorities, know what we want to revisit, and all the places we still need to see.
Amos and I have been to Fredericksburg a few times now, but it has been years and boy has it changed. We stayed again at one of the cabins at the back of Messina Hof and love it. The first time we stayed there you felt like you were in the middle of no where with nothing around you, now you are surrounded by new and upcoming wineries. On the subject of the number of wineries in Fredericksburg it is crazy now. Texas Monthly recently came out with an article saying its the new Napa Valley and we heard from other wineries that Fredericksburg is the second most visited wine destination in the country behind Napa. The main road that takes you into town now is just littered with wineries with new beautiful buildings, sprawling vineyards, and unique attractions that almost give you the feeling you aren't in Texas. We had so much fun and know that we want to make this a yearly trip and can't wait to try some new wineries and go back to some of our favorites.
Girls Trip to North Carolina 2022
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Home Updates...It's Been A While
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Exploring Marfa Texas
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Mexico City Trip 2021
I love to take time off the last week of the year to give myself a break and a fresh start to the new year. I am crazy busy with work at the beginning of the year so it is nice to have that small break before it all starts back up. We have taken trips during this time on several occasions and always have a blast so when we saw a deal we couldn't pass it up to Mexico City my husband and I booked it right away. Other than purchasing the hotel and plane tickets I can take no other credit for the excursions or restaurant reservations, my husband planned all of it and did an amazing job. I will do a small breakdown of our travel itinerary; we arrived on a Monday and left on a Saturday so had six days (really five when you exclude travel times) to explore the city. We did a lot of tourist things, but I am glad we did them and would recommend these tours and excursions especially if it is your first time visiting. #ashleyryantravels
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Girls Trip to Salem/Boston 2021
One of my closest friends, someone I have known since early childhood, and I have a common love for the fall season; something we don't really have in Texas. So it came as no surprise when she called me up a few months ago to discuss a potential trip to Massachusetts in peak season, October. I said yes immediately and we quickly started to plan our five day weekend getaway. This was my third time visiting Boston and second time to see Salem; however, each time were in off seasons in January where it was very cold and not everything was open.
We decided to stay in Marblehead at The Hotel Marblehead really close to Salem and under an hour drive from Boston. We both did some reading and prep-work before hand on what to expect during one of the busiest times in Boston/Salem. Items included car rentals, limited parking, expected delays getting in and out of Salem during peak times, and reservations. We saw a lot and got to do to almost everything on our to-do lists. I'll share some of the attractions we saw during our trip and some tips on planning and potential issues to avoid.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Maine Trip 2021 - Exploring Maine
We spent several days exploring surrounding areas and doing very "Maine" things. We went to East Quoddy Lighthouse, which sits at the furthest eastern point in the United Stated. We went to a local bay area to get some fresh lobsters for dinner. Visited a cute town called Lubec, which is right below the Canadian border, and yes we happened to find another brewery haha. Hopefully next year we can cross the bridge over to Canada, I have never been. Our trip was so good and I can't wait to go back. See my other two post here and here.
Friday, September 10, 2021
Maine Trip 2021 - Acadia National Park & Portland Maine
There were two and half days we carved out to explore Acadia National Park and Portland. They were long days, but very fun. We woke up extremely early to head out to Acadia National Park (~2 hours from my parents house). I read that parking can be hard to find so it was suggested to get there before 8 am or after 5 pm. Another tip was to buy your entrance passes and print them out before arriving at the park; both you have to display on your dash board. I am glad we left when we did because parking was filling up fast, but we found a spot and went straight to hiking Jordan's Pond Trail, ~3.2 miles long. The hike was pretty moderate there were some narrow pathways and rocky areas, but we did the hike in about 1.5 hours, but if you go when it fills up or hiking with kids it will probably take twice as long. We went to the visit center and gift shop, then drove up to Cadillac Mountain and hiked around the top. It is the first place to view the sunrise in the United Stated during a certain period of the year. We spent half the day in Acadia and then went to Bar Harbor and had a late lunch at a brewery and walked the town a bit.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Maine Trip 2021
Amos and I finally found some time to take a break from all the hustle and bustle of work and city life and headed to my parents vacation house in Maine, our first time. They purchased the house back in 2019, it needed a lot of love and care, and they have worked so hard to transform it and make it a beautiful escape for all of their loved ones. They are in a remote location which makes it ideal if you are looking to escape to the great outdoors and hear and see all of mother nature. The property is approximately 2 acres with beach front access. They are pretty lucky because it is rare to find sandy coastline in Maine and my parents happen to have quite a bit of sand along their portion of coastline. We went down to the beach frequently with the dogs to explore and run around looking for crabs, shells, and keeping an eye out for the seals. There are seals and you hear them early in the morning, they are loud, and howl like wolves, so cool. We ate, drank, relaxed, hung around the fire ring, Harrison played in the dirt for hours upon hours, and it was amazing being around family. Amos and I did take a few days to explore Portland and Acadia National Park, I will save those for future post, but below are some pictures of our time at my parents and how beautiful and relaxing it all was. I can't wait to go back and I hope I can spend half the summers there and explore more and make amazing memories with my family.
My parents backyard looking out on the water, the fire pit my dad made |