I was looking back through previous blog posts a few weeks ago and I realized that there is one city I rarely blog about. It is one of my favorite cities and the one I spend most of my time in - Chicago! Chicago is a great city, especially in the warmer months. I also love it during the holiday season when it is all lit up with Christmas lights. So really it is just Jan-March when it's not such a hospitable place. Although if it's snowing, it is also really beautiful and so peaceful. So as you ... Read More
US Travel
Exploring Birmingham, Alabama
This final blog post about my trip to Mississippi and Alabama has been sitting in the "draft" section on my website for a while now. I have been struggling to come up with a way to start it. And then today, it came to me via a video that has gone viral. Have you seen the video of Texas Democratic nominee Beto O'Rourke responding to a question about kneeling during the anthem at a town hall he was having in Texas? If you haven't, you should check it out. A section of his response pretty much ... Read More
Exploring Selma and Montgomery, Alabama
The second part of my solo road trip through Mississippi and Alabama took me through Alabama (state #48 in the quest for 50). Same as the day before, I did not have an agenda for the day before I started driving but I knew I had to end up in Birmingham because I had a hotel reserved there for that evening. Waking up next to the gulf was a pretty nice way to start the day. I couldn't resist getting a few photos. After admiring the view, I hopped into the car and headed north. I decided my ... Read More
A Day in Mississippi…and My First Solo Road Trip
Do you want strange looks when you tell people you are going away for the weekend? Plan a trip to Mississippi and Alabama. You will get a lot of them. As of last week, I had four states left in my quest for 50 states. There were two left that could be done in one trip - Mississippi and Alabama. To be honest, I probably crossed into both of these states during one of my past travels in the Southeast but I could not be sure so I booked a trip and away I went. I booked a trip into Jackson and out ... Read More
A Day in Wilmington, Delaware
During my weekend trip to Philadelphia, I decided to take a side trip on Saturday and head to Wilmington, DE. I am on a mission to make it to all 50 states and I had not been to Delaware yet so it made perfect sense to take the opportunity to go when I was so close. I did not rent a car. Instead, I utilized Amtrak and Lyft to complete this side trip. If not for Lyft (or Uber), I honestly would likely not have gone to Delaware. I had a conversation with a friend about this recently. Ride sharing ... Read More
A Weekend in Philadelphia
I have been to many US cities but one that eluded me for a very long time was Philadelphia. I finally changed that last summer when I decided kill two birds with one stone and cross a new city and another MLB ballpark of my list. I left Chicago late Friday afternoon and landed in Philadelphia just in time for dinner. I did some research while I was waiting to board the plane in Chicago and Bud & Marilyn's kept coming up as a good spot for dinner. It had good reviews and I was interested in ... Read More