It’s no secret that summer is our down time.  We don’t have too many brides looking to have an outdoor wedding here in Texas, when the heat index is likely to be over 100 degrees.  With that, summer is our vacation time!  We get to take advantage of owning your own business and setting your own schedule, without limited vacation days.  This summer was the summer of road trips.  After our marriage conference for couples in business together in Georgia, we drove up to Nashville to hang out with some of the best friends we made while studying abroad in Greece 9 years ago! It seemed fitting that Nashville has their own version of the Parthenon, since that is one of the very first visits we made when we arrived in Greece.   These lovely ladies were both my roommates at different times.  One in Egypt, the other was my roommate senior year when we got back to the States.

As with most of our trips together, Dylan and I refuse to eat at national chain restaurants.  We fully believe in trying what each city has to offer and supporting local!  We were thankful to have a Nashville native in the group, to show us around to the best spots in town!

Some of the images on this post were taken on cell phones, so please forgive the “less than perfect” ones.  :D

Our next road trip was in July and we went to Ouray, Colorado.  Before getting there, though, we stopped in Amarillo, Texas.

The next night, we stopped in Red River, New Mexico, enjoyed some local pizza (For the very first time in our marriage, Dylan let me order bell peppers on top!!!) and camped crazy far away from civilization! HA!  It took us about an hour to get up the mountain in our Jeep, off the beaten path.  In fact, I don’t think there were any designated camping areas.  I’d love to say it was an awesome night under the stars, but the truth is that Dylan and I both had upset stomachs that night…  At least the morning was better and we got to eat oatmeal with our travel buddies on the mountain top.

Finishing the last leg of the journey into Colorado (million dollar highway, included), this is where we stopped to eat our picnic lunch. It’s just so pretty there!

This was our home for the last three nights in Colorado.

Saturday, Dylan and I tried the local brewery and started the Perimeter trail, but didn’t quite finish.  This was our day of exploring.  We found the most random door in the side of a mountain.  We really wanted to see if Thorin lived inside!  We ended the day at the Hot Springs.  The next morning, Dylan got up super early to conquer his first fourteener, Mt. Sneffels, with his buddy.  The girls stayed on our cabin porch swings reading mountainside and enjoying hot coffee before heading to our day at the Spa (my first EVER).  When we got back, Dylan had a wildflower bouquet waiting for me from his trip up the mountain.  I really did get lucky with him!

Monday, Dylan and I headed to Santa Fe.  We stopped at Meow Wolf and don’t have the words to describe it!  There was a storyline to follow and mystery to solve, as you entered different realms.  Each realm was interactive and part jungle gym.  There was a “whale skeleton” that played music, as if a piano, when you touched it.  There were lasers that acted as guitar strings when you passed your hand through them.  You could climb inside trees, through refrigerators, and past coats in a closet (as if in Narnia).  It is seriously something else!  If you’re ever in Santa Fe, just stop.  If you like Game of Thrones, you’ll be interested to know that even George R.R. Martin has high hopes/praise for this project!

I kid on road trips that I’m a storm chaser because, inevitably, there WILL be a storm that I have to drive right into.  Here’s proof:

Our last stop before getting home to our sweet fur-babies was this railroad car turned burger joint in Brownwood, Texas!  We loved this concept!

After being home for only a week, I headed to Maryland with my sister and her two boys to visit our cousin.  While the longest road trip of the summer, this was much more family time than tourist/exploring time.  It was the boys’ first time out of Texas, so we made sure to stop at the different Welcome stops of each state.  We were all in PJs that first day, as we left bright and early at 3AM!  WHEW!  I’m not an early bird by any stretch of the imagination, so my sister drove while I napped all the way past Dallas.  Somewhere in Arkansas, we were run off the road by an 18-wheeler and lost the bumper of my sister’s car.  AWESOME!  We made it all the way to Virginia (18 hours straight) the first day.  When we woke up the next morning, we realized GOD had been telling us to pull over for the night when we noticed a low tire with a piece of metal sticking out.  Our plan was to drive straight through (it’s a 24 hour drive), but are so thankful we stopped when we did!

We made the drive to meet the newest addition to our family!  This was the only 30 seconds he let me hold him without screaming.  He didn’t like me much, unless I was holding him at the beach or rescuing him from his carseat.

My cousin’s basement has a bounce house!  Crazy cool!!  She claimed it was for the winters when they get snowed in and the kids can’t go outside, but I think it’s just cool!  I was also the only coffee drinker in the house for the week…

One day, we got to visit the Naval Test Pilot School before heading to the beach.

We were able to head into Washington DC for a day.

My nephew didn’t care too much about the monuments.  He really just wanted to make sure I took pictures of the ducks… HA! 

The Smithsonian was one of my requests for Washington DC.  I have been here before, but we didn’t get to see any of the 19 Smithsonian museums.  The American History Museum is the one I wanted to visit, but just before we were about to head out we… lost my sister.  Yep, we lost an adult at the Smithsonian.  Wonderful.  Her cell phone had died, so we searched for about an hour before my cousin spotted her.  Apparently, while I was back tracing and going in and out of the museum, she was finishing up the other wings of the museum.  I’m just thankful we found her before the last bus left and we didn’t have to tell her husband we lost his wife in the busy city.  :D  My favorite part was being able to see all the beautiful jewelry and stones, but I do wonder why anyone would donate family heirlooms worth so much…

There may have been some cat naps while we watched “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.”  And now that I know there is a third one – where they go to London – I’m going to try to convince Dylan to watch it with me!  I love those movies!

The drive back was much less adventurous than the way to Maryland.  GOD blessed us with a problem free car and drive AND two napping nephews for THE WIN!!

That’s about it for the road trips this year.  Any other travels we’ll be doing will likely be via plane.

– Mylah Renae