Washington DC (May 28-31)

The beautiful Capitol
Tres and I in front of our favorite President's home... grrr!

After weeks that consisted of Ginger’s wedding, Memphis in May festivities with friends in town, and a trip to Knoxville, it had been a month since we had been anywhere unfamiliar, so Tres and I were ready for a family vacation! Tres had been to DC before for work but never experienced the city as a tourist, and I had never been there, so we were both in for a treat! We were meeting my family there (Mom, my brother, my Nenne, and her husband Jesse). We got on a plane after work on Thursday and they headed up by car Thursday morning. Once we all made it to the hotel that night, Tres and I took my brother out on the town. We hung out at the hotel bar for drinks and appetizers and then walked to a little pub down the street. It was kind of a late night that night - especially to have my brother out and about!
My family is so much fun!
Mom and Me in front of Hernando DeSoto painting in the Capitol

The next day, mom (Miss Organizer), had an excursion itinerary ready for us. We started the day by taking a tour of The Capitol – what a phenomenal, significant building… to think that something that beautiful has been standing for hundreds of years with the biggest decisions of our country being made inside – there are no words for that! We then headed to Arlington Cemetery. There, we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the JFK grave site - the Eternal Flame, and Robert E. Lee’s house! After that, we went to the famous, Ben’s Chili Bowl for lunch – it was everything I ever heard it was… yummy! Our third venture was the Washington Monument where we took an elevator to the top for the complete Washington DC view. Again, my height issue did not permit me to completely take in the city, but I saw enough to make me happy! Our final destination was a nighttime tour. This was one of the best parts of the trip because we got to see all of DC lit up at night! My favorite part was the Lincoln Memorial – what a sight to see… he was such an influential person on our country and the memorial shows him as this gigantic figure because that’s exactly what he was to the United States!
Day two was a trip to Mount Vernon aka the home for George Washington. I fell in love with this place, and it’s now my official favorite of DC. It was a palace… a palace for the very first famous, significant person in our country! The house and land of George Washington was so beautiful, it was hard to believe he actually lived there in the late 1700’s! We toured the interior of the house, and when we got to George’s room and saw the bed that he died in, Tres and I just stood there and stared in amazement - GEORGE WASHINGTON REALLY DIED ON THAT BED we were looking at. We held up the line long enough, but I could have stood and stared at the bed all day… it was just so bizarre! Seeing him and Martha’s grave site was also hard to take in… to think the bones of the REAL George Washington and his wife were in those caskets was insane! I mean, you learn about George Washington your entire life, you hold him in your hand at least once a day when you pay for something, but all the while, it’s hard to believe he was actually a REAL person. It’s almost like he was a fictional character from a book, but after seeing his house and his grave, you realize he was a living, breathing person, just like the rest of us, and if it wasn’t for him, our country would not even exist! He is simply astonishing!
After Mount Vernon, and getting lost on the way home from Mt. V, me, Tres, and Brother headed to the Smithsonian’s to take in as much as we could in the two hours we had left until they closed. We went in the American History one first – I only cared to see the beloved Dorothy Gale original Ruby Red Slippers, so that’s why I agreed to American History. Seeing these shoes was a dream come true for a girl who once THOUGHT she was Dorothy. Yes when I was a young girl, I had a blue dress, basket, and used my Pound Puppies as “Toto” while I skipped around my house singing all the songs. My Nenne told me she looked everywhere for me Rudy slippers but could never find any, so I had to settle for black ones. Not to mention, I watched this movie at least twice a day and even wore out a VHS tape to where my parents had to buy a new one… that’s what I hear anyways! No wonder I have an obsession with shoes to this day! I blame The Wizard of Oz for every woman out there with a shoe obsession!

The home of the famous George and Martha Washington
Me and Nenne at our favorite place!

That night, we had a great dinner, saw the back-end of the White House, and went home and went to bed. I woke up with tired, sore feet, wondering how I could make it another day. The family headed home, and Tres and I headed out for another journey of DC. Our first stop was the White House where we got exceptional views. Despite of who lives there at this moment in time, I still think this is the most beautiful building in DC! Smithsonian’s were our focus, since we saw little of them the day before. We briefly went through the Natural Science and the Air and Space museums and even took a little tour of the Botanical Gardens. We had a flight to catch late that afternoon, so we finished up our DC experience quickly. I learned a lot of history on this trip that I never knew before, and because of that, I hope to come back soon! We enjoyed the time spent with my family – they are always a hoot to be around! Next time we head to DC, we plan to see what we missed on this last trip: Ford’s Theater and the Holocaust Museum are at the top of the list!

Destin, Florida (a week and a half later; April 16-19)

The entire Bacheloretter Party!

Yes, I went BACK to Destin! I just couldn’t get enough! No really, we decided months before my first trip to Destin that this weekend was going to be Ginger’s Bachelorette weekend in Destin… Going to the beach twice in two weeks never hurt anyone! This weekend was going to be different though… I was going to be with ALL MY GIRLS!

I love this one of me and Sara!


Maid of Honor and Bride
We drove (ugh… not a fan of driving this far), and when we got there we were pleasantly surprised at the condo we were staying in! We lucked up because this friend of mine, Scott, has a condo in Destin, and he totally let us borrow it FOR FREE for the weekend! It was so nice – with just enough room for us nine gals staying there. Day one was the highlight of the trip. We got up early to shop for booze and some snacks before heading to the beach. Amy Claire and I got in a fight (as usual), but got over it 30 minutes later (as usual). Haha. We loaded up on drinks and then headed to the beach! Our day was spent drink Bud Light Limes, Coronas, and Sweet Tarts, and scorching in the sun, talking and gossiping about anything and everything we could think of. That night, we had a Fiesta-Lingerie party for Ginger where she got her necessary honeymoon gear and we drank margaritas and had Mexican bites. We ate dinner at AJ’s and had the typical bachelorette night (minus the penises and condoms… why? Please tell me why girls feel it’s necessary to get decked out in disgusting plastic forms of the male genitalia?). Typical bachelorette night meaning all acting like crazed-college kids and getting home at 5 in the morning with a few lost items and vomit victims… I will leave it at that!

Bridesmaids with the Hot Mama Bride!

Out at AJ's!

The next day was Hell on earth for everyone. Everyone was tired, to-the-max hung over, and had no intentions of getting out of bed unless it meant running to the toilet. I actually felt fine and was getting pissed off that no one wanted to join me on the beach for an icy cold beverage! Luckily, a few girls perked up by noon and we were back at it again. The second day was not a pretty as the first and eventually, we all went in after about four hours. We (slowly) got ready to go out that night with a few girls still struggling (and surprisingly still vomiting… I don’t understand these day long hang overs but whatever – I love them no less). We headed to The Red Bar, which is actually like a 35 minute drive but totally worth it for the food and music. We had a fantastic meal, and afterward, four out of the nine gave going out a try while the others headed home. We didn’t last long – imagining the eight-hour drive we had ahead of us the next day. All in all – the trip was a great one… thanks to the first night, but everything after that was just downright downhill!

Destin, Florida (April 2-5)

The weekend after Palm Springs, I decided at the last minute to go with Tres on another one of his work trips, but this time, Athletic Championships put me to work too! Tres and I headed to the airport for Destin and hoped for beautiful weather in the ever-rainy days we had been having in the Southeast. When we got to the airport, the sky turned black and rain hot our car like a tsunami. We gave each other a “this can’t be good look,” and crossed our fingers. When we got inside, people were everywhere, and though I fly a lot it, had been awhile since I had seen this much commotion in an airport. The verdict: NO PLANES WERE LEAVING THR AIRPORT THAT NIGHT! It was terrible, because we had JUST missed the cut-off time. We did everything we could to try and find something, and even considered renting a car and driving, but the weather made it useless. We got moved to a new flight – not for the next morning, but for the next AFTERNOON! I was so frustrated. It was hard to understand why they couldn’t immediately get us on a plane the next day. Tres explained that since so many planes were backed up, they had to deal with all those people too, and we had to wait our turn (I hate waiting my turn). Finally after about 3-4 hours at the airport talking to incompetent NWA staff, we headed home. We decided that since we should be in Destin at that moment having a pina colada at a beach-side restaurant instead of on our way back home to Downtown Memphis, that we were going to stop at the Happy Mexican and wash back as many margaritas as possible. We did just that, got tired, and went home to sleep.

The next day, the sun was shining and we were getting on a plane to Destin. We finally made it, and for two free vouchers from Northwest Air out of the deal. We decided two free plane tickets were worth the hell we went through the night before. While in Destin, we both worked but we also spent a lot of time having fun with friends. The weather wasn’t great, but we really only had one day on the beach anyway, so it didn’t really matter! We were just happy to be in the company of great friends, eat great seafood, and have that pina colada we had been talking about from day one!

Palm Springs, California (March 26-29)

I was so excited about this trip, and I still look back at it and am so glad I decided to go with Tres on it! Palm Springs was a work trip for Tres and one of those that I tagged along on. It was an Athletic Championships event, which is the company Tres used to work for with some of his closest friends. Since they were all there, I knew it would be a blast! We got in late on Thursday just in time for dinner with the crew and a walk around the ever-interesting Palm Springs. This small city is something else. If I had to sum it up in words, those words would be: gorgeous, hot, money, and gay. The city is tiny but the sight of it will knock you off your feet – it’s beautiful, and could best be described as a “beach-looking town in the middle of the desert.” Only… there is no beach, but there are lots of Palm trees and more sun than any one person could ever take in – it hardly EVER rains there! A lot of older-aged movie stars vacationed and had homes here – Elvis and Pricilla and Frank Sinatra – just to name a few.

Tres and me mid-air!

Waving!

Tres had to work all weekend, so we set aside Friday for a day of fun and an experience I had wanted to have my whole life – a hot air balloon ride! To take the balloon ride, we had to drive an hour out of the way to Temecula (Wine Valley) California, but every minute of our early-morning was worth it! We had to wake up at like 6:30 to make sure we were in Temecula before 8:00, which is when they start balloon rides. They prefer to do them early in the morning when the wind is just right, and I was not going to argue with what kept our balloon in the air! We got lucky and only had to ride with two people, who both ended up being really cool. They were a couple from California, and what do you know?! The guy ended up prosing to his girlfriend in the air with Tres and I to witness. Poor Tres… as Queen once said, “Pressure pushing down on me… no man asked for.” Haha… just kidding, but the funny thing is when we got back to Palm Springs, all of our friends claimed they had bets we would get engaged on the balloon ride. We were like, “Nope, but the couple with us sure did!”… AWKWARD!

At the Winery!

Back to the balloon ride… it was truly one great experience of a lifetime. I had always wanted to go on one, and I am not really sure why because I am terrified of heights. My favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz though, and if Dorothy got to ride on one, then so was I! Seeing it be blown up was a show in itself… we could not get over how big it was, but actually going on it was even more amazing! We saw miles of beautiful scenery. When we got to the highest point though, I lost it. I didn’t want anyone to know how scared I was, so I kept quiet and closed by eyes, but I was shaking uncontrollably and Tres eventually noticed. So did our balloon pilot, so he made me put my back up against the basket, saying that having something touch you when you are high usually makes you feel more safe. It helped, but the fact that we started getting lower helped a lot more! Once we came down, we toasted our air-journey with champagne and congratulated the newly engaged couple! Tres and I spent the day in the wine country, what our pilot called a “little Napa Valley.” We spent most of the day at Wilson Creek Winery where we did a wine tasting and had lunch. We also discovered the best tasting champagne ever, Almond Champagne. We bought five bottles of it along with some wine and headed back to Palm Springs!

Hanging with friends

The rest of the trip consisted of Tres working all day and me laying out at the pool and taking in the unique city. I went for a few jogs, ate breakfast and lunch by myself, and waited on Tres to get done working. Then at night, we would hang out with all of our friends who were also there for work. I fell in complete love with this area of California. Sun to me equals happiness, so I can’t imagine a depressed person living here! I told Tres it had been awhile since I had completely fell in love with a city I visited, but I honestly think I could live in Palm Springs (well, maybe if it were located in the South :)

Dallas, Texas (February 26-March 2)

Tres’ and Andrea’s first work trip of the year together! Tres and I both travel a lot for work, but we rarely get to do it together. On occasion, if Tres has a work trip planned and I have nothing to do that weekend, we will usually just buy me a flight and I will tag along and lay out by the pool or something while he works, but most of the time we are both gone on the same weekends in different cities (Did I mention that this year, we did not spend one weekend together in Memphis from the end of December until MAY!!! When summer finally got here, we were more excited about having a weekend in OUR CITY together than the gorgeous weather!)

This case was a different one though… we both had to be in Dallas for the largest all star cheerleading competition in the nation – NCA All Star Nationals, and this turned out to be one of my most memorial and fun times with Tres! Remember how I said Tres and I always end up going out like rockstars BY OURSELVES… well that pretty much sums up this trip. We both decided on this trip we love Dallas. We called it the Southwestern Atlanta, and everyone knows Atlanta is both Tres and my favorite city!

So the first night we hung out with some friends, went to dinner at a great sushi restaurant down from our hotel (which was downtown and across from where JFK got shot), and ended up at this random bar where we indeed stayed until about 3 a.m. when we both had to be up at 7 the next morning. Needless to say, the work day was long, and once it was over, I thought we would both put on our pa-jammies and order room service, but something came over us, and we decided we wanted a nice dinner. The concierge suggested a seafood/steak place, and boy was she dead-on! If I ever go back to Dallas, this will be the first restaurant I visit… I wish I could remember the name, but I am blank (I later remembered... it's called Trulucks... AWESOME)! Dinner and drinks at dinner turned into an exhaustion makeover and by the time we ate our last bite, we were ready for another night of fun. We ended up at Ghost Bar in the W hotel, and I would suggest it to anyone. It’s on the 33rd floor of the skyscraper hotel, where there is a glass floor balcony with gorgeous views of the city… kind of scary for a gal who is terrified of heights, but totally worth checking out! The club is very “Vegas-like” for Dallas with velvet ropes and long lines to get in, a large cover charge, and VIP Bottle service. It’s very stylish and contemporary, which is always what I immediately look for in a place I go to when I am out of town – being from Memphis, we have NOTHING like that, so I am always happy to visit a place like this when in another city. The next day of work was a lot more difficult than the first, so the jammies and room service was a given on the last night. Dallas was a BLAST!

New Orleans, Louisiana (February 13-16)

Bourbon Street

Any city in the deep South with Red Beans and Rice and Jambalaya as their signature dish is a city I want in my life at least once a year! Tres and I decided to head down this way at the kick-off of Mardi Gras, but Mardi Gras is not the real reason we were going to The Big Easy. Tres mom and dad are both originally from NO, and his grandmother still lives there. Since I had never met her, Tres thought it was time that I did. His grandmother just had her 89th birthday this year and is also a recent survivor of cancer… if that isn’t impressive, I don’t know what is. Any lady that tough, I knew I would love. Tres told me in ways I kind of reminded him of her in a few ways too… especially our love for pictures and “keepsakes.”

Dog parade

He was not joking… she has more pictures on her wall, in albums, in frames – everywhere in her house is decorated with pictures! I love it! What I loved most was the way she greeted us. I did not expect an 89 year old lady to have so much energy and be so upbeat. She showed us all around the house and told us some of the best stories I have ever heard about her and her husband, Tres Grandfather who passed several years back. She really loved him, and with her stories, you can still tell she does. I told Tres I hope we feel that way about each other forever the way they did. The house she still lives in is the house Tres’ dad grew up in… she still has each of her kid’s rooms upstairs exactly how they were when they were kids, and she continuously adds pictures to each room when a recent picture is taken of any of her kids or their kids. Each of their rooms is like a little memoir, and I thought it was just fantastic! Her downstairs hallway is full of pictures from her earlier years. One of the big pictures was of her and her graduating class from “The W,” also known as Mississippi University for Women… she’s a MS gal too – even better!!! One of the coolest pictures was of her husband performing a surgery when he was young. It was like something out of a movie with all of the old doctor tools and the old-time surgery room! That may have been one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen… I told Tres it was worth blowing up and framing for his house! We went to lunch with her and her friend Mo, who informed us that in his day was a professional golfer! When the day was over, I almost didn’t want to leave. I fell in love with Tres’ grandmother, and I can’t wait to see her again!

Hanging with Chip

The rest of the weekend, we hung out with Tres’ friends Chip, James, and Sloan. Tres Uncle Tommy and his kids also met up with us for lunch and a Dog Parade with lots of little babies parading down the street in costumes! We also had one of our “Tres and Andrea Wild Nights” where we went out by ourselves until like 5 in the morning… just Tres and me, alone on Bourbon Street having the best time of our lives! It was a great trip, and I decided I love New Orleans - the culture, the heritage, the food - everything about it is unique, and I can’t wait to go back!

Orlando, Florida( January 15-19 AND January 28-February 2 AND February 4-9 AND March 6-9 AND March 11-16)

After my interview with Shawn Johnson

Hey Mickey!!!! It’s me again!!! The beginning of January marks the beginning of me never, ever, ever, EVER having a weekend at home. At this point in the year, I just organize my stack of flight itineraries, keep my World Perks number in mind to gain my free miles, and from lack of communication, hope I still have friends when I get back – because this time of year I “travel for business.” Haha… couldn’t you just hear some old man in a suit next to you on a plane saying that!

Tres and me out in Orlando

Orlando is always the prime destination, where I travel 4-6 times in three months, sometimes back to back weekends. While these trips are tedious, they are also a lot of fun. I always anticipate who my roommate is, when I am going to have a chance to run to the awesome malls they have, if I’m going to have time for any of the parks, and what great food I am going to gorge myself with as I swear off my diet that week! I did these exact things five times this year (I got out of the sixth trip due to Ginger’s wedding… like I said before good girlfriends are a blessing).