When I started this blog, the plan was to post regularly....OBVIOUSLY that has not happened!! I am so sorry! I'm going to try and make a schedule that I will be able to stick to and blog regularly. Thanks to anyone out there who has stuck with me and for being patient!
A lot has happened since March...
- I completed (and survived?!) my fifth year of teaching and my first year in a new school.
- I resubmitted National Boards...prayers for better results this time around!
- I was a part of a fabulous camp wedding and a great week at church camp.
- I applied and got into grad school. Now I just need to decide if I want to stick with this program or continue looking for a better one.
- I went on a roadtrip with Rip for 10 days through 11 states and 6 ballparks.
- I worked at the Atlanta Gift Mart for a week.
- I enjoyed a great weekend at Folly with wonderful friends!
Here's a recap of our roadtrip... We had soooo much fun together!
Baltimore
Orioles at Camden Yards
This was one of my favorite ballparks! It was really pretty! This was our first ballpark. Baltimore was our only hotel stay on the trip.
We had a few hours the next day to stroll through Baltimore, enjoy some amazing crab cakes, and check out some antique shops and thrift stores. We also stumbled upon a New Belgium beer tasting outside of Baltimore.
New York
Mets at Citi Field
Next we headed to NYC to see my bestie, Ciara! It cost us about $50 in tolls just on this leg of the trip, and I had to survive driving on the Jersey Turnpike and into the city. We finally made it and had a great time in Brooklyn with Ciara & Robbie.
We met our sweet friend Jade for the Mets game. Citi Field is MASSIVE. The seats were soo high up...a little too scary for me! Rip was super excited to get to this game early so that we could get a free bobble head!
Out to dinner at Buffalo BBQ with Ciara & Robbie. Rip did another little beer tasting, and my lemonade moonshine drink was AMAZING! Soo yummy!
PLUS a little birdie told us some exciting news! So excited for these two!
The next day, we had a few hours to head downtown for some shopping. I snuck a picture of the elevator operator at Mood.
Rip was patient while I looked through rows and rows of fabric at Mood. Mood is a 3 story fabric store that's used in the show, Project Runway. I got a few great cuts of fabric.
Rip said he was in fabric hell...then we headed to a massive Foot Locker, and I was in sneaker hell :)
We walked through the M&M shop. It smelled amazing!
Before we headed out of NYC, Robbie gave us a private tour of Brooklyn Brewery, where he works. It was really neat to hear about how beer is made and see everything up close.
After leaving NYC, we headed to Connecticut to see Coach Corey and his family for the night. Then we got up and headed to Boston.
Boston
Red Sox at Fenway
In Boston, we got to see my high school friend, Ashley, and stay with her. We enjoyed drinks outside the park.
Then we headed inside to watch batting practice from the Green Monster. A big thanks to Coach Corey for sharing his pass with us! It was really cool to see the stadium before the game.
Up on the Green Monster.
As a Yankees fan, Rip was not a fan of the glittery Boston hat. (I don't think he was too happy that I borrowed Ashley's Red Sox shirt either!)
This game was definitely one of the coolest experiences that we had on the trip. We got to see the stadium from the Green Monster. During the game, we had some time to walk around the park and the shops where they had shut down the whole street. We were actually really cold during this game and ended up buying some hot coffee (definitely pretty different from the 100 degree game we had just a few days later).
Our seats were standing room and gave us a pretty good view. However, towards the end of the game, a couple approached us and gave us their seats because they were leaving early. We moved down to the front section and got to sit just a few rows behind the Red Sox dugout for the end of the game. ($140 seats!)
Definitely one of my favorite parts of our trip!
We had some time to walk through Boston with Ashley the next day. We had a great breakfast and then went for a walk. We were able to see the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Vermont
to visit JBomb!
Next, we headed north to see JBomb and Jackie at the University of Vermont.
We ate at a sports bar for dinner. I had the "Vermonster," a hamburger with granny smith apples, cheese, and maple syrup. So good!!!! Then we got to visit our first drive-in movie! It was really fun! (Minus the 30+ bug bites that I ended up with!)
The next day, we had a nice walk through town. The only downside was that it was 96 degrees and so humid! We were definitely hoping for cooler weather by heading north!
Not sure how much south they all the way up in Vermont....
JBomb took us to Magic Hat Brewery. Very quirky. But a lot of fun!
With all of the rain, we decided to go bowling on the 4th of July rather than getting rained on during fireworks. We had so much fun with JBomb & Jackie!
New York
Yankees at Yankee Stadium
After Vermont, we headed back to New York for the Yankees game. Coach Corey was able to meet us at the game with his family. This was another hot day!
Coach Corey, Wife Corey, & Rip
Philadelphia
Phillies at Citizens Bank Field
Our next drive took us to Philadelphia.
This was one of our best meals! Rip had an awesome philly cheesesteak. I had seasoned pork...AMAZING!!!!!
We had a few hours to walk around Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it was crazy hot! But we still had a nice walk through and got to see some sights.
The line for the Liberty Bell was about a 2 hour wait, so we found this window....
....And got to see the Liberty Bell through the window! Good enough for me :)
We walked to the Franklin Fountain after I saw it featured on the travel channel. I had an egg cream...(didn't actually have egg in it) It was an interesting snack!
This was the only game where we saw someone get in trouble and get escorted out! Haha! Of course I had to get a picture of them :)
The only reason we were even up in this area was so that Rip could swipe some extra souvenir cups after the game was over!
This game/stadium was kind of boring...sorry Ian! Nothing all that special about the game or the field.
We did get to enjoy a few fireworks at the end of the game, which was great since we didn't get to see any for the fourth!
DC
Nationals at Nationals Park
After the Phillies game, we had a late night drive to DC to stay with TAB. The Nationals game was our earliest game, and it was HOT! 100 degrees!!
Well, clearly, we're back in the south again!
The Presidents Race
After the game we headed back home to Oburg. We had a GREAT time together and got to see so many new things, try awesome new food in addition to several ballpark hot dogs, and see some great friends!
It's on Rip's bucket list to see all of the major league baseball stadiums in his lifetime. We had already visited the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Rays, and San Francisco Giants, so we're up to 9 out of 32!
And a big thanks to my dad for letting us take his car on our 2440 mile adventure!
.jpg)
