I was still kind of tired when we woke up for our day two drive. Luckily, we had less driving to do and more to stop and explore.

Our day two itinerary:

• Roadrunner Cafe {Kingman, AZ}
• Hackberry General Store {Kingman, AZ}
• Grand Canyon Caverns {Peach Springs, AZ}
• Bearizona Wildlife Park {Williams, AZ}
• Flintstones Bedrock City {Williams, AZ}
• Grand Canyon National Park 

Approximate mileage: 189

Approximate driving time: 3 hours

Approximate expenses: $104.61

• Experiences: 
  • $21.33 Grand Canyon Caverns (for one regular tour)
  • $22.08 Bearizona (tickets are per person not per vehicle)
  • $5 Flintsones Bedrock City
  • $30 Grand Canyon Park Entry Fee
• Food: $8.20
• Stay: $18 at Grand Canyon Mather Campground

Read more for all details, map, video, and photo journal...

Well, I finally put it together! A day by day guide of Route 66. Over the next couple weeks, expect the route, with approximate mileage, driving time, projected itinerary (of things we meant to stop at and sometimes couldn't, but maybe you can), and the approximate expenses for what I saved/recorded (I split some of the expenses with the person I was with, but I included the whole amount as if you were driving yourself). 

I also just drove into Los Angeles from Nashville, putting me on part of the route again, so I'll feature some of that trip as a bonus at the end of the post. Hope this helps anyone looking to travel Route 66 or just want to check out the trip! 

Day one was a long one... I packed the night before and morning of #typical so I was a little stressed about leaving on time. I almost convinced myself and Stephanie that we should leave later like around 8am. But that would throw off a lot of our plans and put us in the middle of Los Angeles traffic, and honestly, less sleep is worth more than sitting through that.

Our day one itinerary:

• Santa Monica Pier {Santa Monica, CA}
• Randy's Donuts {Inglewood, CA}
• Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch {Oro Grande, CA}
• Harvey House {Barstow, CA}
• Bagdad Café {Newberry Springs, CA}
• Pisgah Crater {Barstow/Needles, CA}
• London Bridge {Lake Havasu, AZ}
• Oatman Wild West Town {Oatman, AZ}
• End the drive in Kingman to sleep

Approximate mileage: 399

Approximate driving time: 7.75 hours

Approximate Total Expenses: $106.54

• Gas: $38.19 @ $2.859/gallon, 13.359g
• Food: $5 at Randy's Donuts, $12.82 Bagdad Cafe
• Stay: $50.53 at Economy Inn

Read more for the map, all details, and photo journal...

I've been to Las Vegas. Quite a few times. The land where... there's gambling? Hangovers? Also known as "Sin City"? Despite the reasons why I would avoid Las Vegas, I was pretty determined to make my Vegas experience everything good, sober and without gambling. And I have a fun and memorable time every time. ;)

Thus, The Sober Guide to Las Vegas*:

• The "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign
• The Neon Museum (day and night tours available)
• The Mob Museum
• Walking through the hotels including the Bellagio (just look at the air-blown glass ceiling and be amazed) and Caesar's Palace
• Dancing fountains at the Bellagio
• Roller coaster at New York, New York
• Rides at the Stratosphere
• M&M Store
• Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 
• In-N-Out
• CSI Experience
• Zombie Apocalypse Store
• Fremont Street Experience

Bonus (places that are more of a drive):

• The Hoover Dam
• Lion Habitat Ranch
• Valley of Fire State Park

*This is a list I'll continue to add onto. I mean, the shows in Las Vegas alone some people travel to see specifically (Beatles Love show is definitely on my list...and Blue Man Group). We also tried to go to the aquarium one visit but the line was too long, among other places — including food. Food is everywhere. Just watch out for the price of everything. It seems exponentially greater in Las Vegas.

Read more for further information and photos about my experiences in Vegas...

The Parthenon? In Nashville, Tennessee? Yes, it's as random to me as you might feel. And no, we did not teleport to ancient Greece. The re-creation of this ancient architectural masterpiece is also the centerpiece of another attraction: Centennial Park. Let me just sidebar the huge monument in the park to talk about the swing chairs surrounding it. These could be an attraction in themselves and I would like one of my own. Any builders — contact me! They swing as you pump the foot stool part of it. I just love them. And, by indication of April's face on the pictures in this post — she also loves them too.

Back to the monument — obviously pretty epic. But not as random as I thought. It was built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, which featured other unique highlights from around the world. It was a lot of peoples only opportunity to see showcases of other cultures and world marvels because that time didn't allow for mass transit easily. Things weren't just a plane ride away. I couldn't even imagine the whole scene back then — although the museum inside the Parthenon shows various pictures of it helping me to do so — of seeing this huge thing and all the other pieces from around the world that would seem so bizarre and different. 

The coolest and actually the most surprising part to me is not the outside, but what it houses on the inside — a 42-foot statue of the goddess Athena.

The statue is the primary reason I pay the $6 admission for anyone visiting. You just don't expect it. Even describing a 42-foot statue doesn't do it justice. 

If you miss the museum's opening hours, definitely stop by at any time of the day to check out this monument. It really is impressive. And the swings. Those are not to be missed. 

Read more for pictures and a little throwback excerpt and (embarassing) video from three years ago...

The Hermitage — Andrew Jackson's home he built over time and lived in occasionally from 1804 to 1845 — is a nice place to visit and walk through some history. You're not allowed to photograph the inside of the house and can only go through it on a tour, but it's very similar to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin in terms of years it was active and use. Of course this one didn't have blood stains on the floor from a battle as far as I'm aware. 

The area outside the house is also beautiful. You can see the garden with Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel's, tomb. I loved that Jackson didn't want anything excessive written on his tombstone, but for Rachel he made sure to write this beautiful eulogy. 

Read more for photos and a throwback to three years ago when I went with Brittney and Whit...

The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge is a short walk away from Lower Broadway where all the Honky Tonks are. It is a nice little walk that connects downtown Nashville with the residential suburbs of East Nashville, and contains a nice view of the downtown skyline and also the color-changing Gateway or "Korean War Veterans Memorial" Bridge. 

I just love how peaceful it feels any time of the day. Although it's not like the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge from Chattanooga where the both sides of the bridge are vibrant or touristy, it's still a good place to come and walk or bike through and back. 

Plus, because it's a short walk from downtown/Broadway, you can get yourself some Mike's Ice Cream after and stop by all the Honky Tonk's. 

See more for photos...

I'm always asked if I moved to Nashville for music. As in, Are you a musician? No. Mostly for the sake of others hearing, I am not. 

But definitely one of the things I love about Nashville is it's music. The authenticity of the performances here and the community and support for each other that I've seen is really inspiring. 

But to learn more about the history of music in Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame is the way to go.

In addition to admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame (CMHF), check out the RCA Studio B tour, and a tour (or at least a visit) of Hatch Show Print.

Read on for more details and photos...

When April was here #waybackwhen (specifically November), I wanted to go on a day trip somewhere else aside from Nashville or the immediate surrounding area. Researching various options (including other nearby states), and asking others who are from here, Chattanooga was the chosen city considering it was nearly everyone's first recommendation.

We initially had the idea to set out super early, had even bought tickets to ride the Southern Belle Riverboat cruise at 12:15pm. But sometimes not everything goes as planned. 

The night before, I got a flat tire. So the next morning — the one where we were supposed to head out super early — we had to go to the tire shop instead. We got breakfast after, thinking we had a lot of time, and left around 11am. After realizing we might just barely make it, we called the Riverboat company at about 11:30am asking what would happen if we were five minutes late, to be informed that the boat had left 15 minutes ago. We were so confused until we realized that Chattanooga is one hour ahead of Nashville. 

We had literally missed the boat.

I was able to get a gift certificate for the money I spent so I could go back later. I'll be sure to share the actual experience. But in case you want to go now then I recommend you get a Groupon.

Here's what we actually did instead:

1. Lunch at Good Dog and dancing on the sidewalk ;)
2. The Incline Railway
3. Clumpie's Ice Cream (made from local ingredients)
4. Drive through Lookout Mountain en route to Rock City
5. Side trip to Georgia look out and a fairytale village
6. Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge — awesome at sunset
7. Carousel Ride at Coolidge Park
8. Took night pictures at the Polka Dot Wall — exact location hard to determine. By Broad and Main St, near The Feed restaurant.
9. Dinner at Sugar's

With additional time, we could have explored:

• Tennessee Aquarium — world’s largest freshwater aquarium
• River Gorge Explorer
• Raccoon Mountain Caverns
• A show at Track 29
• Some more districts of downtown Chattanooga —see a breakdown here.

For all pictures and trip details/experience, read on...