travel.explore.share.

As soon as it was announced that the UNC Tarheels would be playing the UT Vols for the bowl game on January 30th, we (Brooke, Teague, Maggie, Jeff, Holly and I) decided we would pile in a car and drive to Nashville for New Year’s.   When it comes to these two teams, I am Switzerland.  I went to Peace College, an all girls’ school here in Raleigh.  Since Maggie was the only Orange fan in the bunch going, I figured I’d support the Vols along with Maggs. On the 29th, we packed our Orange and Blue and hit the road.  It's a rather lengthy drive and we didn’t HAVE to be in Nashville for the game until the 30th, so we stopped in Knoxville and crashed at Brooke’s sister's apartment.  We woke up well slept and ready to go. the big game Orange in a sea of Blue  Here is how the weekend went down: We navigated downtown Nashville and found our Hotel…. The hotel lobby was swarming with fans from both teams, but mostly orange was present.   After getting settled and refreshed, we

We might as well tell you some cool stuff about where we live (well, I live here, and its basically Brooke's second home). Little background of Raleigh, NC: 1771- Wake Co was created 1788- Raleigh was named the State Capital .... previously it was New Bern, NC (my home town). The Capitol was moved to Raleigh to centralize it. 1792- Raleigh was officially "established" The City's location ( g'ment stuff) was chosen because of a local tavern called Issac Hunters. Members of the commission were fond of a little pub called Isaac Hunter’s Tavern (located in the vicinity of where Old Wake Forest Road is today), and tasked with resolving this controversial issue, the commissioners gathered at Isaac Hunter's in March of 1792 to work. Ten days later after enjoying the hospitality of the tavern and the nearby home of State Senator Joel Lane, they reported back to the legislature their decision that the new capital should definitely be with

Map of Croatia courtesy of worldtravels.com I have to be honest, I hadn't thought much about visiting Croatia before I had the luxury of traveling there in 2006 with a group of girlfriends.  When I knew I would be sailing up the coast of Croatia, I began doing a little research, and found that tourism in Croatia was booming.  After years of conflict ended in the mid nineties, Croatia had slowly regained its footing as one of the hot spots for European travelers.  Despite majoring in European History in college, I remembered only a little about this mysterious country. I knew that in 1991, a war broke out between the Serbs and the Croats when Croatia declared its independence from socialist Yugoslavia.  The Serbs wanted to keep the nation one unified state, and for several years, the Serbs and Croats fought over Croatia's independence.  After the conflict died down around 1995, it took the next decade for Croatia to regain its reputation as a beautiful (and safe) place for

To follow up with Brooke's latest blog on Jazz Fest, I felt necessary to share my favs of the beloved city. My friend Riley and her husband have lived there for about 3 years now, so I am able to share some of the "local" jewels this city has to offer along with other sights, bars, activities that make New Orleans thrive. The first time I took it upon myself to visit Riley and Jonathan, they lived about 15 min outside the City, so we got a hotel room near the French Quater. This being my first trip down since college, they decided to show me the Bourbon Street side of New Orleans, which I welcomed. We hit all the main bars on Bourbon and surrounding Streets.... Bourbon Street Blues, Yo' Momma's http://www.yomamasbarandgrill.com/ ( if you love burgers and gumbo this is your spot), Lafittes' Blacksmith Bar (the entire bar is lit by candle light only. Oh, there is also a male with long dark curls banging on the piano which is why some call it a piano

Our latest weekend jaunt was to Austin, TX. And welp, we think everyone should visit this city. With a City slogan of "Keep Austin Weird," it must be rather radical. Our friend Missy just moved there a couple months ago and was dying for friends to come on down.... flights were cheap, so we booked. Brooke arrived around lunch time on Friday. She and Missy headed to the W spa http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3224 for mani/ pedi/ mimosas. After being primped, they spent several hours by the awesome rooftop pool. I was set to arrive around 6, but due to delays in Dallas, I arrive around 7pm. I knew Austin was going to be an easy city to fall in love with with I saw the baggage claim area. The luggage belts are lined with oversizes colorful pieces of art... Guitars of course. I always knew Austin was known for live music, however I was unaware it was the "Live Music Capital of the World"! As I stood curbs

Charleston may be one of my favorite weekend get a ways. Just 4 short hours (or about 6 jammin' cds... yes I still rock the cds) from Raleigh, if I am packed and ready to go when I get off work at 2 on Friday, to be sure a cocktail is waiting for me when I arrive at 6!I've been weekending in Charleston for several years now. I've got a solid group of friends who have never not shown me an awesome time. There is just something about that city that makes you not want to leave on Sunday... Maybe because Sunday Funday is always in full force. Even if just sitting on a porch, swinging and sipping vino, holding new born babies- it's just better when doing it there. The streets are cobblestone. The beaches are beautiful. The Bars are filled to the rim. The rickshaws are lining the street. The resaturates are probably some of the best in the entire United States of America (sounds a lot more aggressive when you spell it out, doesn't it!?). It is a place wher