nomaderwhere

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NomaderWhere takes on Texas

It is finally spring break season so time to take a road trip to Texas. With this trip I spent a little more money and chose to fly but if you and bunch of friends decide to take this trip it can definitely be done by car.

*Pro-tip: do not travel to Texas while SXSW Festival is going on… Hotels are all booked and at high rates.

With this trip I traveled to Round Top, San Antonio, Austin, Georgetown, Waco. When I planned this trip I originally only made a plan to only visit Waco but later decided to make a full road trip out of it and visit different parts of Texas.

First Stop: Round Top and San Antonio, TX So lets start off in Round Top, Texas: Round Top is considered one of Texas’s best kept secrets in cuteness. Plenty of antique shops, HGTV Junk Gypsies shop, and an adorable restaurant called Round Top Cafe. An of course I had to eat at this Cafe everyone was talking about. This town only has 77 people in it so its definitely a small town. The neat thing about this cafe is that the wait is at most 10-15 minutes only because you will most likely sit with total strangers but at the end of your meal you will be great friends (well at least that is what happened with me).  You can definitely spend half a day in this cute little town. With a 30 minute drive we arrive in San Antonio, Texas: San Antonio, the city of the Alamo. San Antonio is so fun to experience at night. The city lights from the big buildings and glow from the riverwalk below. I highly suggest going to view the Alamo just to have the experience but just a heads up its a lot of history to read about, so have your skimming skills ready. When you get done with the Alamo walk right across the street and down the steps to the riverwalk. The Riverwalk is an iconic thing of San Antonio. There is TONS of restaurants along the water so I highly suggest Mexican for dinner…. (You’ll definitely see why).

Second Stop: Austin and Georgetown, TX Our next stop on this 4 day road trip was Austin, Texas: Austin, The Live Music Capital of the World, is one of the prettiest cities in the world. During the time I went to Austin the SXSW Film and Music Festival was going on, which means everywhere I went that cost I had to pay an elevated cost because I wasn’t an official festival member. However, because Austin is the State Capitol, the Capitol is open to tour during the week for free and its so interesting.

Georgetown, Texas: The only reason why I visited this small town outside of Austin is because my Aunt and Uncle live in this cute town. Its considered a neighborhood community that is quickly developing.

Third Stop: Waco, Texas My favorite stop of the entire trip was Waco, Texas: The home of the famous Chip and Joanna Gaines from the HGTV show Fixer Upper, I decided to spend two days in Waco, which is soo easy to do. There is a few tips that I want to add. One: Bring an APPETITE! Two: if traveling to Waco, get up early to get there so you can start your day off right. Three: bring your walking shoes. The first day in town I decided that I did not want to go straight to the Silos. I wanted to kind of drive around town and get a feel of the city (and maybe scope out the Silo District). But Waco is a lot more than just about the Silos. Its got character, charm, and plenty of antique stores. LOL

Dr. Pepper Museum is definitely a must to see plus students with a student ID get a discount. 

Common Grounds Coffee Shop is featured on Fixer Upper but its definitely still a best kept secret “somehow”.

Graffiti Walls surrounds Waco are one of a kind and definitely need to take a photo op.

Magnolia Table is Chip and Joanna Gaines restaurant that they just recently opened. But tip: be prepared to wait for about and hour or so and get there way before 1pm or you wont be able to eat.

Harp Design Company is a cute little shop in the suburb parts of Waco and next door is the house Harp and his family use to live in and now is available for rent on AirBnB for $550/night during the week and $650/night on the weekend…. Good luck with that one….

And finally, the Silo District. This district is exactly how I imagined it to be. The Silos are smack dab in the middle of downtown Waco. Get there early though because the Silos area fills up extremely fast. Be sure to shop in the Magnolia Market, Magnolia Seed & Supply, and the Silos Baking Company (be ready to wait for hours to get some yummy baked goods). There are TONS of food trucks from all over with a huge variety of different foods.

*Suggestion by NomaderWhere: Wait about a year or a couple of months before visiting the Silo District only because once the area fills up you can hardly move and enjoy it to its full potential.

[nomaderwhere]

NomaderWhere Goes to Nashville

Nashville or “NashVegas"? No one really knows but what I do know if you love some good country music like me then it was probably produced right in that very city. So here you will find  out about the best places to explore while taking a visit to Nashville.

Where should you stay?

Here is a big tip to know about Nashville. Hotels in downtown Nashville are crazy expensive so I highly suggest traveling 15-20 minutes either direction out of Nashville to find a hotel of your choice. If you do not mind spending a good bit on a place to stay, I recommend using the Vacation rental sites, such as AirBnB, VRBO, Vacation Rentals, HomeAway, etc. And hey, you might even find a cute treehouse, a tailor perfect for “glamping” or a modernized studio apartment. You just never know!

Take a look here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8098262?location=Nashville%2C%20TN%2C%20United%20States&children=0&infants=0&adults=2&guests=2&check_in=2018-04-19&check_out=2018-04-21

*See I told you there was some cute places out there!*

Food!!

When you travel you always want some delicious food. With that being said I recommend taking a stroll downtown and surrounding areas and find what you might find tasty. I have done my walking around and I am not all about that fancy food, I’m more about the country comfort food. So here are some of my favorite places:

The Grilled Cheeserie

http://grilledcheeserie.com/melt-shop-menu

My personal favorites from this restaurant is:

The Pimento Mac & Cheese Melt

Buffalo South Melt

The Patty Melt

Peg Leg Porker BBQ

http://peglegporker.com/menu/

You cannot go wrong with some delicious BBQ, here is what I would order:

Sandwich plate with Mac and cheese and BBQ beans

The Ribs w/ 2 sides

Pulled Pork Platter w/ 2 sides

The Loveless Cafe

https://www.lovelesscafe.com/eat/menus/supper-menu Talk about some amazing southern cookin’! This is definitely the place. My list would be endless at this place. Everything is delicious!! So I highly suggest anything at this place.

Entertainment, Here we come!

I fell in love with Nashville, Tennessee a little bit more when I began watching the TV show “Nashville” back when it started in 2012. In the TV show they feature a cute little cafe called:

The BlueBird Café

http://www.bluebirdcafe.com

This cafe is one of the top places to visit if you love to listen to new beginning artist or even regular recording artists. Seating is first come first serve and it usually fills up pretty fast due to its popularity.

Paint me a Nashville

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-nashville-murals-visit While on your adventures through downtown here are the top 10 murals to visit and of course take a picture in front of.

Grand Ole Opry

Its kind of self-explanatory! Its where old and new country music comes to life every time.

Broadway Street This street consist of so many different bars and restaurants. Depending on your music style you can hang out in any place on the strip at anytime and there will be a live band playing covers or originals.  

Well that is it for a weekend trip to Nashville, Tennessee. See you next time! But hey, I hear NomaderWhere might be taking a bigger trip…and there is only one state that everything is bigger!

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NomaderWhere goes to Mardi Gras!!

Laissez le bon temps rouler! So you are probably what wondering what that means and that is French for “Let the good times roll!” This is the typical saying for Mardi Gras down south. A lot of people think that Mardi Gras only goes on in New Orleans, Louisiana but it originated in the very state of Alabama in Mobile. With Mardi Gras being a huge part in my family ever since I was little, My family and I would travel down there and watch the parades and enjoy family times. I simply consider it our family “Christmas time” celebration due to some extended family living in far out states. February and March are my favorite months due to it being the celebration of Mardi Gras.

So it only seems fitting for NomaderWhere to take this weekend trip to Mobile, Alabama where it all started.

A Mardi Gras weekend is typically best experienced when you are 21 years old or older, only because in Mobile after the big night parades there is usually a tableau and ball to attend if you have tickets from a member or have been purchased.

Two Fridays before Fat Tuesday there is a parade in downtown Mobile called Order of Inca. Order of the Inca just celebrated their 62nd Anniversary this year. Each year each organization has its own theme to go with the night. This year their theme was “Parading through the decades”

(my uncle is on the left in this photo) *photo taken 2017* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LVmjTZT4c4

Here you can watch the entire parade from this years 2018 parade here. It is filmed from a youtube account called TheMobileMask.

Following the parade is what normal Mardi Gras goers call the “Tableau” or “Call Outs”, this is where different floats choose to do a skit or a show but its only optional. They recognize the officers (tribal leaders) of that year and also the Queen of that organization.  

After the queen is presented to everyone, she and her husband take their first dance and then the ball begins.

This is any 20 something year olds dream to attend. The reason for that is because this is the ultimate party out of all parties! Approximately 15 rooms to choose from, and these rooms consist of unlimited food and unlimited alcohol! So if you ever get the chance to attend one, tell a rider that you let the good times roll because they bought your drinks all night!

Saturday rolls around and after partying the night away you might not be too keen on getting up super early in the morning to just go explore. BUT… While in Mobile I like to make it a plan to go eat at a fast food place called Foosakely’s. Foo is chained franchise that is only located in the southern part of Alabama. The way I like to describe Foosakely’s is the fried chicken is better at Foos than it is at Chikfila (which is a huge deal) and its cheaper than Chikfila and Zaxby’s (HUGE DEAL THERE)

https://foosacklys.net/order/footastic.php

The last thing on the list is going to visit Toomey’s Mardi Gras, this is the ultimate Mardi Gras store to get anywhere from speciality beads, moonpies by case, and Mardi Gras necessities. It is right off McRae Ave in Mobile and trust me you can’t miss it.

https://toomeysmardigras.com

Fat Tuesday is on February 13, 2018 this year so between here and now you can attend a night parade in downtown Mobile every night. Talk about bead overload!

Well that’s it for this time, see you on the next go round!

[nomaderwhere]

NomaderWhere goes to the Smokies!

Hey y’all, or you all, whichever one you prefer but NomaderWhere is taking a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. A short 5 hour drive up to the smokey mountains from central Alabama isn’t to bad. Gatlinburg is considered one of the top places to visit, the reason for that is because it provides multiple attractions, delicious food and unique lodging. It is perfect for a family vacation spot. Here I will show you how you can turn a low budget, 2 night/3 day trip into an eventful trip. However, you might be a little exhausted afterwards but it will be all worth it. So lets take this journey together.

https://www.gatlinburg.com 

1. HOTEL/VACATION RENTALS

When traveling hotels can be majorly expensive, especially whenever there is a special event going on or a concert (that happens pretty often). With being a regular traveler, I have found that vacation rental websites, such as, AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway and Wimdu, have unique places to stay to give you the full vacation experience. Plus you get to stay in a some really neat places that isn’t just a normal hotel room, I look at it as adding a little more excitement to the adventure. An average night cost for a vacation rental is about $130 depending on the season. Gatlinburg work just like the beach, season means everything!

https://www.vacationrentals.com

2. FOOD!

Where are my foodies? If your anything like me I enjoy going to different cities and trying different foods. So let us take a look at what kind of food you can get your hands on while visiting the smokies.

Lets start with breakfast! Gatlinburg is known for having the best pancakes and what better place to go than the Pancake Pantry. The Pancake Pantry was Tennessee’s first pancake house. It is a perfect way to start your full day in Gatlinburg. I recommend getting the pancakes ;)

http://www.pancakepantry.com/menu.html

Now onto lunch, eat something that will hold you over until dinner because that’s when things get serious. Need a quick bite though, go visit Joe and Pop’s Sub Shoppe

https://www.joeandpops.com/menu

Now its time to grub. I mean Dinner Grub Hard! Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que is a perfect place to try yummy, delicious BBQ. Its got great food and a fun atmosphere, definitely kid friendly.   If your looking to spend a little more on dinner and go all out I suggest The Peddler Steakhouse. This steakhouse definitely lives up to its expectations.

https://www.bennetts-bbq.com/dinner-menu

3. LETS HAVE FUN!

Fun activities make for amazing vacay. So say you take a quick 2 night/3 day vacation with the family. You arrive Friday morning and you have the rest of the day to stroll around Gatlinburg’s shops and fun attractions on the strip. Friday Fun I highly recommend doing all the simple stuff, such as, the Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini Golf, Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster, Ripley’s Believe or Not! Odditorium and the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.

Saturday Adventures I recommend spending your entire day at Ober Gatlinburg. Ober Gatlinburg offers numerous amounts of attractions including the Aerial Tramway to take you up the mountain.   Ice Skating, Mountain Coaster, Wildlife Encounter, Alpine Slide, Scenic Chairlift carousel and Snow tubing is offered. 

https://obergatlinburg.com

Sunday Funday As Sunday rolls around I find it best that you can go out on the strip and grab a yummy breakfast. On the strip in Gatlinburg there is so much you can do. You can watch salt water taffy, fudge and different candies be made in store, and you can buy t-shirts and all that fun stuff. Although, you don’t want to get to involved into too many activities due to having to bring your vacation to an end you can still have fun spending time with the family of friends.

https://www.gatlinburg.com/sightseeing-walk-parkway-in-downtown-gatlinburg-for-dozens-of-attractions/

After a busy fun filled weekend, you definitely can look back and say that it was money well spent.

*As NomaderWhere travels she is telling you her personal experiences and her personal recommendations, however there may be other recommendations from other travelers she’s communicates with.*