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2019, what a year. In some ways, I had to face some of the most challenging decisions. However, it was also a year of new places, adventure, and new beginnings. I began 2019 by making the decision to sell the house I lived in in North Carolina for eight years. My husband and I were no longer together and I felt it best to go back home to Virginia, spend time with family, and regroup a bit. So that’s what I did. The house ended up selling in less than 24 hours and by the middle of March, I was back in Virginia.
I admit, I was a little lost, a little embarrassed, and not sure what my next move should be. What ended up happening though, was a year full of adventure and new places, like I mentioned above.
So now I want recap 2019 and most of the places that I went to and the adventures that I had.
(Oh, and be sure to check out this blog post I wrote where I share what I usually carry with me on my adventures!)
The Blue Ridge Parkway
One of the first places or, well, things I did, was go on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now, this is kind of sad to say, but that for about 20 years of my life, I grew up near the parkway and basically had never been on it! At least not that I remember anyways. So, when I moved back to Virginia, my mother and step-father invited me to ride with them along the area of the parkway near their home. I excitedly agreed! We visited one of the most iconic and photographed places along the Blue Ridge Parkway: Mabry Mills. It was a beautiful mill and a perfect area for photos!
Over the spring and summer months, I explored more of the Parkway.
I took a solo, day trip on it and ended up finding some beautiful overlooks and interesting museums.
My sister and I explored some of the Parkway on our way back from Asheville, North Carolina as well and even saw a few bears!
Then I drove it with my dad when he and I were making our way back home from the Asheville Van Rally. It brought me so much joy to share the experience of the Blue Ridge Parkway with him.
So often, he’s the one showing me new places and taking me on crazy adventures. It was nice to do that for him for a change. He loved it. The views are unbelievable and seeing his reaction to the Blue Ridge Parkway views was priceless.
Fayetteville, North Carolina
For this trip, I once again tagged along with my mom and step-dad, Doug. He actually grew up in Fayetteville and they were going back there to attend a family get-together so they asked me to go with them. We stayed for the weekend and ended up exploring a little bit of downtown.
Fayetteville is also where Fort Bragg, an Army base, is located. My dad was actually stationed there in the early 80s when he was in the Army. It was so interesting to go to the place where my mom and dad spent the beginning of the marriage and to see another place that my dad was stationed at. He was also in the Marine Corps and stationed at Camp Lejeune which is where I lived for almost 9 years.
West Virginia
The last time I went four-wheeling in West Virginia, I was about 15 years old. Going back at 29 was a little different. I went with my dad, sister, and her boyfriend at the time. My sister and her boyfriend rode in an off-road vehicle called a Razor, I believe. Anyways, it was a much better ride than the older, small four-wheeler I had to ride on the back of with my dad.
We hit the rough, off-road trails and got wet and muddy! At one point, my dad thought he could make it through a small water hole. Needless to say, we didn’t make it. Instead, we ended up turning the four-wheeler over on its side. We were both on it when he went through and both of us ended up falling off of it and into the mud when he turned over!
Don’t worry though, we were both completely fine. We just got VERY muddy!
After all of that excitement, we ended up going up on a tall hill and you could see miles and miles of the gorgeous, West Virginia mountains. The view was spectacular!
Four-wheeling in West Virginia was a memorable and muddy trip for sure.
Damascus, Virginia
Damascus, Virginia is a little town that is located not far from where I grew up and now currently live. It has become one of my favorite small towns and is well-known among hikers in the area.
Every year, Damascus hosts an event called, Appalachian Trail Days. It’s where Appalachian Trail hikers of the past, present, and future and ones that are or were thru, section, flip-flop, etc. hikers come together and hang out for the weekend. Apparently, my family used to sell funnel cakes there many years ago. However, it’s not an event that I remember attending so the 2019 Trail Days in Damascus was a new experience for me!
There were people from all over the world and all walks of life that came together that weekend and with one common interest: the Appalachian Trail. And while my sister and I haven’t hiked the AT, we felt right at home with all the hikers and vendors while attending Trail Days.
Helping The Hikers
Although we haven’t hiked very much of the Appalachian Trail at all, it runs close to my home and we love meeting the hikers every year and helping them out in any way that we can.
They call people who help hikers on the AT, “Trail Angels”. But honestly, I just love meeting the people on the trail and learning a bit about their story. The variety of people who come to the east coast to walk the Appalachian Trail is astonishing and I love to chat with as many of them as I can. I don’t think of myself as an “angel” at all ha-ha!
64th Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
I admit, the only reason I found out about an event called, highland games, is because in 2019, I became a huge fan of the show, Outlander. If you love historical dramas and beautiful men in kilts, then do yourself a favor and go watch that show!
Okay, back to the highland games…
Highland games take place all over the world. A very large one just happens to take place in Linville, North Carolina, which is not too far from my hometown. Once I learned about it and realized that the games there were coming up soon, my sister and booked our AirBnB and was soon headed to Linville.
There, I learned more about the Scottish culture, listened to lots of traditional Celtic music (and bagpipes, lot and lot of bagpipes), and got to watch the events of the games first-hand! The caber toss is a crowd favorite and it was mine too. It was definitely a highlight of 2019! I even wrote all about my first experience at a highland games.
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain is also located in Linville, North Carolina and the location of the highland games event is actually located at the bottom of the mountain. (You can check out more about Grandfather Mountain here). So, since my sister and I were already there, we decided to head up the mountain and check it out.
As we drove along the winding road, the views just got better and better. When we made it to the top, there was a swinging bridge waiting for us. It stands at one mile high in elevation and I was scared to death but…I had to cross it! I may have been shaking the whole way and couldn’t really look out at the view as I crossed, but I did it!
Crossing that bridge was another highlight of 2019 because I overcame a fear. I didn’t think too much about it and just went for it.
Hungry Mother State Park
Hungry Mother State Park is a place that I grew up going to every summer. It’s close to where I grew up and has a great lake to swim in. But other than swimming, I honestly haven’t explored much of the rest of the park.
Since I’ve moved back to my hometown, I decided to take advantage of everything there is to explore here and I started exploring my own backyard. So, in the summer of 2019, I went on my first solo hike and I did it at Hungry Mother State Park.
I had seen a photo of a gorgeous view (I later found out it was called the Vista View) on Instagram. When I found out it was at Hungry Mother State Park, I just had to go see the view in person! After a bit of searching online, I found the park trails that led to the view, and just went for it. If you want to see what I usually carry with me on adventures, check out this blog post!
To be honest, I was really nervous and a little scared. I had never been alone in the woods before and that day, I would be on my own and alone in the woods. After a hiking a few miles up a small mountain, I got to experience that view I had seen in the photo in person.
The hike was worth it. Pushing through the uncertainty was worth it. I had done it. I didn’t give up and I accomplished a goal. Now I see more solo hikes in 2020!
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville had been on my radar for some time. I had heard that it was a cute, fun city nestled in the mountains of North Carolina and had a “hipster” vibe. I was intrigued by all of that and decided to plan a trip there. Well, I take that back. There wasn’t much planning involved with the trip to Asheville. I believe I even made our hotel reservations during the ride there!
Regardless, my sister and I had a great time exploring the downtown area of Asheville, North Carolina. We only spent two nights there so we didn’t see much else besides downtown. However, the downtown area of Asheville has a lot to offer! I wrote about my time there as well and made an itinerary for downtown Asheville.
Asheville Van Rally
I was scrolling through Instagram in back July of 2019 and stumbled upon a post about the Asheville Van Rally. I instantly clicked on the profile and learned more and the event. It was happening in August. That meant I had a month to plan a trip to the rally.
My sister is usually my travel partner but this time, I thought maybe it was better to take my dad along. We hadn’t taken a trip together in a while and we have discussed building out a van or bus in the near future. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just search #vanlife or #skoolie on Instagram.
Anyways, I asked my dad to go with me, not knowing how he would like the whole van rally scene. He grew up in the 60s and has talked about the hippies he hung out with some back then. Nowadays however, he’s an old cowboy just living the good, comfortable life he created for himself. I wasn’t sure he had any “hippie” left in him.
I was wrong.
He had so much fun chatting with everyone he came into contact with. And I mean everyone! We walked around the van rally that weekend and looked at van and bus builds, listened to great music, and got ideas for a future build of our own.
I’m glad I took Dad along for this trip. I’m also so happy we went because I think I found my people at the 2019 Asheville Van Rally.
West Jefferson and Boone, North Carolina
In Fall of 2019, my sister and I took a spontaneous trip to West Jefferson and Boone, North Carolina. We’ve both been before but we enjoy going back every once in a while to explore the town.
Our first stop was Shatley Springs, which is an amazing restaurant that serves their food family style. After breakfast there, we drove on into the town of West Jefferson. The town is snuggled in the mountains of North Carolina and offers such a charming, downtown experience. That’s why I keep going back.
After we finished up in West Jefferson, we drove over to Boone, North Carolina. Boone is a bigger town full of fun activities, cute downtown areas, and college kids. We ate at the Daniel Boone Inn and again, had an amazing meal there that was served family style.
Mystery Hill
The next day, we went to Mystery Hill before going back home. I had never been to this attraction before so I was a little hesitant about trying it out. It seemed like a big illusion. And while some of the attractions inside were in fact, an illusion, it was still fun to experience the mystery hill inside and all the other attractions offered there.
One of those experiences happened to be tomahawk throwing! I was nervous and excited at the same time to try it out. Still, I stepped up to the target, got a quick lesson on throwing, and then went for it! The tomahawk didn’t stick in the target the first time but it did the second! I felt so accomplished.
Nashville, Tennessee
Although I traveled more in 2019 than I ever have in one year, I still hadn’t been to a large city. You know, one with actual tall buildings, people and cars everywhere, that sort of city. I hadn’t been to one of those, that is until I decided I wanted to go to Nashville for my birthday.
I really didn’t think it was going to happen. I’m not someone who likes to be the center of attention often so birthday parties are never really a big event for me. I knew that 2019’s birthday had to be a big one though. I was turning 30! That’s why I planned the birthday trip to Nashville, sort of at the last minute.
It was hard to find a place to stay because it was Veteran’s Day weekend, there was an NFL game happening (the Tennessee Titans won that weekend, by the way), and the 2019 Country Music Awards were the next week! Still, I managed to find an affordable place to stay through AirBnB and booked it for my birthday weekend.
The first night we arrived in Nashville, we took an Uber to downtown. That was also our first time using that service and we ended up loving it! We went to The Ryman and watched a show and then walked down to the center of Broadway Street, aka, Honkytonk Highway.
I was blown away.
The lights, the people, the chaos… it was like nothing I had ever seen before and I loved it! We ended up checking out a few bars before calling it a night and going back to our AirBnB. We needed some rest for our adventure in Franklin, Tennessee the next day.
Saturday was spent checking out some historic sites in Franklin, but more on that later. Saturday night however, we went back to Broadway Street in Nashville for a night of fun and celebration. I mean, you only turn 30 once, right? So, I had to say goodbye to my 20s and welcome my 30s in the best way I could…so my sister and I had a blast hanging out in downtown Nashville Saturday night! We hit up a lot of the bars, danced a lot, and had a great time.
I’m so happy I decided to go to Nashville and celebrate my birthday in a big way. Turning 30 in Nashville is something I’ll never forget.
Franklin, Tennessee
About 20 miles south of Nashville is an adorable town called, Franklin. It’s full of history and one of the places that my sister wanted so badly to visit: The Carnton Plantation.
I went into the whole experience of touring the plantation with no knowledge of its history or connection to the Civil War. However, we had an amazing tour guide and I learned so much about the plantation and the Civil War battles that happened in the area. I highly recommend people visit this place if you’re even remotely interested in American history and the Civil War.
Included in our tour of The Carnton Plantation was also a tour of the Carter House. It was located about a mile down the road from the plantation. We drove over there and checked out the small museum while we waited on our guided tour of the place.
Again, I learned so much about the Civil War and the battles that happened in the area. I love learning about a place while I’m literally standing on it. I felt like I was back in the 1860s watching the troops walk through the front yard.
After our tours, we were starving so we found a restaurant in downtown Franklin and ate there. It was delicious but we were pressed for time so we ate quickly and then headed back to Nashville.
I do plan to go back to Franklin though and explore that town more. It was so cute!
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
I knew about the weekend trip to Pigeon Forge about two days before I went.
I’ll just say, due to someone else no longer going and my sister not being able to get a refund on the cabin she booked, she asked me to go with her. I ended up staying in a cabin on top of a mountain with my sister called, Love Me Tender. She failed to mention the name of the cabin before we left for Pigeon Forge or the fact that there would be a red, heart-shaped tub in the middle of the cabin.
Regardless of the cheesy, romantic state of the cabin, we had a good time just hanging out the night we got there. We stayed in and ordered pizza like the old ladies we are now ha-ha!
The next day, we drove over to the Cherokee, North Carolina. On our way there, we stopped at some overlooks and then continued on our way. Unfortunately, not much was happening or even open in Cherokee so we headed back towards Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
On the way, we noticed some elk at one of the visitor’s centers along the road. We stopped and got an awesome view of some of the elk that roam the area!
New York City
I was less than enthusiastic about booking a bus tour to New York City.
Honestly, the only reason I did was because my sister wanted to go on it and wanted me to go. So, I booked the trip. Then, at the end of November, on a cold (Black Friday) night, my sister, about 50 other people, and I loaded onto a cramped tour bus. Then we made the 9-hour trip to New York City.
Here’s a list of some of the items I brought with me for this NYC bus trip:
- I carried a Small, black Vera Bradley Backpack (it ended up working out great for a day pack in NYC!)
- My “Friends” Sweatshirt that is so comfy! It was perfect to wear on the bus ride. This one is very similar to mine.
- These are the Duck Boots I wore and honestly, even after walking 11+ miles, my feet didn’t hurt too bad in them!
- This is the beanie I wore all day long. It kept my head warm and was cute at the same time!
- I carried a small water bottle with me as well. Mine is similar to these. The size is great for easily carrying in a small pack all day.
- I wanted a little protection as well so I carried pepper spray too.
- This portable phone charger was a lifesaver! I have an older iPhone and I had to charge it about 4 times. I got a good 3 charges out it before having to use my sisters.
I’m not going to lie, the bus ride was awful. There was no way to really sleep on the bus and by the time we made it to New York City, I had been up for 24 hours. I thought I’d be too tired to really do much in the city. I was wrong.
New York City has an energy about it that just keeps you going. I believe that’s what kept my sister and I going all day long.
For the first time ever, I rode the subway. That was how we went to see the 9/11 Memorial. Then, we went to Chinatown and to Little Italy. We also went to Times Square and stepped inside of Central Park. We went into Tiffany and Co. and Trump Towers, saw the Empire State Building, and looked around inside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. My sister and I even went to Grand Central Station, explored Rockefeller Center, and more! And that was just in one day!
That one trip changed my mind about New York City.
I didn’t care if I ever went, honestly. And when I did get the chance to go, I thought the people were going to be rude. I thought I would be overwhelmed by the tall buildings, people everywhere, and all of the traffic. But I wasn’t. Yeah, New York City is full of chaos, but I quickly learned to just go with the flow, literally. You have to go with flow of the people or you get run over!
Jokes aside, I was too quick to judge New York and the people who call it home. The people who live there were nice to us and helped us when we were lost or didn’t know what to do. What started out as a trip I wasn’t happy about ended up being one of the most memorable and favorite trips of my life. And now I want to go back to New York City so badly!
Alright, I believe that is most of the trips I took in 2019!
Looking back and prepping to write this blog post made me realize just how busy and blessed I was last year. At the beginning of 2019, I never expected to do that much traveling and I had no idea that by the end of 2019 I would have visited two major cities and gone through 3 new states!
I enjoyed so much of 2019 and cannot wait to see what 2020 and the next decade has in store for me.
Did you travel a lot in 2019? Any travel plans for 2020?! I would love to hear about it in the comment section below!
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