Oh, the Places I Hope to Go! // Monday Musings

I wrote a few weeks ago about some of the things I learned from the last workshop I went to. It was a wonderful experience, and the biggest positive (if I could choose just one) was the encouragement and support of the ladies who spoke to us and with us about our business visions, dreams, and goals.

One big thing I heard over and over again was to just say out loud some of my hopes for what the next few years will bring. And one big thing kept coming to my mind - I love to travel! I grew up quite literally on the other side of the world, and when I meet someone who asks me where I'm from, I never quite know how to answer. I've lived in southern China, northwest China, Roanoke (Virginia), West Virginia, Blacksburg (Virginia), and now Hampton Roads.

On top of that, I've spent months in Thailand, a summer in South Africa, and visited countless other places, from the United Kingdom to Tokyo to Hong Kong (where my sister was born). I've driven all over the United States, and finally got to check New York and Seattle off my bucket list last year alone.

What's the point of all this? Well, as much as I love local weddings, I would LOVE to travel for a few weddings next year! There's almost nothing as scary and exciting as saying your dreams out loud, for fear of not achieving them, but keeping them to myself sure won't get me anywhere :) So without further ado, here are some places I would love to travel for weddings. And if you happen to be getting married here (or somewhere else across the country or the world!), I would love to be there for your big day.
United States: Portland, Oregon; anywhere in California; New York City; anywhere in Texas; Denver, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina
International: Jamaica; Cayman Islands; Ireland; Spain, Peru

We all know that we miss 100% of the shots we don't take. So here I am, taking my shot at travel in the years to come :)

The Big New York City Blog // Personal

As most of you know, I went to New York City last weekend! I had been wanting to go for years (I've never actually visited the city), but a few weeks ago, I got the urge to just GO. When Nathan said he was game, I immediately started planning out all the details. Since it was my first time, I wanted to see absolutely everything I could. I would say...mission accomplished! There were only a couple things we didn't get to, and considering we spent only two full days there, I would say that's a big accomplishment.

We visited by way of Megabus, mostly because we already took a vacation this year (see pictures here and here) and wanted to save some money. I also have no desire to drive in New York. We headed out on Thursday night, and got to the city on Friday at 5am. The first thing we did, after a quick breakfast, was head over to Good Morning America. That was probably the coldest I got for our entire trip...and after almost an hour, they didn't even show us on TV! But you can see below...that little face right there? Yep, that's Barbara Walters. We're best friends now.

The rest of the morning was spent walking all around the city, including a stop for tea and a visit to Rockefeller Center and the big tree! I loved it...and all the decorations around the city in general. New York is beautiful in December!

A stop for a pizza lunch at Don Antonio's brought authentic Italian pizza, people, and language swirling around us. I love that New York is such a huge melting pot for every culture imaginable! We also took a pit stop over at the New York Public Library, which is gigantic. We probably could've spent the whole day there.

The 9/11 memorial was absolutely fantastic. I was overseas when the twin towers were hit, and having never been to the city, I don't think the magnitude of what happened really sunk in at the time. Over the years, as I've learned more, I've really wanted to go and see where it all happened. At the memorial I took a minute and just prayed for our country. After that, we walked about 3 miles up the Hudson River to our apartment that we rented through AirBnB. And after walking 12 miles and getting lost in Brooklyn halfway through the day, we didn't have energy for much else other than dinner and a little more sightseeing!

The next day, we enjoyed a slower morning, strolling through Central Park to The Met. Central Park was amazing! I had no idea how huge it would be, or how beautiful. It was definitely one of the highlights.

The Met was equally amazing, in a totally different way. I have grown to appreciate art museums so much over the last few years. During my senior year of college, I spent a semester studying the life and art of Salvador Dali. I'd never gotten to see one of his works of art in person before, and I got to see two while I was there (forgive the iPhone picture)! 

That afternoon, we took the Staten Island Ferry just to see the skyline and the Statue of Liberty, even though we didn't stop. After dinner in Tribeca, we unfortunately encountered a ton of protesters, who decided to try and block traffic right where we needed to get on the metro. That was the scariest part of the whole trip - not knowing what to do, we had to be escorted by police through barriers and wait anxiously for the metro to arrive, with sirens screeching around us and notices that certain cars on the metro were shut down due to an 'investigation.' Thankfully we got out safely, even though it seemed like we were there for an eternity. Just a few minutes after we left, the protests turned violent, so I'm grateful for the timing on that!

Finally, that night, we got to see the hugeness of Times Square. There were SO many people there, and so much going on! We stayed until almost one in the morning, and there were still thousands of people around and shops open. It truly is a one-of-a-kind place. Exhausted after two long days, and almost 30 miles walking, we jumped back on the Megabus and went home. New York City is a place I've fallen in love with, and I know I'll go visit again in the future! But for now...I think I'll go sleep :)

And this is Nathan's face after walking an absurd amount of miles, staying up way too late, and being surrounded by thousands of people 24/7! He is a good sport :)