I *heart* summer road trips with all of my might. They keep me running, they really do. Sunshine, breezes, new sights and adventures, how can you go wrong? I'm also pretty sure they're the glue in my relationship with Jimbo - our best talks and adventures always happen on the road. We've done two cross-USA road trips, a Euro-road trip, and each summer we end up taking countless rides on summer weekends. There's something so freeing about it! If you've packed correctly, that is - otherwise they're no fun at all. Here are some of my favorite summer road trip essentials:

1. blanket // to be used for warmth, for a pillow, and for that impromptu picnic you're sure to have.
2. cotton beach dress // something comfy, stretchy, and begging to be photographed.
3. shovel // for safety - sometimes cars get stuck.
4. rosewater spray // it's nice to freshen up with a spritz of rosewater after a few hours on the road.
5. comfy shoes // something versatile is good, you never know where you'll end up...
6. dry shampoo // if you'll be on the road for a few days, your hair might crave a pick-me-up.
7. favorite wine // beautiful views and sunsets sometimes call for wine.
8. wine opener // because, wine.
9. notebook // how else would you record all of your adventures and brainstorm your future together?
10. sunglasses // I need a new pair...love these guys.
11. cash // folks these days often depend on cards, but cash might be necessary to pay for state parks, parking, roadside fruit stands, and other emergencies like that.
12. snacks // I like to pack nuts, fruit and dark chocolate.
13. music // we use Spotify for our road trip playlists (see our Sunshine Drive playlist below!)
14. SPF chapstick // a must have.
15. a knife // you'll be surprised how much you'll use this thing, plus - safety first.

Do you have any unique road trip essentials? How about road trip songs?

This post is part of the RelayRides Road Trip Essentials campaign. RelayRides is a car rental service based on peer-to-peer car sharing - you can borrow others' cars and rent out your own!

Boston Meets Austin

There's lots to say.

Austin, I love you so much.

I was in Austin for the weekend with 15 other ladies for my friend Sarah's bachelorette party. Great choice, Sarah! I've loved Austin ever since Jimmy and I checked it out a couple of years ago, and I saw so happy to have the opportunity to explore it further. In just 3 short days, the 16 of us danced, saw, did, shopped, drank and ate so much. There's lots to say, but first for some photos, courtesy of instagram (follow me @allierowe).

As you can tell, we had no fun at all. ;)

Just a couple of highlights, in case anyone's planning an Austin trip (which you obviously should)...

What to --- in Austin.

Eat:

• barbeque. preferably at Stubb's, though I'm sure there are a bunch of amazing places. every last bite was drool worthy, especially when doused with their famous sauce. I'd love to see a live show there, too.
• tex-mex. obvi! we went to Pelon's which we'd heard was great, plus it was right near our hotel (and coincedentally, right across the street from Stubb's!). they put together a delightful taco bar for us, which paired nicely with endless pitchers of sangria and margarita's. and queso dip. lots and lots of queso dip (try it).
• food trucks. the SoCo (South of Congress) district has a wonderful bunch of them, and which Jimmy and I also experienced a couple years ago. So much fun. but sadly, it seems that they'll be dispersing soon. they will have to relocate somewhere though, so just look for nomad dosa, short bus subs, and crepesmille.
• happy hour. tons to choose from. we picked a tex-mex place with a roofdeck, and managed to have a huge meal and 2 drinks each for less than $20 per person. me likey. 

See:

• live music. luckily, you couldn't avoid it if you tried! 6th Street is crawling with great live bands, and we didn't come across a single place with a cover. bar hopping is fun.
• the beauty of SoCo. even if you don't go in a single shop or eat at the food carts, you'll enjoy yourself just viewing the wall art, the fairy-lit oak trees and spur of the moment street performances.
• the treats of Uncommon Objects in SoCo. It's like a museum.

Do:

• tube down a river. this was our favorite day. there are a bunch of places to do it 1/2 hour south of Austin - make it happen.
• honky tonk!! we went to the Broken Spoke ("last of the true Texas dance halls") where a nice young man taught each and every one of us how to two step. feeling confident, we headed back downtown to Rebels Honky Tonk to show off our skills and watch people flail off the mechanical bull. this place was bachelorette party heaven.
• shop. in where else?? SoCo. adorable vintage shops, millions of cowboy boots/hats, cute unique jewelry, crafts -- what more could you ask for?
• get on stage. we befriended an wonderfully interactive band who invited me on stage not once but twice to help them with a chorus or two. rockstar fantasies whaaaat?
• go off the beaten track. after tubing we stopped at the Gristmill in Gruene, TX for a snack. it was the definition of a "local watering hole". so picturesque and just...so texas.

Pack:

• cowboy boots (when in rome)
• comfy, light clothing
• a bubba keg (or other non-disposable drinking device) for your tubing refreshments
• sunscreen
• cheap sunglasses & flip flips for tubing (you might lose them)
• a bachelorette (helpful for free drinks and skipping lines!)

You planning a trip yet?? I hope so!

Lizards and Lagniappe (NOLA Part 2) + Goodbye for Now

By now, this long overdue post is mostly just for ourselves...but hopefully there are still some of you out there keeping in touch! I think there are a few reasons it's taken so long to post it: 1) insanely busy schedules here in Boston 2) there's a kind of sad ending to it (more on that later), and 3) it should technically be our last post, so I kept putting it off to keep the blogging thing going!

All that said, I'm pretty excited to get our final pictures from the cross country trip out there. Here are our pics from the last 24 hours in New Orleans.

More plantations and HOT HOT weather in Vacherie, LA...

Then we journeyed down to the swamp, to check out Zam's Swamp Tours in Thibodeaux, LA!

Roar.

This place was hilarious. The animals were crazy, and the owners & tour guides were completely legit (you couldn't understand half of what our guy was saying, but it was totally worth it to listen to his awesome accent for 2 hours). We saw huge snakes & spiders, goats, geese, bugs, and all sorts of lizards. Even the junk gift shop provided 20 minutes of entertainment. Everyone should go to Zam's!


We then headed back to the city to clean off the sweat & alligator juice and fill ourselves with some jumbalaya and gumbo at Coop's Place, and then head out on the town for more music and beignets (we can't get enough of either of these).

The 12 man Lagniappe Band was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. So much energy & incredible musical talent. The bar was dead, which was great for us because we had the place to ourselves (more room for dancing!), but it was kind of pissing off the band. They started off with like 15 guys and slowing but surely dwindled down to about 8, so we decided to buy them a round of beers to cheer them up! They kept it going for us and the other 8 or so people in the bar, we danced & drank, Jim decided to start a brass band of his own, and our crush on New Orleans deepened.


We finally left, and grabbed some more beignets, because we're addicted.

After some sleep,we woke up, took a couple of pics of the hotel, then headed out of New Orleans. With a quick stop at d.b.a. bar first to grab Jim's forgotten debit card. And we may or may not have stopped for a beignet breakfast on the way out of town...

And now for the sad story you've been waiting for.......that picture above is the LAST PICTURE OF THE TRIP. Allie's brand new camera was stolen (along with other stuff) from her apartment just a week after we returned to Boston, with the rest of our pictures in it. No good!

But, on a positive note, we didn't have all that many good pics from AL through MA anyways, and google images can help pick of the slack! This is what we saw and experienced on the last leg of our trip:

Hiking in the Smokies

Deep Gap back-country shelter

Pigeon Forge, TN - where every awful stereotype of American's is displayed right in front of your eyes!

We ate at Golden Corral, $12 grease buffet! We were immediately sick and immediately ashamed.

We visited Al's bff SJM in D.C. - reuniting for the 1st time with important things like Papa John's and Jersey Shore

Ate delicious Pizza by Elizabeths in DE with Big Jim

Relaxed on the NJ shore with P & T

Then came HOME to Boston!

It was only 2-3 days between Louisiana and Boston, so I guess the camera didn't miss much after all!

Aaaand that concludes our American cross-country adventure. I have a feeling we'll feel the need to document our upcoming Europe travels as well...so we'll be in touch!

LOVE

A & J