1000 Places: A Traveler's Life List

I visited Boston for the first time in August of 2007. Jake and I traveled there for the wedding of his friend Craig. We arrived a few days before the wedding in order to spend some time with my good friend Misty, who lives about an hour outside of Boston. With Misty, we hit some of the area clubs to do some dancing, and the next day we walked part of the Freedom Trail. Boston is really beautiful, and it was fascinating to see all of the sites along the walk (lots of really old cemeteries, churches, houses, etc.). It was so crowded when we went, though, and since we were so tired from the night before, we only made it through about half of the trail. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped by the Cheers bar and restaurant to refuel with burgers and beer.

The rest of our time in Boston was spent celebrating the wedding of Craig and Jenna, which was a beautiful black tie affair at the historic Fairmont Copley Plaza.

My first, and so far, only, trip to Vegas was in May of 2007, when Jake and I went for a long weekend to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We stayed at the MGM Grand, and on our first night in town, we went to see Cirque de Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio. It was an amazing show, and we had great seats thanks to Jake's friend Jeff. Our mornings in Vegas were rather lazy, spent catching sun at the pool, but in the afternoons and evenings we explored the strip, visited the many other casinos, and tried out our luck at various places. I did pretty well on the slots at the Mirage, but I lost all of my luck later at the Luxor. Part of the time while there, we hung out with Jake's friend Mike, who is currently living in Vegas. And of course, we also took time to do the touristy things, like watch the fountain displays at the Bellagio, see the outdoor show at Treasure Island, and check out the lions at our own hotel. There really is no other place like Vegas, and the city truly does not sleep! I can't wait to go back!

Our trip to Fredericksburg was during our spring break in March of 2007. We needed a little vacation from school and work, so we hopped in the car and headed west. On the way, we stopped at several wineries along the Texas Wine Trail, so by the time we reached our bed & breakfast in Fredericksburg, we were feeling pretty good! Our b&b was awesome, a few miles outside of town and nice and secluded. It was decorated beautifully, and it had a great hot tub outside that we could enjoy and watch the stars while sipping glasses of wine. We headed back into town during the days to check out the various shops and a few of the biergartens, but we always ended up heading back to the b&b to enjoy the wonderful hot tub! The trip was a great relaxing break from everything - just what we needed!

I have lived in Austin since the summer of 2004...

My mom and I visited San Francisco in February of 2004. I had originally planned the trip in order to visit a graduate program at SFSU. My plans were redirected towards Austin, however, and the trip to San Francisco ended up giving us a chance to relax and do some sightseeing together. It's such a pretty city, and we rode the cable cars down to the piers, where we enjoyed the sights and the beautiful weather.

Misty and I drove on Route 66 in the fall of 2003, when I accompanied her on her move from Indiana to California. It was a great road trip, and I saw parts of the country that I had never seen before. Incidentally, the Hot Air Balloon festival was going on when we passed through Albuquerque, which we could see from a distance.

I love NYC! I've been several times with friends, and to visit other friends living there. My first trip was to visit Emilie and Kate in the summer of 2002. On my second trip, with Misty and Stacy, we were just outside of the Rockefeller center when the big Blackout of 2003 occurred. We had to hoof it all the way back to Brooklyn (11 miles, in heels, mind you), because traffic was a nightmare and the trains obviously weren't running because there was no electricity. It ended up being an incredible experience - when we got back to Brooklyn, we met up with our friends at a local bar, where candles kept the place lit up and neighbors provided live music with their guitars. I met people that night who had never see the stars in the sky from within the city before. Incredible! More recent trips include one to celebrate New Year's Eve '05, and a nice trip with Gina in December of 2005, where we stayed with a friend in the Trump Towers. While there, we went to a fantastic (and uber-trendy) Cuban restaurant, where we happened to meet "Bobby" from The Sopranos!

Being from a small town in Indiana, Amish people are nothing new to me (there are lots of Amish the outlying areas of Berne). But I do have very fond memories of the Essenhaus restaurant in Shipshewana - yum!! When I was younger, my family would often head there for dinner and to browse the shops when my grandparents were in town.

Yep, I had style when I was 12!

My uncle in Mt. Vernon (near Seattle) has a boat, and many years ago we all took the boat out and went crabbing. It really is beautiful out there, and crabbing is a very unique experience!

I grew up absolutely obsessed with horses. Since my family lived in Indiana, a trip to Bluegrass Country, with its rolling pastures and numerous horse farms, was obligatory. I remember the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington the best, and I think I still have some souvenir knick-knacks from that visit. It's still a dream of mine to go back to Kentucky to attend the Kentucky Derby!