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Living on the Outer Banks, I can enjoy my favorite beach daily. I love getting to see the ocean every single day but as far as vacations go, it's so hard for me to justify going to another beach. Recently, Jason and I have been talking more and more about the places here in the United States that we really want to see and putting them on a bucket list of travel just for the two of us! We also have a separate list of places that we want to go and take the kids! If I learned anything while we were in Nashville this past weekend, it's just how important it is to live intentionally. We aren't promised tomorrow and when we get right down to it, we need to concentrate on living life on purpose! Jason and I don't usually spend a lot of money on material things. It's unlikely that you will see us driving the best car or wearing the best clothing. Those things don't bring us joy. We prefer that our money goes to charitable causes, our children, our businesses and experiences that create a lasting memory.
I'm not comparing travel bucket lists with my family and friends, but I always love hearing suggestions of great places for couples and great places for families! What places are on your USA travel list? What places can you recommend? Audra & Jason's List: X Nashville, TN
Chicago, IL
New York, NY New Orleans, LA Austin, TX Charleston, SC (we've done Charleston as a family so next we want to do it as a couple!) FAMILY TRAVEL LIST: An island cruise California Tour
including San Fran, San Jose, LA, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Disney World (We've been there before Penny was born but can't wait to take the Princess there!)
Nantucket, MA Savannah, GA New York, NY Grand Canyon Colorado skiing Lake Tahoe We had such a good time in Nashville! I was lucky enough to grow up with my husband and his childhood best friend, Jarrod. Growing up, these two were the closest thing to brothers that I ever had... (and yes, I married one of them...) Anyway, we hadn't seen Jarrod in a few years and it was breaking our hearts. I knew it was so important to get these two guys together and when it came to Jason's birthday gift, I knew that Jarrod would be the perfect surprise! Joining together with Jarrod's beautiful girlfriend (who we had never met) we planned the best birthday surprise ever! We rented an awesome loft in the area called Germantown and surprised both Jarrod and Jason with this reunion!
Even the drive to Tennessee from North Carolina was fun! The excitement was through the roof and since Jason looooooves selfies, I had to go for it. ;)
We were smiling of course because we were so excited but I was mostly excited because we just had a full conversation without any interruptions.... it was crazy! ;)
Whoever told my husband about the Nashville Hot Chicken...uh... Thanks. A lot. This man went on a Nashville Hot Chicken tour! We hit up Hattie B's and Prince's Hot Chicken since they were rated #1 and #2 in the city! Jason even grabbed hot chicken breakfast tacos on our 2nd morning!
Using VRBO was the best part of our trip! We had the greatest loft in the cutest community and it truly felt like a home away from home. We were able to enjoy all of the delicious restaurants we wanted and bring the leftovers back to the loft for late night snackies since we had a full kitchen.
If there was one theme to this weekend it was amazing food-- sooo much food. Now that I am back on the beach, I am hitting up yoga this morning and hitting the beach for cardio with my Penny girl! Our Germantown loft was overtop of the cutest boutique, Pieces, so I was able to get in a little bit of shopping. The coffee was fabulous and the music was amazing! But out of all of the tiny details, the best part of this trip was the uninterrupted conversation and hysterical laughs with my husband. We needed it. Not because we were in a bad place or that our daily lives around enjoyable. We needed it because we started this team together, co-captains. And sometimes, co-captains need to sneak away from the rest of the team and just give each other a high-five for putting together the best team ever... We're so grateful for Jason's parents who loved on our kiddos while we were away. Stay tuned on Wednesday to read more about why Jason and I sometimes have to kiss the kids and treat ourselves to travel!
