Travel Tip: Always bring an umbrella.

Hilltop Hostel

Really, I think the rain is following us.

We got to D.C. around 1 pm and it was pretty sunny and warm outside. A few hours later, it's raining on me as I go to park the car. This didn't really deter me. I was a woman on a mission. Unfortunately, I was a woman on a mission without an umbrella.

While we were waiting to check in to Hilltop Hostel, I walked down the street looking for some lunch options. There's a great looking Caribbean/American restaurant, but it only takes cash. I passed it up and went for Souper Girl. It blew my mind.

Dinner at Souper Girl

It's a soup cafe, which doesn't sound like much, but the soups are vegan, kosher, and made with locally sourced ingredients. I had the Quinoa and Greens soup with a whole wheat roll. It was about $6, and well, well worth it. Delicious, nutritious, fast, convenient and cheap, Souper Girl is a win. 

After I ate, we got settled in. Then, I went online and looked for vintage clothing shops nearby. I lucked out and found one just a few blocks away! It's called Polly Sue's and the website advertises vintage clothes at competitive prices. I don't know about you, but in my experience, those two things rarely coincide. Polly Sue's lives up to its advertising! I happened upon the shop right before closing time, so I didn't have time to try on the fantastic selection of dresses, but I did buy two pair of earrings (reasonably priced at $6.50 a pair). And I plan to go back soon!

I grabbed a gyro to go from Olive Lounge, which I enjoyed. I felt like it was a bit overpriced, but I'm probably just operating on my small town budget.

The highlight of dinner was Key Lime Pie gelato from the Dolei Gelati Cafe. It had just the right amount of sour to kick like lime and bits of graham cracker to really evoke a sense of pie. Good gelato is good gelato and most places have similar prices. Dolei did have some unique flavors and a location that I just can't beat.

MLK Jr Memorial

After all of that adventuring, it was almost 8 pm. All of the museums were closed and most shops and attractions were closed for the night as well. I hadn't planned on spending much time at the National Mall, but since it was late and nothing else was open, I went ahead. The Mall was beautiful at night. The MLK Jr. Memorial is new since my last trip, so I spent some extra time there. It's a beautiful memorial that makes great use of quotes from MLK Jr. throughout, which adds a personal touch.

Washington Monument

Staying in a hostel has been an interesting experience. The neighborhood is very safe, with a large helping of holistic values (think yoga classes on every corner), but it's always something to get used to when you're sharing a room with three strangers. Kristina and I have met some interesting people, though, so that's been a nice side of it! There is a great atmosphere of respect for privacy and property in the hostel, as much as there can be. Unfortunately, Hilltop doesn't have a/c. And it's DC in July. It gets a bit warm to say the least.

Travel Tips: Leave early, pack healthy snacks, and bring allllll of the audio books.

I’m not sure I have the proper temperament for road trips. I have a tendency to be impatient and a bit anxious. Particularly when faced with unpredictable traffic. The first leg of our trip took us from Conway, AR to Nashville, TN. According to my lovely navigation device, this is a 5 ½ hour drive. I planned accordingly. We left Conway around 4, which was perfect.

But of course, road trip law dictates that nothing can be perfect. Around middle-of-nowhere between Little Rock and Memphis, we ran into some absolutely hellacious roadwork. The parked on the road for an hour and a half variety. I finally wised up and took the next exit onto Highway 70. Thank the lord for the highways.

I don’t know about you, but on trips with annoyingly long delays, I kind of just want to eat junk food the entire time. Luckily, thanks to some foresight and well stocked healthy snacks, like bananas and granola bars, clean eating is still going as planned. Friday night, we stayed with my cousin Mike, who sent us on our way with lunch for the road and snackage on Saturday.

Audiobooks made that extra-long day of driving bearable though. I’m nowhere near talkative enough to fill 7+ hours of driving. We listened to A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman and Louis C.K.’s routines, Hilarious and Chewed Up. For the Saturday trip, I turned on Princess of Mars. I love music, and have a road trip playlist all prepped, but the stories absolutely helped pass the time.

Even with all of the traffic and delays though, it’s been a really nice drive. Arkansas and Tennessee are beautiful states. Once we crossed into Tennessee, there were rest stops located about every 60 miles along the interstate. It’s also been nice and sunny! Unfortunately, the weather predicts rain for the next couple of days. Guess we’ll see how that goes!!

Travel Writing

I haven't used this blog since I was about 16 (I've been blogging over at Help Ever, Hurt Never), but I plan to use it for my travel writing experiment this summer.

I'm a professional writing major. UCA has offered a travel writing seminar in the past, but hasn't listed it for the upcoming year. I've taken matters into my own hands and applied for a Travel Abroad Grant from the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College. Kristina and I will be traveling for about three weeks, stopping in five different places. We'll be camping some times and staying in hostels others. 

Two young women traveling the East coast alone for a month out of the summer? I imagine we'll have some stories. Even better, I'm a bit prissy about my sleeping arrangements and haven't been camping since I was about 10 and in Girl Scouts. And did I mention I'm really in to clean eating?

While researching our destinations for the trip, I realized it's kind of hard to find relatively easy, clean eating recipes that can be done over a campfire. Even harder? Planning yoga that I can do in a hostel.

My goal for this blog is that I'll show other students that great trips can be pulled off for relatively low cost if you put a little work into it! The hostels? They're about $30 a night, per person, if you hunt out the low cost establishment. How clean/comfortable are they? I'll let you know!