It’s been a little over a week since I got back from our cross country road trip and I’m excited to finally share all photos & videos from it! There’s a whole lot I want to share, so I thought I’d break them into two posts! This trip was exactly what we needed before we spend these next two and a half years apart. We had a blast exploring our country together and go to places we both have never been!
First of all, I wanted to thank my family & friends who has reached out to Collin & I to see how we’re doing with all of these changes. Luckily I had an extremely busy first week back with our Bloguettes Phoenix workshop and I haven’t had a moment to myself. I feel so grateful to have the best friends ever for making an effort to make plans and keep me busy, so I don’t feel lonely or sad. lol.
It took us roughly 8 days, 4 stops (New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee), and drove through 9 different states (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington DC). On average it was about 8 hours between each stop, so I felt like the time flew by and it wasn’t that exhausting.
I also snapchatted our entire road trip, so I included the videos in this recap for you! We were clearly bored during our road trip and I had a little fun interviewing @revlaufy.
New Mexico: White Sands & Carlsbad Caverns
White Sands: I was dying to go to White Sands, NM after a friend recommended it and I was determined to go. We made it just before sunset and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It’s so weird to be driving for hours in the desert and all of a sudden seeing these big white sand dunes! I wish we could have gotten there a little earlier to explore more. We had about 20 minutes to take photos before we had to leave because the sun was down and it was getting dark. It was absolutely worth all the speeding we did to try to get there before sunset!
Carlsbad Caverns: We were too tired to make it to Carlsbad and we couldn’t find a lot of great hotel options, so we decided to stay in Artesia. Artesia is a tiny town 30 minutes outside of Carlsbad. The next morning we drove down to Carlsbad to check out the Caverns and it was one of the coolest thing I have ever experienced! We just did the self-guided tour for $10 a person, which took about an hour and it’s definitely something I will never forget! If you do decide to go, I have a few pointers for you!
1: Don’t get discouraged by the awful smell at the entrance of the Caverns lol. IT WILL GO AWAY. I was honestly about to either throw up or walk back, but Collin pushed me to go and I’m glad he did! lol.
2: Wear comfy shoes! You don’t need sneakers or anything, but I definitely don’t recommend wearing flip flops. We almost witnessed someone crack their head open!
3: It was super hot in New Mexico when we went, but it gets pretty chilly down in the caverns. Definitely bring a light jacket or something to wear on top, especially if you’re visiting during other seasons!
Texas: Marfa & San Antonio
Marfa: I had heard so much about Marfa, Texas and really wanted to take this opportunity to drive through it. I really didn’t know what to think of it because I had heard such amazing things, but from my research it was so small and not much to do. I asked around and got the deets about this little town, but unfortunately we were in a time crunch that we didn’t get to explore too much!
The Prada art installation is one of the most iconic place in Marfa. I had heard that it was actually about 30 minutes outside of Marfa, so I totally figured that we weren’t coming from the right direction and gave up on the idea. That is until we were going about 80mph on the highway and I see a guy taking a photo of something… I look to my left and there it was!! The Prada store! I immediately told Collin to stop and turn around so I can take some pictures and finally check out this place.
Once we actually got into Marfa, we drove around the small town of Marfa to just check it out. We then drove to El Cosmico, because I heard it was definitely a cool place to check out so we did. When we were planning our trip, we really wanted to stay at the El Cosmico in one of the amazing teepees or the trailers, but it was completely booked! We were bummed, but also couldn’t imagine staying in a teepee without AC in 100+ degree weather, so we were okay with it! I did get a lot of recommendations and do some research, so here are some places to check out if you’re ever in Marfa!
FOOD // Do Your Thing Coffee, The Get Go, Frama, Marfa Burrito
STAY // El Cosmico, Hotel Saint George, Thunderbird Hotel
San Antonio: We tried our best to make it to Houston to be closer to our third stop, New Orleans, but we were too tired, so made it to San Antonio! We both had never been there before and we’ve heard great things, so we thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to explore. We literally booked a hotel right by the River Walk on the way there and decided to go to Six Flags the next day since Collin and I both love theme parks. It was definitely humid, but we had a blast! That night we walked around the romantic River Walk and ate at Boudro’s Texas Bistro and it was absolutely amazing- I HIGHLY recommend it.
That’s it for now! I’ll be sure to post the second half of our recap later this week 🙂 Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!
