One Last Roadtrip with Leah (for now)

My time in Chicago is officially over. I tried my best to see everyone before I left. I'm sorry to those that I missed, but time really got away from me in the end. I am grateful for all the memories and experiences that Chicago gave me, but now it is *officially* time to say goodbye!

Goodbye, Chicago!

After a slight delay with the movers, my belongings started their journey toward Florida while Leah and I set out on one more road trip (for now!). Among other things, Leah and I travel very well together. Also known as Team Wanderlust, we have taken 5 trips (4 with her dog, Lily) for a total of 15 states traveled together. I will miss our trips, but I am sure we have many more in our future.

Team Wanderlust - Lily even smiled for the photo!

First, we headed to Indiana to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was sort of full circle: They were my first stop on my way into Chicago and my last stop on my way out. Their dog, Finn, was OBSESSED with Lily, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. It was so funny to watch. They took us out to dinner and gave us a comfy place to sleep before we headed out to our next destination. I am hoping to go visit my aunt and uncle again soon. I really loved having them so close.

Aunt Dawn, Uncle Dave, Finn, & me

On Monday, Leah and I drove to Asheville, North Carolina. We stopped in Cincinnati for lunch. Highlights during lunch included a woman telling me, "You DAMN tall!" and a few homeless people wanting to pet Lily. After we ate and stretched out legs, we passed by the stadium ("The Jungle") where the Bengals play. Apparently the Reds play on the other side of the stadium, but I didn't know that until I googled it later...

By far the most impressive part of Ohio. And Kentucky, for that matter.

We switched places somewhere in southern Ohio, and I drove (yes, you read that correctly) through the rest of Ohio all the way to Asheville. Other than Cincinnati, Ohio was pretty much one-note. Kentucky wasn't too interesting once we passed the bridge, but we didn't drive through any cities either. (The company was FANTASTIC though!) Along the way, we obviously joked that we traveled the entire world as we passed London, Paris, and other like-named places. Tennessee was beautiful, especially when we got into the hills and eventually the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. I was driving, so I missed the photo ops - especially the rainbow in the clouds of the Smokies. Beautiful! 

Once we got to Asheville, we checked into the hotel and went to a brewery called The Wedge (thanks for the recommendation, Kristen!). It was a quaint/rustic little place in a very industrial area, by the railroad tracks. There was a food truck outside, but we mistakenly decided to order a beer before getting food. They closed up the truck by the time we were ready to order food. We drank the beer (which got me another badge on my Untappd app #noshame) and headed to a local burger place called Farm Burger, which was *amazing*. I would love to go back one day and explore more of Asheville.

The Wedge - highly recommended if you're passing through Asheville!

What can I say? I love breweries and local brews.

So many things wrong with this sign... I'm glad this wasn't our hotel

On Tuesday we drove to Black Mountain, which is about a 15-minute drive from where we were staying. It was a quaint little mountain town. We were hoping for some views and maybe a hiking trail. The visitor's center turned out to be a bit of a bust, since most of the scenic overlooks would take longer than the time we had. Most of the shops opened later in the morning, so we went to a short little trail with a dog park that was recommended by the nice lady in the visitor's center. It was a bit tricky to find the entrance because it was behind a big grocery store parking lot, but we eventually found it and parked. Lily spent most of the time sniffing around the dog park, but she loved the mud on the trail that ran parallel to the river. The best part was when we pass the turtle that was trying unsuccessfully to climb through the fence. Lily went bananas and staged a showdown, but she never went too close to the turtle. 

Random artwork in Black Mountain, NC.

 Leah & Lily

I couldn't resist!

River views on our hike

#theshowdown

After our short hike, we continued on our journey. We decided to drive along a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views were beautiful, but they were difficult to capture in a picture. Again, this is definitely an area I would love to come back and explore more extensively.

View along the Blue Ridge Parkway

The rest of our drive went very smoothly (actually, the whole thing did). I drove through part of South Carolina and all of Georgia while we chuckled over the names of fast food places (Fatz Cafe, anyone?). It was a long drive, but I enjoyed the company oh so much. I am looking forward to the next adventure with Team Wanderlust, but in the meantime, I am enjoying the company at the end of this road trip.

Isabel & Aunt Snefanie

There has been a complication with the delivery of my stuff, so in the meantime, I am checking things off my to-do list and spending as much time with family as possible before I board the plane and start my new adventure. My next post will be sometime in the next couple of weeks... from the other side of the world!