NEVADA: What to do in Las Vegas

There is so much to see in Las Vegas! Here are some things to do in Vegas that we really enjoyed. As we stated before, we aren't really gamblers. Additionally, when in Vegas you must see at least one show - but that can get pricey! These are the things that we enjoyed on a budget. While a true Vegas experience requires that you have a lot of money to spend, we had a great time and felt like we saw a lot without missing out.

Watch the Bellagio fountains show
Ok, so this is common to any list about things to see in Vegas - but it's free and easily accessible! The show is best at night, because of the lights, but there are fountain shows during the day. There is a huge rotation of songs, so you can easily see several different fountain shows in a short stay. You can view the fountain show schedule here!

Watch robots make cocktails! 
You can watch the process, or order your own robot-crafted cocktail at The Tipsy Robot in the Miracle Mile shopping mall.

Take in the Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street is essentially Old Las Vegas - given new life with the worlds largest LED screen overhang. You can easily spend the evening wandering up and down Fremont street, taking in free live music shows and wandering in & out of shops and bars. Plus, if you wanna pay, you can zipline down the street over top of the walking crowds. 

Have a couple cocktails at Frankie's Tiki Room
If you enjoy fruity cocktails, Frankie's Tiki Room is a nice little get away. The prices are reasonable, and the drinks are pretty big.

Head to the Stratosphere for Happy Hour
If you want to view the city from the top of the stratosphere, you have to spend a little bit of money at the hotel or restaurant. Being on a budget, we opted to enjoy some cocktails and appetizers with friends during Happy Hour. While still a little pricey, it was a nice way to spend the evening with friends and take in the sights of the city from above. If you're feeling bold, you can zipline down the building.

Get a Cupcake from an ATM
Sprinkles Cupcakes is a cute bakery with an ATM outside for cupcakes! While you can go in and order other goods, there is something so fun and novel about ordering a cupcake from an ATM that you just have to do it once. Plus, cupcakes are delicious.

Get a boozy milkshake (or a regular one!) at Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan
Ok, so this is mostly just a food recommendation, but this was honestly one of the best. milkshakes. we have EVER had in our lives, so we had to add it to the list. One is plenty to share, as we learned. As you can see below, this is no simple late night snack but a COMMITMENT. Still, it's worth the splurge in calories because it is just so damn good.

Go on a quest for the secret pizza restaurant in the Cosmopolitan
We did a lot of wandering through hotels during our stay in Vegas. Much of the hotels contain a lot of artwork, and so even walking endlessly through them is almost like walking through a very sparse art gallery. We had a lot of fun searching for the secret pizza restaurant - and the prices & pizza were also very worth it.

Lounge, eat, or drink at the Peppermill
Peppermill is a famous diner/lounge, having been featured in quite a few films. It's a neat stop for a simple meal and some cocktails if you wanna take in some neon scenery. As a quick aside, we'd also recommend the restaurant Nacho Daddy (on the strip) for a good meal with options for all dietary restrictions!

Explore Container Park
Container park is a shopping center built from actual shipping containers! Here you'll find restaurants, boutiques, and small art galleries. Additionally, there is often live music. It's a nice, calm respite from the craziness of most of downtown Vegas. Plus, there is this amazing praying mantis statue out front that shoots fire from it's antennae, which - in my opinion - is worth seeing on it's own.

Book a tour at the Neon Boneyard
This was by far one of our favorite stops. If you like oddities, abandoned things, roadside attractions, or weird history - this is the place for you. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post all about this place!

Tell us about your favorite things to do in Vegas!

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TENNESSEE: Gatlinburg

In the Smoky Mountains there are two entrances into the park: one in the East on the North Carolina side (which is where we were staying during our visit), and one on the West in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For our time in the area we wanted to be in a more secluded area without crowds and typical tourist attractions. However, if tourist attractions and casual franchise dining are more your "thing" then Gatlinburg is the place for you to stay.

If you have ever been to Orlando and ventured down the heart of International Drive, then you kind of already have a feel for what Gatlinburg is. Full of bars, Chilis, Fridays and Ripley's Believe it or Not museums, it is like tourism gone wild. There are hotels and shops lining the blocks and all sorts of festivities going on.

Enjoying our peaceful cabin in Cherokee

After hiking in the Smokey's and spending time secluded for awhile, we ventured into this tourism paradise for an afternoon. Driving through the Smoky Mountains is beautiful. Winding turns and lush vegetation surround you as you traverse the hills and mountains through the park. The drive through is about an hour and you can't miss Gatlinburg. We looked up a few places to eat and decided on the Smoky Mountain Brewery.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN BREWERY

Located in the basic tourism center of town the Smoky Mountain Brewery is your typical bar food and local beer restaurant. The food was nothing special and their locally brewed beers were alright.

As we didn't spend too much time in Gatlinburg, we don't have a whole lot more to say about it. To be honest, what it had to offer just wasn't our cup of tea.

You can read our other entries about Tennessee here.

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GEORGIA: Savannah

After a beautiful few days of hiking and relaxing in our cabin in the Smoky Mountains we had to depart back home for Florida. We left North Carolina early to spend one afternoon in Savannah, Georgia before ending our trip. Savannah was the first colony and capital of Georgia, founded in 1733. There is a lot of history in the city and many locations made famous through Hollywood movies and novels (most notably perhaps is Forrest Gump).

One of our first stops was Bonaventure Cemetery. This is a huge site which contains gravestones from the Civil War up until today. It's a short drive from the historic district, and you can easily spend a few hours here. This cemetery was made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which features one of the gravestones on the book cover. In fact, that gravestone ("the Bird Girl") became so popular that it had to be removed in order to preserve the property.

The cemetery is impressive not only due to the historical significance, but also because of the beauty. There are many incredible statues, gorgeous trees, and sometimes wildlife. In 1867 John Muir spent several nights sleeping among the graves and wrote the following about his experience: "I gazed awe-stricken as one new-arrived from another world. Bonaventure is called a graveyard, a town of the dead, but the few graves are powerless in such a depth of life. The rippling of living waters, the song of birds, the joyous confidence of flowers, the calm, undisturbable grandeur of the oaks, mark this place of graves as one of the Lord’s most favored abodes of life and light."

Historic District
One of the best things to do in Savannah is just get out of the car and walk around the historic district. It is a very well preserved and protected area full of lush Spanish moss and beautiful Colonial homes. There's also plenty of shopping and great restaurants. The area is full of students studying at SCAD, which is the Savannah College of Art & Design. We browsed a lot of book stores and antique shops throughout our wandering.

The city is full of "squares" which are parks every few blocks - so there is no shortage of gorgeous scenery and benches to relax on under the shade. One of the most notable parks is Forsyth Park, which contains a famous fountain built in 1858.

Food
While we didn't' spend a whole lot of time in Savannah, we were able to grab lunch at Kayak Kafe, which had some great vegetarian options and a lot of fresh ingredients. This was nearby the world famous Leopold's Ice Cream, which has been featured in the Top 5 Best ice creams in the world. While we would have loved to try some, the line was down the street and we didn't have the extra time. If you've ever been - please comment and let us know what we missed out on.

You can read our other entries about Georgia here.

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NORTH CAROLINA: Raleigh

One of our travel goals in the United States is to visit every National Park. The Smokey Mountains is one of the few national parks that is free year round, so we planned a road trip to visit in the spring. To start our adventure we decided to visit some friends in the Raleigh area. While in Raleigh they took us out to a few restaurants and local attractions. We were having such a great time that we completely forgot to take any photos, and so the sources are linked below.

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CALA VERA
Our first night out we went to downtown Raleigh and got some grub at CalaVera, which is known for their Mexican fusion empanadas and tequila drinks. We had a small dinner - Kaili choosing the vegetarian empanadas along with a spicy pineapple tequila,  and Josh having BBQ pork & chicken mole. The food was excellent, and affordable, at a great location. From there we went out for a few drinks at two different venues.

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FOX LIQUOR

Apparently speakeasies are the hip place to be seen and drink at when in major cities. For those who are not aware, the origin of the speakeasy goes back to prohibition era America, where alcohol was banned and the only way to get it was to go to private/secret locations that served it - the only way to gain entry was with a password. Kinda ironic for this day and age but its a fun way for current bars to get their name out and to have select clientele.
Due to the liqour laws within North Carolina, many bars require that patrons be a card-carrying member of the bar. This was no exception, which adds to the speakeasy ambiance. This bar is an upscale, novelty, kind of dig where you will find classically dressed "mixologists" creating some intricate designer drinks.  This is a great place for a liquor connoisseur or a fancy date.

BLACK FLOWER/FLASHPOINT
Black Flower/Flashpoint was our final destination for the night. In direct contrast to our previous destination, this is much more of a dive where they served beer and mixed drinks. The casual atmosphere here is ideal for a night out with friends, where you can sit and play games and listen to music or dance.

THE FLYING BISCUIT
For breakfast we were taken to a venue that is known for their morning grub. After a long wait (this place is apparently pretty popular) we were treated with an indulgent breakfast with some really great biscuits. Honestly, we don't remember much about our respective orders, but the biscuits were great.

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THE LITTLE LEVIATHAN
Kaili is really into oddity stores and we try to get to any we can find when traveling. They are few and far between so we really had to check this one out. This one was not in the downtown area but on an off street in the suburbs. You really would have to know this was here or else it can be easily missed. This is definitely a great stop for anyone interested in oddities! They had a really great selection with some very reasonable prices.

READERS CORNER
Another local stop in Raleigh located close to NCSU was a used book store. We really enjoy used book stores and try to find any hidden treasures or books on our GoodReads lists. Never able to resist browsing, we stopped by here and managed to find a few books we had been searching for. Prices are great, and while any used book store is in some state of chaos - it was fairly easy to find our way around this one.

TYLERS TAPROOM
Tylers is the kind of restaurant you go to if you wanna watch a sporting event or have some beers and eat BBQ. This is a great stop for a good meal and a drink.

Overall, we had a great time in Raleigh and tried to see as much as we could within our limited time! If you have a favorite spot, comment below.

You can read our other entries about North Carolina here.

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NORTH CAROLINA: Asheville Food & Drink

Asheville is a great stop for craft beer lovers - this small city has more breweries per capita than any other US city. Josh being a bit of a beer snob, we made sure to go on a small self guided brewery tour of the city throughout our brief stay. Asheville is surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery and is a perfect stop before heading into the Smoky Mountains - our next destination. 

MAYFELS
Mayfel's was our first stop in Asheville. A cute little restaurant in the heart of downtown, we enjoyed some great brunch and good service from a super friendly staff. Their biscuits and jam were to die for and gave us some great carb energy to get out on the town. Our waiter gave us some good recommendations for local shops and breweries to check out.  After our meal, we spent most of our afternoon walking through the city exploring small shops, the occasional thrift store and used book stores. The town itself is great for walking and it wasn't too crowded when we were there.

RIVER ARTS DISTRICT
Once an industrial area, this location is now full of art galleries and breweries. We made a stop at Wedge Brewery, a peaceful rustic spot right along the river. The outdoors seating is surrounded by string lights and industrial artwork. Lots to see and it seems like a great community of beer lovers and arts.  Overall, this was a very peaceful spot to stop for a drink. We both had to try the unique beers and ciders they offered. Josh went with a cherry cider which was delightful. Not the best beer we've had but it was an enjoyable venture.

THE ODDITORIUM
While we arrived here early, and it was quite empty, I could see how this would be a fun venue. The bar is decorated with oddities and seems like it would be a great place to see some live music. Going to a bar in the middle of the week early is always going to be a drag no matter if the venue is amazing or not. The beer selection here was pretty typical so if you are looking for some local brews this is not the place for you.

PISGAH BREWING CO
This was probably our favorite stop of the breweries we visited. While it is a bit of a drive, the location is gorgeous. Located in Black Mountain which is about a 15-30 minute drive outside Asheville,  the beer here was our favorite. This brewery is huge and they have a large outdoor seating/festival lawn area where they supposedly host large music festivals and acts. This would be a lot of fun to partake in but there wasn't much going on while we were there. Highly recommend this place for the view and if there is a special event going on. Great chocolate stouts aplenty!

ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWERY
We decided to check out this popular pizza joint/brewery for dinner. It was like an adult oddity store/chuckee cheese. They have crazy pop art around the restaurant like Nic Cage on the womans restroom door and weird names for their food as well as a video game arcade and other fun stuff. Supposedly they have a movie theater too. The pizza was decent. Nothing to call home about but not bad at all.

You can read our other entries about North Carolina here.

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CALIFORNIA: Humboldt County

We arrived in North California late at night and were staying with family. The drive was gorgeous and the area was full of places to explore. We did a little bit of hiking within the redwood forests and we also checked out some of what the nearby towns had to offer. The towns are primarily small and populated by independent businesses. The area encourages art and creativity, which is abundant even in the surrounding graffiti.

Ladybird Johnson Groves

Our first experience with the California Red Woods was in Humboldt County on a small trail that led through a forest. While a simple hike, it was a gorgeous little introduction to the unique redwoods. While it was rather overcast, it did make for some good photos of the fog among the trees. 

North County Fair

Luckily on the day we went to explore downtown Arcata we got to experience the North County Fair. The fair was full of crafty vendors, food, and creative costumes. There was a parade of people dressed as animals and several kinetic sculptures with incredible designs. 

Lukes Joint Restaurant

The great thing about the west coast is that their is an abundance of great organic and vegan friendly restaurants. Located in downtown Arcata, Lukes Joint was a great little spot to eat lunch at after the Parade. 

3 Foods Cafe

After a nice day of relaxing and exploring the local scenery we went to a quaint little independent restaurant for dinner called the 3 Foods Cafe (which apparently now is closed). The food was great and it was a lovely little spot for a nice dinner. Although we're sad to hear this place has closed, there are fortunately plenty of great little spots in the surrounding area. 

You can read our other entries about California here.

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OREGON: Portland | Part 2

Continuing our travels around Portland (view part 1 here), we wandered through the city for some time, checking out some shops and spots that we had heard about. We found some modestly priced parking (most cities are horrendous when it comes to parking costs), and took on the city by foot.

One of our favorite spots was certainly Powell's Books. This is a book nerd's paradise. Powell's is located in a very popular and walking friendly area called the Pearl District. There are several floors full endless shelves of used and new books. We spent quite some time in there exploring all of the available titles, and we even came back the next day.

We also made a quick stop to the Freaky but True Peculiarium, a fun little shop full of cheesy, novelty items and some interesting art. For the most part, Portland is an easy city to traverse even with some driving.

For some more natural areas, we had a little hike through Forest Park - a gorgeous little park just near the city that has some great trails. We love to get a balance of nature and city in our travels.

And of course we couldn't miss the International Rose Test Garden. Portland is called Rose City for a reason. This garden was incredibly beautiful - we have never seen so many varieties of roses in one place! While we missed the Japanese Garden, this spot was 100% worth a stop for a couple hours. There were so many photos, we will save some for a separate post. All of these attractions are located in Washington Park. There is also an arborteum, children's museum, memorials and the zoo. It is definitely a worthwhile spot for tourists to check out and everything is conveniently located in a small easy to walk around area.

After a long day of exploring as many corners of the city as we could muster, it was time for some good food & beer (Portland is FULL of interesting bars).

We enjoyed some sushi at Mio Sushi. A nice healthy lunch after our breakfast of donuts & coffee.

Yes, the were playing Cannibal! The Musical on the TVs

In the evening, we enjoyed some food & drink at the Rogue Pub (which carries some of our favorite beers) & then hopped over to Ground Kontrol to play some retro arcade games and try some local beer. Definitely worthwhile spots to check out if you enjoy some good drinks.

Overall, Portland was possibly our favorite city of our Pacific North West road trip. It had so much to offer in terms of food, fun, and nature.

View Part One of this entry here
You can read our other entries about Oregon here.

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