East Coast Loop

Let’s hit the road once again! This time we headed out East and had all sorts of stops along the way that filled our week-long road trip! From walking down Honky Tonk Highway, to driving through the Appalachian Mountains, dipping our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, and riding along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail - I think we saw just about everything we could! Before we dive in, I’ve got our entire itinerary in my store that’s fully linked with where we stayed, ate, and explored!

Nashville, TN

We got our party pants on and hit the road to visit Nashville! We found a lovely guest house in East Nashville that was an easy 5-10 minute Uber from Broadway. The neighborhood was safe and made for a great stay. We got busy exploring as soon as we arrived. We found a fun spot called The Green House filled with plants and some amazing prickly pear margaritas - they had a fantastic happy hour too!

We headed towards downtown afterward for food and live music. We accidentally got dropped off at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery inside an area called 6th & Peabody which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We tried their food truck tacos and sipped on some moonshine!

Finally, we made it to Broadway! We hit the road running and stopped by these fun bars for drinks and live music: Tootsies, Honky Tonk Central, The Stage on Braodway, Lucky Bastard Saloon, and Kid Rock’s Bar.

Great Smokey Mountains National Park

I’d be lying if I said this day of driving wasn’t brutal but we regained our strength with some breakfast at Biscuit Love and hit the road!

We were able to complete a short 2 mile hike to Laurel Falls in the Great Smokey’s and went to a lookout spot for sunset. It was quick and a simple drive through the park but we enjoyed it!

Asheville, NC

We found ourselves a place to stay in Asheville that night after exploring some of the Great Smokey Mountains. Asheville turned out to be the absolute cutest area and we stayed in such a cozy Airbnb. We woke up that morning and walked around downtown, tried a delicious beignet sandwich with coffee at Bebettes and then shared an amazing breakfast at Tupelo Honey. I promise we don’t go hungry on our road trips!

Congaree National Park

We took a detour on our way to Myrtle Beach to see this less-seen National Park. We really enjoyed walking along the boarded path in Congaree. It gave us a chance to stretch our legs for an hour and it was such a unique forest filled with plants and trees that we’ve never seen before. If you’re in the area and have never been, you definitely should stop by!

The boarded walking path made this such an easy park to explore!

Myrtle Beach, SC

This stop ended up being my most favorite for one big reason but before we get to that let’s chat about where we stayed, what we ate, and all things Myrtle Beach!

We stayed right next to the famous SkyWheel on the beach at a hotel for the night. It wasn’t anything fancy or to write home about but the location was within walking distance to everything and right on the beach.

We stopped in for a happy hour during sunset at Pier 14, you can’t beat a beach sunset with half priced drinks and sushi! After that we filled my one wish which was to get a big plate of fresh seafood. RipTydz had “sea steamers” to choose from that were absolutely incredible!

My most favorite sunrise.

The following morning we woke up to watch the sunrise. I didn’t realize it yet but Mason was going to propose! After indulging in the most magical moment, we sipped on our coffees and hit the road up the East coastline!

Richmond, VA

Prior to us meeting, Mason lived out in Richmond, Virginia so he was excited to show me his old stomping grounds. We checked into our historic Airbnb for two nights. It was located near Sub Rosa Bakery so our morning cup of joe and fresh pastries were just steps away.

During our time here we got to see the Canal Walk Murals along the James River, explore shops in Carytown, and walked around downtown. We got to try out Tarrant’s Downtown, a former pharmacy from 1905 that now serves great cocktails. Bar Solita was another memorable stop during our time in Richmond. They had an amazing pizza called The Honey Badger that’s a must try!

Shenandoah National Park

We headed out of Richmond to our next stop - a National Park! On our way we stumbled upon a cute little town called Culpeper in Virginia that was lined with so many shops. We stopped in at Raven’s Nest Coffee House and then found ourselves cactus to take home from a local store, Botanical Dwellings. Their store was so dang cute!

After enjoying Culpeper, we got to Shenandoah! It was absolutely beautiful although we missed the leaves turning colors by just two weeks. We did two short hikes while we were there: Bearfence Viewpoint and Fraizer Discovery Trail. Both of these hikes were about one mile total and took about an hour each.

Where we stayed this night was so cool. It was an old historic building that had been newly renovated into a boutique hotel. Prior to this it was abandoned for years and was once a psychiatric hospital. Que eerie music!

Louisville, KY

Our final destination before heading home was Louisville, Kentucky! This was such a fun spot to explore and even more fun driving in from Virginia along the Bourbon Trail. We got to try Buffalo Trace and Evan Williams! Aside from bourbon, we had some great food at Merle’s Whiskey Kitchen and Doc Crow’s in downtown.

After a week on a the road, we made it back home to Kansas City but don’t worry, we are always planning our next adventure!