End of Summer Road trips! PA, VA, + MI

I feel like the last four or five months have literally FLEW by! I was able to do a lot of traveling and it went so fast. Now that I feel like I have had a break and got my life back together at home, I am ready to plan more trips and go more new places! I wanted to share more in detail about each trip and some of the highlights of each one!

My first trip was to Cranberry, Pennsylvania for a work vacation the second week of August! For those who don't know, I work for Dick's Sporting Goods, and they recently announced opening a new chain of stores called Public Lands! I was able to go help out with getting the first one ready to open! If you live in the area you definitely need to go check the store out! They have a lot of cool products for every outdoor activity you could name!

While I was there I got super lucky to meet some of the nicest girls from other stores! One was from Kentucky, one from New Jersey, and another from a different part of Pennsylvania! Before I left for this trip, I planned a few places I wanted to take my Jeep near the city so I wouldn't be in the hotel room every night. The first night when we got off, three of us went downtown to Pittsburgh for some sight seeing and mainly for a sunset, but it got cloudy on our way down there. We drove over all the bridges in the center of the city, and we parked and walked down The Strip District, which is full of pretty murals!

Other things we went and did through the week were Top Golf in Pittsburgh, we went to the Ross Park Mall for a little shopping, and saw a gorgeous sunset on the way home. Had some good dinners at Applebee's and Primanti Bros, we also attempted to go see the city skyline the last night and it started storming terribly as soon as we got on the freeway, so we turned around.

I felt so lucky to be able to go out of state and travel for work, being able to see new places while still getting paid felt like a dream come true. It definitely showed me what I want my future to look like.

I was home for 5 days, worked an overnight for inventory on my birthday, and was getting on a plane on the 18th to fly back to Pennsylvania. This time I was headed into Philadelphia to meet up with Sandra and her friend Maddie. We were headed out that night when I landed to road trip down to Virginia Beach!

I have this great luck whenever I fly, there is always a rain delay. They had us all boarded and on the runway waiting to take off when the captain said we would have to go back to the terminal until it was clear. My 4:00 flight ended up actually leaving at 7:30. Although the delay sucked, I was able to start a book I really wanted to, and by the time we were in the air it was time for the sunset. I had a gorgeous flight to Philly.

It was a little after 10:30 when we were getting on the road to start the drive. I was awake for most of the ride as we went through so many states, so quickly! I couldn't even comprehend how we went from PA and passed through Maryland, Washington D.C, I think we even went into Delaware for a second. We passed the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument around 1:30 in the morning. It was shortly after that I slept for the rest of the drive until we arrived in Virginia Beach at 5 AM.

We got ourselves settled in our hotel and passed out until the morning when we found a place for breakfast and started the day off with some mimosas. We went back to the hotel and got ready for some beach time. We laid out for a bit and went back to the room once we got tired of the heat. While back at the room, we were looking up things to do and came across the Rudee Flipper Dolphin Tours! We were able to get on the sunset ride, and they had a bar on the boat! I got a delicious drink that had sprinkles on top! We saw way more dolphins than I expected! They were coastal dolphins, so they hang out pretty close to the shore. We also got to see a gorgeous sunset while we were headed back to the harbor.

Later that night we walked down to an ice cream place that was right next to our hotel on the boardwalk. We sat down to eat and got to see two police officers ride by on some huge horses! It was so cool to see them on the job just walking down the beach.

The next day was a rainy one so we planned some indoor activities. We woke up and went to Badass Coffee for breakfast, and headed to the Lynnhaven Mall for some vacation shopping. I actually got two shirts I am obsessed with now and really want to go buy them in every color they had! After the mall we went back to the room and ended up buying tickets to go to the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center! I had never been to a real aquarium so it was really cool to see all the different animals they have, and because it's also a Science Center they had a bunch of interactive displays to teach you about all the different species! I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the area!

It had been raining when we were headed into the Aquarium, but when we were leaving it was beginning to stop and the sun was peaking out. While we were driving back to the hotel we watched a perfect rainbow form, and eventually turned into a double rainbow! It was one of those things that you just only see while you're somewhere new. The whole day just went so well to lead us to that moment to see that perfect view. It has been a few years since I have seen such a perfect rainbow.

That night was pretty chill, we walked across the street to get pizza for dinner and the pizza place had surprisingly great drinks!

We left VA beach on Saturday and drove to Waynesboro, VA for our last night to make the drive on Sunday a bit shorter. Once we got settled in the hotel we went on an afternoon hike on the Beagle Gap Trail in Shenandoah National Park. After the hike we went and got dinner in town. It was such a cute area, the road was blocked off so people could eat outside in the street, and they had a lot of shops as well.

In the morning we grabbed coffee and started to take the road home, but the way we were headed was going for miles in the National Park. We stopped a few times for pictures, every turn you made the view was amazing!

I also had to share the adorable elephant made of towels that was in our hotel lobby! HOW CUTE!!

Mid September I went back to Mackinac Island for one last time this year, but this trip was for taking my grandma to visit the bench that was dedicated to my grandpa on the island. We stayed together in the Grand Hotel. It was an emotional trip, but a lot of good things came out of it, including my grandma saying she wanted to go up again next year! We had a busy schedule and a lot we all wanted to do in the short time we were there, and we made it work! As soon as we got off the boat that afternoon my sister Caylie and I walked to Island Slice Pizza for some lunch, and then began out first of many trips into our favorite island stores, Poppins, Little Luxuries, Threads of Mackinac, & Caddywampus!

We ordered breakfast in bed the first morning, and went and ate in the dining room the second morning. After finishing breakfast I got down to Cindy's riding stable right when they opened so I could go on a trail ride! I was ecstatic because they gave me my favorite horse there, Oscar! One year when I stayed up there, I rode almost every day, and asked for Oscar every time! Once I was back we got ready to go visit Sugar Loaf. We took a private carriage out there to visit my grandpas bench and hung out for a while. We really had perfect weather for it.

My sister and I walked back from Sugar Loaf instead of riding in the carriage and we walked down to the newly renovated Grand Hotel pool! The last time we were on the island, we weren't staying at the Grand, and they were not allowing non-guests down there yet again because of COVID. They put some major money into the property and it looks amazing, but it just doesn't feel like the same pool that I grew up going to anymore. I can't say I wouldn't mind taking a swim in it though in the summer time!

It was then time to get ready to take a trip out to The Woods for dinner! I had an amazing steak, along with a strawberry daiquiri! On our taxi ride home there was a full moon, and it was right over the Grand as we were coming down the bluff. It was so magical and I felt so happy and in the moment to be up there.

The last day I got up super early and went out for a rollerblade cruise to British Landing! They have been working on the road that goes around the island all summer, and I was hoping I would beat the construction crew and be able to get all the way around the island, but they had already closed off the road by the time I got out there. It was such a nice morning and I love being able to just cruise and have the whole road to myself. I think I only saw two people on my ride out there! Also I got to see a perfect Mackinac sunrise when I walked onto the porch. Sadly, after my morning workout, it was time for me to go pack the rest of my things and get ready to head to the boat dock.

My most recent trip was in Waters, Michigan the first weekend of October, staying at my good friend Kirsten's cabin! Waters is small city a little under an hour past West Branch! We usually do 2-3 trips up there a year, trying to hit spring, summer, and fall! We had 6 people, myself, Kirsten, John, Aaron, Alyssa, and Travis, plus 4 dogs, Ryleigh, Penny, Tapout, and Sarge, all loaded up in three cars ready to go.

We stopped in West Branch for gas and food. I was sitting in the parking lot of Taco Bell waiting for the other two cars to get through the line, when I look up and see Kirsten and her boyfriend PUSHING Aarons truck in the drive thru. I was so confused on what I missed while at the gas station. Turns out his transmission was out of the count and we had to figure out how to load two more people and two more dogs in my jeep, because Kirsten's truck was already full. I had my seats down for Ryleigh and all my crap I brought, but I was able to put some luggage in the bed of the truck. They have some great dogs because Tapout and Sarge laid down in the back with Alyssa where she told them too. Ryleigh really didn't think there was enough room for her back there, so she stood on my center council for most of the drive. She didn't mind them being in her space at all though and just minded her business. We came up with a plan where to get a U-haul in order to get his truck back home with Kirsten towing it.

We were settled in the cabin by 11:00, and took the dogs on a little night walk. When we came back we loaded up myself, Alyssa, and Aaron, plus our three dogs, in the bed of Kirsten's truck, and took a cruise out to the valley! The stars were insane that night, we could even see the strip of the milky way! We stayed out there until one in the morning and then headed back to get some sleep.

We were all up early the next day for a morning hike with the dogs! I did a lot of off leash work with Ryleigh that weekend because Kirsten has this really nice long leash that doesn't pick up dirt or mud. I let her drag that around and she was so good about staying with the pack and coming back when we called her. After our walk we drove into Gaylord to get breakfast at Big Boy, and run into Walmart to get ourselves some groceries for the weekend. Before headed back to Waters we also stopped at Starbucks, and Ryleigh got to have her first puppochino!

It was then time to hit the trails! I took myself, Travis, and Ryleigh in the jeep, while the other four paired up for quad rides! We found some pretty spots where the trees were starting to change and took pictures! This year up there was actually the least colorful compared to previous years, but they have been saying this is a really warm October for Michigan.

Later that night after grilling some burgers and hot dogs for dinner, we loaded into the back of the pick up truck again to see if we could get Kirsten's boat to start and go on the lake. We actually ended up going to the dock maybe three times to try and get it to start, and it never happened. It was okay though, we headed back to the cabin to start up a bonfire and have some smores!

The last day was more of a chill day, we were all pretty tired. In the morning we took the dogs on another short hike, but everyone was ready for a nap by mid-afternoon. Since I usually don't get to go on the quads because I always have my jeep, and Ryleigh was super tired out, I left her at the cabin with Aaron and Lyss for a nap while myself and Kirsten, and John and Travis went on a ride down some crazy big hills in the back of the private property! I love taking my jeep on them, but its so much different when you can get the speed on the quads! The rest of the night was very lazy, I took a nap and when I woke up Kirsten and Travis had went out of the kayak... and it was raining and dark out. They did make it back though! I got up for a bit to clean the house and pack so there was less to do in the morning. We had to head out early to pick up the U-Haul trailer in Graying and pick up the truck in West Branch! We only had one minor problem and I was able to go to Tractor Supply and get what we needed to make it home. This trip definitely threw a curve ball at us, but we somehow made it work!

Thank you fore reading about all my most recent adventures I had through the end of summer and beginning of fall! I really have what feels like a fire under my butt right now with motivation to get my blog going again and continuing to grow my Instagram as well. Make sure to subscribe below to be the first to know about future posts!