Our Christmas plans this year took us from Pittsburgh, PA to sunny Panama City, Florida with a pit stop in Nashville, TN. I slated two nights, so we would have one day in Nashville to explore. While the holiday did make schedules more challenging to navigate, we were able to eat, drink, and explore and still have a cozy night to exchange Christmas presents. Let's explore!
Walking is a meditative process, and fall felt like my spiritual guide, a warm hug helping me to transition to the coming winter's rest, quiet, and stillness.
William McCaffrey and Veronica Palladino are multi-generation farmers who believe that farms are critical to building strong local communities and reversing climate change. Put on a flannel, hold a warm mug of [spiked] cider, and join me for a vicarious brisk walk around their time-tested farm in all its New England fall glory.
Whenever people ask me where I'm from, I say, "Pennsylvania, but I was born in Nebraska." I like to include that tidbit because Nebraska is a part of my story and my family's culture. More importantly, most people think Nebraska is just corn and cows. Yes, the state does boast a lot of corn and cows, but there are indeed people there. I live to tell. What might be even more unexpected though is there are cities too!
For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to the stories of old objects, so you can imagine how it felt like kismet that I happened to be visiting family in Omaha, Nebraska at the exact time of Junkstock!
Admittedly, the word "tour" is a bit of a stretch here, but we did sample two ice cream shops in one day. We were dedicated to the cause. We even scheduled our departure time around one of the ice cream schedules, so what this NOLA ice cream tour lacks in breadth, it makes up for in pure heart.
There is plenty to explore by foot in New Orleans, which means you'll have plenty of room for NOLA Beignets. Here's my recommendations. I did the leg work for you.
I spent my January birthday basking in the sunshine and tropical plants of Florida, but for Dylan's birthday, I had another thought. I'd been nurturing a seed of an idea for a while - a trip to loud, colorful New Orleans. Equipped with a local's guide to New Orleans, we took in as many experiences as we could.