My Travels Thru The Midlands

There are four official regions in the US and until a couple days ago, I’d spent time in just three of them. I never realized that before. I’ve been fortunate to travel around the US, whether for vacation, a wedding or work and visit various cities in a bunch of states — but apparently never in the Midwest! While on this road trip cross country with my mom, we’ve driven *through* most of this region. But — it’s been a great way to see some awesome US landscapes, bridges and bodies of water! Plus, I loved getting to see the skylines of cool cities like Cincinnati (OH) and Louisville (KY). It made me eager to get back there and check out the food scene, art and people *in* those cities… and I’ll remember the first time I was “there” was with my mom :).

We did get a chance to see some of Dayton (OH) because I wanted to make a visit; I’ll be able to share more at a later date.

Also, my mom wanted to see the Grand Arch in St. Louis (MO), so we did that (I took a 10 sec video, here)…

…and had a blast exploring more of what that city has to offer!! Particularly, having our 1st sit-down meal (We’ve been living on Trader Joe’s snacks and hotel fruit for four days; No complaints here, but you know it’s telling when you’re *craving* the rest of the food pyramid.). We heard the ‘St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake’ was not to miss at the Ritz, soooo we headed there for a delish, healthy lunch… followed by THAT!

{TOP} Anthropologie; {WORKOUT SHORTS} TJ MAXX, NYC; {SNEAKS} Nike, DSW (w/ a bday coupon, woohoo!)

In both Dayton and St. Louis, everyone was super friendly and engaging, even fellow visitors we had the pleasure of meeting. It’s always fun to meet new people, especially when we’re far from home. Aaaand speaking of that place that’s unlike any other place,

No-Place-Like-Home-500x281

we passed Kansas City (MO) not that long ago enroute to our next overnight stay in Topeka (KA)! And this leg of the trip was quite the experience — from stopping for gas at the same place you could buy enough fireworks for the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks on the Hudson…