Hodgenville, KY - State # 1

 Our adventure began on July 24 to Hodgenville, KY. We took a daytrip to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Park. I did not know this existed until we started researching things to do in Kentucky. Kentucky is known for its horse racing and bourbon, which we were not really interested in. We stumbled upon Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace and knew that it was the winner.

It took us about four hours to get there. Our original plan was to visit the park first and then grab lunch afterwards, but we were both starved by the time we got there, so we grabbed lunch first. Hodgenville is a really small town with a population of 3,333, so there were not a lot of options. We ate at Laha's Red Castle, which is pronounced lay-hays. This is a family-owned business that has been voted as the best hamburger in Kentucky.  It is a very small diner, but the staff were very friendly. We highly recommend getting the double deluxe burger.

After lunch we headed to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace. When we arrived, we jumped right into a tour with a park ranger. 

We spent about an hour in the park and most of that time was on the tour. There isn't much to see outside of the tour. It was recommended to visit the Knob Creek location, but we opted not to. The Birthplace is home to the first Lincoln Memorial. We learned there are 56 steps leading up to the memorial because that is how old he was when he was assassinated. There are sixteen columns and windows as he was the sixteenth president. Inside the memorial is a log cabin that is a replica of his childhood home. We also got to see the springs where he would have had his first sip of water.

After visiting his birthplace, I had plans of stopping by Mammoth Cave National Park, but we ran out of time. We hope to go back and visit as it seems like a really neat place.

On the way home we were able to find a gift shop to get a souvenir and some postcards. If you'd like to receive a postcard from us head over to our Patreon and join our friend group.

We would recommend visiting Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace if you are near the area or love history. 

Cost Breakdown:

Gas - $28.50

Food - $31.64 (the breakdown is as follows: Laha's Red Castle was $13.06, snacks at the gas station $7.55, and snacks at Dollar General $11.03)

Souvenirs - $21.60 (Marvel mug $10, Christmas ornament $6.99 , postcards $.99)

Total cost: $81.74

Let us know if you decide to visit any of these places. 

Washington, D.C.

 We went to D.C. on July 10, 2018. The trip took about ten hours from our house. The drive was pretty boring and seemed to take forever. 

Is it even a road trip without posting to social media along the way?

Driving in the city was very interesting. The lanes went from going straight to all of a sudden, it's now a turn lane. The drivers honk a lot, but they do at least let you over when you have your blinker on. Siri struggles just about as much as I do in getting us to our destination. Trying to get to our hotel took a good thirty minutes of us circling around the block. 

We stayed at Hotel Herrington. The reviews stated the rooms were outdated but overall, it was a nice hotel. I chose this hotel because funds were very limited, and I knew we would need to walk everywhere. The hotel is .8 of a mile from the White House. With exception of the zoo, the furthest we would have to walk is 1.8 miles. The hotel has a parking garage that is about two blocks from the hotel itself. The front desk staff were decent. The rooms were very outdated. I saw a recent suggestion state to bring an extension cord if you stay there, and I one hundred percent agree. My phone charger did not reach the bed. My main issue with this hotel is the housekeeping staff. On our check out day they tried to come in our room. That was my fault for not putting the do not disturb sign on the door. When I opened the door, she chewed me out for not putting the sign on the door and demanded I put it on the door. I told her ok, but she would not leave until I put the sign on the door. I felt like a little kid getting in trouble by my parents and was appalled that a staff member would talk to a guest in the manner she was. She later realized when we brought our suitcases out that we were actually checking out. She was nicer to us and asked if we were checking out and I just shook my head yes and kept walking. The location of the hotel is phenomenal. Had we not had the incident with housekeeping I would stay there again. If we ever make it back to D.C., we will make sure to have funds to stay at the nicer hotels within the area.

The hotel provided maps of the city, which were very helpful. 

We had very limited time, so once we got our bags to the room we immediately went exploring. The main reason we chose to go to D.C. is because Maddy had been learning a little about the United States in school. She learned about the Washington Monument and how the United States came to be. We viewed this as a field trip and were excited to see in person the things we learned about in books.

The one thing we were not prepared for was how hot it was. Tennessee gets hot and has bad humidity, but D.C. definitely beat it hands down.

Maddy was disappointed in the White House. She expected it to be white, not a cement color. I tried to get us tickets inside the White House before we left, but I was too late in requesting. I have no idea how far in advance you have to request them, but a month was not enough time.

After seeing the White House, we ventured to the Washington Monument. It was so hard to get a picture of us with the monument in the background. 

We were thrilled when we found we could stick our legs in the water. The water was cold, but as hot as it was it felt really good. I could have stayed there the rest of the day and been fine. It was so peaceful there. 

After cooling down a bit we were ready to venture on. We walked to the Lincoln Memorial where they were having some kind of event. 

Maddy was beyond ready for a drink, so after watching for a little bit we went on to find a drink stand. I'm sure I sound dramatic, but the lemonade was a lifesaver. 

On our way back towards the hotel I heard the announcer state the Vice President Joe Biden and his wife were there. I immediately stopped to try to see him. Again, it doesn't matter how you feel about the people in office, it is not every day you are in the company of a previous Vice President. We couldn't see him, but we did hear him speak. 

Funny story time, although it may not sound too funny. We were carrying our lemonade on the way back. While waiting on the crosswalk light in front of the White House to let us go, I felt a surge of something cold and wet. I gasped and looked down to see what happened. Maddy was dying laughing. Her cup slipped out of her hand and spilled all over me. As I looked around us people were also laughing at the incident. All I could get out was the fact that I had no extra shoes, and we were going to have to wait to eat until I dried off. To this day we still laugh about that incident. The heat helped dry my shoes off, so we were able to get food.

I don't remember the name of this pizza place, but I do remember it was really good. I think this was &pizza. 

This was the Museum of the Bible. It is a three-story building. They have a small kid's area where the kids can run around and play. We did go to the kid's area, but I didn't get any pictures or videos.

On check out day we were going to attempt to walk to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. It would have been about a thirty-minute walk one way. Maddy was getting too hot, and we hadn't made it very far. At that point we decided we were just ready to head home.

We loved visiting D.C. There are places we still want to visit there and would love to go back during the Fourth of July weekend. 

Even though we weren't planning to visit all fifty states at this point, we are adding it to our done list. 

Helen, Georgia

 Our second state to visit was Georgia. We were supposed to go to Helen, Georgia with one of my friends, but I ended up having to work, and we weren't able to go. We decided to take a day trip while I had some time off work. We went during summer, and it was so hot! It reminded me of a smaller Gatlinburg, TN. There are trails you can hike, and you can tube down the river. 

The drive was pretty from our house. There were several pull off spots to take in the scenery.

We were ready to jump in with our clothes to cool off. 

This bridge reminded me of the Pont des Arts in Paris. I've never been to Paris, but I have seen the bridge in pictures and on tv. I would love to visit Paris someday. 

We ate at the Troll Tavern. We both enjoyed it, but thought the food needed salt. We sat outside and this was our view. 

I took a snippet of the menu. We both got the chicken salad sandwich. The heat ruined our appetite, and we really just wanted a drink. I saw someone ordered the burger and it looked and smelled good.  We would definitely come back here to eat.

My favorite store was the Christmas Shoppe. When we walked in it was like we stepped right into Christmas. Christmas music was playing, and all the ornaments were hung on Christmas trees. If I ever move to Helen, I may just have to work in the Christmas Shoppe.

We each picked out an ornament. Most of the ornaments did not have Helen, GA on them, so we picked out one more that did. 

After we visited the Christmas Shoppe, we were ready to head home. I still had to grab a few more pictures of the scenery along the way. I'm pretty sure Maddy was over it by this point lol.

Every place we travel, we always want to go back. Helen is no different. We would go back in a heartbeat. We still have lots of exploring to do, so it will probably be a while before we make it back.

Road Trip - See All Fifty States

 As I mentioned in a previous post we love to travel. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to start my debt free journey is so we could have more money to see the world. We got this fun idea to try and see all fifty states. Ideally, we would start in alphabetical order, but I knew I couldn't save enough to visit Alaska. 

Our first official state to visit was Alabama. We live about two hours away from Alabama, so it really isn't that bad of a drive. Thanks to Pinterest, we found Birmingham, Alabama had a free botanical garden to visit. I took my birthday off last year and decided to make the trip to see the gardens. Siri had difficulties in getting us to the parking lot, but once we finally got there it was pretty neat. It was really cold and misting a little. I would like to go back when we have more time to explore.

We were in a hurry to get in and I didn't really get a good picture of the map. I think we had an hour by the time we got there, and I wasn't sure how big it was.

It was really peaceful. There weren't a lot of people when we went, so we were able to take our time and enjoy the scenery.

Had it been warmer I could have easily sat on that bench for a long time.

I thought this looked neat.

Can we say beautiful?! This is when you first walk in, and I was in awe. I know this picture doesn't do it justice, but it was really pretty in person.

Had to take advantage of every photo opportunity.

As a Christmas person, I had to take a picture. 

This is on the way out. I think there was a lot we missed, and the time of year wasn't the best, but we still had a good day. 

We have lots of places to visit and are so excited. Our goal for the states we've already been to is to find somewhere we haven't been. We have actually been to Alabama before, so finding the gardens was something new. I'm hoping to document each and every place we go just for our memory's sake.