Bye Bye USA!! (so many pictures...)

First of all, did you guys know that Goldfish PUFFS exist?!? Boyfriend's roommate introduced me to them the other day and let me just say "You're Welcome!" in advance :)

(he's so fancy ;) *giggle...) 

I LOVE Virginia!!

The weather has been beautiful, the day trips (tourism at its finest) have been an absolute dream, spending time with Drew and his (GREAT) friends has been so much fun, and now I feel totally musically unprepared to go to England....

So before I share a few of my favorite photos from the past few days:

THANK YOU- to my entire family for being SO supportive of this journey! There is no way I would be going to England to study (is this real life?!) for 6 months without you.

THANK YOU- to my teachers for pushing me and pouring your hearts and knowledge into teaching me! I absolutely would not be where I am without your guidance.

THANK YOU- friends for encouraging me and celebrating with me. You all help me see the best in every situation!

I'M FLYING TO ENGLAND TOMORROW!!!!!!

Ok, now more Virginia/DC visit pictures :)

(get OUT of my picture!!! ok, maybe I'm just too lazy to crop it...)

This is a super bittersweet moment for me....

Along with being unbelievably excited about living in a country that I've never even seen for 6 months, getting to travel a little bit, and most of all soaking in all that I can while studying with Trevor....I'm also pretty anxious.

Texas has been home for a LONG time....and I already did that whole no talkie thing with Drew for 3 months while he was at BCT. I know I'm going to be incredibly homesick from the separation, but I also know that I will be having an Amazing experience and that my time in England will fly by!

Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this blog as easily as I think...not sure what the internet situation will be like in my new(old....) place! SOOOO I'll be praying for peace and safe travels!

Next time you hear from me I will be settling into my new temporarily English life :)

Travel Log- the Beginning!

I made it to DC! Ok ok, I always say DC, but technically its Arlington VA.

Apparently iPhone 4 front facing camera isn't too great in dim lighting...but its DREW AND BOBBY!

Drew went to work and I got left with $10 to “go explore,” which of course includes coffee and blogging! So I’m sitting here in this little coffee shop a few blocks from Drew’s place, with a name that I won’t even attempt to pronounce, drinking a honey vanilla latte (fancy!), listening to classical radio, and finally writing to you all :)

So, if you follow me on twitter, you might know that my travel day was quite the mess!

This was when I was calmly oblivious of my future travel crazies

First of all let me tell you, I’m an idiot.

Ok, so the story goes: My mom and I drove out to the airport an hour away from our house with plenty of time to spare…..and it turns out I told her the WRONG AIRPORT.

(now you see why I called myself and idiot)

So the airport I really needed to get to was a mere 20 minutes from our house…so we backtracked, hit a bunch of traffic, and I missed my flight for the first time in my life! And it was because I’M AN IDIOT. Luckily for me, US Airways didn’t charge me to hop on the next flight, which was less than two hours later.

I made it to the next flight and we continued to sit on the runway for over half an hour. At this point I realized there was No way I would make my connection flight….super bummer!

Don’t miss your flight, kids! Always do a stupid check on your airport, airline, and departure time before you leave the house…..good-ness.

Cool part of the story is that the girl sitting next to me was heading to see her man (and get married!!!) in the Navy! So we had a fun bonding experience, and it was pretty cool that God stuck us next to each other on a flight where we were both super flustered and anxious. … each of us had a connection that by the time we landed we only had 10 minutes before the next flight took off!

And let me tell you, Praise The Lord, we landed (mind you, we were at the BACK of the plane), had 10 minutes, RAN, and actually made it to our next respective flights. Holy cow. I was so out of breath and embarrassed and of course my bag didn’t make it to the connection flight but I definitely didn’t care since that meant I made it to Arlington! WHEW.

Enough of my embarrassing travel story. I’m here and its great and I’m super happy and we’ve been having a great time!

Went to the National Archives

 

Played with the iOS 7 camera update

We’ve been cooking a lot, which is super fun (I actually have a post coming up on our culinary adventures). Playing ping pong. Visiting “the sites”. And yesterday was extra special for me because I got to see Drew play at a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. 

I wonder if I will ever stop being obnoxiously proud of him….I doubt it ;)

I’m going to head out for now, but before I do, I have a question for anyone who cares to answer!!

I’m traveling (for the next 6 months) with only my iPad and iPhone. I’m having some difficulty blogging from my iPad even from the regular browser….do any of you blog regularly from a tablet or phone? Do you have any tips or app recommendations for me? I’ll be super grateful!! I’d love the security of knowing I won’t have to borrow laptops from my future roommates every time I want to write a post…which I’m hoping will be often.  :)

Happy Tuesday, friends!!

Travel Tuesday- Washington DC Edition

Ever since I read every single one of the Dan Brown books (don't judge me) I've had my little heart set on visiting Washington DC. 

So much history! So much awesome. (two perfect reasons, right?)

I have yet to see all the sights/sites(?) (LIKE ABE LINCOLN)... so its a good thing that I'll be back at the end of September!

I'm not sure if this counts as sight-seeing, but our lovely friends/hosts took us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant at National Harbor and it was FANTASTIC. 

I was pretty skeptical about Mexican food in the DC area being from south Texas (tex-mex snob!)....so bravo Rosa Mexicano! I highly recommend a trip if you are visiting National Harbor.

Also, they have a Peeps store. 

this is not a photo of the peeps store

Now, I keep saying that I was in DC knowing very well that I was in Virginia and Maryland and wherever and that DC does NOT actually span the entire area- bare with me. 

We ACTUALLY went to DC because I wanted to be touristy, but let me tell you, parking is a nightmare!!! I got a little bit grumpy, but by the time we found a spot it was literally on the street directly in front of the Smithsonian (and free!!) and I was a happy happy camper.

The only part of the Smithsonian we had time to see was the Natural Science museum which was way cool. 

We made a beeline for the shiny things, of course...

I would impress you with my knowledge of rocks, but that would be boring via blog-land so I'll spare you.

Oh, and we saw the Hope diamond!!! Very cool. The picture however did Not turn out cool because of the glass and lights and reflections and well...its in a museum. 

I love museums.

The coolest "sightseeing" adventure for me was definitely visiting the Arlington National Cemetery.

I absolutely love history, and even would consider myself a history buff if it weren't for my inability to remember dates and names even if my life depended on it.... but the people, documents, patriotism, wars, love, families, events, memorials....they are all wrapped up in this place.

Little white stones as far as you can see in any direction...those are all somebody's someone that meant the world to them and everyone else in their lives and its just an overwhelming and humbling place to be if you let your mind wander. That was kind of a run on sentence.

Even more meaningful is how Drew's job fits into all of that history. It was one thing to 'know' what his job was, but it was an entirely different experience to witness in context.

Maybe I'll get him on here one day to tell you about it, because he describes it far better than I ever could. So I'll just leave you with this photo.

:)

I'm currently in Waco saying my goodbyes to the faculty and to Baylor...super sentimental! 

Happy beginning of school to my teacher/student friends and readers!

I hope you all have a great start to a wonderful and blessed year. 

One last question- Have you been to DC? Tell me something that I must see or do that I can add to my list for my next visit!!