Both B and I had some time off between Christmas and January 1, so we decided to take a quick trip during our vacation. Last year you may recall we did a few days in Montreal (and they had a HUGE snowstorm) and Toronto. This year, we spent the post-Christmas holiday traveling south to Nashville! But we made a few stops on our way there.

We started off with a way-too-quick stop in New Jersey to visit a few of my family members. I haven’t seen most of them since B and I were married – which is WAAY too long – so it was great to see them, even if just for a short while.

We then stopped off and spent the night in Philly, having dinner and staying with our friends Mitch and Becca. They’re both pretty amazing and both doctors, but made time to enjoy dinner with us. They also live in the cutest townhouse on the cutest street.

After that we traveled down some more and stopped off in Virginia at Monticello to see the famous presidential home. It did not disappoint – we had a beautiful day and the walk through the grounds with the mountains in the background was amazing. Oh and the home itself is really cool!

After Monticello, we stopped by downtown Charlottesville to explore the nearby area. I didn’t take any pictures, sadly – but I assure you that their downtown is REALLY cool and it made B kinda wish he had gone to UVA. Except then we never would’ve met … hmmm …

We drove a little more and spent the night in Asheville, another college town. I enjoyed Asheville – we had a seriously great meal at a Farm Burger when we arrived (which thankfully was still open – we learned the hard way that most places close by 9-10 p.m. for food!) and walked around the downtown area at night. The next morning we had a quick breakfast of some pastries from a local breakfast joint (all of the recommended brunch places had 45 min + waiting times and we didn’t want to deal with that) and local coffee and picked up some local chocolates before hitting the road to our final destination – Nashville!

Nashville was great. B and I had been there before so there was no rush to take in all the sights or do all the sight-seeing stuff we could in just a few days. Plus, we were staying with our friend from college Eric and his fiance so it was great to catch up with them an just hang out. I can’t believe they’re getting married this year!

Anyway, our time in Nashville mostly consisted of good food, catching up, going out and enjoying the weather.

We made time for a run around Belmont (which was gorgeous!) one afternoon (I even wore capris! I miss the warm weather), and a visit to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home. Yup, TWO presidential homes in ONE trip!

Oh, and a stop at the Parthenon. Yes, still in Nashville.

And of course – we enjoyed some BBQ!

All in all, it was a GREAT mini-vacation, just what B and I needed before getting back to the grind … and the tremendous snow we’ve been having in Cleveland.

So I leave you with a picture of B and I, enjoying the SUNNY weather (no coats!!) in Nashville.

Some questions for you, because it’s been TOO long!

• Favorite travel snack/food? Skinny vanilla lattes and peanut m&ms.
• Do you like your BBQ sweet or smoky? Smoky! Though Nashville’s was a combination of both – and that was yummy.
• Taken any historical vacations?
• How much snow do you have where you live?