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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Week Re-Cap: Part 2

After graduation (see tomorrow's post all about that) it was a whirlwind time in Austin. My apartment had the possibility of being sold extremely fast so instead of flying home for two weeks and then coming back to move me out my dad and I had to move out in two days and then drive all of my things home...a very adult way to end the graduation weekend. But we still found ways to have fun during this very sweaty, heavy lifting time. We visited the last of the breweries we hadn't tried in Austin (Last Stand and Oskar Blues), both of which were delicious and I would highly recommend. Last Stand is adorable and the drive partway through the hill country provides for a nice sunset trip. Oskar Blues is a staple of the American craft beer scenes, with breweries in Colorado, Texas and North Carolina. Dale's Pale Ale is their most famous but they have a Mexican Lager that I'm excited about. The taproom is an interesting mix of interior design but they have a stage so I assume they do live music. We finished out the night with Austin Beerworks, a true classic, and their Mexican Lager is wonderful. For me, light beers are where it is at, so it is awesome to see all of these breweries making an effort in that regard. After our final day in Austin for the foreseeable future (don't worry, I'll be at almost all of the football games in the fall) we headed out to Baton Rouge.

My dad and I have done Red Stick a bunch over the years because I was highly considering LSU so we have a few places we always like to visit. The first being Tin Roof one of the only craft breweries in Baton Rouge. We went when I was in high school so I had never tried the beers and they built a taproom in the time that had elapsed. The taproom is really nice, lots of "Geaux" signs and the beer is even better. After that we stopped in at The Chimes for dinner, a classic college spot that serves some spicy red beans and rice. We then walked around the LSU campus to see the changes that had been made over the years and visited Mike...because if you go to LSU how can you not visit the tiger?

The next day we went onto New Orleans. Let me stop right here and say that if you have never been to NOLA, please buy a plane ticket right now. That city is one of a kind and everyone should experience it. Our first stop was the National WWII Museum, something we have done before but about six years ago and it has expanded to take up almost four blocks of the Magazine District. The new pavilions are so well done and if you love history even a little bit you will need to visit. They make the exhibits so personal and you almost feel as if you are there with the soldiers in some aspects. We worked up an appetite in the museum so we headed to the Palace Cafe, a place I had never been but my dad assured me it was a staple. We, somehow, got street parking(probably because it was a weekday and summer hasn't officially started).The cafe is owned by Brennan's (the people that brought us Banana's Foster) but has a much more casual vibe. Very much like a little cafe in Paris, it provides ample people watching and delicious sandwiches. We both opted for the Bresaola Baguette (brie, bresaola, apple, dark beer mustard, arugula and a mixed green salad).
It was perfection. We then drove to park at the old mint in the Quarter and walked to Cafe du Monde, my one thing I always want to do in New Orleans. This time I tried the Chicory Coffee and I kind of loved it. I am really picky about my favorite coffees because I think most don't taste like anything but the Chicory honestly gave it some good flavor. And we had beignets because why else would you go? After all of these adventures we hopped in the car and headed for Tallahassee.



Tallahassee is where I spent so much of my childhood so, since we had the extra time, we decided to stay an extra day just so I could see all that had happened to the capital city of Florida. First, we took a tour of the recently opened Grove Museum. It's the home of two Florida governors (Richard Keith Call & LeRoy Collins) and serves as an example of powerful women in Florida's history. The museum is excellent and if you are in Tallahassee you must make a stop to at least enjoy the grounds. The Florida Governor's Mansion is right next door so we popped over to get a photo through the gates. This is a scary (sad?) fact but I had never actually seen the front until that day! We stopped for BBQ at a Florida staple, 4 Rivers, who's mac-and-cheese and baked goods make it unique. Then it was off to walk my parents alma mater, Florida State. The university holds a special place in my heart and I would highly encourage any of y'all applying to college to visit. It's beautiful and they are a wonderful school. My favorite building on campus is Dodd Hall because it has this wonderful reading room that is usually closed but was open when we visited. It's now a place to quiet study or visit the FSU Heritage Museum. You'll see photos of it below and that stained glass window is beautiful. After our walk we headed to Proof Brewing that has a lot of options for all beer lovers. The taproom is cool but they are going to expand into an old Coca-Cola bottling factory soon! Then we had pizza at Mellow Mushroom (an oldie but a goodie) before driving over to Ology Brewing to end the night. They have less selection than Proof, but their Sensory Overload New England IPA is delicious. The next morning we had breakfast at Maple Street Biscuit Company and then headed home to Fort Myers.



While the immediate move was not the most fun thing in the world we had a blast and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Currently I'm enjoying some time off of school in FM, enjoying the heat and heading to the beach. This is the end of the crazy week-recaps, we should be back on normal schedule next week. What have y'all been up to? And have you been to any of these spots? - xoxo darling, Hayden.
P.S. Check out all of the photos from our trip below!

Planes at the National WWII Museum


The adorable menu at The Palace Cafe.


It doesn't get better than this. 


You can spot this over on my dad's Instagram.


The Florida Governor's Mansion.

The Grove Museum

Dodd Hall


Westcott Building at FSU

Proof Brewing

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