spring break road trip.

hello friends!

last week was my spring break from school and i thought i would share a little insight as to what is going on in the life of yours truly. my older brother, jackson , and i took a little road trip to neighboring states for a few days. with little to no expectations (and planning) those few days were one for the books. full of laughter, car jamming, city hopping, and way too much mexican food, it was a major bro/sis bonding experience. here are just a few snip bits of our travels. 

our first stop was st. louis. i have always wanted to visit this city and since jackson has a good friend who is in college there, we thought it was a good time to go. when we first arrived mid-afternoon, we met up with j's friend for lunch and a tour of washington university. later that night, we went to the city museum and let me just tell you: this place was ah. maz. zing. i didn't take many good shots, but it is basically a gigantic jungle gym. 

[ dare i say-- i got my chucks on with saint laurent... jk about the ysl part. ]

the next day, we got up early (the '9 o'clock' kind of early) and headed downtown to wander around the city gardens. these were seriously so cool-- over a dozen huge sculptures covering just a few blocks in the center of downtown. very interactive & photo-worthy.

[ no, thank you, horse & carriage for making this photo perfect. ]

[ st. louis skyline from 630 feet up in the gateway arch. we crazy like that. ]

then we walked over to the arch. after trying (and failing) to get a decent photo to capture it's beauty, we took a tram ride to the top. 630 feet later & hearing our fellow passengers life story (j likes to ask too many questions to strangers), we arrived at the top of the arch. this tiny room (with even tinier windows) provided us with the best view of st. louis. is there anything better than a city skyline?
hint: the answer is no.

the only downside to the arch, was that the grounds are currently in construction. so, it did not make for the prettiest photographs & left your shoes a bit muddy, but hey, even more reason to return!

later that afternoon we went to the st. louis art museum. short story: since there was no parking spot close to the museum and being the princess that i am, j dropped me off at the front while he parked about a half-mile away. i had no idea what this city's art museum was known for beholding, so i just went in with open arms. however, somehow i ended up paying $14 for just the exhibit that i was not even interested in while the rest of the museum was free. after probably complaining about the waste of money on the two-roomed show of river boat paintings (i am sorry, artist who spent hours working on these, i just do not care), i ended up in the comtemporary art room. ahhh, joy. happiness. love. all words that come to mind when i hear the words "comtemporary art". i was one happy girl.

afterwards, i grabbed a cup of tea and j & i walked back to the car. *here is where i tell you how scary it was walking within 10 feet of a man holding a very large snake. plot twist: i asked to hold the snake. wait... no, i actually did a mad dash down to the car and avoided any eye contact *

right before closing time, we hopped over to the missouri botanical gardens. i did not know what to expect, and was blown away. it felt as if we were in a safari. huge greenhouses adorned with the richest hues of green and vibrant flowers were everywhere you turned. i wish we could have stayed longer. 

the next day we drove two hours over to kansas city. upon arriving, we were met with some hotel complications. (apparently, you have to be 21, not 18, to check in at certain hotels.) so, we just adventured around kc for a few hours. we walked around the grounds at the nelson-atkins museum of art (again, the sculptures were to die for), ate too much cheesecake, and popped in urban outfitters (thank you j, for letting me "make the rounds one more time" 20 times). 

off to fayetteville, ar we went!

[ it wasn't even wednesday. (har-har) ]

being in the town where j lives, we had a slower couple of days, which was much needed. one morning we (me, jackson, and his friend) visited the gentry drive-thru zoo. you were suppose to keep your windows up at all times, but when a camel comes up to your window, you have to roll it down. call us rebels. ;)

then i had my 3rd meal of chicken tacos for the past 3 days thanks to a local taco truck. hey, not complaining. 

later that night, j and i went to a coffee shop that he has been wanting to take me to for a while now. we sat there and chatted about school, future, friends, and just life in general. very thankful for a older brother to talk with and listen to.

the next morning, all three of us went on a short hike in the fayetteville area. it supplied us with a vast overlook filled with trees ready to bloom. the weather was perfect and i only tripped once. i call that an outdoor-success for this one.

shortly after, we stopped for snow cones & headed home.

until next time, you beautiful open road. 

yours truly,

cate