I went to a Shaker Village and I pet a Cow

So my parents were in Kentucky this past weekend spending time with me and I was in charge of finding something fun for us to do. All I wanted to do was go hiking. While doing research on somewhere to take my parents, I stumbled across the Shaker Village. There is an unbelievable amount of things to do including hiking, (minimal) shopping, eating, exploring, and the list goes on. My mom and dad were very interested in the whole history aspect of the village. I personally just wanted to go hiking.

We had lunch at the restaurant on the property, which is extremely enjoyable. After we finished eating, we set out to explore. Of course there was a chance of rain all day and it was already 2pm by the time we finished eating, so we did not get to go on the 6 mile hike to the waterfall. I will have to head back there sometime soon to go on that one. Instead, we just walked all along the property. It was beautiful.

The funny thing is that my favorite part was when we came across a cow. I stood at the edge of the fence and called for the cow and he started walking towards us. It was great because it totally seemed like he was walking with a purpose. Like he really wanted to be coming to us. My mom and I then proceeded to pet this cow for the next 10 minutes. That was absolutely the highlight of my day.

My parents and I did not see anywhere close to the amount of the village that I had planned on seeing, so I definitely plan on heading back there before the summer is over. Based on the maps for the hikes that are on the property, I definitely suggest it as a place to go hiking. When I find myself back there to go on that 6 mile hike that I had wanted to go on, I will share about that so all you outdoor lovers can embark on the journey as well.

For the time being, whoever lives in Kentucky near the Shaker Village, you should definitely check it out. If you get on that 6 mile hike before I do, please let me know how it goes!

I went to Nashville and all I saw was a Botanical Garden

Okay, so the title of this post is not completely true. I just find it funny that my mom and I took a little girls trip down to Nashville and for some odd reason we were extremely tired the entire trip and had little motivation to go out and explore the history and culture of such a lively city.

The real reason my mom and I went to Nashville was to go see The Maine in concert. It was a great experience and one of the best The Maine concerts I have ever attended (I have been seeing them live since they started 8 years ago). If you have not heard of them, you should definitely check them out.

Since my mom and I were already going to Nashville for the concert, we figured we might as well stay an extra day and explore the city. Well, so much for that…

We woke up the day after the concert and were absolutely exhausted. We did not get out of our hotel until 1pm. We headed straight for Cheekwood Botanical Garden. I love exploring wilderness, so I was very excited to see what this place had in store. Cheekwood has 55 acres of gardens as well as an Art Museum. The property was beautiful and walking around was extremely peaceful. I personally would suggest stopping by the next time you find yourself in Nashville. My mom and I spent a good 2&1/2 hours exploring. I think my favorite part was when we sat by a little pond and discovered that there were frogs and turtles living in it. The pond was like a mini ecosystem and I found it to be extremely interesting to watch the frogs and turtles.

After several hours, my mom and I went back to our hotel room and rested before dinner. We had the most amazing dinner, but I think it might deserve a post of its own because that is how great it was. After our dinner, we headed back to the hotel to park our car and then we walked down to Broadway. Broadway is full of night life (bars with live music) and some shops. Of course, my mom and I were being lame and were tired so we did not get involved in the nightlife, but it was fun to walk up and down the street and see what the nightlife was like.

If any of you head to Nashville any time soon, I definitely suggest doing more than my mom and I did. I personally want to go back there very soon and truly explore the city and see what all it has to offer. My top suggestion however is to check out the Cheekwood Botanical Garden during the day. It is so beautiful and is almost like a little escape from the hectic city life (although Nashville is definitely not hectic, at least compared to New York City).

A Taste of Summer

Last night I finished my last final of the semester, which means today was my first real day of summer vacation. To celebrate, two of my friends and I decided to go out to lunch. We picked this restaurant in downtown Lexington called Limestone Blue. Their menu is full of local food choices. This was my second time eating there and I have yet to be disappointed.

We decided to be a little adventurous with our food today and got some avocado fries to start. After trying them, we decided that pretty much anything is good if it is fried. We all love avocados that are not fried, but I mean come on, who does not like fried food? It just makes everything that much better.

For lunch, I decided to go with this absolutely delicious sandwich. It was on whole wheat bread (toasted) with goat cheese, spinach, avocado, and pesto in it. It was extremely rich, but absolutely worth it. I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time I enjoyed a sandwich so much. I even called my mom this afternoon and told her that I need to take her there for lunch when she comes to visit next week because it is just that good. My sandwich came with a side of macaroni and cheese. It was not any ordinary mac and cheese, it had what tasted like a barbecue twist to it. I am not going to lie, it was not my personal favorite, but I can see why so many people would like it.

I found my entire meal to be extremely enjoyable. The delicious food, the laid-back atmosphere of the restaurant, and the great conversation between my two friends and I really brought the whole dining experience together. I would absolutely suggest Limestone Blue to anyone who is in Lexington and is looking for a local favorite with delicious food. I am almost positive that I could have ordered anything off of the menu and enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed my sandwich. I definitely look forward to going back soon.

The First of Many..

On Monday, my friend and I decided to go study for one of our finals in a park. Jacobson Park. It is about a 15 minute drive from University of Kentucky’s campus. A nice little escape. The park has many acres of land that includes a dog park, many picnic tables, a pond, and even wooded areas to go exploring in. My friend and I situated ourselves (along with her wonderful dog) at a picnic table and studied for a good two hours. Once we realized how much time had passed, we decided it was time for a well deserved study break (aka an adventure in the woods).

As we started walking, I felt a rush of excitement run through me because of how pretty everything around us was. After walking for several minutes, I noticed that if we veered off to the left, we could go walk through a legitimate tree forest. It reminded me of a fairytale type forest. It definitely was not scary, but I could totally see its resemblance to a haunted forest. If you could not tell already, I have an infatuation with nature (and sunsets, sunsets are a gift). I also love books, fairies, and fairy-tales (they remind me of my childhood). I consider forests and forest-type places to be a home for fairies and also fairy-tales (Little Red Riding Hood, hello)! With that being said, let us get back to my friend and my walk through this fantastic forest. It just really pulled me in and I found it to be extremely beautiful.

If you are wondering what my point here is, I will share that with you now. Basically, if you live in Lexington and/or go to the University of Kentucky, you should definitely consider wandering over to Jacobson Park in your spare time, or even your study time. It is a great and quiet place to study as well as a great place to adventure. Plus, there is a dog park, so feel welcome to bring your dog. Especially if your dog likes to go on adventures with you since that really is the best.

I would like to leave you all with this great picture I took of the trees. I think it is great because I just really loved the trees, so I really hope you enjoy it too!

Jacobson Park
4001 Athens-Boonesboro Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40509
http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=2078

Here I Come

Hey world! The name is Becky.

You may be wondering what whahnderlust even means, so here I am to explain that to you real quick and welcome you to my blog. My parents were extremely uncreative when it came to giving me a middle name, so my mom decided to use her maiden name, Hahn, as my middle name. After countless hours of brainstorming names for my blog, my friend came up with the genius idea of spelling wanderlust, but with my middle name put into the word. This is because the way Hahn is pronounced fits pretty well into whahnderlust. If anything, the a is just carried out a little bit longer now. I never really share my middle name with people because I don’t really even consider it a real name, but here I am, using it as part of my blog. I guess you could say that I am embracing who I really am. Pretty cool, huh?!

I have a love for adventure and visiting new countries and even new states. I have always wanted to start a blog to write about all of these wonderful adventures, but after I booked my flight to London for this summer to go visit my sister (she lives in London, how cool!!) and go explore parts of Europe, I decided it was time to really make that blog I had been thinking about for years. So now it is time to embrace on my journeys. I do not leave until the end of June, but until then, I will write about other adventures I go on, in the United States.

Well now you all know what will be going on around here. I hope you all stick around and follow me on the journeys I start to embark on this summer and in the years to come!