“Great, we’ll book it,” I say into the phone and hang up as we hurdle 65 miles an hour down the Idaho highway to our latest mid-city stop. The sun is setting and we’ve been in the car for eight hours; Kait has made a significant dent in her baseball-thick novel while dave has played deejay and quit twice now. We look out at the orange cascading colors sinking in the sky to our left and there’s a newfound energy about the car. I get out my notebook and sketch out a headline and look to the others.

“Grocery list. The usual?” I say with a smile. I just booked rooms at our favorite hotel brand and the car is buzzing with excitement. Why? Well, I’m sure you can imagine but we eat out all too frequently. After awhile everything tastes fried and you can only eat so many salads until they all blur together. Cooking in the hotel room, however exciting, is not a sustainable option either. Brett and Eric tried cooking in their rooms last year (read here), but I’ve found the iron and coffee maker can only go so far. Thankfully we were rescued by another alternative. In Troy, Ohio we made the fateful discovery that there was a hotel just for us: the Residence Inn.

Unlike the usual hotels we patron, Residence Inn rooms come standard with fully equipped kitchens (from spatulas to can openers), and outdoor gas grills. While it took us two months to make such a discovery, we have certainly been making up for lost time in the form of home-cooked meals. Grilled shrimp and corn by the pool in Troy, Ohio. Smoked salmon and spinach crepes in Wichita, Kansas. Fresh vegetable pasta in Carmel, Indiana. Steak and salad in Boise, Idaho. The list goes on and on.

Surely there are other hotels out there that offer similar services but none can match the friendly staff (shout out to Allen at the Troy, Ohio Residence Inn!), the tall, familiar maroon sign that beckons us home, and most importantly, late check-out times that allow Dave to prepare extravagant brunches. With a slogan like “Your home away from home,” you can’t go wrong with a Residence Inn.

So, to Mr. Bill Marriott, we thank you for the services of your extended stay hotels. And if and when this crew ever reunites for a reunion you can guess where it will be held: at a Residence Inn.

KFC, bluegrass, horse racing… these are all things Kentucky is known for. Upon our descent into Lexington, we first noticed the heavy amount of construction happening downtown. Then we saw the countdown calendar, which announced 70 days until the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Cup was coming to town. These people are serious about their horses!

As the resident Southerner the crew regularly asks me questions about southern culture, such as: how do we make sweet tea? why do we love Chick-fil-A so much? and are we really this polite? Southern hospitality is not a facade; it’s knowing you’d better refer to anyone remotely older than you as ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’, knowing your friend’s-momma’s-neighbor’s-niece’s-boyfriend’s-uncle will help you out in a spot of car trouble, and knowing it’s always gonna take you an hour longer than you think at the bank/grocery store/coffee house/etc… because you’ll see folks you know and they will start asking about your daddy/sister/dog/brother/aunt… you catch my drift.

So when Ms. Juliana James, after sharing her aha moment, offered to bring us lunch the next day I looked at Dave and Kait and said, “THAT’S southern hospitality.” Juliana, also known as Chef Jewels, caters good ol’ Southern comfort food to folks of Lexington and on Friday she catered to the newest guests in town: us. Cowboy baked beans, corn bread, seven- cheese baked macaroni, potato salad and chicken, we were in hog heaven.

In her aha moment, she shared that she uses her talent to serve up food for local community needs, such as new Habitat For Humanity home recipients. Juliana is an incredible and generous woman. On behalf of Kait, Dave and I (Gary was gone for the afternoon), we’d like to shout out a huge THANK YOU to Chef Jewels for showing us some true Southern hospitality.

Here are some other Lexington aha moments that made us smile:

Meet Robert:
When I was in grad school completing my MFA, I had dreams of becoming a famous, rich artist. As I got older I got married, had a baby and left my dreams of becoming a famous artist behind me. I loved my family but felt that I wasn’t fulfilling my potential so I decided to make a website and start selling some of my art. The process was slow going but I am thrilled to be sharing my art and passion with the world.
Meet Laken:
My little brother, Charlie Lovely, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia the day after his sixteenth birthday, October 31, 2008. Charlie fought leukemia for 62 days, until January 1, 2009, just after midnight. The passion to make a difference had been ignited and I knew I had to carry on the legacy of this unbelievable person that had showed all of us how to Live Lovely for sixteen incredible years. Our biggest goal for his foundation is to eventually open a hospital or care center specifically designed to care for adolescents and young adults fighting cancer.

We’re spending a brief night in Indianapolis as we trek north to South Bend, Indiana. Thank you again to all the Lexington people who made our tour stop great!

Oh summer, I forgot how much I love thee. With your warm days, abundant outdoor activity and casual dining, you might be my favorite season. We got to indulge in all of above said activities this weekend on a much needed few days off on the coasts of Delaware. Jessica, we’ve come to find, knows all the right people in all the right places and has been hooking us up with various perks throughout the tour.

This last weekend perk has been my particular favorite. A weekend at a beach house on the lovely shores of Fenwick Island, Deleware? Yes, please! Grandma and Grandpa Henry were so kind as to open their home to us for a few days while we spent a glorious day and a half lounging on the beach, brushing up on our Frisbee game, and riding bikes (!!!) along the sandy streets of the city. Coincidentally, Jessica’s aunt Kate was in town with a big group of her friends and promptly invited us to indulge in drinks and fun poolside at a hotel down the road. After we had all had too much sun we rode our bikes to the ‘Crab Bag’, a beacon of casual dining complete with picnic tables and brown paper table cloths. Kate’s friend Natalie showed us the finer points of eating fresh crab (stab, snap, scrape! violent, I know…) and we all enjoyed some delightfully messy eating.

We wound down our evening with a refreshing moonlit dip in the ocean, possibly our last glimpse of that big ol’ abyss for the rest of the trip. There is nothing like a wide and empty ocean to renew one’s mind and refill it with a deep sense of gratitude. It is these fleeting weekends that make me realize how lucky I am to be a part of such an awesome, fabulous crew of people, whether they be my actual crew or all the people who support me on the sidelines (mom, dad, this is your shout out). May there be many more perfect weekends to come.

With an exciting few Asheville days under our belt, this entry concludes the aha moment tour stop in this quint, mountain town. We met musicians, authors, football stars-turned musicians, and everything in between. The relaxed Asheville personality reflected the cool 85 degree weather we were very pleased to find.

While the town’s drum circles may not be my thing, I stumbled upon a local gem by word of one of our dinner servers: the chocolate lounge. The French Broad chocolate lounge offers late-night live music and coffee to accompany its chocolate offerings: chocolate with spices, chocolates with flowers, chocolate with figs, international chocolates, chocolate crème brûlée… you catch my drift. Twice I settled into a cozy table to finish a night between the pages of a good book and a dessert delicacy.


When I wasn’t at the chocolate lounge or roaming the various cobblestone streets in this vibrant town, I was hearing some pretty unique and inspiring stories. The people who came down and shared in Asheville reminded me that a lot of heart and connectivity can still exist in a large town. Without further ado, here are some of the aha moments from Asheville, North Carolina:

Meet Cindy:
A few years ago I got really sick. Through the recovery process I gained about 100 pounds. I knew I needed to change my life so I sold my car, quit my job and rode my bike from Phoenix to Asheville, North Carolina. I lost 60 pounds and got a new job when I arrived to Asheville. Now, today, I am doing another ride down the Continental Divide.

Jessica’s note: Cindy really is biking the Continental Divide this very moment! Best of luck to you, Cindy and we can’t wait to hear how it goes!

Meet Rodney:
I worked as a graphic designer for the National Forrest Service for many years. I have always been drawn to western art  so I picked up leather tooling and leather art. I retired a few years ago and now focus on my craft. I am finally slowing down, traveling and enjoying my life to the fullest.

Meet Marilyn:
I was working a portrait photographer in Miami. I had hundreds of clients and worked in a huge studio. One day someone showed me a beautiful picture of a baby and I had no idea who the child was, who his parents were or when it was taken and I took the picture! I knew from that point on that something needed to change. So I left the studio, moved to Asheville and became a painter. I now love my job.

It is crazy to think that we just left Asheville and now we are filming in Knoxville! Oh how time flies when we are on the road.