I Visited Shenandoah National Park During Peak Season!

Every year, my Papa and I make an effort to visit Shenandoah National Park during the Fall season. Luckily for us, it SO happened to be that the only weekend day we both had available to go was during Peak Fall leaves season! That all being said, we had a breathtakingly gorgeous experience driving through the national park’s major road to sightsee – Skyline Drive. It was all truly a DREAM come true!!

About Shenandoah National Park: Shenandoah National Park is a mountainous oasis just 75 miles away from Washington, DC in Virginia. It is home to Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, which extend from North Carolina. This Virginia national park also includes a 101-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail. Skyline Drive, which Papa and I drove about 25 miles of from the Front Royal entrance to the Sperryville exit, runs approximately 105 miles both north and south along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Scenic views galore when driving through Skyline Drive, whether you go leaf peeping (like Papa and I!) in the Fall or want to take in ALL the gorgeous mountainous views. One of the most well-known hikes at Shenandoah National Park is Old Rag. There are ALSO several other hiking trails, many of which include gorgeous cascade waterfalls. For more information and to book a National Park Pass to visit, look no further than here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

I will be honest here for a second, it was PACKED when Papa and I arrived. We picked the prime day for leaf peeping yet the WORST day in terms of traffic and crowds. We actually had to wait about 1-2 hours in a longggg line full of cars just to get into the park. One of the biggest suggestions I have for visiting Shenandoah National Park is to book your pass to visit in advance (or purchase a National Park Pass if you’ll get your money’s worth!). Papa has a Senior Citizen National Park Pass, so we were able to bypass a good chunk of the lines of cars to get into the park. BUT, when we did get into the park, it was definitely worth the wait!

Personally, I am not a big fan of crowds. There were crowds everywhere when we drove Skyline Drive, but it was to be expected given the time that we chose to visit and the fact that it was a weekend. If crowds overwhelm you, then it is worthwhile choosing to visit during a less of a peak season or on a weekday to avoid them a bit. I will say, though, that simply being in the car with Papa and Rosie and stopping at the scenic views of our choosing was nice and a good way to simply space out.

Now, on a more positive note, the leaves were absolutely gorgeous!!! I LOVED getting to visit Shenandoah National Park during Peak leaves season. This is something I have ALWAYS wanted to do, yet never gotten the chance to given, well, life. So, through the crowds and traffic and all, I am so so so grateful that I was able to visit during this terrific time to do so. Pictures DO NOT do the roads and the sights of Skyline Drive ANY justice. Gratitude is the word, especially when taking in ALLL the views!

I feel super lucky to be able to live so close to such a great national park within an easy day’s reach. While I’m not a big hiker, I do love the mountains and the serenity that it brings me. I know others feel the same way, too, hiker or not. One day, I would LOVE to explore the cascade waterfalls via a bunny hike of Shenandoah National Park and more!

XOXO – Katie <3

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I Saw Hamilton at The Kennedy Center!

…. And it blew us all away!!! A dream truly come true – I got to see Hamilton LIVE at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. And, well, the best part?! I went by MYSELF and had an amazing time and *even* forgot that I was there ALL alone. All in all, getting to be in the room where it happens was definitely another item crossed off my bucket list!

Hamilton was in town in my home city of Washington, DC from late August 2022 until around October 10, 2022 while on tour. It was performing at The Kennedy Center, which I write more about my experience visiting its GORGEOUS rooftop looking over the city and its brand-new exhibit dedicated to former President and founder of the performing arts center: John F. Kennedy, in the below post linked here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/09/29/visiting-the-brand-new-the-kennedy-center-jfk-exhibit/#/

In case you didn’t already know, Hamilton is a world-renowned musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and is based off of none other than American revolutionary statesman and one of America’s Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton’s life and story. Music from this musical can easily be found on Spotify, too. A beautiful tribute to him, through none other than a rapped musical! Currently, Hamilton is showing in New York City, London, Australia, Germany, and on tour in North America (where I saw this amazing musical!!!), which you can read more about (and hopefully comes to your home city soon, too!): https://hamiltonmusical.com/new-york/home/

If you’re a BIG fan of Hamilton or musicals in general, then you know that tickets are super high-priced to see it. I’m talking about tickets starting at around $150+ per person for nosebleed seats on a good day. BUT, somehow, I was able to score my ticket for a whooping $59 (nosebleed seats, though, but who cares when you’re seeing Hamilton?!) and around $75 with tax and fees. I scored my GREAT ticket deal on the Washington Theater marketplace, which I subscribed to here (I also know that the MyTix program via The Kennedy Center targeted at young adults 18-30 gave out even better deals on Orchestra seats, too!): https://www.washington-theater.com/?ppcsrc=ppc-adwords-city-c-e-10-washington%20theater&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIir_Ik_Hg-gIVkI7ICh3rWgkYEAAYASAAEgLdh_D_BwE

Now, while I won’t spoil anything here on what happens when you enter the room where it happens, I will say that Hamilton truly will blow us all away AND is worth every penny to see!

XOXO – Katie <3

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The Reality of Making Friends in Your Twenties

When watching TV as a kid, I thought my 20’s would be the most glamorous time in my life. However, what we don’t see on TV is that your 20’s can feel like anything but glamorous most of the time. At the same time, some of the best lessons learned have come from being in my early 20’s, including how tough it is at times to make friends and find your way. Watching TV of people in their 20’s ALWAYS has the main character(s) surrounded by their main group of best buds. Though, the reality of making friends in your 20’s is far from what TV shows, which makes it more of a challenge to see through what the media portrays.

Before I get into the meat of things, I’ve been extremely lucky to be able to have some great friends that are some of my best friends living in different states and cities than my own. I have some friends from college still living down in North Carolina. I also have some pretty great friends in New Jersey (my home state!) from my childhood years. I even have some fellow influencer friends who I talk to practically everyday in Indiana. Luckily, my job provides me with the ability and flexibility to be able to visit my friends in their respective states of residence every few months or even more so. I feel very lucky to have made many connections in my childhood years, college years, blogging years. At the same time, having friends and my Dad and Step Mom (who live in Delaware) living in 3+ different states has allowed me to travel A LOT, too!

In college, I had friends over for parties, social gatherings, meals, and Bachelor viewing parties multiple times a week in my tiny on-campus apartment. I was definitely living my best college life and my social calendar was FULL! And, then, the end my Junior year of college, COVID hit. Everything took a full 180 in our world and we were told never to look back, despite not wanting to. Yet, my social life did not. I had my 21st Birthday Party on Zoom and over 70 people showed up (I still don’t know how everyone had actually not talked over one another the entire time – LOL!!). I maintained many of my college and personal life connections through these tough COVID times. Back at college my Senior year, my best friend Hannah frequently visited along with our best friend Alanna and they were AMAZING rocks during these less-than ideal times for anyone and especially for making friends. I also somehow managed to make new connections friend-wise during the COVID times, whether it be at school or through my blog which I started and re-coded again and again and again at the time. Looking back at my college years and the friendships that I made whether or not they stood the test of time, I am extremely blessed and my heart is filled with SO MUCH gratitude.

Just 6 weeks before college graduation, I made the decision to move back up to the Washington, DC area to continue my job search after visiting during my Spring Break. I had an apartment right after I announced my post-graduation move (which was just a few days after I made my decision). About a month later, I got a job offer for the job that I have now. Those final 6 weeks of college, I was SOOOO excited for my big move to the big city. I was psyched for the new friends, the adventures, the memories to be made, and the excitement of a big city. HOWEVER, when I moved here, the magical excitement felt like it was gone. I didn’t have any friends (besides a few friends from high school and my family) and no clue of how to approach it all. Little did I know, the journey to making friends in your 20’s would be ANYTHING but smooth.

My first few months after I moved up to Washington, DC, I got onto Bumble BFF (gotta be REAL here!!) and met some pretty cool people on there. I actually hung out with a few folks that I met there yet never really made any connections that turned into friendships with folks that I regularly see. Yet, I did make some great texting buddies and one that I see on occasion! Once I started my job just a few months after college graduation, I got wayyyy too busy to even remember that I was on Bumble BFF (confessing here!!). I became hyper-focused on my job and that’s how it was for the next year. And, when I started my job and with the move, I felt like I sort of lost myself for the first year since it all went down. It was rough and the last thing that was on my mind was making new friends.

Now that I have gotten out of my post-graduation funk and settled into my new groove, I have realized that it is really HARD to make new friends. I have been lucky that my company has a group focused on Early Career Professionals that I am an active member in, where new friendships have blossomed. At the same time, I have made some great friends through this platform that also live in the Washington, DC area. My Big from college also lives nearby, along with some of my high school friends, family, and my friend Bryn lived here for the summer and hopes to move back full-time next summer. BUT, at the same time, making new friends is ROUGH and everyone I’ve talked to whose my age has said the exact same thing. It is rough out there in our 20’s – everyone is finding their way, wanting new friends, desiring to go on great adventures, and hoping to eventually find love.

In the end, we’re all just hoping for the same thing – a few friends to gossip over drinks with about our latest love interest, go on adventures with around town, enjoy a night out on the town with, and spill the tea on the latest reality tv episode with. It’s HARD when we go from our college life to living on our own in a tiny apartment probably with a roommate and just have to start all over again, YET we don’t know where to start. Yep – none of us feel like we know WHERE TO start with it all when it comes to making friends. We all are hoping for new connections and I think that, at the end of the day, we could ALL use more connections in our lives, whether we have a ton of connections already or not.

TV makes our 20’s look uber-glamorous, but that is far from the truth. The 20’s are a rough generation which is simply about finding our own way in this big big world. Though some rough years, I think there are some pretty great and perhaps glamorous moments in our 20’s, too, as with other generations of our lives. We just have to look for the sparkle and make new friends where we can along the way!

XOXO – Katie <3

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How I Afford to Travel Often

One of the BIGGEST questions I get over on my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!) is how I can afford to travel often. Traveling has become one of my biggest passions and favorite things to do – I always have had a passion for learning more about the world around me, whether it be just down the street or across the world. Well, today, I’m going to be spilling ALLL the secrets on how I am able to travel on a regular basis!

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

Before I get into the meat of this blog post, I want to pre-phase by saying that travel is by all means a privilege. Not everyone is able to even go on a trip. I have seen travel to be one of the biggest blessings, opportunities, and learning experiences in my life. But, not everyone gets the opportunity to do so. Personally, I feel beyond lucky to be able to travel as much as I do, yet have the option to even be able to do so. Remember to count your blessings, including travel.

Travel, as we all know, can be COSTLY. With flights, transport when there, gas, lodging, meals, coffees, activities, and souvenir shopping, and much more, it ALL adds up. Trust me, it’s hard to factor in all of those costs when away from home even for a day. And, depending on where you go, different aspects of travel can add up even more, especially when it comes to getting into an accident, cell phone plan while/if going abroad, needing to see a health care provider in case of an emergency, and many things not even mentioned. Realistically speaking, it is HARD to factor in all of those costs.

Now, for the ways that I afford to travel often:

  • Set aside some money from each paycheck in a travel fund – no MATTER how little it may be, every cent adds up over time!
  • Join a rewards program with an airline of your choosing and/or Amtrak – personally, I have a United Airlines Rewards Membership and an Amtrak membership, as my most frequented cities are Philadelphia and Raleigh to see friends who live there. My favorite Washington, DC area airport – Dulles International Airport – is a United Airlines hub, so it makes it easy to get flights in and out of there at great prices. Hopefully in the new year, I can visit my cousin Sabrina in Boston and score a GREAT flight deal!
  • Travel to cities where you have friends/family that live there and stay with them if you can – that way, ALL you have to pay for is getting there, meals (but probably not as many if you were to stay in a hotel!), and activities. Failing that, do your research and find some options that are cheaper than hotels. You may find hostels or campsites that are ideal for your trip. For example, take a look at Travel Resorts of America reviews for plenty of advice on where to stay as you travel through America.
  • Be strategic with PTO days – I usually choose to take 2 day weekend trips or 3 day weekend trips on long weekends that my company already gives us off, where I don’t need to use any PTO. I feel VERY fortunate to say that I have unlimited PTO as per my company’s policy. Yet, I like to use my PTO accordingly and strategically and within a realistic reason. At the same time, I try to take off one-two weeks to truly unplug and get away, along with a few longer weekends sprinkled in throughout the year where I actually use PTO.
  • Eat a mixture of expensive dining meals and eat in as much as you can – If you stay with a friend/family member, be sure to take advantage of the free meals. The same goes for staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast (that’s something I usually look for, too!). You can ALWAYS eat affordably when traveling to, such as microwaveable items from CVS or a local grocery store or going to a local cafe or even fast food place.
  • Frequently scan flight/train fares – This helps OFTEN! I booked a trip to New York City on Amtrak during Christmas time this year for ~$90 round trip (the average fare is $200+ this time of year). I booked my trip in August, but it was a GREAT deal and I got a great deal on a hotel, too. If I hadn’t randomly scanned New York City at Christmas time train fares on the fly, then I wouldn’t have booked my trip of a lifetime and of my dreams, either!
  • Get a travel rewards credit card – Personally, I use the Capital One Venture credit card which gives 75,000 bonus miles if you spend $4,000 in 3 months on every day essentials, which can be reimbursed for travel along with miles earned regularly when spending!
  • Pick and choose things to do – When traveling, you ALWAYS have to pick and choose where you go, what you do, eat, etc. My biggest piece of advice is to be strategic with it all. Most of the major museums in Washington, DC are free, yet most of the major museums in Paris or New York City usually aren’t. If you choose to do a rather costly activity during the day, then you may want to do something more affordable the next or eat a less pricey meal(s).

Being able to travel has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I love being able to meet new people along the way, too. When traveling, you always have to be realistic and reasonable, no matter how frequent you do it. But, above all else, HAVE FUN!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

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The Life of Katie!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a Life of Katie! On my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!), I shared that I am scaling back a bit on this platform for the time being to focus on my career (more on that down below!). Anyhow, life has been a bit of a rollercoaster these past few weeks – a trip to Greenville, North Carolina, tight deadlines at work, a cancelled girl’s weekend up in Washington, DC, dogsitting Rosie on my own, and an upcoming trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. SO, needless to say, it has been *just a little* crazy in my life!

  • Scaling back on this platform – With my decision to scale back here on the blog, I have been able to focus more on my career and other passions beyond the blog. I am volunteering with a local organization that promotes young girls and women in pursuing their own STEM careers along with co-leading a community of practice focused on women in data science within my company. While, at the same time, getting to enjoy nights to read a magazine with a glass of wine in bed, cook more, and spend some more quality time with family and friends. On the same token, I have noticed that the world of fashion blogging is VERY focused on consumption! Consumption when it comes to fashion can be fun on the surface, yet extremely expensive and even harmful. Realistically speaking, not everyone can afford to buy clothing items ALL THE TIME and neither should anyone feel that they have to. I plan to post less here on the blog, given my schedule, too. That all being said, I want to focus more on lifestyle and travel with bits and pieces of fashion sprinkled in and still grow my platform to the best of my ability!
  • Dog Sitting Rosie – ALL week long, I am babysitting my shepherd-chihuahua mix Rosie. In case you didn’t know, I currently live my Papa and Rosie in Northern Virginia’s Washington, DC suburbs. And, Papa is currently on a hunting trip in coastal Virginia. SO, it’s just me and Rosie. Rosie is a bit of a handful at times, but, overall, I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting to have her all to myself. We luckily have a dog walker who walks her each afternoon, while I am working and in meetings, which I am SO grateful for!! I miss Papa, too, but am trying to savor the moments with just me and Rosie along with our enjoyable crisp Fall morning walks (something I want to continue doing when Papa who usually walks her at 5am is back!).
  • The Fall Weather! – Currently, it’s feeling like it’s FALL Y’ALL here in the Washington, DC area!!!! Fall is my FAVORITE season, especially for fashion, the activities, and so much more. So far, Papa and I have gone to a pumpkin patch local to us called Nall’s Produce, I have purchased ALL the Fall-themed groceries, made slow cooker soup, and *of course* embraced the Fall fashion. I have LOVED going for walks with Rosie, too, in this crisp Fall weather. My favorite way to style my wardrobe for Fall is to add a bright flair to some more chunky, neutral pieces. It’s been SO fun to layer up after a long and humid and hot summer season!
  • Cancelled Girl’s Weekend – This past weekend, my best friends Alanna and Hannah were supposed to come up to visit me in the Washington, DC area. However, due to Hurricane Ian and the weather that came with its remnants, we decided to cancel our weekend trip. We will be planning a fun girl’s weekend with potentially more of our friends in the new year, though, as Alanna and Hannah fortunately got flight credits. I was pretty disappointed that the weekend was cancelled, as I was looking forward to visiting with my friends in my favorite home city. However, I made the best of it. Papa and I visited the Workhouse Arts Center – a nearby arts center in Lorton, Virginia where artists have and sell in-house studios. Beautiful artwork all around!!
  • Career-wise – Currently, in the world of my own career, I am transitioning into taking on different roles within my company that are more of what I am interested in. I didn’t make this decision lightly and luckily my boss and Project Managers have been super supportive of it, too. I am still on the same current projects, yet I’ll take on different roles over time. It has been a busy busy busy season, along with being a part of a planning committee within my company. Needless to say, I am extremely blessed to be able to work for such an amazing and supportive company!

Now, here’s to a great Fall y’all!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

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24 Hours in Greenville, North Carolina

When most people hear the city “Greenville”, they think of Greenville, South Carolina. HOWEVER, both of the Carolina’s have a Greenville to call their own! A little less well-known than its South Carolina counterpart, Greenville, North Carolina plays homage to East Carolina University (ECU). It is also one of the fastest growing and up-and-coming cities in the United States and has even been ranked by Best Places and Liveability as one of the best places to live. One of my best friends, Bryn, who spent her summer interning up by me in Arlington, Virginia is finishing out her Senior year of college at ECU. SO, me and my friends Alanna and Hannah decided to make the trek for a day down to Greenville to spend some time with Bryn and see a football game versus the Naval Academy!

For more United States travel inspiration, check out my Exploring 50 States expedition page.

The majority of our visit was spent visiting with Bryn in her gorgeous dorm, exploring ECU’s campus including a meal at the dining hall and seeing Bryn’s most-frequented spots, and going to the ECU-Navy football game. At the same time, we ALSO walked a bit around the gorgeous downtown of Greenville (which I hope to explore more so in the Spring when I visit Bryn again!) at night, ate at the well-known pre-tailgate restaurant known as Sup Dogs (they also have a location in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by the University of North Carolina), and visited Pink – a Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store located in Greenville. I shared ALL of my adventures on my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!).

I left bright and early for Greenville, North Carolina that Saturday morning of the game. To my surprise living in the Washington, DC area (the traffic here is THE WORST), I ran into NO TRAFFIC. It was, indeed, my first-ever 1+ hour drive on I-95 with NO traffic. The drive to Greenville, North Carolina from Northern Virginia is mostly a straight-shot south on I-95 for a good 3-4 hours. Parking at ECU is FREE on the weekends at the parking deck near the Student Center. Generally speaking, ECU’s Campus Police don’t check on cars parked on campus or charge for parking on the weekend, making it very easy and free to park on campus on the weekends. Needless to say, when I made it to Greenville, I was excited to be able to enjoy the town and be reunited with Bryn along with Hannah and Alanna who arrived just minutes after I did.

Walking on campus was a BLAST – I got to see the Pirate statue, the gorgeous well that holds the superstition that if you walk under it as an undergrad you won’t graduate within 4 years, eat at the dining hall with Bryn and her ECU friends, shop at the Campus Store, and get an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I got A LOT of steps in and enjoyed the gorgeous on-campus environment. Similarly speaking, I loved getting to walk down the gorgeous streets of downtown Greenville. While a small town, it offered a lot of places to eat, drink, and historical views (I LOVED seeing the town’s community library there!). We also visited Pink in Greenville and chatted with the super sweet owner of the store. Visiting Pink was a highlight for me while in Greenville, as I’ve been connected with the owners of the store on Instagram for over 2 years now. We have definitely become friends online and now in real life, too! *Of course* we grabbed some Lilly Pulitzer goodies to bring back home with us AND got some photos in the store!!!

Well, the main reason for our visit was to go to the ECU-Navy football game. A fun fact about me and my family is that my Great-Grandad, Grandad, Great Uncle, Great Aunt’s, and Uncle’s all have served or are serving in the Navy. My Grandad was in the same graduating class as John McCain and calls him “Johnny”. And, well, I have never been to a Navy football game, so I decided on this weekend to see Navy play, even if it was in Greenville, North Carolina. Bryn got us student seating guest tickets for $40/each, while hers was free or much cheaper (I cannot remember LOL!) being a student there. We had a GREAT TIME! Afterwards, we went to Insomnia Cookies in downtown Greenville.

I am SO blessed to have been able *FINALLY* visit Bryn at her college campus and see her college town! It was great to be able to see her for the first-time ever since she interned up here by me in Arlington, Virginia. Here’s to my next adventure in Greenville and beyond!!

XOXO – Katie <3

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