Roadtrip Across America: recap (parts 1 - 4)

If you've been keeping up you know that J & I made a move across the country in late May/early June. {And if you haven't, well- now you know}. On the way, we made some awesome stops and it turned into one pretty incredible roadtrip. 

From California to Tennessee-- it was a fun roadtrip, even with the boring parts of being on the road and seeing unchanging landscape. We took 6 days to get across the country, with planned stops where we stayed a couple of nights here and a couple of nights there.

Check out the full posts here:

Part 1: Grand Canyon

Part 2: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas & Arkansas

Part 3: The Ozarks

Part 4: Tennessee

Tennessee - Roadtrip Across America part 4

We're finally on the last part of our epic roadtrip across America. It took a while for me to get all the posts done, but hey- better late than never, right?

After our awesome trip to the Ozarks, we headed to our final destination:

TENNESSEE!

It felt pretty darn good to cross the Mississippi river and see the state welcoming sign-- it meant we finally made it!

Before we even left California, I knew the first thing I wanted to do when we got here was eat BBQ. So we did some research on Yelp & found a highly-rated BBQ joint in Memphis-- Central BBQ. The ratings are high for a reason- it did not disappoint. We got a rack of ribs (half dry, half wet) & some sides and I still often think of the deliciousness I experienced that day. If you're ever in Memphis-- definitely try Central BBQ! (p.s.- their bourbon BBQ sauce is AMAZING.)

After our amazing lunch, we continued east to Nashville-- our final destination. 

We were 'homeless' for the first week, couchsurfing with a German lady and her family for the first couple of days then staying at our friend's cousin's house. We were scrambling to find a place, but luck was on our side when we came upon a cute little house in a great location, just 10-minutes from downtown. It has a huge driveway, surrounded by trees and a little creek in the backyard, and rent is within our budget. Although we were sleeping in gracious & kind strangers' homes, I was happy to have our own place.

Our first weeks here were spent settling into our new place, doing some exploring of our new city and looking for jobs. Now, I'm the type of person who is pretty cool, calm & collected for the most part & it takes a lot for me to stress out. Being 'homeless' + trying to find a home + trying to find a job + a dwindling bank account = a lot, which means I was stressing the eff out. Luckily though, I did find a job a couple of weeks ago & I've been really enjoying it.

But all in all, we really love Nashville. It's a perfect size city for us, it's a great place for J to do his music thing, and it just has a really good vibe. There's also a really great bike path called the Music City Bikeway that we really like (& live really close to!). We've gone out only a few times- cuz, you know, a tight budget will restrict how often you can go out & do fun things, but we'll get more opportunities to explore this city, I'm sure. 

Since I'm new to this town, I am open to all suggestions on what to do/eat/see in Nashville, so please let me know. I already posted about my must-eat-at restaurants here- but if I'm missing something, please add! 

I'm excited for this new chapter in our lives!

If you want to read parts 1-3 of our Roadtrip Across America, you can check them out here:

Part 1: Grand Canyon

Part 2: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, & Arkansas

Part 3: The Ozarks

The Ozarks - Roadtrip Across America part 3

{If you need to catch up, part 1 of our roadtrip can be found here & part two can be found here.}

Days 5 & 6 of our roadtrip were spent in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. It was beautiful there. Everything was green. The water was clean, clear & cool. We had a great time.

Day 5:

We left early in the morning from our KOA in Alma, AR & headed up to the Ozark National Forest. We wanted to take the more scenic route, so we took the scenic byway. It added some time onto our trip- but it was so worth it: amazing views, windy roads, deer & elk everywhere, & even viewpoints to stop at along the way.

NM, OK, TX & AR - Roadtrip Across America part 2

After our amazing trip to the Grand Canyon, we continued on our roadtrip and headed east. Days 3 & 4 consisted of leaving Arizona, to New Mexico, to Texas & then Arkansas.

Day 3:

Day 3 was probably the most boring day of our trip. We woke up really early, before the sun came up. We wanted to get an early start since we were heading to Texas, our next stop, which was about a 10-hour drive. We were able to see the sun just starting to peek over the Grand Canyon.

As we were entering New Mexico, we started to see the scenery change a bit. We saw some really cool rock formations which made the drive a little more interesting.

Grand Canyon - Roadtrip Across America part 1

On our move across the country, our first stop was the amazing Grand Canyon where we spent two days (#25 on bucket list that I got to check off! Yay!). 

Day 1:

We left California at around 5am. It took us about 9 hours, including stops, to get there. The drive on the I-40 can be a bit tough, mostly because the terrain and scenery are boring, but we made it! When you enter the park you have to pay $25 per vehicle. The pass is good for up to 7 days.

 We originally wanted to camp at the North Rim because it's known to have less people there, but it was full and it would've added a lot of time to our trip, so we had to go to the South Rim.We made reservations at Mather Campground (you can make reservations online here). When we arrived, the lady who checked us in was really nice. And she was quick! She pulled my husband's name up right away, gave us some directions & we were on our way. 

We got a tent site (nonelectric) and it was about $20 a night (we went in late May, post-Memorial Day). The campground has water, restrooms & pay showers. It's a nice campground that's really well-maintained. It's close to everything and there's even a shuttle stop right in front (& the shuttle is FREE and takes you everywhere around the park).

Mather Campground is also walking-distance to the general store, post-office and a bank. I was able to buy a postcard & stamp at the market & send it to my mom in just minutes. Pretty cool.