Well, we did it! Ten cities in ten days from LA to NY. We escaped with no speeding tickets, no car breakdowns, no injuries, …and no sleep.
We laughed, we shopped, we dined,
At least until my cc was declined. (cough, Arizona!)
We drove, we sang, we explored,
At one point I drove while the other three snored.
We went from desert to swamps to mountain ranges
Looking through the windshield at the topography changes.
We worked out every morning, in one stop, with an Erica.
So thankful to hit Pure Barres all across America.
So, without further ado, here is the breakdown of what went down on the “Healthy and Hip X-Country Trip!”
Phoenix
Stay: Palomar (ranked #4)
Lunch: snacked in car
Dinner: Virtu Scottsdale (ranked #3)
Highlight: Corvina Blend, Cesari Mara, Valpolicella Repasso DIC. Best Dish: Scallops
Accolade: Most meal comps, most hotel attention, most Pure Barre attention.
Downfall: cc stripe stolen at a gas station. Fraud alert went off when I was charging in Memphis and Phoenix 5 days later. Had to close my account.
Twitter action (I don’t like to say “tweets”):
And we are off! It was touch and go for a hot second.#stomachfluweekend. (The only thing I had to eat on Saturday was my Billy Joel ticket.) All better, all packed, and en route to Phoenix! But not before a stop at my fave juice bar on Melrose – Liquid.
Phew, I made it past the 15N exit to Vegas without taking it. Phoenix, Jordan, Phoenix!
Day 1: Phoenix! Hula got a warm welcome in our room at Hotel Palomar. Then she did some poses with Stephanie at @purebarrephoenix. Now we are enjoying dins at Virtu on an outside patio in Scottsdale.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #virtuhonestcraft#purebarre #hotelpalomar
Marfa
Stay: Thunderbird (ranked #6)
Lunch: snacked in car
Dinner: Cochineal (ranked #6)
Highlight: Made friends on the patio, Best Dish: Bi Bim Bap
Accolade: best walking town
Downfall: No A/C in my room, no Pure Barre!
Twitter action:
9 hrs to Marfa = went through my phone book by 10:30. #whosgotastoryforma?
T or F: Somewhere in western Texas on the way to Marfa I got a text from Telcel saying Welcome to Mexico, international roaming fees will apply.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Cochineal Courtyard. Greyhound. Sunfish Ceviche. Bi Bim Bap. (I would have ordered the date pudding but I started talking to people and blabbed away until the kitchen was closed. Next time) #cochineal #healthyandhipxcountrytrip #marfa
What do you call a desynchronosis from driving through two time zones? Marfa-lag? #mustsleepaustincalls #healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Austin
Stay: friend’s house (would have stayed at Heywood)
Lunch – Taco Deli for breakfast and Liberty Kitchen in Houston – jalapeno oysters were the best!
Dinner: Barley Swine (ranked #2)
Highlight: Uni, Turnip Soup, Creole Onion
Accolade: stayed in the coolest zip code 78704 South Congress and had a drink at Aviary – wine bar within a home décor store
Downfall: family drama
Twitter Action:
Look what I picked up in Austin!!! Liza and Pebbles are climbing aboard the #healthyandhipxcountrytrip#frenchiex2
Kathryn, Jordan, Liza, and Rashanna at @pure_barre@purebarreaustin Thanks for starting our morning off on the right foot! On to NOLA!!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #purebarre
New Orleans
Stay: Loft 523 (ranked #7)
Lunch – Salu
Dinner: Maurepas (ranked #9)
Highlight: Funny Liza, she was so hungry she wanted to order a second drum fish and a cheese plate on top of our already ambitious order (Tomato salad was our fave)
Accolade: NOLA spirit, live music everywhere
Downfall: stinky hotel and most colorful pitstop: Lafayette “You girls sure picked some place to stop,” we were told by a guy in the gas station lot before hitting us up for $.
Twitter Action:
Quick Nolabound stop for lunch in Houston.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
New Orleans Vegetable Central.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #oscarsfirstrodeo
Vaughans on a Thursday, finally!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #vaughansondauphine
Jordan, Jennifer, and Liza kick off the day at@purebarre_nola! #healthyandhipxcountrytrip#purebarre #weheartnola
Jackson
Stay: Old Capitol Inn (ranked #5)
Lunch – We went straight to Memphis and lunch at Central Bar BQ
Dinner: Parlor Market (ranked #10)
Highlight: Joke of a bad waiter: If you’d like a dining experience where you ask the waiter for recommendations, don’t like them, order four other things, have him bring you the four he recommended, take an hour to return to the table to swap them out and then charge you for all eight, go to Parlor.
Best dish: blue cheese tater tots
Accolade: best pure barre studio
Downfall: sleepy, empty ghost town, we were rooting for Jackson to be the dark horse, but it was deserted on a Friday night.
Twitter Action:
Thank you, Heidi, and everyone at @purebarrejackson! We are halfway through our journey!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #purebarre
Memphis
Stay: Peabody (ranked #1)
Lunch – Tamp and Tap
Dinner: Iris (ranked #1)
Highlight: Everthing was impeccable.
Best Dish – Lobster Toast
Accolade: favorite city overall – best restaurant, nightlife, hotel, vibe, southern hospitality
Downfall – don’t need to go back to Beale St. at night. #allergictowaitinginline
Twitter Action:
Stax Selfies! #healthyandhipxcountrytrip #gotmysoul
Peabody Pebbles Hotel Hula!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #memphismamas
They said it was a top USA resto. “They” know what’s up. #healthyandhipxcountrytrip #beatthis #soulville
Getting Buff in Bluff City with Heidi and Jamie@purebarrememphis #purebarre#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Sing it Paul, We’re going to Graceland!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Hi Elvis! #elvisserenade #healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Last Night’s Beale St. Shenanigans.#walkinginmemphis #singitmarc#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Nashville
Stay: Hutton (ranked #2)
Lunch – Pinewood Social (My coffee drink, The World in All Its Youth – Iced latte, chicory, sarsaparilla, mint – amazing!)
Dinner: Josephine (ranked #4)
Highlight: The line to Jeni’s Ice Cream next door was in front of the restaurant the entire night! We sampled some of the coffee flavor for dessert.
Accolade: hippest hotel
Downfall: worst Pure Barre studio
Twitter Action:
Nashville filter for Nashville dins.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #stilltruckin #notnaked
Traci posed with us after teaching our Nashville class@purebarrenashville @pure_barre#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #purebarre
Last stop in Nashville. Bowling and Brunch.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #pinewoodsocial
Pit Stop TN -> NC. #healthyandhipxcountrytrip#hulasturnatthewheel #lizagotmeawaywithawarning
Asheville
Stay: Inn at Biltmore (ranked #3)
Lunch – at Biltmore
Dinner: Marketplace (ranked #5)
Highlight: Most passionate servers – thanks Denise!
Accolade: Clean mountain air
Downfall: staying at Biltmore tacked on an extra 45 min roundtrip to going out anywhere
Twitter Action:
Could Asheville be any cuter?!?#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #marketplace#wasgonnaweartiediebutwascold
Fantasy baseball on a road trip is like the garbage bins on a hungover Thursday morning. You thought you took care of it, but you didn’t.
T/F: Liza and I are going to be a wreck tomorrow morning bc we stayed up all night listening to every version of “This Land Is Your Land.”
Our “trying-to-stay-awake-at-noon” game faces.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #alreadynapped#biltmoreestate
Charlottesville
Stay: friend’s house (would have stayed at the Clifton Inn)
Lunch – none – we skipped a stop in DC to just get home!
Dinner: The Local (ranked #7)
Highlight: Homemade habanero tequila, Best Dish – Short Rib
Accolade: Rick Alvarez Trio at C and O blew us away
Downfall: traffic – we were late for Pure Barre!
Twitter Action:
Right now we are driving North East on a highway objectionably called I26W. #healthyandhipxcountrytrip #nothingwestaboutit
I81N and I77S are the same road for a stretch. #contradictinginterstates #buckleupvagina #healthyandhipxcountrytrip
Our host for our final stop on tour!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #wonderpiece#homestretch
Thank you so much @purebarre_cville!!! We are ready for our home stretch (literally).#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #purebarre
Home Stretch! Hula is giving New Jersey a run for its money. #stinkzone #healthyandhipxcountrytrip
NYC
Stay: Home Sweet Home
Dinner: Barchetta (ranked #8)
Highlight: Signing Oscar’s title over to Tiffany
Accolade: the city that never sleeps (like Liza and Jordan)
Downfall: the city that never sleeps (like Liza and Jordan)
Twitter Action:
Home Stretch Hula and Passed Out Pebbles.#healthyandhipxcountrytrip
WE MADE IT!!! #healthyandhipxcountrytrip#10cities10days #LA-NY
My friend @lizafuller just completed a huge x-country journey with me. I know she joined in part for the adventure, but also because she didn’t want me to do it by myself. And that’s what true friends are made of. Thanks, Liza and Pebbles! Love you! Where are we ordering our next cheese plate and greens?!?#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #girlfriends
The final destination celebration!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #stillstanding
Our “victory lap” class at final destination@purebarrenyc with Abby. We did it!#healthyandhipxcountrytrip #purebarre
We close with our playlist! Hit the road and rock out!