This post is written in partnership with Kia and well, my awesomeness. I was able to test out the all new Kia Rio in Baltimore, Maryland earlier this month with several other travel/car & automotive/influencers. What follows is a true story.
Ready to rock and roll as we #DiscoverKiaRio in Baltimore Maryland. Stay tuned as @teenybod and I roadtrip it back to Chicago this weekend! Fun will happen! #ad
Truth be told, this summer has been a bit exhausting. I’ve been traveling non-stop for work, and well, I haven’t had my husband with me for any of it. Yes. I’m a wife that loves to have her husband with her on trips. Mostly because experiencing new cities with someone else is pretty amazing. Shomari is aware of my travel quirks and doesn’t make me feel weird. Plus, meeting up on video chat in two different time zones – even if they are only one hour apart – is slightly annoying.
The fun of travel is always being able to find the things in the city you are visiting that they are known for. For example. Baltimore has the Orioles, Ravens, the Chesapeake Bay, the National Aquarium. Everything is so beautiful!
Now for my first confession. I *may* have tried to figure out how to bring this pillow home as a souvenir. MAY. HAVE. THOUGHT. ABOUT. IT.
Second confession, when I think of the Baltimore area, I do not think of rolling countryside, and that’s exactly what we got during our two days there. Lots of greenery, and lots of memories made as I completed my ride and drive with Shelley who I would later road trip BACK to Chicago with. Shelley and I met several years ago at a Chicago event for Dr. Smith’s diaper ointment, and now we’re here. Started from the ‘bottom’ most certainly!
I will say one thing, at both Kia events that I’ve been able to attend, the car buddies that I’ve partnered with have been awesome. I don’t know about you, but car trips can make or break relationships. Even if they haven’t started yet. Trust me on this. You need people in the car on long rides that can vibe with you, you also want people in your car that don’t mind taking re-routes in order to get video of you driving over bridges.
Or this:
Because being partnered with someone who obsesses about bridges as much as you do is just groovy. As much as I hate walking over bridges, I love the look of them, and setting up cool shots with people who will drive and park the car on them for me. Hi, I’m afraid of bridges as much as I’m obsessed with them. These weren’t too bad though, as they were only 6 or 7 feet above the streams.
Another thing? Stopping in the middle of a great landscape for car shots is something that I do. I’m proud of that fact.
We were able to drive the all new Kia Rio which is a PERFECT car for my soon to be college freshmen, and one I would feel comfortable with him taking off to school with him. It’s not too much car, but it has built in safety features that would keep him from being distracted while on the road. Yes, I’m still thinking about the safety of my child when he leaves for college. I know that a LOT of parents look at college as the GET OUT OF MY HOUSE time of year, but that won’t stop them from worrying. If we were to get a car for the college kid (OMG, I just wrote it) this would be the class that we’d be looking into. Nothing too big. Nothing too flashy, because safety.
However, it’s still large enough for him to fit laundry into if he decides he wants to come home and use our washer & dryer for free. As much as I love him, we don’t do his laundry. No. I’d like to think that several large duffel bags of jeans and shirts could fit in the boot of this car, right?
More about Baltimore though. While I wasn’t in the car, I was able to walk around Fells Point – the area we were staying in. We were right on the bay, staying in the wonderful Sagamore Pendry Hotel, and that deserves it’s own post, because of how beautiful it was. I has a CLEAR view of the bay, and a bed that rivaled my own! This would be a perfect spot for Mr. Houseful and I to come back a long romantic weekend for sure.
Later during the visit, Shelley and I took a water taxi ride along the bay, and caught some photos too!
Being able to tour when I’m traveling is one of the best things ever. Whether it’s for work or play, going out and about with my camera makes me happy. This is the USS Constellation, a sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship designed and built by the United States Navy. She was built in 1854, using a small amount of materials salvaged from the frigate USS Constellation, which had been disassembled the year before. Despite being a single-gundeck “sloop,” she is actually larger than her original frigate build, and more powerfully armed with fewer but much more potent shell-firing gun . . . #WorldsFinestNavy #Baltimore #tmom #discovertheworld #USN #BaltimoreInnerHarbor #DiscoverKiaRio
And to end off the visit, we were able to catch a baseball game where the Orioles of Baltimore played the Raptors of Toronto (shout out to all of the Coming to America fans) and we had box seats!
A full look at the Kia Rio will up on the blog next week with more photos of the beautiful backdrop that is Baltimore and its surrounding suburbs. We had SO MUCH FUN and I look forward to being able to get back to this city by the bay sooner, rather than later.
Big thanks to John from Kia Motors for making room for me. Kia is proving to be a company that not only makes great cars, but creates fantastic experiences around them. While we are partial to the car that we drive now, we are definitely in the market for a second and third (ugh – college wheels) and have GREAT options to choose from.
Until next week people! Have a FANTASTIC weekend!