When Christian and I started planning our move to Texas, we decided it would be a fun idea to take a road trip from Miami to Dallas rather than flying. After all the stress and emotions of moving, a week on the road just the two of us was exactly what the doctor ordered. It also gave me a chance for an extended test drive of Volvo’s new XC60 SUV (will provide a full review later – spoiler alert: I LOVED IT). Originally I wanted to have more stops along the way, but after moving I was worried we would be too tired hang with the grind of changing hotels every day for a week. So, we decided to spend the bulk of our time in two areas: the beach towns along highway 30A in Florida’s Pan Handle and New Orleans.

QUICK LINKS

30A

NEW ORLEANS

WHERE WE STAYED

Hilton New Orleans St. Charles Avenue

WHERE WE ATE / DRANK

Justine

Cafe Du Monde

Carousel Piano Bar and Lounge

Central Grocery Company

Tropical Isle

WHERE WE SHOPPED

Royal Praline Company

Day 1

This was one of our longer driving days. We drove from Miami all the way to our Airbnb in Seagrove Beach (roughly 9 hours) in one day. We stopped for lunch at Zaxby’s (if you know, you know) just outside of Orlando, and then didn’t stop again until we hit Tallahassee. Christian went to Florida State University, and it was so fun to see his Alma Mater! He got to drive me around town and show me his old house, and all the bars he used to go to etc. He insisted that we stop at Momo’s for a slice size of pizza that was bigger than my head haha. From Tallahassee it was about 2 1/2 hours to our airbnb, and we stopped for dinner on the way in PCB. I had a good friend in college whose parents owned a condo there, so we always used to go for spring break. As soon as I realized we would be passing through, I knew I had to take Christian to Pompano Joe’s for some deep fried crab claws. This place is as touristy as it gets, but my craving was definitely satisfied 🙂 We arrived at our airbnb around 10pm, and I was so thrilled that it was just as cute in person as in the photos.

Day 2

We started the day off early in Seaside (about a 20 min drive from our airbnb), with a full sugar coma at Five Daughters Bakery (an airstream donut shop). I highly recommend the blood orange & cream, and the chocolate sea salt gets an honorable mention. There are a ton of other food trucks to check out, you could easily make a morning of just trying different dishes from each! After our donuts we toured around town square – checked out the iconic Seaside Post Office and did a little shopping. I obviously had to pick up something from Seaside Style, I went with a branded Knit Sweater and a Christmas ornament of the town square to remember our trip. Someone gave me advice when I got engaged to pick up Christmas ornaments on trips we take together so our first Christmas Tree will already be full of memories. I also picked up a sweet little framed watercolor from Big Mama’s Hula Girl Gallery. I thought maybe I’d give it as a gift, but it looked so cute on my bedside table that I decided to keep it haha. I also did some damage at The Art of Simple, an adorable gift / home decor store. Christian was so glad that we don’t have a house to decorate right now, because I would have gone CRAZY in there. Jokes on him, because I’m pretty sure you can order from their website online haha. Ophelia’s Swimwear is super chic and had a great selection of brands like Mikoh, Wildfox, and Mara Hoffman.

I was very tempted to get this sign for Christian’s new office haha!

I literally can’t wait to put in a big ole’ glassware order at The Art of Simple!

After shopping we went to Great Southern Cafe for lunch. This was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Between the green beans, grits, and hush puppies I was in heaven. Then we popped across the street for a little post lunch walk on the beach. We both were pretty tired from the drive, so we went back to the room for a little tiger snooze before our dinner at Pescado. Pro tip: Get there early and sit in the outside corner for the best view of the sunset. We had after dinner drinks on the rooftop at the pearl hotel (another great place to catch the sunset), and called it an early night. One thing I will note about 30A is that if you are looking for bumping night life this is probably not the place for you. Everything shuts down pretty early, so if you’re wanting to go out out – you’d need to drive to either PCB or Destin.

Day 3

We spent the morning exploring Alys beach, which is probably my favorite neighborhood in the 30A. It’s a newer development, and definitely a departure from the vibe of Watercolor. It’s a lot more european and minimal in colors, but I just love the aesthetic. Some of our favorite spots we hit were: Charlie’s Donuts for a sweet treat, MAST Alys Beach (a great interiors shop where I picked up the greatest smelling cologne from Tulum), Alys Shoppe boasts the neighborhoods own branded apparel as well as some designer favorites. After exploring, we had Lunch at George’s, I highly recommend lobster quesodilla. After lunch we headed back to the beach for a little chill time in the sun.

Isn’t the laser cut detailing on this polo dress fun? It’s been one of my go to looks for summer.

I’m ready to move in! I could not get enough of the gorgeous homes in Alys Beach.

We stayed in Alys Beach for dinner at Caliza, which is located inside their neighborhood pool. Don’t get it twisted this is probably one of the chicest pools I’ve ever seen. I literally felt like I was in some exotic local like morocco, not a little beach town in florida. All the tables are outside with a view of the pool, but I recommend you get there early so you can finish up dinner before the sun sets and head up to their rooftop patio to enjoy with view. Like I mentioned earlier, everything shuts down pretty early, so rather than waste time switching locations, we hung out at the Caliza bar after dinner for a few more spicy margs.

Day 4

We got up early to pack and made sure to get one last morning beach walk in before we left. It was a crazy feeling after living in Miami so long that we weren’t going to see the ocean for a while! We picked up lunch to go at Seagrove Village Market Cafe so we could hit the road right away (my chicken tenders with a side of pimento cheese and honey mustard were freaking bomb). Then we were off to New Orleans! The Drive to Nola from 30A is about 4 1/2 hours, so not too bad. We got to our hotel in the early afternoon, and dropped off our bags and then ubered to a Baby Cakes game. Christian is a huge baseball fan, so I thought it would be fun to surprise him with tickets. They are a Minor league team that feeds into the Miami Marlins, so he was all about it. I got front row tickets behind home plate for only $32! It was the perfect activity after a long morning of driving. Also they have a shockingly extensive and creative menu for food, so that was also fun to check out. The king cake burger should be high on your list of must try items.

I love this t-shirt from Glimmed – its such a cute/cheeky way to help spread breast cancer prevention awareness (plus a portion of the proceeds goes directly to Susan G Komen).

Day 5

We had brunch at Justine – a super cute and yummy spot that was walking distance from our hotel. The food was solid and literally every corner of that place was very insta worthy. After that we wandered around the quarter and I picked up some souvenirs from the Royal Praline Company. On our last visit to New Orleans we ran out of time to get beignets, so I made sure that we hit up Cafe Du Monde while we were in the area. After that we went to the Carousel Piano Bar and Lounge, for a drink and to catch a little live jazz.

For our afternoon plans, we were going to explore the Garden District but the weather was NOT cooperating. It was raining off and on all day, so we decided to just embrace it and tear it up on Bourbon Street. We bar hopped a bit and then posted up at this one spot where the band was playing a lot of Stevie Nicks covers. Then Christian insisted that I try a hand grenade from Tropical Isle…We stopped off for a piece of pizza and I was in bed by 7:30pm.

Day 6

We hit the road a little hungover (thank you green hand grenades haha), stopped for sandwiches at Central Grocery Company on our way out of town. We drove straight through to Shreveport, which felt like a good stopping point to eat. I found this cute little diner called Strawn’s Eat Shop. They had the BEST strawberry ice box pie, totally worth the stop. It was about 3 hours to Dallas, and just like that we were home! When we rolled up to my parents house, my mom had the cutest little ‘Welcome to Texas’ sign waiting for us.

Reunited in Dallas with some of my besties 🙂

We had SO much fun on this road trip, and I really liked how we broke it up between the two cities. There were only two days of major driving so we got to really enjoy our time for the most part. It was so nice getting some one on one quality time with Christian before we got to Dallas, and he started his new job and we had to dive into the craziness of unpacking and getting settled etc. I am completely down for the road trip life now (as you may have seen I already have been on another cross country trip this summer), and I can’t wait to plan my next one 🙂

DAY ONE

J.CREW essential white t-shirt | c/o PARKER SMITH jeans | BRIXTON straw hat (last seen here) | TARGET pink silk sandals

DAY TWO

c/o LILLY PULITZER wrap dress | GUCCI soho disco bag | MARTHA CALVO palm tree necklace

DAY THREE

c/o LILLY PULITZER pink polo dress (also available here) | ELLEN & JAMES basket bag | SOJOS white heart sunnies ysl dupes | TORY BURCH sandals

TADASHI SHOJI neoprene floral dress | SAINT LAURENT black and white bow sandals | STAUD pink mini shirley bag | c/o VINEYARD VINES jean jacket

DAY FOUR

c/o SKIN pink silk slip dress | BRIXTON straw hat | c/o VINEYARD VINES jean jacket | ELLEN & JAMES basket bag | TORY BURCH sandals

c/o GLIMMED x SUSAN G COMEN breast cancer awareness t-shirt | STAUD pink mini shirley bag | c/o PARKER SMITH jeans | BRIXTON straw hat | TARGET pink silk sandals

DAY FIVE

c/o LILLY PULITZER lace tunic top | STAUD pink mini shirley bag | c/o PARKER SMITH jeans | TARGET pink silk sandals

DAY SIX

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MIA to DFW Road Trip Guide – Featuring 30A & Nola