TFW Emo Bloggers Unexpectedly Meet & Explore Georgia
A Girls Guide to Cars #GirlsDrive2019 Con brought together 4 subculture babes, who had no idea we would end up rocking out together.
Carpool karaoke style, we rocked out to our old school emo anthems, while countering the current blogger culture one studded belt at a time. (Ok, maybe no belts these days, but we did see them at target.)
Clockwise/Bottom to Top: Monica Siembieda, Natalie “Kitty” Merola, Jana Seitzer, and Mary Moore tried to sweet talk the security guard into allowing us to drive by the famous stone quarry. Instead, we took this group photo.
Before the great adventure
My travel on American Airlines was rough, but at least I finally got a window in a window seat.
I had no idea what to expect, but I’m grateful to have traveled to this conference with an open mind. I learned so much! It was a bit chilly, so shout out to The North Face for keeping me warm.
Arrival/Day 1 Before the Official Day 1
We arrived on Sunday, and after a long travel day myself, I walked over to the Ruby Tuesday where everyone met for the con meeting. Twenty one hours awake meant it was time for food and a victory drink that I made it. I sat at the end of the table, and immediately found myself into some surprising topics, including our favorite emo bands and the show scene before it got expensive. The bright colored hair ladies knew what was up, and we all realized that these ladies were our crew. It felt like that moment in Stepbrothers, where they realize they’ve become best friends. All we needed was a majestic stead to show up, and then, we had a whole fleet of trucks and SUVs do just that for the beginning of #GirlsDrive2019.
Packed up and ready for our adventure from Atlanta to Marietta!
Monica and I blasted A Day to Remember the whole drove over, while admiring the pretty fall trees everywhere.
Get in emo, we’re going to target
Pics or it didn’t happen.
We headed to Target in the 2020 Toyota Rav4 in the gorgeous lunar rock paint job. Jana met up with us, and we perused the ugly holiday sweater section. Jet lag settled in, and we all headed over to the Starbucks counter for some caffeine love. A couple of hours later of grabbing essentials and eyeing stylish pieces we’d come back for later, we had lunch with the entire con group. For now, we got some fun shots around Marietta in the Rav4 and the 2020 Lexus Rx450h.
This 2020 Toyota Rav4 gave me road trip vibes. I wanted to take this thing on the next big adventure. You can fit so much in it! Where would you go?
Girls Drive 2019: Girls drive Lexus, and LOVE IT. I’ll take this one as is, thanks. That red interior stole my heart.
Fall is calling for red leather, color pops, and girls road trips!
Cheers to a successful Day 1!
This restaurant kept pumping out delicious appetizers and entrees like it was nobody’s business. I’ll definitely be back!
After a long day of bonding and driving around for the perfect shots, we prepared for dinner with the con group. Everyone had left, and we had just missed the group seeking us out, so we ended up taking an uber over to Marlow’s Tavern. There drinks and food were delicious. Drinks may have come off the menu, but the food? All specials for the night thanks to Chef Lance. The cauliflower, shrimp, and brussels sprouts caught my attention. I still went with the royale with cheese. I mean, how can I not?! And the truffle fries? Don’t stop, don’t stop.
Day 2
We ended up going back to Target the next day and Mary came with us, too. And then there were four! After many oh’s and ah’s finding these two Stranger Things tees, it was time to get our theme on. We decided to visit the entertainment spots/filming locations, where Stranger Things and The Walking Dead were filmed.
I can’t handle all of the cuteness right here. We didn't go into the upside down…or did we?
Keep calm in Hawkins, Indiana. This Ram 1500 Truck gave us the handling, navigating, and charging we needed. 10/10 rating for me!
The Ram 1500 truck gave us the ultimate tour and blogger support on the go
Between Target and driving between different Stranger Things and The Walking Dead filming locations, this truck made it easy to nerd out. There was enough space for all of us to quickly change into both tops, while navigating the GPS and charging all of our devices in the USB and electrical outlets. Not only was it comfy and spacious, but it also kept us safe with the misty, rainy weather.
When we pulled up to the hospital, you could see some signs covered in white sheets. Perhaps this isn’t the last we will see of the hospital in Stranger Things Season 4? I’ll keep my eyes open…but until then, we were headed off to the stone quarry, where Will’s body is found in Season 1 and also iconic in The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, we didn’t have permits or hard hats to enter the active construction site. However, the security guard was extra nice and let us take a photo outside. Although sad, we’re still adorable. Whatever, we tried. :)
This was as close as we were going to get into that quarry. Welp.
It’s great finding new friends who are into the geekdom, too. We make this look good.
Enter the centipede and visit the twd cdc
Recognize this building? I think we could survive the zombie apocalypse in the Rav4.
There’s enough space back here for everyone to hang out.
Street Tacos and queso (not pictured, but devoured) are a must. Of course, it is never as good as Texas, but it’s close enough when in Atlanta.
After Monica encountered a centipede at a gas station restroom and locals were drooling over the Ram 1500, we decided to grab lunch and then hit up the CDC from The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 5. Tacos and zombies are always a winning combo. Can’t take the Texas out of us, and apparently, the wildlife follows us, too. With all the trunk space in the Rav4, I’m sure we could survive the zombie apocalypse and get Starbucks on the way without a doubt.
Shout out to Stila Cosmetics and my fabulous setting spray for keeping me together lol
We returned to the hotel and attended our conference session to be the best journalists and advocates for our readers. Learning about social media trends and connecting with other writers made it apparent that we care about making this a safe space for women. It’s cool to see women supporting each other to grow and be their best selves. Monica presented on YouTube and talked to us about creating and showcasing our authentic selves with conversation. What story are you telling? Do you need to switch up your content? Find your community and grow!
After our conference, we received swag bags filled with goodies like the JBL Clip3 speaker, a Ram tool with a flashlight and seatbelt cutter, a Ram cup, Drop Wipes, a Toyota lunch box, a Beats keychain, and my new Girls Guide to Cars hat and phone key ring. Then we hit dinner and celebratory wine for a wonderful trip so far!
This DoubleTree by Hilton is simply gorgeous with its modern design. I loved the air plants everywhere, and I appreciate the ample seating areas.
Pinot Noir sips with Monica! It was an awesome day.
Chicken Milanese with broccolini? This was the entree I was looking for here.
We’re Taking Back Sunday on a Tuesday, but if you blink-182 times, you’ll end up a matchbook romance and with the used. ah, my chemical romance. it’s so brand new. where are you norma jean? this crew is our sugarcult.
Felt cute, but we didn’t find zombies.
Wake up! It’s Day 3. On the last day of our conference, we did a car seat scramble, where the challenge had two car seats in the back with an adult in the middle. The winner? The Ram 1500 Truck. I could get work done, while sitting between two car seats comfortably. This is some next level family car upgrading right here. I’ll take one, please.
The Ram 1500 had the best space for two car seats, an adult in the back, and no room for complaints.
Monica got in between two car seats, too, and we were amazed at how every SUV or Truck had different amounts of space in that middle seat.
After we endured squeezing into middle seats and found ourselves the con winner, the Ram 1500, we coordinated with our group and headed out to get last minute snapshots before the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta. We headed to the Jackson Street Bridge for that iconic The Walking Dead scene in Season 1, where Rick is on his horse on the highway. While we didn't have zombies or a horse, we did have a cute crew ready to move and shoot. We also headed over to the Ponce City Market to get colorful and admire the artistry and culture.
With colorful crunchy leaves, beautiful street art, and that lunar rock paint, it was clearly a passionate juxtapose.
We love you, Atlanta! This is the view from the Jackson Street Bridge.
Vroom, baby! I think I found my new car. Even my coach said I was a natural and I’ll take that :)
The Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta
I’ll save the details for its own post, but let’s just say your gal here loves the slaloms and friction course. I can’t wait to come back! #ad but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I feel like I am a better driver now, and I can’t wait to implement what I’ve learned onto the road to keep myself safe.
Go follow my friends here
Until next time, I love my friends! Thanks A Girls Guide to Cars for bringing us closer together, and we look forward to our upcoming road trips and adventures soon! XOXO And we’ll continue to shout, “MAKE AMERICAN EMO AGAIN!” Emo forever, y’all.
Disclaimer: We were hosted by A Girls Guide to Cars. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.