BIRTHDAY WEEK IN ROCHESTER NY (DAYS 4 AND 5)

 Hello!

After my birthday, we had a couple days left in Rochester to take it easy and explore new locations. 

The first stop on our 4th day in New York was Artisanworks, an event space and art gallery inside of a warehouse in Rochester. We got coffee first, at a big cold empty shop in the same building that only had hot espresso drinks (in the 90 degree heat). 

Walking into Artisanworks, I immediately fell in love with the maximalist eclectic vintage feel of the space. With high ceilings, bright walls and colored lights, the space was absolutely packed with beautiful art and vintage items. 

BIRTHDAY ON THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER

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I was so excited to spend my 20th birthday out in the world. It had been so long since I had traveled beyond just going back and forth from school and it really gave me new life.

    On the day of my birthday, we drove out to Alexandria Bay, New York to visit the thousand islands and the castles that live on them. We left really early and stopped to get coffee, and the lovely baristas made me smile by giving me a free drink and wishing me a happy birthday. When we got to the bay we boarded our ferry, which took us on a boat tour down the beautiful St Lawrence River past many historic islands, eventually dropping us off at Singer Castle on Dark Island. 

BIRTHDAY WEEK IN ROCHESTER NY (DAYS 1 AND 2)

 

Hello!

I wanted to share some pics and stories from the first couple days of the trip that I took to New York State with my lovely boyfriend and his mother. My boyfriend and his family are from Rochester, so they try to get up to visit as much as they can. 

Rochester is an unlikely vacation destination, (as my boyfriend's mom likes to joke, 'no one vacations in Rochester on purpose') but I've grown to really love this off-beat city nestled on the Genesee river. There is a lot of natural beauty in the state parks and lake-beaches in the surrounding area, and a lot of character in the different neighborhoods and in the people who reside in them. 

THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME "CASTLE CARRA"

Me at Hearst Castle, 2019

Hello!

When I started this blog in 2019, I was in my senior year of high school. I had been accepted to attend Temple University in the fall, and was planning a cross-country road trip for the upcoming summer. I had the arrogance and ambition that only an overly-romantic 18 year old coming off of a mental breakdown could possess.