#23 Favorite Things
Day Trips Around DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia
Hello Friends,
Here’s what you can expect in this drop—
⚡ A round-up of some of my favorite products.
🍂 Fall trips around DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
🔗 Links, Recipes, and Hot Spots.
P.S. This issue is packed. You may need to read it in the browser or hit “Expand” to see the entire newsletter. It’s also easier to click links via the browser format.
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You can also email me 💌 marlayoung@mac.com.
If you are a ✨ new subscriber, check out the archives here, including travel guides.
To Do List
WATCH 🎬
Formula 1 Drive to Survive (Netflix): This documentary series reveals the story of the high-octane sport, which goes beyond the fight to be No. 1.
Untold Swamp Kings: This documentary series explores how legendary football coach Urban Meyer turned the ragtag 2000s-era Florida Gators into a ferocious winning machine. (Adult language)
Full Swing (Netflix): This documentary series features unique storylines with golfers of varying rank and experience. All the highs and lows of the sport being featured without frivolous drama made for very compelling television.
READ 📚
Why Bad Looks Good by Wendy Patrick: Why Bad Looks Good uses biblical wisdom to improve your perception of the people and world around you.
Under the Influence by Noelle Crooks: If you enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, you may like this book. A young woman takes a job working for an influencer and quickly discovers there's an ugly side to being a girl boss.
The Cook’s Book by Bri McCoy: Giving you the skills and recipes you need to bring more people to your table.
LISTEN 🎧
Soundtrack Season 2 of The Bear
Huberman Lab Guest Series with Dr. Andy Galpin: Andrew Huberman does a deep dive with Andy Galpin on fitness, exercise, and performance. After explaining the essential parts of a well-rounded fitness program, he discusses twelve tools that take a small amount of time to implement, all of which can greatly enhance your level of fitness. Be sure to check out my home gym and hotel room fitness guide here.
DOWNLOAD 💻
✏️
’s Google Doc Tips. Jeremy’s weekly newsletter includes useful sites & resources to save you time.💤 Andrew Wilkinson’s sleep tips.
🎨 Looka: Design a logo for your brand.
🧠 Andrew Huberman’s Supplement Guide
📱 Swipe Wipe App: It lets you swipe left to delete and swipe right to keep a photo. So simple, so effective.
SURF 🌐
All Travel Sizes: Travel smart with your favorite brands in travel size.
Loop Baby: Rentals for baby gear, so you don’t have to buy.
Here Magazine: Travel guides
SEE 🎭
Shucked the Musical: A country music comedy now playing on Broadway.
HOT LIST / The latest places to add to your radar.
Boca Raton
Mane Coffee: Craft coffee shop.
Parlour Vegan: A vegan cafe and bakery *GF menu
Fort Lauderdale
Small Wine Shop: A boutique wine shop specializing in natural wine from all over the world.
Birmingham
Ladybird Taco: Modeled after the taco scene in Austin, Texas, Ladybird serves house-made tortillas, queso, salsa, and salads from fresh ingredients, plus a coffee bar.
Savannah
Perk Coffee: Craft coffee shop.
Miami
Uptown 66: A Mexican restaurant in Miami’s MiMo neighborhood won the Good Morning America “Ultimate Taco Spot” competition.
Marla’s Favorite Coffee Shops.
Marla’s Favorite Gluten-Free Restaurants.
Recipes
- ’s Hard Shell Taco Night is perfect for football season.
This chopped Italian sub recipe went viral on TikTok.
Bookmark
’s recipe for Hatch Green Chili Burgers.This tomato butter sauce sounds fantastic.
Links
A recent Johns Hopkins study found that the cash price at hospitals was lower than or equal to the median insurance company price for the same service in the same facility about half the time.
Billy: The site publishes hospital prices across the country.
What’s the fuss about bright egg yolks?
How to make the perfect cup of coffee.
You only need these five cooking techniques to be a better cook.
Beware of links to malicious apps in text messages. There could be danger lurking behind those links.
How Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic became a broadcasting trio unlike any in college football.
45 tools you should own.
How to recognize the challenges of your unmarried single friends.
The care and keeping of bacon grease. How to cook with a staple of the Southern larder.
How to throw a winning tailgate.
The best pizza in America.
The art of friendship: how to travel together.
This is the latest installment of products that I’m currently enjoying.
Emuaidmax First Aid Ointment: Emuaidmax First Aid Ointment’s antifungal properties eliminate nail fungus and restore healthy nail growth.
Omni Portable Charger: If you're looking for a functional power bank that is easy to travel with and can charge various device types, including laptops, then the Omni Power Bank is a solid pick.
LMNT: A tasty electrolyte hydration drink mix with zero sugar. LMNT electrolyte mixes are easy to use. Drop a pack of your favorite flavor in your water bottle, shake, and enjoy.
Each packet contains:
1000 mg of Sodium
200 mg of Potassium
60 mg of Magnesium
Zero Sugar
Owala Water Bottle: Leak-proof, stainless steel insulated water bottle with a built-in straw and push button.
Graza Finishing Olive Oil: I use Costco’s Kirkland Olive Oil for cooking. For finishing, I use Graza Finishing Olive Oil made from olives that are picked early, when the flavor is bold and antioxidants are highest. Made for eating, never heating.
Oncept Phoenix Shoe: These shoes feel like I am walking on clouds, perfect for exploring on my trips.
Weezie Towels: Weezie Towels are SO worth the investment. They have beautiful embroidery options and don’t lose their softness with each wash. They are very absorbent and dry fast. They also have a discreet hook sewn into the backside of the piping, which makes their towels easy to hang up.
Zoca Cold Day Salve: A blend of organic oils and juniper to promote circulation and repair dry, chapped skin. It’s the best hand cream without all the bad stuff.
Whim’s Oat Milk Peanut Butter Cups: A healthier option for Trader Joe’s chocolate peanut butter cups. Whim’s Oat Milk Peanut Butter Cups contain only 1 gram of sugar. Dairy-free and gluten-free.
Rise Well Balancing Mouthwash: This mouthwash inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria and leaves your mouth healthy and fresh.
SideDish Salad Dressings: Alex Snodgrass, the blogger behind Defined Dish, launched SideDish Salad Dressings. All of the flavors are gluten-free and paleo-friendly dressings and taste delicious.
Van Man’s Tallow and Zinc Sunblock: VanMan's sunblock uses non-nano Zinc Oxide as a mineral barrier and Tallow. Tallow contains Vitamins A, D, K, and E, all antioxidants. Antioxidants fight free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules in our bodies that become unstable and damage skin cells. An SPF equivalent of about 20, water resistant, nearly 100% absorbent, and no solid white residue. This one protects my skin without the harmful ingredients in most sunscreens.
Full Ingredients:
100% grass-fed Tallow
Organic Olive Oil
Organic Beeswax
Organic Shea Butter
Non-Nano Zinc Oxide
Organic Cocoa Powder
*No sponsored links, just products I love!
P.S. What are some of your favorite things?
Fall Trips Around DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia
Here are my favorite day trips from DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Great Falls Park: Great Falls Park is a stunning national park site located just outside of Washington DC, along the Potomac River. The park is relatively small but offers incredible views and hiking trails.
Catoctine Mountain: Located in Maryland, it is a good hike for when the leaves change.
Rock Creek Park: My favorite running venue in DC. The stretch in Woodley Park is particularly scenic.
Billy Goat Trail: Billy Goat is a great hike and rock scramble close to Washington, DC.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon is the historic home of America's first president, George Washington, just a short drive from Washington, DC, and Alexandria, VA.
Gettysburg: Book a tour of Gettysburg National Park with Get Out of the Car Tours. These tours are extremely popular and give you a close-up, boots-on-the-ground look at the battlefield and are led by Licensed Battlefield Guides. If you decide that you want to go on a self-guided tour of the battlefield instead, make sure to download the Gettysburg App.
Bears Den: If you like to hike, head about an hour outside of DC to Bears Den in Bluemont, Virginia. Park at the bottom of the hill, and you’ll have a roughly 45-minute hike to a beautiful overlook of the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains. If you time it right, you’ll have the best sunset view for miles.
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Hiking at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is a blast.
Charlottesville, Virginia: Tour Monticello. Stop by Daedalus Used Bookshop. It has three floors and mazes of used books. The area has many vineyards, including Jefferson’s Monticello and Carter Mountain Orchard.
St. Michaels, Maryland: St. Michaels is a quaint historic town with a beautiful harbor, exceptional dining, and shopping.
Washington, DC: Fall is a great time to explore the museums in DC with fewer crowds. You can take Amtrak to Union Station. Check out my DC travel guide and Google Map.
Baltimore: Take Amtrak to Penn Station in Baltimore. You can transfer to the Baltimore Light Rail. Public Buses pick up outside Penn Station. Take the light rail to the Woodberry station. Head straight to Artifact Coffee for a beverage. From Artifact Coffee, you can walk to the Hampden neighborhood. This is my favorite neighborhood for vintage shopping. Stop by Harmony Bakery before 3 p.m. (Thursday – Sunday) for a sweet treat. This vegan and gluten-free bakery is fantastic. Take the Baltimore Light Rail from Woodberry to Camden Yards and explore the Inner Harbor and museums for the afternoon. For dinner, there are many fabulous restaurants. My go-to is Clavel for authentic Mexican tacos.
I also created a Baltimore Google Map that reflects all my recommendations so you can easily access them throughout your travels. You can save the map with your Google account.
Here is a detailed list of all of my recommendations for Baltimore.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania: My favorite coffee shop is Passenger Coffee. Stop by the Lancaster Central Market. Enjoy dinner at the Horse Inn. A few more places to eat Fridge Pizza. Check out the ale trail if you are into craft breweries. Don’t miss a Sight and Sound Theatre show.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: You can take Amtrak from Union Station in DC and Baltimore Penn Station to downtown Philadelphia. See my Philly Travel Guide and Google Map.
New York: Take Amtrak or Megabus to the city. Go on a Saturday morning and catch a matinee and evening Broadway show.
Show-Score.com is the ultimate resource for Broadway show information. Some of the shows, including Hamilton, offer online lotteries. You are notified via email if you win tickets and have one hour to buy your ticket(s). It’s worth a try for sold-out shows.
RUSH tickets are another way to get discounted show tickets.
My favorite apps for discounted last-minute tickets are Today Tix and Theatr.
I created a New York City Google map that reflects all my recommendations so you can easily access them throughout your travels. You can save the map with your Google account.
P.S. In case you missed the last newsletter, click here.
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Marla is the real deal. As much as she travels and lives efficiently, one would be wise to follow her incredible reviews! Thank you very much Marla. Your stacks are amazing!