Roadtrip to Meridian
As most of you know, I’m very new to the state of Mississippi! I moved here from Oklahoma City, OK about a year and a half ago after getting married and my husband and I live very close to the Meridian area. However, in my short time here, I have yet to explore much of the city… until this weekend!
I partnered with Visit Meridian for an incredible weekend getaway to show you all of the best places to eat, shop, and play— and GUYS. It was absolutely incredible. A few other sweet bloggers from out of town joined me and we had the time of our lives! I’ll give you the rundown.
Pictured (L-R): Kameron Monet, Monique Delaney, + Me!
DAY 1:
Our first day, we had lunch at Weidmann’s — which is the oldest restaurant in the state of Mississippi — and it was incredible. If you’ve never been before, make sure you try the fried green tomatoes because they are divine. After lunch, we did a little shopping at some of the local shops + boutiques in the downtown area. One of my favorites is Crooked Letter (you get it, right?). This adorable shop is the premier location for all of the neatest and sweetest handcrafted goods that are MADE in Mississippi. We even caught them on their Open House day and snapped a few pictures out front with their awesome balloon arch!
For dinner, we ate at Harvest Grill and if you don’t listen to anything else I say in this post, hear this: try the “County Fair Fried Bread Pudding”. It will absolutely change your life. (We may or may not have gone back another time in this trip for more!) And after dinner, we burned off all the calories at one of Meridian’s newest attractions - HYPE! Adventures. They have everything from go-carting, rock climbing, laser tag, zip lining, axe throwing, trampolines— the list goes on. If you’re ever in Meridian, grab the entire family and go! There is literally something for everyone (including massage chairs lol).
DAY 2:
On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early for breakfast + coffee at the incredible Cater’s Market. I can absolutely guarantee that this will be my new favorite coffee stop because the iced vanilla latte was perfect (trust me: coffee connoisseur speaking). I also enjoyed a delicious breakfast bowl, and my husband devoured his breakfast sandwich in minutes!
After breakfast, we visited the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) and it was even cooler than I could have imagined. Every single exhibit was super hands on, (don’t worry - they provided stylists for all touch-screen activities, and had sanitizer at almost every station) extremely educational, and honestly just well done. I had no idea how many different historical figures + celebrities were actually FROM Mississippi! Every experience was so captivating and I cannot wait until my family + friends from Oklahoma visit again so I can take them! Saturday also happened to be an amazing day to visit The MAX because they provided lunch, popcorn, karaoke, and even $5 margaritas!
We took the afternoon to rest and relax before dinner at one of Meridian’s newest restaurants, Amore Italian Ristorante. This was my first time trying it out and it was an A + experience for me! I’ve recently become a huge fan of Italian food (my husband as well) and we are already planning to go back again! The entire experience felt really authentic, like I had stepped right into Italy itself.
After dinner, we went to the MSU Riley Center for what might have been my favorite part of the trip: The Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Everything about the night was breathtaking to me. The orchestra literally sounded like it was coming straight off a record (I closed my eyes a few times just so I could take it all in). The show also featured a guest appearance by Meridian’s very-own Todd Tilghman — 2020 winner of NBC’s The Voice! He did an amazing job and the two paired together were simply angelic!
We completed the evening with a fun meet + greet with Todd over dessert (yep! you guessed it! fried bread pudding) at Harvest Grill. We all laughed, shared stories, and got to hear of a few of Todd’s favorite places in Meridian, as well!
The entire trip was seriously a blast, and I definitely recommend considering Meridian, MS as one of your road trip locations for 2021. There is so much to do, and something for everyone in the family to enjoy! When you book your trip, use the hashtag #RoadTriptoMeridian to share your experience! I’d love to hear which of these places you decide to try!
Until next time, friends!
