Girls Getaway in New Albany

A girls’ getaway was exactly what my friends and I needed. And New Albany, Indiana proved to be the perfect location.

It all started when my friend Jennie and I attended the AAA Travel Expo a few months ago and visited the SoIN booth.  Neither of us had been to New Albany, but we were intrigued by all the great options for dining, cocktails, and culture available in this southern Indiana town.

We quickly devised a plan for a girls’ getaway, and as luck would have it, we found a weekend that both of us and two other friends, Brooke and Debbie, actually had free. That never happens! We all marked our calendars, booked our lodging, and began anticipating our upcoming girls’ trip.

With guidance from Anna at SoIN (the tourism board that oversees several counties in southern Indiana) we crafted a jam-packed weekend itinerary that perfectly fit our style.  We saw and did SO much in less than 48 hours in New Albany!

I am excited to share about the many activities we took part in and to dish about all the great food and adult beverages we enjoyed as we celebrated friendship!

Creating

A great way to connect with friends while traveling is to spend time creating together, and that is exactly what we did at Wimsatt Soap & Soy Candle Bar.

With the assistance of the delightful owner, Paula, we each made our own candles. I love learning how small businesses got started, and it was a real treat for us to hear about Paula’s journey in the candle and soap industry.

We then got to work making our own unique candle creations.

We got to pick our containers, select and mix our preferred scents, pour the wax, and add floral embellishments.  The hardest part was making decisions about the scents as the shop offers so many fun aromatic options!

Brooke and Debbie went with fruit scents. Blueberry Cobbler for Brooke and a mix of Fruity Loops and Key Lime Pie for Debbie. Jennie made a delightful scent by joining Banana Nut Bread with Coffeehouse. Given that we were right across the river from the Bourbon capital of the world I couldn’t resist making an Apple Maple Bourbon candle.

Then, after our candle creations were completed and we waited for them to solidify, we had plenty of time to browse all the shop’s premade candles, soaps, and more…and hit the town for more shopping fun!

Shopping

New Albany has tons of cute and eclectic boutique shops.  With our limited amount of time, we couldn’t get to all of them, but we sure made a valiant effort!

As women in their 40’s and 50’s we especially enjoyed the nostalgia of The Odd Shop.

This store is jam-packed with toys, clothes, and music from the past and it is sure to bring up lots of laughter and fond memories of the good ole days.

Another favorite and must-see store is the New Albany Sugar Shoppe.

Decked out in hot pink this shop is packed full of sweet and sour treats of all kinds. Debbie and Brooke had a blast selecting flavors of salt water taffy while Jennie and I picked out some chocolatey treats to take home to the loved ones we had left behind on this trip.

We also checked out Mariposa Consignments, which was full of fabulous fashions that were perfect for the upcoming Kentucky Derby.

Regalo is another fun shop where you can find unique gifts for just about anyone on your list, so I definitely recommend allowing time to browse this shop as well.

Given that our trip fell on a Saturday, we couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the New Albany Farmer’s Market, which operates year-round.

We had fun wandering through the stalls and admiring handcrafted items as well as the yummy baked goods and fresh produce.

With all the walking and shopping we did, it was necessary to refuel from time to time…so let’s talk about New Albany’s fabulous food scene!

Dining

We had time for just five meals during our trip, making it difficult to choose between the plethora of eateries available in New Albany.

Dinner at The Exchange Pub + Kitchen was fabulous and the perfect first meal for our girls’ getaway. Jennie voted this as her favorite stop on the trip and said the salmon was amazing.

From the goat cheese balls appetizer to the fish and chips and the Salt of the Earth cocktails, The Exchange Pub + Kitchen was a hit with me as well.

Several great breakfast options also abound in New Albany. We ventured to Leaven Bakery on East Market Street for our first morning meal.

I decided to pace myself knowing there would be lots of great food ahead and selected a lemon blueberry scone paired with an order of homemade sausage patties. Both were tasty and the sausage had a spicy kick, which I loved!

The other ladies feasted on the hearty breakfast burrito (and took home leftovers) and their amazing avocado toast.

Breakfast number two took us to Toast on Market and another fabulous start to the day. Jennie and I couldn’t resist the various options of mimosas…we were on vacation, after all!

I then selected the bacon egg sandwich, which was not your typical breakfast sandwich. It was drizzled with a tangy sauce and was so so good…I practically licked my plate!

No regrets about my selection, but I still eyed Debbie’s lemon souffle pancakes, topped with a blueberry compote and vanilla custard.

Sweet or savory, you can’t go wrong at Toast on Market!

We also popped into the coffee shop next door, True North, for a caffeine pick-me-up and to rest our feet during our very busy day of fun.

This java joint has a great vibe, plenty of comfy seating, and an awesome variety of hot and iced beverages for both coffee and tea lovers.

While I truly loved all the restaurants we visited, our lunch at Agave & Rye made the top of my favorites list.

Both the menu and the atmosphere is fantastically eclectic and proved to be a feast for our eyes as well as our mouths.

To start things off, my friends spiced things up with the Jalapeno Pineapple Ritas.

And I absolutely fell in love with my Sparkling Rose & Peach Bellini Margarita. Not a bad start to the mid-day meal!

Then it was taco time! But these are no ordinary tacos. The fresh and unique flavors made this a tasty and very memorable meal.

I feasted on The Swipe Right taco. Chicken, sweet and spicy bacon, and a pile of amazing cheese was doubled wrapped with both a crunchy and a flour tortilla.

Debbie devoured The Cheesy Amigo, which included pork, pineapple, avocado, and of course plenty of cheesy goodness.

Jennie thoroughly enjoyed The Queen E taco. Piled high with mahi mahi, french fries, habanero slaw, and more…it was quite the mouthful!

And Brooke went with the Birria Grilled Street Tacos, which proved to be three times the taste sensation.

Somehow that evening we made room for one more dinner and we headed to Recbar 812. I’ll get to the fun and games in the next section, but first let’s talk food and drinks.

After quite a bit of food already that day we decided to order several appetizers and all share, which worked perfectly. The Little Piggie Sliders were phenomenal and the Buff Chicken Rolls and Napoleon’s Tochos were also top-notch.

Of course, we needed some festive beverages to wash down the yummy pub food. Recbar’s cocktail menu has several tempting options, but Peach’s Punch, Aloha Y’All, and craft beer made the cut for us.

And for once we managed to save room for dessert! We ordered the Oh Cinnapp…and four forks. We devoured the warm waffles with cinnamon toast crunch ice cream.

It was the perfect sweet ending to an awesome day.

Playing

While the food was great at Recbar 812, the games were the true highlight of the evening.

At Recbar, grown-ups get to relive their childhood dreams as they seek to earn the high score on classic video games and a huge row of vintage pinball machines.

Frogger anyone?! Or maybe PacMan is your jam.

It was no surprise that Jennie reigned supreme at hoops.

And Debbie was the skeeball champ.

I took home the prize for dominating at the air hockey table, even though there is no picture to prove it!

By the end of the night, we were all winners and had racked up tons of great memories our of time in New Albany.

Relaxing

If you are exhausted just reading about all the things we did on our girl’s getaway, then I’m painting a pretty accurate picture!

That is exactly why a mid-day trip to the Suhkino Float Center and Salt Cave was such a good decision.

From the moment we stepped through the doors, we began to relax and all tension melted away. The atmosphere is very calming and we were all looking forward to slowing down for a bit.

We all opted to do a session in the salt cave, which resembles a treehouse with various spots to lounge as you soak up the therapeutic benefits of halotherapy (dry salt therapy). We simply sat in the peaceful environment and breathed in the salty air and let it provide benefits to our skin, respiratory system, and mental health. It was so relaxing I was able to drift in and out of sleep in a blissful state of gratitude.

As very busy ladies it is not often that we take an hour to simply be still, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Drinking

If you have read this far, you can already tell that adult beverages were a fun part of our girls’ getaway, and there were some stops on our itinerary where wine and cocktails took center stage.

With Uber at the ready and our AirBnB within walking distance to many establishments (more on that in a bit), we were able to safely enjoy a handful of watering holes in New Albany.

I love the intrigue of a speakeasy, so a trip to Distillery 64 was a no-brainer!

Prior to our visit, we looked up the speakeasy’s Facebook page to get the entry code for that day. Upon arrival, we followed the instructions on the typewriter in the lobby, called in the secret code, and we were in!

Once inside the elegant yet rustic bar, we had some tough decisions to make. The drink menu boasts a creative assortment of cocktails with unique twists using spirits made by the proprietor, including rum, gin, and vodka.

To ensure we got to sample several cocktails Debbie and I went with the cocktail flight, including a sampling of a Cape Cod, Margarita-ish, Old Fashioned, and Cosmonaut.

A modest serving of four cocktails was just right, and I was somewhat surprised that the Old Fashioned was my favorite, but it was SO good!

Jennie opted for the straight-up spirits flight.

Brooke couldn’t resist the Hot Toddy. And Anna even joined us on this stop and toasted our girls’ getaway with a Sidecar.

Of course, we had to soak up a bit of the alcohol with a few snacks!

Both the Bruschetta and the Smoked Gouda Pimento Grilled Cheese were amazing and hit the spot. Trust me…this is nothing like your kid’s grilled cheese!

Later we moved on to wine at the Wine Shop on Pearl Street. Given that this was our last stop of the day, the laid-back, eclectic vibe was perfect for us to enjoy a few drinks and some girl talk.

While this wine venue doesn’t offer typical wine tastings, the bartender was happy to help Jennie and Brooke decide on a wine that satisfied their palates by allowing them to sample a few options.

They found a Chianti they really liked and I quickly settled on a canned Lambrusco from Italy. The Wine Shop also offers some fun non-alcoholic options and Debbie was thrilled with a light and refreshing Limonata.

More wine was in our future on day two when we bellied up to the bar at Baer’s City Winery.

Both a full-service restaurant and a winery, we were happy to partake in a slow-paced wine tasting with plenty of sweet and dry wines to choose from.

Again we decided a snack was in order and the charcuterie board was the perfect accompaniment to our wine.

We were having so much fun and the weather was perfect, so we took the party out to the patio. After ordering a pitcher of Sangria!

I’m hard-pressed to pass up a delightful sangria!

Learning

After all the wining and dining we did, we couldn’t leave New Albany without throwing some culture into the mix.  A tour of the Culbertson Mansion fit the bill nicely.

We meandered through each floor of the impressive three-story mansion as our capable tour guide regaled us with stories of the wealthy Culberston family and the booming town of New Albany in the 19th century.

We marveled at the opulent architecture and luxurious furnishings of the rich and famous of days gone by.

The home has been painstakingly restored, allowing visitors to step back in time as they appreciate all the intricate details of this palatial home. When you visit, don’t forget to look up as the ceilings were exceptionally exquisite!

We contemplated what it must have been like to be that wealthy and have a full staff of live-in help…and not yet have indoor plumbing!

When visiting New Albany, a tour of the Culbertson Mansion should definitely be on your itinerary! Guided tours are available Wednesdays through Sundays at 10, 12, 2, and 4.

Resting

We packed so much into our girls’ weekend in New Albany, but we also needed some time to rest and unwind. The AirBnb we rented on Pearl Street was the perfect spot to recharge.

Located right above the Body and Brow Boutique, this stylish apartment had everything we needed.  Plus it was located right in the heart of New Albany’s action. We were able to walk to many of the shops and restaurants on our busy itinerary.

The apartment had a nice kitchen and dining area complete with a washer and dryer, however cooking and laundry were not in our plans! But we appreciated the fridge for storing our leftovers and bottled water, and we gathered around the counter several times to discuss the day ahead or reflect back on our fun-filled adventures at the end of each day.

Huge bonus…the hosts left several snacks and bottled water that came in super handy when one of us needed a little bite between activities. I love when AirBnB hosts go the extra mile to make their guests feel at home!

With two comfy bedrooms and two roomy bathrooms, this was the perfect accommodation for four friends to rest up and then get ready to head out for more adventures.

It’s hard telling when all of our schedules will align again, but if they do…

I know I wouldn’t have to twist any arms to make a return trip to New Albany!

Have you visited Southern Indiana? Looking to schedule a fun girls’ trip? I highly recommend a visit to New Albany…tell them Traveling Tanya sent you!

Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Anna and SoIN for hosting our trip and to each of the businesses listed for all the Hoosier Hospitality!  As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

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