Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Wanderlust Wednesday 4/26

I think I have mentioned this a few times already lately, but I've got the itch! The travel itch that is! I have been DYING to get on a plane and travel the world. Last year I really loved the idea of going on a solo trip. This is something I am still considering. I think it would be so empowering. I would learn a lot about myself. Not that I have not travelled by myself yet, I actually prefer flying alone. It is so peaceful and if I want to ignore my neighbor I can without feeling guilty. Seem wrong? Sue me!

Last year we visited Colorado. It was so beautiful!

So I have quite a few opportunities to travel this year. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately? Depends on how you look at it) pretty much all of the opportunities come in September. I would pretty much need to take the whole month off to accomplish all of these opportunities. Now that doesn't sound like a bad thing, however my employer would probably not like me so much.

I do have 2 trips already planned, which makes me heart sing with joy, but I want more. I am attending my very first Wanderlust Festival in June. I will be an official yoga teacher by then and this is an experience I've wanted to experience for a few years. Everything aligned perfectly this year and me and R are heading to Vermont to do it. That will be a fun post to write once it happens!

Landing in the Bahamas back in 2010. Man I miss that beautiful place!

My second trip is even more exciting. Me and my bestie since high school are going on a roadtrip/girls trips to this gorgeous boutique spa in the North Carolina mountains. I am so freaking stoked for this one. We are also planning to stop and visit some friends and family along with way. September can't come soon enough!

Now me and the hubs also want to take a road trip at some point and visit the south and we also have our 2017 park passes to visit all of Canada's national parks. We need to figure out when we are going to go and see at least 2 parks. If you didn't know you can get a free pass as Canada is celebrating 150 years of their national parks.

I also have a friend who will be in Costa Rica working her yoga magic, and she has invited me to come visit and stay with her at no charge. I just need my plane ticket. I REALLY need to find a way to make this one happen. It will be in the fall as well, so I really need to figure out a plan fast!

So tell me, where are you travelling this year? Do you have any special occasions or traditions that require travel this year? Share in the comments!

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Christmas in the Bahamas

Sometimes you have to love Facebook memories. Today a photo popped up reminding me that 6 years ago I was in the Bahamas. It was a beautiful photo of the ocean and blue skies. It had me thinking about how great it was to spend a week on a tropical island so close to Christmas.


We (my brother and roommate at the time) were in Nassau. It never dawned on me when we booked the trip that we would be there a week before Christmas. I was so excited to see the island all decked out for the holidays. The tree above had all kinds of shells as ornaments. It was super pretty with the pink building in the background.


We spend our days exploring the island and getting to know the locals. The weather was chilly for the locals (only 60 degrees on some days), but that didn't keep us northerners from swimming in the ocean and running around in only cardigans to keep warm.

 
The scenery was breathtaking, and the rum was a plenty. We took one guided tour of the island which provided all you could drink rum punch. It was pretty amazing. As you see in the above picture, Bacardi was pretty big there..

The island was pretty busy, and the shopping was insane. I am convinced if you couldn't find it on this island, it doesn't exist. The main shopping area of Nassau, which is conveniently located down by where the cruise ships come in, range from small boutiques, to high end stores. Everyone was Christmas shopping while we were there and it was so hard to navigate through the sidewalks.


 We only went down to the main shopping areas 2 days of the 7 we were there. It was so overwhelming. We instead stayed on our own private beach (we stayed at a small place that wasn't as resorty and enjoyed the beach to ourselves most days).


Having the opportunity to spend a week away before Christmas on an island who was also deep in the holiday spirit was amazing. I really enjoyed having that opportunity and I recommend everyone to do it at least once.

I sure do miss waking up to this every morning.. We had a balcony and it was glorious.


 Have you ever spend the holidays in a tropical setting? What about in a place opposite than you currently live? IE saw snow for the first time?

Let me know below!

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Walking Through Wanderlust

Now that the travel itch has taken over, and I have no trips currently scheduled, I figured I would start a new series called Walking Through Wanderlust. I am going to start this series by recapping all of the places I have been thus far, and hopefully I will have newer destinations to post later this year. In the mean time I have oodles of photos to post from some of my past trips, including advice on what to do and see in each place.

Today I want to focus on my most recent trip because it's still fresh in my mind.

Destination: Denver/Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Date: May 7-10 2016
Day 1 & 2

We flew into Denver and then drove half way to Glenwood Springs. I would have to say, this was one of the best choices we could have made. It was beautiful, but we ran into winter conditions just as it started to get dark, which wasn't far from where we had plans to stop for the night. Today I want to share with you day 1 which consisted of our half way point drive to Glenwood springs and what we did on day 2.


We landed later in the day in Denver and were greeted by this lovely sky. We quickly headed for the rental cars and booked it to the highway before the storm hit.

Heading into the Rockies! Wish us luck!

We drove halfway to Glenwood Springs our first night and stopped at a cute little hotel in Friscoe called The Alpine Inn. It looked very new and was very quiet. It had an indoor pool and Jacuzzi, which we took advantage of after a scary drive in the mountains. The snow was really coming down when we parked at the hotel. We enjoyed how cozy the place was!

The lobby at the Alpine Inn
We got up the next morning to make the second part of the trek to Glenwood Springs. We had really nice weather and some pretty amazing scenery!

Our view outside the Alpine Inn before we hit the road.


We made it to Glenwood Springs earlier than anticipated so we decided to take a walk and get some brunch. We ate at the Colorado Ranch House, which was serving your first mimosa free in honor of Mother's Day. It was pretty amazing along with the food. I recommend this place to anyone who is visiting the area! The outdoor patio was super cute too!


We finished up our brunch right as it started to rain, and just in time to be able to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Best Western The Antlers. It was a really cute hotel centrally located to all the attractions in the area, including the hot springs. The price was pretty great too.


We spend an hour or so in the hotel and then headed to Iron Mountain Hot Springs. This was the highlight of the trip! I had been dying to get into some hot springs and Glenwood Springs was the perfect destination for that.

(Source)
We had such a good time at the springs (pictured above), we did not take our phones or cameras in. We did not want to risk getting them wet. I was glad we didn't because while enjoying the soaking tubs, a quick hail storm came over the mountains and drenched us. Let me just say, running barefoot in the ice from the hail was not fun. But, as they say in Glenwood Springs, "Welcome to Spring in the Rockies!"

We enjoyed this part of the day a lot. We got back to the hotel and showered and nearly fell asleep from all of the travelling and relaxation we experience that day. We peeled ourselves off the bed and headed out to dinner at a place called Grinder. It had really good food and the prices were decent. I am glad we had a chance to eat here. There were so many options!

This is how we spent our first full day (Day 2) in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Come back next Wednesday to see how the rest of our trip went!



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Solo Travel



As I was stopped at a stop sign on a country road heading to my parents house, I got a vision. It was me taking off on a road trip across the country. I could see myself driving off, hair blowing behind me as I went on my adventure.

It was obvious that the travel bug has bitten me. I'm itching to get up and go. My whole being aches for the refreshing cleanse that is travel. It's probably not helping to read travel blogs...

I want to be able to take an extended period of time off and travel. I want to see the world off the beaten path. I want to experience beautiful places you only dream about in magazines.

And I want to do it alone.

Yes I want to take a solo trip. I want to take myself out of my comfort zone. I want to experience a retreat for myself. Learn about myself. Learn to face my fears.

I want to be able to strap on a back pack of  only ehatbwhat I'll need and hit the road for a few weeks. Maybe just in my own country. But I know that won't be enough. I want to explore the earth we live on.

My travel list is growing and I need to share it with you. Sharing it will motivate me to make things happen.

So tell me, do you have the travel itch? Where have you traveled and where would you recommend I go?

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Apparently I have a "thing" for Holiday Inn's

I have probably mentioned a time or two (okay probably lots more than that) that I love to travel. I love to visit new places: See new things. Eat new foods. Meet new people. And my all time favorite: Stay in new hotels. No two hotels are the same, even if they are the same brand. You have different staff, different decor, different options. That makes each location you visit fun. A new place to discover and a new place to rest your hat for the night.

I have stayed in a variety of hotels and a lot of little B&B's and motels along the way. I liked them all for different reasons. They all brought something new and unique, but one of the things I never had the chance to do, was stay in a NEW hotel. Meaning it was just built. First person in the room type of deal.  This was a "new" I wanted to experience.

A few weeks ago I went on a trip with my boyfriend and we checked into a Holiday Inn Express. We always seem to find them when we are traveling. Come to think of it we have stayed in 4 Holiday Inn branded hotels since May... Apparently we have a thing for them! Anyways, when we went to check into our room a few weeks ago, the hotel looked immaculate. It smelt like fresh paint and new carpet. Heck, even the front desk person looked shiny and new.


This sparked the question, "We didn't see any reviews of this place, yet it looks great. When did you guys open?" The response left me giddy; "Thursday! We've been open 5 days." I had a little mini happy dance moment. I was FINALLY getting to stay in a brand spanking new hotel! My boyfriend warned me not to get to excited, as most new hotels this early on were still working on little kinks and such in the operations. I didn't care. This was a new place.


So what if the elevator sounded like a hamster wheel squeaking.... No one had thrown up in the bed yet, or in the hallways, or ANYWHERE. I'd take the squeaking over that any day! There also were no mystery stains, smells, or sounds. Everything in the bathroom worked and was still a sparkling white color. The decor was modern, yet very neutral. It brought a very relaxed feeling to the room. It was perfect.


I woke up the next morning and was excited to use the big shower with the rainfall shower head. It was a great shower. That lead to the continental breakfast, which is one of the things I love so much about Holiday Inn Express locations. Their breakfast is always fulfilling with healthy alternatives. I was happily surprised to be greeted with full size Chobani yogurts. They also had a great variety of cereals and fruits. It totally made my day and lived up to my expectation of experiencing a brand new hotel. Thank you Holiday Inn Express for helping me check that off my list! I love your hotels!



Have you ever stayed in a new hotel? What was your experience? Leave me your thoughts in the comments!

Oh Maine! (Picture Heavy)

I was out of town last week on a mini Vacation. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you got to see a glimpse of my trip. Instead of posting a long drawn out post on it, I am just going to leave you with a picture story of my time in Maine!

Because, Blueberry! Duh
I loved this! I want to start one in my city!

There is always a light house to see in Maine. So pretty!

 
Sunsets were GORGEOUS!
You CAN'T go to Maine and not eat Lobstah! (And beer apparently)

Spend a few hours on Campobello Island in Canada. Visited the Roosevelt Cottage. So PRETTY!

This pool was AMAZING!

That about sums up my trip to Maine. I visited 4 destinations on my 4 day trip. I started it in Portland, then headed up to Lubec, which is a little fishing town on the eastern most point in the US. We headed into New Brunswick, Canada and onto Campobello Island.  (This was only across the bay, a 10 minute drive from Lubec. We then spent our last night in Bar Harbor. I think I spend about 25 - 30 hours in the car over the course of 4 days. NOT FUN! 

Maine has such beautiful landscape, its no wonder their license plates say "Vacationland" on them. I would recommend visiting, but not traveling around so much! Pick one place and enjoy it. 

I  hope you all enjoyed some of my vacation pics! Happy Thursday!

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Vacation in my own city: A Bucket List

I have been thinking a lot lately about places and things I would like to do in my city. A local real estate agent is doing a project 365 on all the things you can do here as a way to show potential customers why this place is so great. I think it is brilliant and has given me so many new places I need to explore. I have lived in my city for just over 2 years and seeing this post on all the places made me realize how behind I am with all the wonderful gems there are here!

I want have to see these things, so I have decided over the next 4 months (Til the end of 2014 folks) I want to cross off as many of these things as possible.  Thankfully there are a mix of things that can be done indoors and outdoors so I can achieve the outdoor ones first while the weather is still good and once winter comes I will have to move it indoors! You should join me! Explore your city.



Just to give you a little taste of that's been included on this list so far, (In case you need some ideas!) here are a few of the categories she has touched on:

  • Visit a plantation/garden/ect
  • Go to a festival
  • Hike at least 3 new locations
  • Visit a zoo
  • Go to at least 3 2 plays (Crossed one off already!)
  • Go to a yard sale
  • Visit a museum
  • Visit 3 new restaurants
  • Wine Tour
  • Visit an antique store
  • Special events unique to your city
  • Research what your city is known for

Now I will probably go back and add to this list as I go because I am sure I am missing some key things. All of these categories can be achieved in my area. I can't wait to share some of my experiences with you all over the next 4 months!

Have you ever "vacationed" in your city? How was it? Share your links or experiences!
     
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Dream Job

Here we are again at another Monday. If you're like me, Monday is so hard to get moving. Another full week ahead at a job I am not in love with. This thought brought me the idea to write about what my dream job would be if I could have it. Monday wouldn't be so bad if you absolutely loved your job.

Do you all remember Samantha Brown? She hosted a show called "Great Hotels" on the travel channel. I loved that show. Samantha would travel to hotels all over the United States and do all of the things it was known for. Everything from eating the signature dish in the restaurant to visiting the local area. It was pretty awesome.When I watched the show I always thought, "wow, that is a pretty sweet job. How can I do it?" I love to travel. I would go somewhere new every week if I could. My dream job would definitely include traveling to great places with great spaces for sure.

Now I would of course take this to another level. I would need to spend at least a week at the hotel because I would need to see everything in the area. I would want to experience not only the hotel but the foundation to why that hotel is special and why the area makes it special. I would have my camera in hand to take photographs and capture the magic the location has to offer. I have a passion to take beautiful photos of beautiful places. I strongly believe every picture tells a story and not one person can tell the same story of the same setting.

Since I am planning to stay a week at each location I will surely meet new people. You will meet locals and other travelers alike. The locals want to showcase their home and show you more of it. Travelers will want to tell you about their homes and where they are headed. This is the perfect way to build new relationships and also connect with new places and spaces to visit.

If I could get up every Monday and be in a new place to explore with my camera and new people to meet, I would have my dream job. This would make me happy. This would make my blog happy as well. Lots of tails to be told, and lessons to be learned. Now all I need is someone to sponsor my travels and I would be set to create. If only dreams came true...

Happy Monday all! Make it a good one!


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I went camping!


A few weeks ago I posted a blog (Check it out here) about all of the "common" things I have never done. One of those things was camping. I added it to my list of things to do this summer. I got a huge surprise this past weekend, and was able to cross it off. Me and my sweetie went to Watkins Glen State Park. It was such a beautiful weekend and the park was gorgeous.

Watkins Glen is a great place to visit regardless if you are camping or just looking for a beautiful place to hike. There are many trail options as well as picnic areas and playgrounds. There was even a wedding going on while we were there this weekend! Next time you are in central New York I recommend this. I am lucky enough to have this in my backyard.

My favorite part about this park is the gorge trail. The waterfalls are stunning and I got a workout. I really had an amazing experience. Everything went smooth and it was the perfect pick for my first time. I think the only thing I would change on my next experience is packing an air mattress or more padding. My back HATES me today!




The scenery was beautiful. Here's a glimpse of how my first camping experience went!

I love the gorge trail! This basin is shaped like a heart.

Camp site
Fire!
Smores!

I also forgot to mention, I forgot alcohol. Who does that?! Next camping trip will def include some alcoholic beverages! So glad my first experience went good. Can't wait for the next!

What did you all do this weekend? Have you ever been camping? Did you love it? Hate it? Why?


Xo Trish
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Ithaca Festival Parade- Picture Heavy!


Happy Monday! I hope your weekend went well. June is here and all things summer start lingering on the mind. I can't help it. Everywhere I go I smell wonderful bbq cooking, I see kids running around in the park, and I hear music being turned up while the windows are being put down. Its a great feeling. I had a wonderful first experience last Thursday where I attended the Ithaca Festival Parade. I have heard it is a really unique parade and one you have to see at least once in your life. Let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. The only way I could really capture the uniqueness of this parade was to take photos. I have picked out the more unique ones to show. I hope you enjoy and get a chance to visit this parade in the future!
Lots of people!
Stilts!
Ahh Fun stuff!
Horses

Mini car
Balloons

Make Fire!
Groovy truck!





Cupcakes!
Birth Control Man?
Lots of culture here
Now the one thing I have always heard about as a must see is the Ballerina Volvos. Yes there are no words for how unique this is, You really need to experience it in real life, but until you do here is an idea of what to expect!



Add caption



*All of these photos were taken by me. Please do not use without my permission.*

There you have it! The most unique parade I have ever been to! Have any of you been? Whats the wackiest parade you have ever attended?

Xo Trish
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