a lost American's guide to Havana

Never did I ever imagine that I would find myself in Cuba. When I was a child, Americans weren't allowed to go there. So in my mind, it was essentially a made up place that didn't exist. 

But just a few years ago, the Obama administration facilitated opening the gates of Cuba to Americans for the first time in more than 50 years. Unfortunately, since then, the Trump administration has begun to make it more difficult to visit. So we decided that if we ever would want to visit Cuba, now is the time because who knows if visiting Cuba will always remain a possibility to Americans. And since we did so much research going into this trip, I thought I would share what we learned about visiting Havana Cuba. 

the logistics of planning an Alaskan Cruise

Dear Alaska, 

I dreamt of you again last night. Only, I could never be creative enough to dream up anything so gorgeous on my own. You live on in my dreams because you live on in my heart. You keep your beauty hidden and are so hard to gain access to. But I want to share you with the world because "to the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world" -John Muir 

Mexico Road Trip: The Yucatan Peninsula

We're putting the finishing touches on this year's Christmas trip, which got me thinking about last year's trip to Mexico. And while I did share tons from that experience, I never quite got around to linking it all together, so here it is..."the great big everything you need to know to take a road trip around mexico" post. 

Well...maybe not everything you need to know. But at the very least, it includes our itinerary, tips, and budget. 

Alaskan Anniversary Adventure

I always tell Tom that anniversaries are extra special when you're practicing a long distance marriage the way we do. Simple things that other couples don't have to think about take work for us with being over 700 miles apart on a daily basis. So we were happy to celebrate four years of marriage together in this extra special way with an Alaskan Adventure. 

Since, I've been sharing a lot from our Alaskan Cruise this past week, I thought I would put things into context by detailing our exact itinerary here. Though if I'm honest, I'm mostly cataloguing this for myself so I can always look back and reminisce. Either way, here's our itinerary for a 7 day cruise through Alaska...with a few travel days tossed in. 

Florida Road Trip

One of the best parts for me about this space is having the chance to reminisce. And I've especially loved being able to look back and relive an entire trip simply by reading through our itinerary, so I want to share one here for all of our big trips. 

After 3 years of putting it on the back burner, the stars aligned and we were finally able to make this trip fit into our schedule and our budget. I'm sharing our exact itinerary here so I don't forget a single detail of this epic adventure through the Sunshine State. 

a camper's guide to dry tortugas national park

With our trip through the sunshine state, we visited all 3 of Florida's national parks. We spotted alligators in the everglades and went boating in biscyane, but by far our favorite was our visit to Dry Tortugas National Park.

This national park is actually an island off the coast of Florida that just so happens to be surrounded by the world's 3rd largest coral barrier reef. Even though the island is closer to Cuba than it is to the US, it used to serve as a major line of defense in the 1800's so it's chalked full of history. 

Dry Tortugas is one of the least visited national parks. This isn't because it's not worth visiting. Trust me, it is. But the only way to access the park is by boat or by seaplane. Add in the fact that the island has no electricity, no internet, no fresh water---most people only visit as a day trip. But Tom and I pride ourselves on not being most people. And a night of dry camping on a secluded island sounded like paradise to us. We spent our time laying out on the beach and searching the fort for hidden treasures. So I thought it would be a fun idea to share what we learned. 

Guide to Charleston + a VIDEO

One of my favorite parts of a trip is planning it. 
And our July trip to Charleston was no exception. All of the research that goes into learning about a new place builds the anticipation before you even leave home. And it helps you to appreciate it so much more when you finally arrive. That's why you can always find me nose deep in a travel book, learning about places that I won't even be able to visit for years to come. While I may love making lists and planning ahead, I know not everyone feels this way. And even I can admit that it can sometimes be frustrating and stressful to try to determine the best places to go while traveling. Because Charleston is such a popular Southern destination, I thought that I would share my recommendations for this amazing city. Added bonus---this guide includes a video from our trip and you definitely don't want to miss the total wipe out at 1:03.