Mark your calendars, Dallasites! On April 8th, 2024, we'll witness a celestial spectacle unlike any other: a total solar eclipse. This once-in-a-lifetime event, the last visible from the contiguous United States until 2044, will see the moon completely obscure the sun, plunging the day into an eerie twilight for nearly four minutes. But what exactly is a solar eclipse? It all boils down to a cosmic game of hide-and-seek. Typically, the sun shines uninterruptedly on Earth. During a solar eclipse, however, the moon steps between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow on our planet. When this shado ..read more

We live in Dallas and frequently take long-distance road trips. Coming from the South, we often connect to Interstate 40 if we go east or west. It’s a great highway through the heart of America and has some of my favorite cities along its route (Santa Fe and Memphis, I'm talking to you!). The first time we took it west towards Albuquerque, I was surprised to find that it aligned with a large portion of the original and historic Route 66. You may take I-40 from California to North Carolina or just a segment. Along the way, you will find a pleasing mix of cities, rural America, history, National ..read more

I like a little bit of quirkiness thrown in with my travel, so staying at The Big Texan Motel in Amarillo was high on my list of places to stay. We love road trips and we drive through Amarillo almost every time we travel west. It's five hours from Dallas, so we usually stay the night there to break up the trip. About the Big Texan Motel We were headed to New Mexico, so I booked a stay at The Big Texan Motel, an iconic presence on Interstate 40 and a vibrant testament to the spirit of the Wild West. Our five hours of travel turned into seven hours after stops for gas, bathrooms, and beef jerk ..read more

If you have always wanted to do a road trip around the southwest, I've got the perfect road trip for you. This road trip has 6 southwest National Parks, an airplane graveyard, the chance for alien sightings, and more! The Southwest U.S. is one of my favorite places to visit, because there is so much to see. We recently took a 2-week trip from Dallas to Arizona and covered 6 National Parks along the way. But we did more than National Parks. We also stopped for some downtime in Sedona and Scottsdale and enjoyed all that Arizona and New Mexico offered. I want to share our itinerary in the hopes t ..read more

Perhaps you are on an I-10 road trip or passing through New Orleans between Texas and Florida. New Orleans isn’t your final destination, but while in the Crescent City, you need a place to rest your weary head. Bill and I go out of our way to overnight in New Orleans. Most years, we try and road trip from Dallas to Florida’s 30A along the Emerald Coast. We could circumvent New Orleans, but it is our favorite place to overnight. Why? Well, it’s easy enough to hop on and off Interstate 10, and we have our usual haunts of grilled oysters at Felix’s and beignets and coffee at Café du Monde in the ..read more

What are you passionate about? Do you have any hobbies or overarching travel goals that are not a “one and done” item? Places or experiences that belong to a category of things? Some people wish to see all 50 United States or 63 National Parks. Perhaps you want to see every major wine region in the world. Each of these are what I call “super bucket list goals”. I have a few of these types of goals. I’d like to see 100 countries. There are 197 countries that the United Nations recognize. Why 100? 100 is an arbitrary number. It’s true. I’ve been to 45 so far, and I feel like I need a stretch goa ..read more

So you want to visit Iceland, but you aren't sure whether to drive the Ring Road? Although Iceland is a small country, it takes ~18 hours to drive around it, not including stops. If you have less than 9 days, do not even attempt. We circled the country in 9 days but I really believe we needed at least one extra day. Instead, use Reyjavík as your base and do day trips from there. Table of Contents: Day 1: Reyjavík and the Blue Lagoon Day 2: Golden Ring Day 3: Bogarnes and Skagafjörður Peninsula Day 4: Mývatn Day 5: Húsavík and Whale Watching Day 6: East Fjords Day 7: East Fjords, continued and ..read more

Does the idea of hunting for treasure excite you? What about the idea of seeing something that no human has ever seen or touched before? Surely, that has to appeal to you on some level. What sort of diamonds can you find at Crater of Diamonds State Park? Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas is the only place in the world where you can look for natural diamonds and keep what you find. And these diamonds are legit. In 2018, a 2.63-carat diamond was found that was designated as flawless. The diamonds found here can be clear, yellow, or brown and on average, at least two visitor ..read more

A travel bucket list is a useful tool to help you proactively travel the world. Today, I want to help you build a better travel bucket list – one that is actionable. I will also provide tools and resources to help you build and manage your travel bucket list. Table of Contents: What is a bucket list? What makes a good bucket list? How to build a bucket list How to make - and manage - a better bucket list One Last Thing What is a bucket list? A bucket list is a list of experiences that you want to have or places that you want to visit before you die. Wow, that’s depressing. I’m going to offer u ..read more

This year was a huge year of group travel for me. I personally took several group trips with friends or extended family. I also helped plan a couple of trips for large groups. I learned a lot during this - and usually not the easy way - so I wanted to share my lessons and tips with you. Going on a group trip can be a great way to bond with your friends and make lasting memories, but it doesn’t always come without its challenges. With careful planning and preparation, you can enjoy a hassle-free group getaway. Here are seven essential tips to help you plan the perfect group trip. Decide on a De ..read more