Clearly I’m all about not spending all my time on the Las Vegas Strip, so of course I’m going to tell you to take time to explore outside of downtown Vegas. There are cool museums, lots of hiking, and historic sites to visit, all on day or afternoon trips from Las Vegas. With so many things to do near Las Vegas and on short adventures from the city, a Vegas vacation takes on a whole new and exciting meaning. From nearby National Parks to beautiful hiking just minutes from the Strip, I think you’ll find our ideas for great things to do near Las Vegas will actually give you several days of adve ..read more

I’ve never been a big fan of Las Vegas for lots of reasons, but I’ve finally had a fun visit that WASN’T all casinos. Las Vegas for the non-gambler actually is really fun and interesting, and you can have a unique Vegas experience that includes nature, science, history, showmanship and awesome food. I hope these suggestions give you a good launch point for a different sort of Las Vegas trip than you might expect. If you have additional suggestions, especially if you have a favorite show in residence in Las Vegas, please leave a comment or send us a note. I would love to share others’ recommen ..read more

If you’ve never been before, then you’ll need an Acadia National Park itinerary. We’ve got you covered with a three day plan for seeing the most popular spots in Acadia NP and going off the beaten path to the unknown areas of the park. And did you know that there is an Artist in Residency program if you fall in love with Acadia and need to really dig deep? All that an more is coming your way now! Acadia National Park is a beautiful destination that, unless you’re familiar with Maine, you might not have even heard of. Located in the DownEast area of coastal Maine, there are some very off the b ..read more

I’ve been excited about doing an UnCruise in Hawaii for a long time and we’ve finally completed our sailing from the Big Island to Molokai. It was incredible and I am excited to share just what made it so special and unique. We travel to Hawaii a lot (more frequently than we ever expected) so getting to see the Islands from a different perspective doing UnCruise Hawaii was awesome and gave us a completely new set of stories and experiences to share. I don’t just want to gush about how wonderful the boat and crew were, but I want to share what made small ship sailing in Hawaii such an unusual ..read more

One of my favorite parts of being a blogger is getting to go out into the world and explore, capturing beautiful photographs as I go. The bulk of my job though comes in the writing and web publishing side of things. I love getting to speak with other creative professionals about what they do and why, so getting to sit down with a professional landscape photographer was eye-opening for me. Colleen Miniuk is an award winning professional landscape photographer and author, but that wasn’t always her career. Her primary job is being my friend. Kidding, but she is a marvelous person in addition to ..read more

I first heard of UnCruise in 2016 and have wanted to do a sailing ever since. Well, we finally have gotten to have an UnCruise adventure and it was truly remarkable. It was unlike any sort of travel we’ve done before and I’m going to break down what made it special for us and why it’s worth it for others. UnCruise Adventures is truly unique and when you put together the destinations with the level of service, food and activities, it all makes sense. As I dig into our UnCruise experience and what we discovered on our first sailing, our UnCruise Hawaiian Seascapes voyage, please let us know if ..read more

The King Kamehameha Beach Resort in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii is the most centrally located, epically placed hotel on the Kona Coast. We’ve been to the Big Island many times and have stayed all around, but the King Kamehameha Courtyard Marriott has been one of my favorite hotels. We’ve got the full scoop on what to expect when you stay here, highlights of what make it a cool resort and tips for how to enjoy your time on the Kona Coast. And yes the Kamehameha Beach Resort, King Kamehameha Beach Hotel, and Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha are all the SAME HOTEL, just it gets cal ..read more

Ireland is a popular destination for Americans to visit when they’re tracing their roots, but it’s also just a fun and beautiful place to visit with kids! As we dig into what makes Ireland a great place to plan a European adventure with family, you’ll see that in general many of the day to day experiences in Ireland are family friendly and great to incorporate children into. Travel in the UK and Ireland is particularly easy coming from the USA, so give a listen a see if it’s a fit for you! Visiting Ireland with kids doesn’t have to be a stressful trip, so listen to these great tips and itiner ..read more

Clear kayaking on the Florida Gulf Coast is becoming more and more popular, and now there are several places to do clear kayaks from Naples up to the start of the Panhandle. We’ve done it for bioluminescent kayaking at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge also, and each experience is unique with surprises with each paddle. The transparent kayak helps paddlers see the wildlife that exists below the surface and observe the underwater world in a totally different way. We’ve picked our top five spots for clear kayaking on the Florida Gulf Coast and each is totally different and worthwhile ..read more

Rocky Mountaineer is such a mystery to those who’ve heard of it but not yet been on one of their journeys. I’m excited to share all about my experience on this luxury train ‘First Passage to the West’ journey through Western Canada, and also lay out the details of planning your own adventure. From our start in Vancouver to ending in Calgary for our flight home, I’ve got the full scoop on what to expect and how to make the most of a Rocky Mountaineer train trip. Have you done this luxe vacation in the Canadian Rockies or just heard about it from others? If you have any questions about the expe ..read more