Best Beach in North Carolina

There are many beach communities in North Carolina - Outer Banks, Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Topsail... the list goes on. I have had the opportunity to visit many of these beaches, and I've finally picked my favorite... Kure Beach! Never heard of it? Exactly.

While I absolutely LOVE the Outer Banks, it took me literally 3 hours to go 5 miles on the way to our beach house on my last visit. No thank you! Wilmington and Carolina beaches are well-known and I've found that they often become quite crowded during the summer months (winter months are a whole different story!).

Kure Beach is located on Pleasure Island (I kid you not, that's what it's called). This is an island near Wilmington and is home to Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher and, of course, Kure Beach. Now I'll add this note here - it's pronounced kurr - ee beach, not "cure." #LocalInsight

The reason I've landed on Kure Beach as my favorite beach is for several reasons. Let's start with parking. If you want FREE, UNLIMITED parking, Kure beach is for you! Just look for spots near the pier! That's the key - stay near the pier. Not only, is there parking, but you can also stop in the pier for a convenient bathroom, any forgotten items (towel, sunscreen, sunglasses) and some seriously delicious ice cream. It's the perfect spot!

The beach is nice and comparable to other good ole Carolina Beaches, but the convenience found at Kure beach really seals the deal for me. I actually lived and worked on Pleasure Island for a summer, and I tried all the beaches in town. Time and time again I found myself heading over to Kure beach for easy parking and a nice, relaxing day in the sun. If you are ever in the area, check it out! Even the hotels and beach houses are a smidge cheaper (but by no means cheap) than those in the surrounding area. It's honestly a lovely place to spend a vacation and I highly recommend it!

If you'd like some recommendations for other travel ideas, I'd love to help! Shoot me an email at
Malena@MilesIntoMemoreisTravel.com or visit my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

2018 Travel Plans

2018 is finally here, and I've already started making my travel plans for the year (of course). I was talking with my husband, and I realized I really haven't seen that much of the U.S., despite spending the majority of my life here. So that's our mission: see more of the U.S. Not to mention, that's a good way to save up for our big trip to Australia/ New Zealand/ Japan in 2019.

The first trip we're in the process of planning is the Grand Canyon! We will probably fly into Vegas and road trip it out. I've actually never been to Vegas either, so we will have to have some fun while we are there too. I'm hoping to see some shows and see what Vegas has to offer!

Over at the Grand Canyon, we will probably spend quite a bit of time hiking. We might hike down to a waterfall and camp there for a few days. We shall see! We are still in the very early stage of planning, but I can't wait to start nailing down details. I've heard that camp sites book up fast though so we will hopefully get everything nailed down and booked by the end of January.

During the year, we will hopefully have some time to do some smaller trips to maybe Chicago, Pittsburg, Detroit or Toronto. Who knows!

Finally, I think our last trip will be down to Texas. We haven't worked out the details just yet, but I can't wait to try me some quality barbecue! We'll see how things play out, but there is a possibility of a trip to Albuquerque for Christmas. Our itinerary is still being determined, but I can't wait to see how the year plays out.

If you need help narrowing down your travel plans, I'd love to help. MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Visiting the World's Oldest Bookstore

As a book lover, I'm constantly on the hunt for beautiful bookstores wherever I go. While researching our trip to Lisbon, I stumbled across the ultimate bookstore! The Chiado Livraria Bertrand is the oldest bookstore in the world! It even holds a Guinness World Record! This location opened in 1732 and has since become the largest bookstore chain in Portugal. I must say it was magical.

Here I am with the sign out front!

Tired, sweaty but excited! I had the time of my life wandering through the stacks of books and of course, came away with a few to add to my collection. The set up of the store was really neat! It had multiple rooms that stretched back kind of like a tunnel. It ended with a pretty gorgeous little cafe. As a book enthusiast, it was a pretty awesome experience. I highly recommend stopping by if you get the chance!

My First Cruise - Nassau, Bahamas

I am back from my first cruise, and I had a blast! For my bachelorette party, we decided to take a Carnival cruise from Florida to Nassau in the Bahamas! We had an amazing time relaxing by the pool while our boat was in port in Miami. We spent our days laying out on the beach and drinking plenty of delicious, fruity drinks. But let's start from the beginning.

Miami skyline! What a view!

We were all up at the crack of dawn to meet and drive to the airport for a 6am flight. My sisters, my best friend and I were ready to party! We started with a customary Chic-fil-a breakfast in the airport and boarded the plane for Florida. We got there with plenty of time to spare, and caught the shuttle over to our boat. From there there was some more waiting around, but we were allowed to board early, which was nice.

They took our bags and we made our way on the ship and settled down on the deck with a drink in our hand - just as it should be. We had purchased the unlimited drinks package, which by the way, is actually a limit of 15 alcoholic drinks per day with unlimited sodas and water. Just a note, if you are interested in that package it is required to buy it for the entire cruise for your entire cabin, so be ready for that!

Matching Bachelorette scarves!

Not gunna lie, Friday night we had relaxed, had dinner and went to bed. We were so tired from our travels, we decided to hit the hay early and get up ready for fun in the morning.

Saturday, we took it easy in the morning and got ready for the day! My biggest tip is skip the buffet! It was really rough standing in that dumb line. Instead, hit up the seated dining area. It'll probably take the same amount of time, but it's so much more relaxed and you can sit and enjoy the view.

In the afternoon, we ventured out in Nassau and shopped at a local market and saw some of the area which was fun and I picked up a beach bag. Next up was a ferry ride to a lovely island. It took longer than anticipated, but we were able to stay longer than expected too so it worked out ok.

We opted for the private beach day - TOTALLY WORTH IT! It came with lunch, a nice cocktail and a guaranteed beach chair in a private alcove. It was gorgeous and SO relaxing! After we had our fill of the Bahamian sun, it was back to the ship we went!

On the beach in the Bahamas

We spent the night checking out the shows, enjoying more drinks and even heading out to the club. The show turned out to be a little more Vegas-style than anticipated, but was overall amazing! The club was not quite my thing, but my sisters sure had a blast, ha!

My amazing breakfast of Froot Loop encrusted french toast

Sunday, we literally just laid there and it was glorious. We tried out the water slide and enjoyed the pizza bar, but really we enjoyed the sun and I managed to read 3 books in 3 days. Not bad. Sunday night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and another show. This one had some rather risque moves as well, but was still really awesome.

Monday, was a lot of waitting. Waiting to get off the ship, waiting for our flight and waiting to make it home. It was a long, long day, but overall the trip was so worth it! My one regret is I came away with quite the cold. It took almost a week to get over!

All in all, it was a ton of fun! I'm not sure how many cruises I'll be doing in the future as I think I still prefer to pave my own way, but it was perfect for relaxing with my bridesmaids!