So You Just Got Back From the Trip of a Lifetime - Now What?

Going on a whirlwind adventure is obviously amazing and exciting, but no one really thinks about how hard reality hits once you return home. We recently went on a two-week epic adventure to the other side of the world and had a BLAST! But boy was it hard to get back into the swing of things with normal life. Here's what I did to get it back together.

Embrace the Suck
I had a soccer coach who used to use this phrase quite often. Essentially, he meant that the hard times will pass and you'll be stronger for it in the end. In terms of traveling, I mean that the adventure was worth it. It's always going to be hard going back to work after returning from an epic trip. I choose to lean into it. I love to look back at my pictures from my trip, talk to co-workers about but still buckle down and get some work done. It's hard, but it's life! Embrace it! It's absolutely ok to feel frustrated at being stuck at a desk once again. let yourself feel those feelings - just don't dwell. There's a difference!

Find Joy in Small Adventures
Not every day is going to be the best day of your life. That's just a fact. Often it takes hundreds of mundane days to build up to an epic day. Instead of wallowing in the fact that you aren't spending your weekends jet-setting around the world (unless you're Taylor Swift, who has that kind of money??), find little adventures instead. Go on a hike! Visit a local museum! Explore your home town! Heck, you can have adventures at home. I personally LOVE a nice day spent playing games with my husband, knitting, reading and laying in our hammock. Those are things I would never do while abroad (I would rather be out exploring most times), so instead I embrace where I am in the moment.

Begin Planning Your Next Trip
Finally, my biggest tip is start planning your next trip. For us, that's a simple beach trip this fall (traveling to Australia was expensive so it's going to be a minute before we go on a big trip again!). But it's honestly a game changer. Having something to look forward to can be a huge morale booster. I even like to create a little countdown on my desk at work so I can see myself inching towards the next trip. Trips, big or small, don't get planned overnight. So why not start early? Plus! now is the time to start saving for your next trip. The more you save now, the bigger the adventure you can have later!

If you'd like some help planning your next adventure, visit my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

The Final Countdown: How to Stay Motivated in the Days Leading Up to Your Big Trip

It's the final countdown!! (I bet you just sang the theme in your head, didn't you?)

We all know the excitement and the agony of those final weeks and days before the trip of a lifetime. I myself am currently in that purgatory as I type. I am mere weeks away from a two-week jaunt across Australia and New Zealand, and I can not wait!! I know it's going to be a blast, but I need to stay motivated in my normal life for a little while longer.

Stay Busy

Keeping yourself occupied is key to making the days fly by. You know how those busy days at work always seem much shorter than the ones where you have nothing to do? At least that's the case for me. Leading up to a big trip, I make it a point to stay active. I go to the gym a little more frequently (never hurts if you are working on that beach bod for your upcoming trip!) and set work goals. I need to make sure I can get everything done for my regular work before going on vacation.

Let The Excitement Build

Staying busy will help keep the days from dragging by, but that doesn't mean you should forget about your trip entirely. Let that excitement and anticipation build! It's okay to be a little anxious to get going, but turn that anxiety into excitement. Print out pictures of your future destination at keep those handy at work for inspiration. Heck, I even have a countdown of days stuck on the bottom of my computer monitor. It's ok to have something to look forward to! Embrace it!

Don't Stop Preparing

Keeping the trip fresh in your mind by googling some last minute pit stops you'd like to see. At this point, you probably have all your big ticket items booked (hotels, attractions, flights etc.) but don't hesitate to keep searching out the best local restaurants or some fun places to visit - like local book and yarn stores (sometimes I think I am actually 90 years old). This will make you feel like you are still actively moving towards the trip, instead of just waiting around in agony.

I know waiting it never easy, but it's a part of life - so make the most of it! If you need some help getting your trip ready, check out my website MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com. I'd love to help!

The Joy of Leisure Vacation

For those of you who have seen my posts, you know that I am an adventure traveler. I absolutely love it! My daydreams always revolve around where my next great adventure will take place. I have a massive trip coming up in a little over a month. A few friends and I are going to spend 2 weeks trekking across Australia and New Zealand doing everything from snorkeling to rolling down a huge hill inside an inflatable ball to spelunking to taking a helicopter up to the top of a glacier. It's going to be awesome! That said, I just enjoyed a very nice relaxing vacation where the most exciting thing we did was go to Walmart. I was thinking about what to write for today's post and almost passed right by my most recent trip to New Mexico. But I think leisure vacations definitely have a place!

We were visiting family in Albuquerque and had a very chill week. We didn't go on a single hike or visit even on museum! And you know what? It was AWESOME! We just laid around the rental house, read books, watched Christmas movies and enjoyed being with family. While this particular trip did not really satisfy my adventure itch, it sure did rejuvenate me! And the views from the car as we drove to Walmart and back were GORGEOUS!

It certainly helped that we had already explored the area the last time we came to visit New Mexico. In fact, we hiked up that very mountain!

As for this trip, I tried to stay off of my phone and instead I took on a thousand-piece puzzle (which we didn't end up being able to finish - frustrating!), read tons of books, painted and spent quality time talking to some amazing people. I think it's important to take a relaxing vacation every once in a while - or even a stay-cation! Not every vacation has to be this big, grand adventure. Sometimes staying in one resort and laying on a beach all day every day can be just what you need.

That said, I am rested up and READY for my next big adventure! If you'd like help planning your vacation - chill or daring, up to you! - I'm happy to help. Visit MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

My First Formula 1 Race - Austin, Texas

I recently spent a week in Austin, Texas to see the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, and I had a great time! I was not a huge F1 fan before the trip, I must admit, but my husband's family are huge fans. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and root for my Mother-in-law's favorite drive, Kimi Raikonnen! I bought a cheap t-shirt from Amazon with a pithy saying ahead of time and picked up a Ferrari cap at the venue. I was ready!

On Thursday, we got the chance to go to the Pit Walk. It. Was. COOL! We got to see pit stops up close and personal and get a good look at the cars. I believe pit walks are invite only, but we somehow got passes.

Day one started with RAIN. A lot of rain. Fortunately, we had been creeping on the weather and were prepared. We had our Frogg Toggs (highly recommend) and were braced for the rain. It was just practice so we didn't end up staying too, too late. We walked around the track, bought some souvenirs and watched the cars kick up a ton of water as they zoomed past. All in all, it was pretty cool!

Day two was qualifying! I took the opportunity to get to know the sport a little better. My husband answered all of my questions, and I really started to get in to it! Our favorites did relatively well and qualifying was fun! Today the wind was our biggest challenge. The struggle was real, and I ended up back in my rain outfit trying to ward off the cold. We were going to stick around for the Bruno Mars concert afterwards, but my poor husband was coming down with a cold so we called it an early day.

Finally, it was race day! It was awesome! I actually kind of followed the whole race and understood what was happening. And the best part? Our favorite driver won!!! Kimi for the win! It was his first win in over 100 races. It was really exciting and all in all I would recommend it!

We ended the whole fun trip with good old Brittney Spears. Her concert was included in the price of the pass (general admission), and I had to see her! My middle school dreams came true as she was everything you would expect her to be, haha.

Even if it's a sport I'm not overly familiar with, I'm happy to learn and help plan! If  you want a sport-themed getaway, I'd love to help. Visit MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

What To Do When Your Trip Goes Wrong

If you saw my last post, I hinted at a bit of a disaster during our trip to New Hampshire. The fact of the matter is if you travel often enough, you're bound to have a trip or two go horribly wrong. Ours definitely took a turn for the worse, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Let's start at the beginning. My husband and I wanted to take our dogs on a fun hiking and camping trip in the mountains of New Hampshire. It's about a 13-hour drive from our house, so it was a bit of a time commitment. We decided to leave Thursday night, drive 5 hours, stay with my aunt and finish the drive early Friday. We would drive home all day on Monday. We arrived Friday afternoon and all was well. We set up camp, confirmed our hikes and enjoyed the campfire.

That night we slept with our dogs in our tent and our little guy, Miles, was uncharacteristically restless. He was also shivering a bit which was unusual. He had his sweater on him and it really wasn't terribly cold so it seemed a bit odd for him to shiver. I ended up pulling him in my sleeping bag and cuddling him. Unfortunately, the next morning, he got worse. We kept thinking he was just cold, but NOPE.

We made our way to the trail head (about a 15 minute drive away) and after a bit of stressful parking, started our hike! We barely made it up the approach trail when Miles threw up. Normally that is a concerning sign for dogs, but Miles has a long history of eating too fast and throwing up. We had brought extra food in our packs so we weren't toooo concerned about him. We paused, gave him water and waited for his tummy to settle. We figured we would feed him a repeat breakfast in a little while to keep his energy up.

As we hiked, I noticed he wasn't up front all eager and tugging like he normally is on a hike. That was another warning sign. It only took about a mile and a half before he just stopped on the trail. That was when we knew he was NOT feeling good. Poor guy. We rested for a few minutes and tried again to no avail. He would not walk any further.

 

Walking back down the trail holding Miles

 

As annoying as it was to turn around on our 8 mile hike so early, we needed to take care of our little guy. He is 12 years old and only 10 pounds so he's not exactly a rugged dog. We ended up carrying him down the trail and calling my sister, a vet. She recommended we take him to see a local vet to make sure it was just a bug and not something more serious. Unfortunately, our phones did not work well so it was hard to get directions etc. and by the time we got to a vet, it was closed (It was Saturday). We then got in touch with my sister to see if we needed to take him to an emergency vet. She had us buy a thermometer to take his temperature (yes, in his butt. FUN). She also had us do a few other basic tests and decided he likely had the doggy version of the flu. We babied him and kept a close eye on him, ready to rush him to the emergency vet as needed.

By the end of the night it was clear he would not be able to hike the next day. This was incredibly disappointing. We had driven all that way only to hike a total of 3 miles. But that's just life. Sometimes things happen and plans go awry. We decided rather than just hang out in camp the next day (it was raining) we would drive home Sunday instead of Monday.

Fortunately, Miles was much improved the next day, but he was definitely not up for a hike. I think we made the right decision to just come home. It was unfortunate and heart-breaking but the right choice for my dog.

Trips don't always go smoothly. Sometimes they can go downright horridly. Fortunately for us, Miles has recovered and it was all just a huge inconvenience. We handled the situation the best we could,  talked through every possible solution and made the decision that was right for us. The most important thing to remember is to keep a positive attitude. We still got to camp, spend time outside, enjoy the beautiful leaves, spend time as a family and above all Miles is OK. Always put your safety and health first and look on the brightside. Unplanned events can really stink (and cost some serious $$$) so remember that travel insurance! Especially if you go abroad.

We are hoping to go on a "do-over trip" in a few years. Fingers crossed we'll actually get to hike that mountain the next time around!

If you'd like help planning your next big adventure, check out my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Airport Tips and Tricks

Airports are inevitable if you're an adventure seeker like myself. Airports are synonymous with lines and long waits, but I've found what works for me, and I thought I'd share my tips.


Step One: Leave Yourself Time!
This is honestly the biggest tip I can offer. If you leave yourself just twenty minutes to check your bag, go through security and catch your flight, you are going to be so stressed and have an unpleasant experience. I always find that the more time I leave, the easier the check in process is. Inevitably, when you are running late, the baggage check and security lines are insane.


Step Two: Bring Entertainment
I am a huge fan of stocking up on activities! I like things that fit easily in my backpack that don't require power. Some examples include: an adult coloring book, paperback books, notebook, sketchbook, knitting (with airport-friendly needles). Bring a variety of activities!


Step Three: Roll With It
Finally, just be ready for delays, cancellation and a little bit of chaos. Anyone who has travelled a great deal has had a terrible airport day. You just need to accept that as part of traveling. For example, on our honeymoon, we missed our connecting flight to Portugal and wound up stranded in Madrid for 12 hours. We made the most of it and explored Spain! Just because we could! No matter where you get stuck, try to make the most of it. If you're stuck in airport, take a nap, Skype a friend, make up a silly game. You will eventually get to where you need to be, and a bad attitude never helped anyone!

Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon

After our exciting (but strenuous) hike down Bright Angel Trail, we were ready for an easy hike. We opted to check out the Rim Trail. It's a 2 or 3 mile hike along the rim (how apt). It was a lot of fun! It's paved and there are plenty of places to stop and rest along the way. We even stopped in a gift shop and picked up some postcards. However, I think my favorite part was the views!

All in all, it was a nice, easy hike with stunning views. I would highly recommend this if you are looking for an easy trail or have young (or old) members of your party. It was nice to hike with my friends and just enjoy being in nature.

If you'd like some help planning your next adventure, check out my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Bright Angel Trail

Our first hike at the Grand Canyon was the bright angel trail! It was so fun and SO exhausting! It is inadvisable to try to hike from the trailhead all the way down to the river and back up in one day. With that in mind we decided to hike down to Indian Gardens or Plateau Point and back up. We were staying at Mather campground so we caught the free shuttle to the trailhead and started our adventure.

It's 4.5 miles from the trailhead down to Indian Gardens (which is lush and beautiful!), so it's a 9-mile round-trip hike if you choose that route. Also, side note, Indian Garden is the perfect place to relax, eat some lunch and get some water. There is also a ranger's station there, which is always good to know.

We were feeling pretty good, so we decided to go the extra mile and a half out to plateau point, adding another 3 miles onto our hike. It was so worth it! We got to see the river and really take in the views. Unfortunately, there were some people messing around on the rocks and not being very respectful. I would highly recommend being a little cautious and staying on the trail if you do decide to venture out to the point. It's really windy, and it only takes one huge gust to blow you off. Be careful! Honestly it was a really great experience.

For me, this trail was an absolute must-do. I highly recommend it! Just be safe, pack lots of water and snacks and bring a trail guide. I suggest you check out this trail guide: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/BrightAngelTrail.pdf
It was tremendously helpful!

As always, if you'd like help planning your next adventure, visit MilesintoMemoriesTravel.com.

Hiking Necessities

I'm a huge fan of the outdoors, so naturally I jump at the chance to go hiking anytime I can! Besides going on plenty of local hikes, I've gone for a hike in New Mexico and an extreme hike (coasteering) in Portugal. Coming up? The Grand Canyon! We are planning to go hiking just about every day. We are quite excited! That said, it's so incredibly important that you are well prepared for your trek. Here are some items I recommend bringing with you on your day hike!

Here we are hiking La Luz Trail in New Mexico! I'm in the middle wearing orange and rocking that knee brace. Note the tall socks, long-sleeve sun-shirt and hat. #Prepared

Safety Equipment

Even if you are going on a small day hike, you should be ready for an emergency. I personally like the bring things like: waterproof matches, some rope (I have a paracord bracelet), emergency blanket, first aid kit and a whistle. That way should I fall or get hurt, I would have what I need to survive a night or two in the wilderness. Obviously, I hope to never need any of these items, but I can hike with a relaxed mind knowing I've taken the necessary precautions.

Of course, you should also carry your cell phone, but unfortunately, that's not fool proof. Phone batteries often die when you are out in the wilderness (thank you, roaming). That being said, you can opt to bring an external battery to recharge as needed. I also highly recommend bringing a paper map - don't really solely on your phone for navigation!


Protective Gear

Regardless of your skin complexion, you need to protect yourself from the sun! Skin cancer doesn't discriminate! That being said, I recommend wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, a long-sleeved sun-resistant hiking shirt and tall socks. Bug spray will also make your hike a little more comfortable. And don't forget to re-apply your sun screen!

If your neck is prone to burning, I recommend flipping your collar up, tying a bandana around your neck, or investing in a buff. A buff is a stretch tube of sun-protectant fabric that can be worn in a  zillion different ways. I tend to wear mine as a headband or as a neck/ear protector. Don't forget that bandanas make great multi-purpose items! You can bandage a wound, wipe down your gear, use it as a sweat rag etc. Always a good thing to have nearby!



More Food and Water Than You Think You Need

This seems obvious, but I can't stress it enough! Bring more food and water than you think you need. Do not skimp! What if you get lost? Or the water source is dry? Don't set yourself up for a bad situation - come prepared. Regardless of the length or duration of your hike, you need to treat nature with respect.

If you'd like some help planning your next big trek, I'd love to help. Visit my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

How to Stay Entertained on Solo Road Trips

Road trips with friends = an absolute blast! Road trips alone = longest drive ever.
I went to college 6 hours away from home, so I mastered the art of solo road trips. I've learned all the tricks to making time pass quickly, how to stay focused and how to make the most of your alone time.

Let's start with the hardest (for me) challenge: Making the time pass quickly. Is it just me or does one road trip minute feel like 20 minutes of regular life? I swear it feels like  I could have watched a whole episode of the office in the time it takes me to make it one mile down the highway. The point I'm trying to make is: time crawls by on solo road trips. Or at least it does if you aren't properly prepared!

In college, I didn't have an iPad or smart phone to play movies on, so I used what I had - an old school personal DVD player. And the best part? It played with the lid closed. That means I could plug it into a little outlet converter and an aux cable, put the lid down (so I couldn't watch the screen even if I wanted to - not even a glance!) and put on some of my favorite movies and/or tv shows. I listened to every episode of Gilmore Girls AND Boy Meets World over the course of my college career. I specifically chose those shows because I knew them really, really well. That means I didn't need the visual cues to follow the story line. Win! You could achieve the same effect with a locked phone or iPad screen. Oh, technology.

Next up, try audio books! And no, I'm not sponsored by audible. I personally don't even have an audible account, because I prefer to read books rather than listen to them. However, for the occasional road trip I actually use the app OverDrive. You can check out audiobooks from your local library though the app! And it's free! I think you may just need a library card to check something out. The choices are more limited than on audible, but hey! It's free!

I know what you're thinking - what about music? I actually LOVE music, but I tend not to listen to music while I'm on solo road trips because it makes time pass in increments of 3 or 4 minutes. Each song just takes a few minutes, whereas a TV show passes by in the span of either 20 or 45 minutes depending on the series. That makes the hours fly by! I highly recommend trying it out on your next trip.

Finally, if you find yourself getting a bit tired or unfocused - first off, pull over if you are unsafe. Take a nap and recharge if needed. However, if you just need a pick-me-up, consider this: blast the AC, crank up the music and sing along. I know I said I wasn't big on music, but this is the exception. Go full on sing-a-long! I personally like to do this at night and try to learn the words to a new song. It keeps my brain active and alert - always good when you're driving - and helps keep me alert.

Anyway, those are my top tips on how to have fun on a road trip even without your best friend by your side. Focus on your destination and don't let going alone slow you down!

My Favorite Country?

Every time I talk with friends and family about my travels, inevitably the same question pops up: What country is your favorite? That's such a hard question!!! I've been lucky enough to travel to so many incredible countries, how can I be expected to pick just one?

Let's start with the obvious. The U.S. is my home. It's a beautiful country, and I'm proud to be an American - but no country is perfect. The U.S. is home to gun violence, corrupt politicians and poverty. But it's also home to some of the most gorgeous natural wonders on the planet, beautiful souls and of course, freedom. While U.S. seems like an obvious choice for my FAVORITE country, honestly, it's not the first thing that pops into my head.

My gut response is usually The Netherlands. Sounds random, right? Well, I actually have quite a history with Holland. I moved there when I was just 6 months old, and it's where all of my earliest memories were formed. I remember skating on the canals with friends, riding horses through open fields and riding on the back of my sister's moped to the candy shop. Anytime I visit that country it takes me back. The nostalgia is overwhelming in the best way possible!

But that's not to say that's the only reason I love Holland. I've gone back as an adult several times and my feelings have remained the same. I love that country! The food, the people, the buildings, the museums and history. It's just beautiful. Something about me feels so at home each and every time. Part of it may be because I can (mostly) understand the language. And that's so cool! Unlike when I'm in Spain, I don't feel as though I am directly translating words and phrases in my head. It's more like a dutch person will say something, and I'll just kind of know what they mean. I should probably mention that up until age 6 I spoke more dutch than english. I guess some of that is still clunking around in my head. It's a really cool feeling to be able to follow along as those around you talk... even if I usually don't quite have the words to respond.

Oh and did I mention that Holland is GORGEOUS??

Follow Through on Your New Year's Resolution to Travel

It's a new year! And that means it's time for New Year's Resolutions. Unfortunately, according to the Huffington Post,  only 8 percent of people will actually follow through with those resolutions. Most people go too big and expect their whole life to change on Jan.1. The truth is, change takes time. With some careful planning and baby steps, you can make your travel dreams a reality.

Start Planning Now

Big plans take big planning. While spontaneous trips are absolutely fun and worthwhile, it's going to be easier for you to make things happen if you have a definitive plan. Talk with your friends, buy the plane ticket and write it down. Don't wait to start your planning! Now is the time to be researching and figuring out the details of your trip. By taking concrete steps, you'll bring your trip into reality.


Don't Be Afraid to Start Small

Like any resolution, the way to succeed is to start small! If you've never traveled by yourself, maybe don't start with a huge international trip across the globe. You can even start with a simple road trip! Finding a hotel, booking activities and coordinating an itinerary on a smaller scale is the perfect way to practice. Each little trip will help you learn about traveling and build your confidence.


Save a Little at a Time
Travel is often a long-term kind of goal. It takes time and money. That means you may need to save up a bit for that trip of a lifetime. By setting aside a portion of each paycheck specifically for travel, you'll have the funds you need in no time. Many people are intimidated by the cost of travel, but the key is in the preparation! You don't need to pay for it all at once. Like any goal worth accomplishing, it's going to take some time, patience and diligence, but it will absolutely be worth it in the end!

Travel is one of the best things you can do with your time and money (in my opinion). It is absolutely worth the work! Traveling has made me who I am today, and I would absolutely love to help you reach your goals this year! Visit MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com and get started today!

A Night in the Beautiful Bussaco Palace

On our road trip around Portugal, we made a pit stop at the GORGEOUS Bussaco Palace in Luso, and boy, was it beautiful! It is technically a five star hotel, but the accommodations aren't what you would typically think of as a five star hotel. It is literally a palace, which means it's old and it does show it's age a bit. Somehow, that only seems to add to the beauty of the place. 

It is honestly like a fairy tale! It's so beautiful!

You can spend literally hours hiking around the grounds. The palace was used as a hunting palace a long time ago so the grounds are expansive. There are so many fun walkways and path ways, I doubt you'd ever have time to explore them all.

You can even stay overnight in the palace - our room was darling! As I said, not a lot of fancy adornments, but it was very sweet. We thoroughly enjoyed the comfy bed, and the bathroom was very nice as well. No complaints there!

And finally, I don't have a picture, but I HIGHLY recommend enjoying a fancy dinner out on the terrace. My husband and I had a magical time. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was phenomenal! It's probably one of my favorite memories from the trip. 

Overall, the palace is a little out of the way (hard to access via public transportation), but it's worth the drive. We had a magical time and absolutely would visit again.

Is Pisa Worth the Trip?

Every trip through Italy seems to include a classic "Holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa" picture (Guilty). But is it really worth it?

The long and short of it is - It's an iconic landmark, but a pain to get to! If you have a spare day to take the train out and back from Florence, I say go for it! I had a great time, but there's honestly not much to it. You get off the train, look at the worn map and follow the faded line to the tower. It is pretty incredible and definitely leaning! I just waited until I heard someone speaking english and asked if they would mind taking my picture. They were sweet, and I got a great picture out of it!

That said, there wasn't much to do beyond take a cool picture. You could pay to go up the tower, but I opted not to. I just didn't want to spend the money and wait in line - I was trying to still get back to Florence in time to do a few more things. While I waited for my return train, I sat in a cafe with a beautiful view of the tower, enjoyed an EPIC cup of hot chocolate and used their free wifi. It was a really nice way to kill time!

For me, it was worth it. I got to slow down for a little bit and relax, both on the train and at the restaurant. It was on my bucket list, so I'm glad I got to tick that off too. Honestly, take a look at your schedule. If you have a spare half a day, go for it! If you are more pressed for time and the picture isn't too important to you, you may want to skip it.

Planning Our Road Trip Around Portugal

We are coming up on our honeymoon! We are so excited to road trip around Portugal this September and our plans are finally coming together! Ordinarily, I would have had this trip planned out long ago but we got married and moved so we've been busy! Here's our general gam plan:

Start our in Porto: We are pumped to fly into this city and spend the day exploring (especially the world famous bookstore!!!)

Move on to Lousa and visit Tomar. We are excited to explore some smaller towns on our way down to Lisbon. We are even staying in a palace!! It's going to be epic.

Spend a couple days in Lisbon living the good life! We are pretty excited to dive into the architecture and heartbeat of this city.

Next stop? The Algarve! We will be spending 3 days down in Lagos hiking, laying on the beach and enjoying ourselves. We splurged a little on the hotel and are excited to see what it offers. I'll definitely do a review once we've stayed!

Close out the trip by road tripping back up to Porto. We will be stopping a few local towns to explore along the way.

Lucky for us, Portugal is a relatively small country, so we will be able to cover quite a bit of ground! It's only 5 or 6 hours between Lagos and Porto so we are doing it up right! Hopefully, we've left enough time in our schedule for relaxing. Depending on how we feel, we may even bop over to Spain for a day! We shall see.

We are so excited for this trip,and can not wait to celebrate our new marriage and our new adventures together. Get ready for some Portugal-heavy content coming your way soon!

Adventure Down the Ohio River

There's something to be said for domestic trips with your loved ones. My husband and I recently took a trip to a small Ohio town right on the Ohio River, and we had a blast! In general, we love spending time outdoors so of course we had to try our hand at kayaking. There was a small rental shop and we jumped at the opportunity to get in the water.

We pushed off around 10:30am and made our way down the river. We continued at a nice leisurely pace, making sure to take the time to fully admire the scenery. It was gorgeous, and we had a blast just hanging out together!

Don't worry - we made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen! Our wedding is in a week, and we did NOT want to look like lobsters!

After our kayak adventure, we decided to take a walk along the river trail. It was awesome! There were all kinds of bikers and moms with babies along the trail as well. It was so nice to get away from the stress of wedding planning and just hang out with my best friend. We got a little bit of exercise and plenty of sunshine and were feeling great.

In addition to our time on the river, we had a blast walking around the town, trying out local restaurants and exploring. It was a ton of fun, and who knows!? Maybe we'll end up 

buying ourselves some kayaks! We had so much fun and I can see us having a blast using them in the future.

If you want some help planning an adventure, I'd love to help! MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com

How To Pack Carry-On Only

With airlines charging more and more for checked-baggage, many travelers, myself included, have opted to just pack in carry-on luggage whenever possible. I've had years of practice and have legitimately packed for a month-long trip doing carry-on only. Here are my top tips for avoiding those baggage fees and packing light!

1) Try to minimize the number of shoes you bring. I know it's tempting to bring a different shoe for every outfit, but instead try to pick just a few shoes that are more versatile. My go-to shoe packing tends to be one pair of running shoes, my Sperrys and a pair of flip flops that can get wet - for the shower, pool, walking in the rain. etc I also shy away from boots or other bulky shoes as they take up quite a bit of space in your luggage. If you do need to bring a pair of boots, I recommend wearing them on the plane. They may be a bit of a hassle going through security, but they will save you weight and space in your luggage.

2) Wear bulkier layers on the plane. Planes tend to be cold anyway, so if you are bringing a big sweater and a puffy jacket, wear them! Packing them will take up valuable space. Not to mention, they'll keep you nice and warm during the flight and can even double as a pillow. You can always take them off and stuff them in the overhead bins if you get hot.

3) Bring re-wearable items go together. I highly recommend packing a pair of durable jeans and a favorite hoodie or sweater. These items can be worn multiple times and re-worn with different outfits. By color-coordinating majority of your clothing items, you'll be able to mix and match and save yourself quite a bit of space as a result! Same goes with accessories - I recommend picking jewelry that goes well together and that you don't mind wearing multiple times.

4) Bring "small" items of clothing. By bringing items such as dresses (which are an outfit all by themselves), leggings and t-shirts, you'll save room! If you bring several pairs of pants and a sweater for each day, you'll run out of space quite quickly.

5) Pack travel-size toiletries. You'll be limited on space an
d will have to keep your liquids to a minimum. I recommend little things like using a powder foundation and bringing a shampoo bar, because those things will add up and save you quite a bit of space!

It may not be the most luxurious way to travel, but I personally prefer packing light. I like knowing that my luggage is going to make it to my destination and that I won't have to wait at baggage claim. It also makes me really think through my packing. I tend to forget less things and have more coordinated outfits than when I just throw things into a bag.

Here I am on my backpacking trip through Holland and Germany. It was amazing to be able to just pick up my things and move on to the next town so easily. All in all, I highly recommend packing light!

If you're up for some adventure  I'd love to help you plan - MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com

My First Cruise?! - A Bahamian Bachelorette Party

I have a confession... I have never been on a cruise. I know, right!? I've been to over 20 countries and absolutely love traveling, but I have never once been on a cruise. That's about to change (and I'm excited!)

I love to travel, so naturally we thought about traveling somewhere for my bachelorette party. We were STRONGLY considering Iceland, but ended up opting not to go for a variety of reasons. It was getting a little pricey for a bachelorette party, our husbands all wanted to go too and it was just complicated. We still really liked the idea of going somewhere, but wanted to keep the price down. We toyed with New Orleans or Charleston, but then my sister had the idea of a cruise!

My sister found an amazing deal on a flight to Florida AND an awesome four day cruise to the Bahamas! I've actually never been to the Bahamas either, so I'm sure that is going to be a blast. It'll be nice to get away somewhere warm with some of my favorite people. Now we just need to decide on what excursions we want! Luckily, one of my bridesmaids is a "cruiser" so I think I'll let her take the lead on this one.

Now, to be clear, I have nothing against cruises! I've just always loved to plan my own adventures and create my own specific itinerary. Now, I get to do it professionally :) (MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com).

If you have any tips or tricks for "Cruising" let me know in a comment or message!

Beautiful Ireland

As I sit thinking about where to honeymoon, I was reminiscing on my time spent in Ireland. It really was magical. We spent time in the Dublin city center, but also went for a lovely hike near Dun Laoghaire. I will say, Ireland is every bit as green as you'd think. We managed to squeeze our hike in between spurts of rain - though we carried ponchos just in case. It seemed to always be raining!

We even got to see some goats along the trail! The trail itself was marked moderate, but let me tell you - it was way more intense than that! I wonder what Americans would have labeled it? It was basically straight up for a good long portion and my bum knee sure was feeling it by the end. Regardless, it was totally worth it. 

Just a friendly tip, if you're planning on traveling to Ireland any time before mid summer, BRING LAYERS. I am not sure I've ever been so cold in my life and I had on tights, corduroys, thick socks, boots and something like 4 jackets. It was like the rain was blowing sideways! 

Anyway, if you're interested in taking a trip to see the land of the Irish, I'd be happy to help you! MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Shark Cage Diving in South Africa

We left Cape Town bright and early to drive up the coast to go shark cage diving! We actually got a call the night before that we would need  to leave one hour earlier than originally planned to try to beat an incoming storm. We made our way down to the lobby of our hotel and stumbled into the van. After a few hours through the dark country side, we were ready to pay a visit to the Shark Lady. Apparently that's actually what the shop is called! So funny! They sat us down for some breakfast and  briefed us on the rules and tips etc. Everything was pretty common sense and I was excited! They even had pictures up on the wall who had gone shark cage diving there, like Prince Harry and Tom Cruise!

They gave us bright orange waterproof coats, but unfortunately ran out so poor Schuyler wound up getting pretty wet! 

 These are our super-pretty early morning smiles through the lens of our GoPro.

We set out on SUPER rough water and even tried heading to different areas but weren't really having any luck. The waters were throwing us around and I think literally half the boat got sick... including me. I was doing alright until we threw anchor and wound up spinning in circles while rocking. It was still pretty great, but we ended up not being able to put down the cage. It was pretty lame, but I don't really want to die so, ya know. Probably the right decision.

Still got a pretty cool picture of said Shark Diving Cage!

Still got that morning smile. I love it!

We did ultimately get to see some Great White Sharks in the water because a nearby boat was throwing chum in the water. None really came up to our boat, unfortunately. But still! I got to see Great White Sharks out in the wild off the coast of Africa! That's still awesome! Ya win some, ya lose some. I'll have to try again one day!

Don't forget to check out my travel company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com!