Strive with Heart

Travel Notes: Bar Harbor, Maine

Travel Notes: Bar Harbor, Maine

We headed north to Bar Harbor, Maine for this summer’s family road trip.  It was a 10 hour drive from Philadelphia to our rented house in Southwest Harbor.  This small quiet coastal town – also called “the jewel” of Mt. Desert Island – is a working harbor filled with lobstermen and their boats. With temperatures that are usually comfortably cool, it has a long history of serving as a summer retreat for the wealthy and well-known.  The vibe remains understated however with white painted farmhouses, beach roses, and shops featuring arts, crafts and anything blueberry which is the state fruit of Maine. …

View Post

Good Housekeeping Report on Smart Travel

Good Housekeeping Report on Smart Travel

Every now and then I come across a truly helpful article and one that is worth sharing. Here are pages from the April 2019 Good Housekeeping magazine with plenty of advice on traveling smarter. Happy travels!

View Post

Travel Notes: Phoenix

Travel Notes: Phoenix

City destinations within the US and other developed countries have seemingly morphed into one predictable look but every now and then you come to a place that is decidedly different. When I first stepped out of the Phoenix airport, I immediately knew that this desert city was going to be a Southwestern treat. The sky was blue and the temperature in March was perfection. Phoenix – the Valley of the Sun – has more than 300 days of sunshine a year with the Sonoran Desert serving as the perfect landscape for the Saguaro cactus. Its blossom is the state…

View Post

Travel Notes: A Beach Vacation

Travel Notes: A Beach Vacation

Almost every summer, we spend a week vacationing with my sister and her family. This year, we returned to our favorite place in North Carolina and was lucky to have good weather with lots of sun and not too much heat. Unlike most people, I am a late bloomer when it comes to falling in love with the beach. I could take it or (mostly) leave it but this gradually changed thanks to a family who enjoys to surf and play in the sand. For years, I looked forward to the “getting there” rather than the “being there” at…

View Post

Travel Notes: BlogHer Conference, South Street Seaport, Oculus, and the High Line @NYC

Travel Notes: BlogHer Conference, South Street Seaport, Oculus, and the High Line @NYC

Good Saturday everyone!  I’m taking it slow and easy today after a week of traveling for business, attending a two-day blogger conference, socializing, “touristing”, and spending quality time with my husband while our daughter is away at an overnight camp. Traveling to a city like New York is stimulating enough and especially more so when you factor in the mental, visual, and at times emotional intake from attending my second BlogHer Creators Summit conference.  There is so much information, ideas, thoughts, and emotions to process from listening to the keynote speakers (Marie Forleo, Tiffani Thiesen, Jo Brett of Pret…

View Post

Philly: Brunch, Garden, and Stroll @Philadelphia Rail Park

Philly: Brunch, Garden, and Stroll @Philadelphia Rail Park

My oh my, July is almost over and we have one month of Summer 2018 remaining.  I do hope that summer (or the mid-year) is going wonderfully for you.  Things are humming along nicely in our small corner of the city.  My husband was away for an entire week and when he came home yesterday, we went to Café La Maude for a late brunch.  We’ve often walked by this restaurant on our way to another good brunch place – Honey Sit and Eat – and it was often busy with a line of people waiting to be seated.…

View Post

Travel Notes: Miles to Magnolia Table and Market

Travel Notes: Miles to Magnolia Table and Market

It was an exceptionally beautiful spring day when I visited Waco, TX.  Like so many fans of Joanna and Chip Gaines of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper, visiting Magnolia Market was on my “to do” and “to see” list.  When the opportunity came, I made the two hour drive from Austin to Waco.  The straight drive along I-35 was pleasant and scenic especially with the Texas state flower, the bluebonnet, blooming along the road. My Magnolia experience started with breakfast at the recently opened Magnolia Table.  Located 2.6 miles from Magnolia Market, the restaurant was formerly known as…

View Post

Travel Notes: Memphis

Travel Notes: Memphis

Happy 2018 world!  I hope that your year is off to a good start and that you are feeling refreshed after the excitement of holiday festivities. Philly is still blanketed in snow and I am happily ensconced in the warmth of our home.  I am thinking back to my favorite things that took place in December from decorating for the holidays, hosting Christmas dinner for family, spending time with friends, and visiting Memphis for the first time. Here are some impressions: The airport was small and the presence of FedEx as a major player in the city’s economy was…

View Post

Travel Notes: Nevada, Utah, and Arizona RV Roadtrip

Travel Notes: Nevada, Utah, and Arizona RV Roadtrip

June was a wonderful whirlwind of activities leading to our summer adventure road tripping across Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. We rented an RV, our house on wheels, which was partly inspired by all the tiny house living and full-time RVing that I’ve been watching on YouTube.  It was a ten-day experiment if “tiny house/ RV living” is for me.  Bottom line is that I would do it again — for the right kind of vacation which this one was. We covered quite a bit of ground visiting Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Powell Lake, Antelope Canyon, Horse Shoe Bend,…

View Post

Where to next?