October 2025 Our trips have settled into a familiar pattern—a blend of city exploration, outdoor adventure, and a slow march through the U.S. National Parks. In 2022, we visited Toronto, Canada, and Niagara Falls (covered in a separate post). In 2023, we explored Cleveland, Ohio, and Cuyahoga National Park. In 2024, we headed to Little Rock, Arkansas, and Hot Springs National Park. And in 2025, we had a particularly special trip that included three national parks, a stop in A

September 2025 When the opportunity to travel to Anchorage for work arose, I jumped on it. Essentially, I planned on attending a variety of work events over a few days before extending my trip a few extra days to explore and partake in some adventures. Once it all came together, I arrived late on a Wednesday, and settled in at a quaint little inn downtown. On Thursday, I worked (albeit on Eastern Time, wrapping up by mid-afternoon local time), before popping out to explore An

Summer 2025 The impetus for this trip was an invitation from my best friend Schyler’s husband, Emil, whose family owns a cabin on a remote island off the coast of Finland, where Schyler, Emil, and his family spend every summer. My family and I built our vacation around making the trek to this cabin. My travel began stressfully: a storm delayed my flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia, ensuring I’d miss my connection to Copenhagen. Gambling on good travel karma, I took the fli

April 2025 I had an overnight flight from Charlotte to London before meeting my mom, friend Liv, and Liv’s husband, Colin, at Dublin Airport Friday morning. We picked up our rental—a 9-seater Sprinter van for the six of us and all our bags—and immediately set off south (slowly, as driving on the opposite side of the road takes some adjustment) toward Kilkenny Castle, stopping for lunch at a quaint spot called Canvas Cafe along the way. Arriving in Kilkenny, we parked our van

January 2025 After an early morning flight from Charlotte, I met up with my friend Jackie in Houston, and we flew together to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, a charming duo-city on Mexico’s Pacific coast. From the airport, we took a cab about 30 minutes to Cala de Mar, a stunning cliffside resort where our friend Brielle was set to get married in a couple of days. Brielle, Jackie, and I met as random roommates during a semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and our friendship stuck

Summer 2024 My friend Schyler and her husband Emil moved from London to Singapore in late 2022. Once they settled in, my friend Olivia and I planned a visit in summer 2024. What began as another girls’ trip quickly expanded when Olivia’s husband Colin joined, transforming it into a friends’ adventure for the five of us. Singapore is a long journey from the U.S.; I flew from Cincinnati to Chicago, then San Francisco, finally arriving early Monday morning after adjusting to the

April 2024 Two childhood friends of mine, Schyler and Olivia, and I decided to take a girls’ trip during their spring breaks (as school employees). If time, energy, finances, and other realities allow, I highly recommend traveling through Europe for a week with two old friends who share a love of good food, wine, sights, and laughter—shockingly fun, I know! We chose Eastern Europe, convening from our various homes in Singapore, Richmond, and Cincinnati, with three days in Vie

January 2024 The planning and execution of this trip was a whirlwind! What began as “solo Japanuary” for my brother Timmy quickly became an adventure for him and his three ladies, packed with memories to last a lifetime. It all started when Timmy learned during the 2023 holiday season that his new role would begin in early February and that he’d have January off. Seeing the perfect opportunity for a bucket-list trip to Japan, he started mapping out flights, accommodations, an

March 2023 Although Timmy and I had finally graduated from spring breaks (having completed law school), we still traveled during spring break—this time coordinating with my mom’s schedule as an adjunct professor at Randolph-Macon. Our destination was a popular tourist hotspot we’d long wanted to visit: Costa Rica. This was the first trip where my brother and I brought partners along, so the four of us, plus my mom and grandma, ventured south from our various cities for a week

September 2022 Just over two years after meeting my then-boyfriend Peter, I was invited to join his family vacation to Iceland in September 2022. It was destined to be a meaningful trip—his and his siblings’ first family getaway after losing both parents in 2021. Peter, his sister and brother, their partners, and baby Abigail (born in the midst of those tragedies) planned to reunite with their dad’s brother, Uncle Vince, who had lived on the island for decades with his kids a

October 2022 In October 2022, a guy I met online roughly two years prior—my then-boyfriend, Peter—gifted me a trip to Montana for a long weekend as an incredibly generous Christmas present. He surprised me partly because we both loved Yellowstone , which, as the title suggests, is set near the Wyoming/Montana border. We ultimately decided to visit Glacier National Park instead, north of Yellowstone at the Montana/Canada border. Pete, ever the thoughtful planner, handled every

May 2022 Over two years into the global pandemic, the world as I knew it looked and felt completely different. Those years seemed to both fly by and stand still. I graduated from law school in 2020, sat for and passed the Virginia bar exam, worked a fellowship, accepted a job in Northern Virginia where I lived for a year, then took a new job with the fellowship organization and moved to Ohio for a boy I met online. Even with all these changes—and countless others—my mom remai

December 2019 During the 2019 holiday season, Timmy and I, like many school-age kids before us, embarked on a family Christmas adventure—this time exploring Arizona. We spent a couple of days in Phoenix, four days in Sedona, and made a scenic loop through Holbrook on our way back. For anyone outdoorsy like my family, this region is an absolute dream to explore. In Phoenix, we hiked Camelback Mountain and Papago Park, both offering breathtaking panoramic views of the city. Bet

December 2019 My soul sister and travel buddy, Schyler, had been living in London for a few years, and my dear friends Olivia, Emily, and I finally made the trip to visit her. I’d been to London briefly as a middle-school student ambassador, but never during the holiday season—and I’d heard the city sparkles like nowhere else at Christmas. We flew from Dulles to Heathrow, where Schyler picked us up, and hopped on the Tube to her cozy apartment in Putney, shared with her sweet

December 2012 Annual Christmas Family Vacation  — my second-ever cruise, first warm and tropical one — and it did not disappoint in the slightest. We boarded our floating metropolis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, full of anticipation and excitement. Our first stop was Princess Cays, Bahamas. The sun blazed in a sky so blue it almost hurt to look at, and the warm breeze carried the scent of salt and adventure. We spent the day exploring, lounging on the pristine beaches, goofing

Summer 2010 My brother Timmy and I had completed a weekend-long scuba-certification course in Richmond, but still needed the open-water portion. With a proud Navy veteran for a dad, who also has rescue-diver certification, there was no way we were doing ours in a Virginia quarry. So, off we went to Grand Cayman. Clad in our new gear and brimming with the kind of excitement only a new hobby can bring, we completed our open-water certification on a shipwreck dive. Little did I

December 2011 It was our annual Christmas vacation—tropical, just the way we like it. My family (Mom, Timmy, then-stepdad, TK, Grandma, and my cousin Andrew) spent a week in the Bahamas, and it unfolded like a dreamy, relaxing escape. Most days were spent lounging by the pool or riding waterpark slides—one of which went right through a shark tank, thrilling and terrifying all at once. We stayed at a nearby hotel but explored the Atlantis Resort extensively—casinos, restaurant

December 2010 I say “ironic” for a reason. Our Christmas vacation to the Dominican Republic was all set—Mom had orchestrated everything, and the group included my brother, then-stepdad, and me—until about 48 hours before departure, when Mom realized her passport had expired. After panicking and triple-checking the date, it became clear: she couldn’t go. With parental consent notes in hand, TK took Timmy and me, and we arrived at our picture-perfect Punta Cana resort, walled o

Summer 2013 I’d been studying Spanish since 6th grade, and my dear friend Marta, from Madrid, had been a foreign-exchange student at my high school. To celebrate my high school graduation and 18th birthday, I set out to visit my “soul sister” in Spain for about 10 days. Marta and her dad picked me up from Madrid’s airport, and I stayed with them in the suburbs for the first half of the trip. We explored the city, visiting historic plazas, cathedrals, government buildings, and

Spring Break 2018 We had 10 days to cover a lot of ground during spring break, and my family’s itinerary was packed. We flew into Venice, then took the train to a charming Renaissance-style hotel near the water. Our first day was spent wandering the narrow alleyways (no cars here—just foot and boat traffic). It rained all day, which added a romantic flair to the already magical city. This was my second time in Venice, but my first with family, and I happily navigated us throu