travel tips

I’ll never forget arriving at a luxury hotel in Napa to celebrate our anniversary only to find that half the hotel was under construction and that the gym and spa were closed for renovations. It was a hotel booking nightmare. Fortunately, there was copious amounts of wine which filled time I would have spent working out or indulging in spa treatments. I’m pretty thorough when researching hotels, especially in unfamiliar destinations. So what are the …

There’s one thing you should know about me. I don’t like cold weather. I mean, I abhor (and that’s a strong word) being cold. But when a destination calls that’s a bucket list experience, how could I say, “no?” So when the invite for Patagonia travel came, I began ferociously reading everything I could get my hands on about a packing guide for Patagonia. One thing that was clear in everything I read? Pack for …

We’ve all heard those horror stories of travelers who have hotel room safety problems. I’m a pretty seasoned traveler and even I got caught off guard. While at a beach resort in the Caribbean with my husband, an employee gained access to our room and took our cash and some personal items. We broke the first rule of hotel room safety – we did not use our in-room safe. My husband is former law enforcement …

Boy how my packing has changed since those COVID days! I used to travel so much that I kept a “go bag” of my essentials that never changed. I just threw it in my suitcase each time I packed. I had a minimal travel medical kit. But getting (very) sick overseas has changed the way I pack now. My new travel packing list includes some just-in-case and must-haves, you know, just in case I need …

A few years ago, I sent my 21-year-old son off to backpack to travel abroad through Thailand and India for seven weeks on his way to a semester abroad. I’m the consummate trip planner; he is not. Today’s Millennials are adventurers with a strong sense of wanderlust who want to see the world. As more parents find themselves in my position of sending their children into the unknown, I’d like to share a list of …