Welcome to my blog! I first got the idea of starting a blog a couple of months ago, so I’m excited to write my first post and get this going! The purpose of this blog is to share information with you – reviews, ideas, tips and tricks – about travel, music, food and drink. Those are four of my favorite things, and over the years I’ve discovered some things about each of them that I think others will find valuable. So why did I get interested in any of this, and why did I decide to start this blog? I think if you learn a little about my background, you’ll understand where my passion for this comes from.
ABOUT ME!
I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio which is in the northwest portion of the state, just 45 minutes south of Detroit. I was educated in the Toledo Public school system, graduating from Roy C. Start High School in 1989. Start HS is also where I met my husband, Kevin (yes – we are high school sweethearts!). Both my undergraduate degree (chemical engineering) and my graduate degree (law) are from the University of Toledo. So, as you can see, I didn’t stray far from home during my early years!
In fact, we didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so family vacations typically consisted of day trips to local attractions, or a camping trip to somewhere nearby. I was in my early twenties the first time I was ever on an airplane. By the time I was in my mid-twenties, I had never been out of the country (other than to Canada which was a short car ride away) and didn’t have a passport. I also didn’t go to my first concert until 1989, when Kevin got us tickets to see The Cure at the Palace of Auburn Hills outside of Detroit (it was an amazing concert!).
In 1998, I had just received my law degree and was trying to figure out what to do with my career. The company I was working for offered me a new position – located in Philadelphia! WHAT???? Neither of us had ever lived anywhere other than Toledo. Moving to the east coast and a big city seemed overwhelming. But, we both knew that we didn’t want to spend our whole lives in Toledo, so we took the plunge. On December 26, 1998 we had the movers pack up our things and got on a plane to move to Philadelphia!
Over the next few years, Kevin and I slowly began exploring the east coast. We also began being a bit more adventurous with our travels, and started an annual trip to Jamaica (which continues today more than 15 years later). Then one snowy day we were stuck in the house and started watching the Travel Channel. There was a show on about the Greek Islands. I fell in love that minute and vowed to get there someday. It took a few years of working hard and saving money, but in May of 2011 we took our dream trip to Greece. That was the trip that started my love for travel and Europe specifically. The rest is history.
Since that trip, we have visited a lot of places around the U.S. and Europe. We have also developed a love of beer and wine, as well as a love of attending concerts. So, most of our trips revolve around visiting wine country or traveling to see a concert.
SO WHY SHOULD I READ YOUR BLOG?
First, I am not a professional travel agent. I hope to “semi-retire” in a few years, and I would love to somehow work in the travel business at that point. But for now, I have a full-time job to pay the bills as a corporate lawyer. That means that the things I plan to write about are things I’ve discovered on my own. I don’t have any paid sponsors or deals with any of the places I plan to write about.
Whenever we are doing anything – whether it’s traveling to Europe or attending a local concert – I love to do the planning. I love researching things and finding those “off the beaten path” restaurants or hotels, or discovering new bands and music venues. Over the years, I’ve given a lot of people advice that I think they’ve found valuable. So, this blog is my way of sharing it with more people.
SO WHAT IS THIS BLOG ABOUT?
This blog is about experiencing things in life. My husband and I live by the mantra of work hard/play hard. Some of the things I plan to write about are:
Some general travel tips I’ve discovered over the years.
Tips on the places we’ve traveled – hotels, restaurants, tours, etc.
Music venues we’ve been to and tips and tricks for getting around.
Concert reviews of shows we’ve attended, and tips of some bands you should see but may not have heard of.
Restaurants, wineries, and breweries we’ve been to, and how to plan the perfect trip to visit them.
My hope is that you will be able to find information here that is helpful to you and/or that inspires you to try out some of the things I write about as well. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you! Thanks for checking me out, and I hope you become a regular visitor. You can also follow me on Face Book, Twitter and Instagram to see pictures and information of where I am and what I am doing real time. Just click on the links on the top right corner of the home page.