There's No Place Like Oz

One Tree Hill locations in Wilmington, North Carolina

My entire family LOVES One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek. I have my two younger sisters to thank for both shows. During my second year of grad school, I procrastinated on writing my thesis by watching back-to-back episodes of TV shows during winter break. I didn’t think I’d be interested in either show, but with […]

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3 trips in 2014

Although I haven’t been out of the country in 2014, I’ve traveled three times domestically and haven’t yet shared photos or talked about those trips! In February, I flew to San Francisco to spend a long weekend with my travel partner and best friend Nicole. I hadn’t seen her since my May 2013 wedding, so […]

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Maui road trip and the Road to Hana

I didn’t know how much I loved a good road trip until Australia. With two unique trips, one along the Queensland coast and another from Sydney to Perth and back, I spent 3 months on the road with friends and had the time of my life. As soon as I started reading about things to […]

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Watching the Sunrise at Haleakala National Park in Maui

Setting an alarm for 3:00am doesn’t make the “to-do list” for most vacations. I certainly didn’t expect to include “hit the road in the middle of the night” to our list of honeymoon plans. But when you visit Maui, you’ll want to experience sunrise from the summit of Haleakala, a dormant volcano that accounts for […]

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Snorkeling in Hawaii: Caring for the underwater world

While Gav and I were planning our Hawaiian honeymoon, we knew snorkeling was a must-do activity. And I did go snorkeling! Gav’s a natural in the water but hadn’t been snorkeling in years. I’m not the strongest swimmer, but I loved my first (and at the time only) snorkeling experience at the Great Barrier Reef […]

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Helicopter tour of the Big Island of Hawaii: Volcanoes and waterfalls

Before we started planning our Hawaiian honeymoon, I already knew the #1 thing I wanted to experience — a helicopter tour over the Big Island. When I was five, my parents went to Hawaii on a company trip, and they returned raving about their helicopter flight over Kilauea. The volcano has been continuously erupting since […]

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Atlantis Submarine Adventures: Big Island Kona tour

I wanted an underwater adventure during our 2-week Hawaiian honeymoon. We looked into snorkeling with dolphins or manta rays, scuba diving, and submarine tours, and understandably, we wanted to do it all! Since I had suggested so many of our activities for Maui, I asked Gav to select the water excursion we would enjoy on […]

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Vanilla Luncheon Experience with the Hawaiian Vanilla Company

After spending a week in Maui, Gav and I flew to Hawaii’s Big Island to enjoy the second week of our honeymoon. We spent the first two days exploring the beautiful, green east coast before venturing to the contrasting lava lined landscape of the west coast. En route from Hilo to Kona, we stopped for […]

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Alohahola! Maui’s best Mexican meal

Whenever I talk to fellow travel blogging Americans about food, one thing becomes apparent — we love looking for good Mexican food wherever in the world we may be. As a gal who pursues food experiences when I travel above most any other, I appreciate how the company of those who join me and the […]

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Our unforgettable first luau: The Feast at Lele in Maui

Before we even started planning our Hawaiian honeymoon, I already knew the number one thing I wanted to do in Maui — attend a luau. If you’re a regular reader, you know I explore new destinations through food. What you may not know is that I have a strong appreciation for dance and love watching […]

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