For much of the northern hemisphere, January is winter and with it, the cold – often brutally cold – rain, snow, and ice. January is also the time when, no matter where you live, people make plans for the new year. Whether it’s finding enough motivation to stick to resolutions, making a commitment to new habits, or re-setting your business or personal goals, January is a great time to burrow in. That’s what we did at the Pantai Inn in La Jolla, California, and we didn’t want to leave. This is the first of a year of monthly themed features talking about places we’ve stayed and never wanted to leave. This post, and the ones to follow each month, may contain affiliate links, sponsored travel, or paid product placement. We’ve hand-picked these destinations and products because we like them and we […]
Read MoreJoin the Travel Reading List Challenge
Today I’m excited to announce the first of a couple of new projects that I’m launching for 2018 – the travel reading list. I’ve always been an avid reader, going back to childhood days where I’d read under the covers at night. My love for reading was fostered by my grandparents, who took me to our local public library when I was barely able to walk, and parents, who bought me books and encouraged my patronage of the library. When I was older and started traveling, I used to pack around two or three books at a time. I’d never want to finish one and not have another one to start. You can imagine how it must have been traveling for three weeks in Europe – I lugged around way too many books, leaving them behind as I finished, and […]
Read More2017: A Year of Travel in Review
While 2016 was a big year for international travel, 2017 represented a year spent enjoying destinations and activities closer to home. Part of the was because my role as an ambassador for Universal Orlando Resorts gave me lots of opportunities to enjoy the theme parks and resorts in Orlando, and partially in preparation for Tony’s retirement and joining me in blogging and business activities. Another theme this past year has been reorganization. From developing new projects (a new restaurant review site called The Yums that publicly launched in April) to working through a new site design (look for that to launch shortly after the first of the year), to creating some new internal systems to creating some new features that will debut in January 2018, it’s been a good time to take stock of where I am and where I […]
Read MoreA Most Wonderful Time of the Year at Universal Orlando Resort
Holiday magic is a real thing. A feeling deep in your soul. A feeling that brightens your smile, lights up your eyes and has you humming along with the Christmas music. At Universal Orlando Resort, there’s a little extra special magic thrown in, thanks to the powers of Harry Potter and his friends along with the imagination of thousands of creative minds. As an ambassador for Universal Orlando Resort (that’s a photo of all of us above in our ugly Christmas sweaters), I was invited to a media preview for their holiday events and, boy, was I impressed. I think you will be as well – and while it’s not too late to make your plans, you’d better get hopping. Holiday festivities run through January 6th, 2018. Here are my five favorite magical holiday experiences at Universal Orlando Resort. Everybody […]
Read MoreGift Guide for Travelers: 2017 Holiday Edition
It’s a most wonderful time of the year! Although I much prefer experiences to just buying stuff, there’s no getting around the fact that some stuff makes traveling easier. That’s the reason for my holiday gift guide for travelers, and while this is holiday season-focused, you can file this away for gift buying all year round. I’ve divided my gift guide for travelers into six sections below, highlighting some of the products that I use (or have used) and enjoy. We all have too much stuff to bother buying things that don’t work, or don’t do what they’re supposed to do, so consider these personal recommendations. Note: Links are provided to help you get more information and do a price comparison. Some of those links may be affiliate links, which means that I may make a small commission if you […]
Read MorePlan Your Fall Reading
I’ve been working on my 2017 Holiday Gift Guide (it’ll be out right before Thanksgiving to allow you to maximize all the sales), and since a [amazon_textlink asin=’B00ZV9PXP2′ text=’Kindle e-reader’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’891e01b0-c80b-11e7-8768-c16a71ac56e7′] is always top of my list (I have the [amazon_textlink asin=’B00OQVZDJM’ text=’Paperwhite’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’9558ce90-c80b-11e7-97ad-090db65faaa6′], but there are numerous versions available) it seemed like a good time to share some of my reading recommendations. Here are some recommendations for your fall reading – perfect for that time spent on flights or lounging on the beach – using the 2017 Pop Sugar Ultimate Reading Challenge as a guide. Territory Author: Emma Bull Synopsis: Wyatt Earp. Doc Holliday. Ike Clanton. You think you know the story. You don’t. Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 is the site of one of the richest mineral strikes in American history, where veins of silver run […]
Read MoreCabinZero Review: Functional & Stylish
In my fairy tale world of travel, I’d be like Samantha on [amazon_textlink asin=’B0128P2B38′ text=’Bewitched’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7a067e10-b2e5-11e7-852a-59cc26a3fcb6′], who would wrinkle her nose and transport from one place of another, or like Captain Kirk on [amazon_textlink asin=’B01LT80TN4′ text=’Star Trek’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89df588d-b2e5-11e7-b434-cb36bdf04e39′], who had Scotty to beam him up. That’s no muss, no fuss travel! Since I’m a mere mortal living in a time that teleportation is not yet available, I have to pack and tote my stuff all over the world. Over the years I’ve become an efficient packer, maximizing every inch of my space, but I’m always looking for ways to improve the toting and lugging experience. My packing preference, when traveling for longer than a weekend, is to pack and check a 22-inch roller bag. I know that I can carry it on, and there […]
Read MoreWeekend Guide: Getaway to Langley, Washington
This weekend guide for your getaway to Langley, Washington, will help you plan your getaway, complete with where to stay, what to eat and drink, and what to do. Located on the south end of Whidbey Island overlooking the Saratoga Passage, Langley’s community of just over 1,000 people entice visitors with small town hospitality. With charming inns and cottages, seven wineries in the area, and a stunning natural environment, Langley is a perfect getaway destination for wine tasting, great food, and outdoor activity. This weekend guide to a getaway to Langley was written with the assistance and sponsorship of Whidbey Camano Tourism (their website is here) and its members. This guide contains affiliate links; clicking through for more information or to make a purchase may result in a small fee coming my way to help support the site. Getting There […]
Read MoreCruising: Pure Panama with UnCruise Adventure
This morning we head off to Panama City, via Miami and Hurricane Irma, for some city time followed by a week on the 65-passenger Safari Voyager cruising Panama. This expedition vessel will take us through the canal as well as to many of the smaller islands in the country. This trip is the first time that I’ve left the country this year, a rather unusual occurrence for me, but a lot of family things have been going on and it just hasn’t been the right time for me to take a trip farther than across the country for a few days. With house and pet sitter in place, we’re off. And what a trip it’s going to be! The first challenge will be to avoid Hurricane Irma. She’s rumbling it up in the Caribbean right now, and as I write […]
Read MoreTry These Summer Vacation Reading Recommendations
With the Seattle summer weather set to reach 100 degrees this week, I’m enjoying some time lounging around with a good book or two. Whether you’re looking at hours on a plane, lounging by the pool, sacked out in a hammock, or hiding away at a cabin, here are some summer vacation reading recommendations. I’ve based these recommendations on the PopSugar 2017 reading challenge. You can find the full list of challenges at the end of this post, and previous book recommendations here and here. There’s some pretty heavy stuff on the list, but for summer, I’ve tried to keep things a little more light and breezy. There’s plenty of time to tackle heavier tomes once this heat wave passes. I’ve included affiliate links in the list below. That means if you opt to click through and buy something, a […]
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