May Guest Blogger: Laura Alcantar Weeks away from my 40th birthday, with my mom now 70 and widowed, my sons 10 and 15, a ten-day trip together seemed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course, it also meant being confined together in a tiny room for ten days and sharing a bathroom. The boys would miss a… Continue reading Replenishing Waters: A 7-day Caribbean Cruise
Well, this Friday is my birthday, so this week, I thought I'd share the (bigger) trips I have planned for the rest of this year! As I stated in the About Me section, I'm obtaining my BA in Creative Writing & English from SNHU this year, and since I live in Illinois and the classes… Continue reading Travel Plans 2019
One of my favorite things about traveling is exploring national parks with their forests, trails, mountains, and lakes. Ocala National Forest isn't too far from where my grandparents live in The Villages, Florida, and even though I went there last year with my parents and Charlotte, we didn't have enough time to visit Ocala. Right… Continue reading Expected Monkey Sightings
As I'm writing this, it's a record temperature of -25 here in Chicago, so I'm going to tell you about Charlotte's and my first couple days in Florida last May; then, I can reminisce on the warmth. We flew into Tampa with my parents and stayed at the Quality Inn and Conference Center, which had… Continue reading The Best Beach in the U.S.
Happy New Year! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. As many of you know, I haven't finished telling you about Charlotte's visit and our trip to Florida. Well, this is my last post about Charlotte's trip to Chicago. We took the train to the city with my friends, Jen and Alejandra, the day before… Continue reading Sunny Day in the Windy City
In Lake Geneva Hike (Part I), I told you about my hesitation and anxiety of doing this hike and that it all went away as we started walking. I had nothing to worry about, and nature is always a great reminder of that. It seems to be a great anti-depressant and anti-anxiety med. I couldn't… Continue reading Lake Geneva Hike: Overview & Tips
The second half of our journey was a little bit tougher than the first because we were quite tired. As I mentioned in my last post, we stopped for ice cream in Williams Bay, WI which, of course, perked us up a bit. We went to Frosty Moose, which had a large selection of flavors… Continue reading Lake Geneva Hike (Part II)
As I mentioned in my previous post, Charlotte, Jen, and I hiked around Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. When the idea to do it came up, I was pumped because I knew it would be such a fun adventure. However, later, I did have my doubts when my anxiety crept in a bit asking, "What if… Continue reading Lake Geneva Hike (Part I)
I have so much to tell you about our 26-mile hike around Lake Geneva including some tips for such a long hike and this specific route! It's going to take me a bit longer to write those posts, so I thought I'd skip that day for now. After spending a few days in Chicago (and… Continue reading Local Fun: iFLY & Sugary Treats
Since we didn't hit all the attractions we planned to on the weekend, Charlotte and I went back to Chicago a few days later. (If you ever plan to take Metra to Chicago, note that it is more expensive on weekdays, and you're better off buying a weekend pass that is valid for both Saturday… Continue reading Water, Air & Art
Wrecked Hope Travels 