TravelistaLiz Blogposts live here. Enjoy the adventure!
Welcome to Part 2 of the Maine Event – a second long weekend (or end of a week if you followed Part 1’s adventures) in Mid-coast Maine. These two blogposts will give you the “can’t miss” highlights of a perfect weeklong coastal vacation. The last blogpost (Part 1) covered Portland to Booth Bay Harbor. Part 2 covers Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. For an entire week of adventures, add Part 1 and Part 2 together!
Read MoreMaine is the perfect summer getaway location for a weeklong family vacation or girls’ trip in the great outdoors. Compared to Arizona, where I’m from, this state is defined by water and its green, green, green landscape.
These next two blogposts will give you the “can’t miss” highlights of a perfect weeklong coastal vacation. I’ve split this post into two parts in case you’ve got time just for a long weekend - choose either Part 1 or Part 2. For an entire week’s adventures, combine both!
Read MoreWhen you live a “travelista” lifestyle, month-long stays exploring locations around the world are the norm. This year I’ll add three plus months to my travel resume as a temporary local in New Mexico, Michigan, and Oregon. During May 2021, I was lucky enough to call the southwest Michigan town of Holland my home.
In this blogpost I’ll share some of the local highlights from this grand adventure. Even if you don’t get to southwest Michigan anytime soon, I wouldn’t be at all surprised that you find some nuggets of inspiration to apply to your own life, wherever home may be. Here are 15 tips for exploring like a local.
Read MoreMay is Tulip Time in Michigan! I was lucky enough to enjoy a month-long stay in Holland, Michigan during May of 2021 and it was pure sensorial delight!
Tulip Time has been touted as the Best Small-Town Festival and the Best Flower Festival in America. I can see why. The charm is undeniable, and the six million plus tulips can’t be beat.
Read MoreI feel like I could have written a book by now covering all the unbelievable sites and experiences of my month-plus sojourn in New Mexico. Instead, there are eight blogposts that share the highlights, should you choose to partake in any of these explorations. Alas, all great times come to an end. I couldn’t resist sharing this last special road trip exploring the can’t-miss spiritual site of Chimayo, the rustic town of Taos, and the gorgeous Rio Grande river valley.
Read MoreThere are several fantastic daytrips an hour from Santa Fe that are worth your time. This is one of them.
Check out Tsankawi Trail, Bandelier National Monument and it’s unique cave dwellings, and round out your visit with a stop in nearby Los Alamos, home of atomic energy.
Read MoreLooking for a way to spend a morning or afternoon in nature within 15 minutes of Santa Fe’s city center?
Look no further. While on my recent long-term vacation to Santa Fe, I found four great local hiking spots that were easily accessible and safe for a solo female hiker in the middle of winter.
Read MoreWhile there’s much more to see and do in the picturesque city of Santa Fe, it feels like time to take you on a road-trip to one of New Mexico’s quaint, off the beaten path towns a bit further north, Abiquiú (pronounced ab - IH - q). If you’ve been following the blogposts about my New Mexico sabbatical, you’ll recall I met up with artist @Randallmchavez and discovered his stunning abstract paintings near Santa Fe’s Loretto Chapel at Water St and the Old Santa Fe Trail. He’s the local who told me about this magical place.
Read MoreWelcome to Canyon Road, Santa Fe’s art district. This half mile long road boasts over 100 galleries, restaurants, and quirky boutiques. This is a perfect afternoon or day-long stroll capped off with a lunch at one of my favorite Santa Fe spots – The Teahouse.
Read MoreSo many people asked for the recipe to those yummy low carb, gluten-free pizzas I posted about on my @travelistaliz instagram page last week, I put together a quick post to make it easy for you to access the recipe for one of your upcoming go-to meals. Enjoy!
Read MoreOne of the great joys in exploring new places around the world is thoroughly sampling the local cuisine. I love supporting local businesses. They especially need a boost during Covid-times. Beyond that, I find the food and dining experience so much more interesting than at chain restaurants you find everywhere.
I absolutely love these restaurants. So much that I visited each on more than one occasion during my five-week sabbatical in Santa Fe. In fact, I was knighted a “temporary local”, an honor I hold dear.
Read MoreSabbatical or short-term visit, the point of staying walking distance from the most interesting neighborhoods or historic downtown area is to be able to walk out the front door and in no more than 20 - 30 minutes be exploring the city’s main points of interest. That’s why the Canyon Road area and nearby historic Plaza are ideal locations to target in Santa Fe.
Read MoreCovid has definitely cramped my travel style. Turning lemons into lemonade, I found a way to reinvent my world-wide Travelista lifestyle by creating weeks-long adventures in the U.S. This is a fantastic way to experience the many different parts of my home country. And it’s a great approach for retirees, families with kids doing online learning or even millennials who can work remotely.
Read MoreHere are the “can’t miss” highlights of a magical 5 day (or more!) visit to two of Utah’s Big 5 National Parks – Zion and Bryce Canyon.
Read MoreHere's the perfect two day itinerary for a great Arizona weekend getaway or as an add-on to any Horseshoe Bend/Antelope Canyon/Grand Canyon adventure you have planned. A visit to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert will not disappoint.
Read MoreThe ideal full three day itinerary with travel tips to explore the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Easily done as a long weekend or an add-on to other Northern Arizona/Southern Utah adventures. Get outside and explore the jaw-dropping National Parks of the Southwest!
Read MoreThe perfect four day itinerary with travel tips for a Northern Arizona adventure to Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. Filled with photos, a bit of history, specific links, and recommendations to make planning your getaway easy and affordable. This is a bucket-list worthy adventure whether you live near or far. Immerse yourself in the magic of Arizona’s stunning natural beauty.
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