I am a born traveler. My very first photo, snapped at the hospital shortly after my birth, became my first passport photo. I boarded my first international flight shortly thereafter, and I have been traveling ever since. To date, I have visited 4 continents, 24 countries outside of the USA, and 31 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. My very patient husband jokes that I always start planning the next trip on the flight home (sometimes I actually start before that!). I think the planning is half the fun. Some of my favorite travel memories include family trips with my daughter and husband to Aspen, our honeymoon in Rome, Christmas with my parents in London, our little family's favorite beach trip to Puerto Rico, and my first solo adventure to Big Sky, Montana. I am also an avid reader, reading more than 100 books every year and currently working my way through the Boxall 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. I come by my love of books naturally. I was raised by a librar
Aspen, Colorado has long been a family favorite destination. My husband’s grandfather went to high school in Aspen back before it was a ritzy ski destination, so my husband grew up spending summer weeks in Aspen on family vacations riding bikes up and down the trails and over to the now closed arcade in town. During our first year of marriage, he took me for my first trip, and I fell in love with the charming town and the scenery. When our daughter was old enough, we started taking her with us, and some of our favorite family memories are of our almost annual trips to Aspen. Over the years Aspen has become increasingly popular and pricey. As a result, one of our new favorite times to visit Aspen is during “shoulder season” when there are fewer crowds and more reasonable rental prices. This year we visited during our daughter’s October fall break, and it was perfect! If you plan to visit during shoulder season, it’s important to do your research ahead of time. Approximately half of th