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...
On our quest to visit all 50 states, my daughter and I (often along with my sister-in-law and niece) are taking some off the beaten path vacations. Over Memorial Day, the four of us took our annual Mamas & Daughters trip and visited St. Louis. The girls both got to check two new states off their lists – Missouri and Illinois, and we all got to collect our National Park stamps at the Gateway Arch National Park and the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. What can I say, I’m a nerd who loves a good list. For those who aren’t into these bizarre destinations, don’t worry, I have some more traditional destinations (e.g., New York City, Montana, Lake Tahoe) coming this summer. When people heard we were visiting St. Louis, almost everyone assumed it was to visit family (nope). Only after explaining our 50-state project did people seem to understand (a bit), but St. Louis was once the nation’s fourth largest city and the cite of the 1904 World’s Fair and Summer Olympics. It was...