Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. I'm a sentimental sort who loves celebrating my relationships, and I also like the relatively unstructured nature of Valentine's Day. Sure, there are upscale...
For most tourists, the Road to Hāna about the journey rather than the destination, and they stop in Hāna only briefly (if at all) before continuing along the route. Here are the pros and cons of spending the night in Hāna, things to do in and near Hāna, what kind of accommodations you can expect to find in Hāna, and my take on whether or not spending the night in Hāna is worth it.
The Road to Hāna/Hāna Highway is a winding, narrow rainforest road that's a highway only in the technical sense of the term. It's only about 60 miles from the beginning of the Hāna Highway to Hāna, but your drive will take all day—there's a 25 mile per hour speed limit for much of the route, dozens of one-lane bridges, frequent photo stops, detours for hikes, and multiple swimming opportunities.
Mike and I have done a lot of traveling together, and it's impossible to pick a favorite destination. But our favorite place to return to? That's Maui. We love Maui's natural beauty, diverse landscapes, culture, beaches, and sunsets. Here's a guide to my favorite places to eat, see, and stay—many of which we've found ourselves returning to again and again.
My sixth annual "best things I ate" post is my widest-ranging one yet, thanks to a Mediterranean cruise and trip to Hawaii with Mike, a getaway to Portland, Oregon with Josh, and a press trip to Baltimore. Closer to home, I was fortunate to check out new-to-me spots and revisit old favorites through my work as a food journalist and on my own time. 2023 was a delicious year—let's dig in.
Kaua'i is geologically the oldest of the Hawaiian islands, and thanks to its lush landscape it's nicknamed the "Garden Island." With a population of about 73,000, Kaua'i has a more rural, small town feel than Oahu or Mauai, although there are plenty of businesses catering to tourists. This post is a roundup of my favorite Kaua'i places to to eat, things to do, and areas to stay.
Mike and I spend our weekends running in opposite directions (literally in my case: seven miles on Saturday and three miles on Sunday). After one too many weekends when the only significant chunk of time we spent together was grocery shopping, we realized that we needed to prioritize time with each other. So we instituted a standing coffee date on Sunday mornings.
Some people love beer, others prefer wine, but my drink of choice is a craft cocktail—I think that's due to the fact that I didn't really start drinking alcohol until my late 20s. My favorite place to enjoy craft cocktails is straight from the source: at a local micro distillery. Minnesota is home to over 30 micro distilleries, which typically have tasting rooms where you can purchase cocktails, tasting flights, and bottles of spirits.
This post was originally published on April 6, 2022 and was most recently updated on December 15, 2023. For the past several years, I've had a Capital One Venture credit card. I like it because the...
As you may have noticed from my posts about Maui and Hilo, I have a thing for shave ice. It's the perfect pick-me-up on a hot Hawaiian afternoon, and it's also a local specialty that you probably won't find on the mainland. Wondering what the deal is with the brightly-hued dessert pictured above? Here's your guide to Hawaiian shave ice.
Whether you're wondering how to navigate a Hawaiian grocery store as a tourist or you're hoping to save some money in your vacation budget, here's a guide to grocery shopping in Hawaii.
'Tis the season for holiday gift guides—from bloggers, magazines, and online publications. My second annual made in Minnesota gift guide reflects my personal tastes: think earrings and chocolate. If that's your (or your loved ones') jam too, I hope you find something here to add to your Christmas list.
Do you like buying presents for frequent travelers that will actually get used? Are you a travel lover whose friends and family are asking you for gift ideas? Here's a practical-minded travel gift guide ranging from stocking stuffers to splurges, based on my experiences as an avid traveler.
I'm fairly traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving food, or as traditional as you can be when you don't eat turkey. I like cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie (ideally made with Festal...
Josh and I have developed a winning formula for our trips best summed up as "walking around and eating stuff." This past summer, we applied that approach to our five-day getaway to Portland, Oregon. Portland is an wonderful food destination: thanks to the temperate weather, there are food carts throughout the city, sometimes grouped into pods with a central seating area.
When you visit Florence, Italy, you're in the birthplace of the Renaissance: in the 14th century, local scholars revived an interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture, and throughout the 15th century...
I've had a soft spot for microstates ever since learning about the world's tiniest countries in eighth grade geography class. One of the highlights of my time in Rome was walking to Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. When I learned that it was possible to visit the Principality of Monaco during a cruise port stop in Cannes, I knew I had to make a trip to the world's second smallest country.
Neapolitan pizza and Pompeii: as soon as I saw Naples on our Mediterranean cruise itinerary, I knew how I wanted to spend my day in port. But Naples still managed to surprise me, from its gritty, vibrant street scenes to the unexpected ways that ancient Pompeii resembles a modern city.
Like our port stop in Ibiza, I didn't know much about Palma before preparing for our Mediterranean cruise—I associated Mallorca with beach resorts and wasn't sure how we'd spend our 12-hour port stop there. However, I discovered that Palma is home to interesting cultural sites dating back to the 11th century, plus some tasty tapas.
Welcome to my 11th(!) annual summer blog post. Compiling these roundups has become as much of a summer tradition as eating ice cream and going the Minnesota State Fair—as the season draws to a close, it's a way to reflect and celebrate my favorite season.
