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.
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.
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.
Getting a CSA box filled with fresh, locally grown produce each week is one of the highlights of my summer—but it can also be a little overwhelming, especially when I have a long to-do list. Meal planning is key for making the most of my CSA share, but sometimes life happens. Maybe we've just gotten back from vacation and haven't gone to the grocery store yet, or maybe it's been a busy work day and I don't have time to prepare the more ambitious dinner I originally planned.
Marseille is the second-largest city in France, and thanks to its extensive port facilities (among the largest in Europe), most Americans associate the city with industry rather than tourism. But Marseille is a popular port stop on Mediterranean cruise itineraries, and its historic churches, picturesque Panier District, and vibrant Old Port (Vieux Port) make it a pleasant place to spend the day.
When I saw Ibiza on our Norwegian Cruise Line Mediterranean itinerary, it seemed like an odd choice for a cruise port stop—isn't Ibiza mostly known as a party destination? Even worse, we were only there for an afternoon, landing at noon and departing at 7:00pm. What were we going to do, walk around and look at a bunch of closed clubs for a few hours?
Dinner theater combines dinner and a show in one fell swoop, by eating a full-service meal and then watching a theatrical production from the same seat. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is conveniently located to Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the venue offers musicals on the main stage, plus a comedy club and concert series. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' current main stage show is Jersey Boys: The story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
When it comes to international travel destinations, Rome looms large: the iconic arches of the Colosseum, the ornate statues of the Trevi Fountain, and the massive dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Rome is the second-most visited city in Europe (after Paris) hosting 7-10 million tourists each year—and in May 2023, that included me and Mike.
Buffets, main dining rooms, specialty restaurants: the Norwegian Epic has 13 different dining options (plus room service), and on our recent cruise, we checked out eight of them.
