Sunday was our day at EPCOT. I set an alarm for 6:55am to join the first virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy but didn't get in. We slept a bit longer and while enjoying my fancy cold brew, I...
Blog posts from USA Travel
Orlando 2023: Mills 50
On Saturday we didn't want to stay in the hotel room (or at Disney Springs) the entire day, so we took an Uber to the Mills 50 area to check out the street art. While we did find a few murals to...
Orlando 2023: Disney Springs
Our hotel was an easy 8 minute walk to Disney Springs, so the first night we went exploring. The temps were on the chilly side but most places with outdoor seating had heaters set up. After...
Orlando 2023: intro
I had intended to visit Disneyworld with my sister's family in 2021 but that trip was unfortunately cancelled, leaving me with an unused 2-day ticket. After perusing forums and making several calls...
San Diego 2023: sights
On Friday, we had some time between Eric's sessions, so we drove over to Ocean Beach for a cliff-side walk and visit to California Wile Ales. We got to see a ton of pelicans, people walking dogs,...
San Diego 2023: introduction
Most years pre-COVID, Eric would get work approval to attend the PAG conference in San Diego and I would tag along. I typically worked while Eric was spending the day in sessions and this time my...
2022 Year in Review
Previous years-in-review – 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 2022 marked a busier travel year, including a return to international travel. 5 countries...
Shelton Vineyards
Our drive back from the mountains took us near the North Carolina Yadkin Valley AVA, so we figured it would be a good opportunity to try out a winery. Shelton Vineyards had both red and white wine,...
NC Mountains, November 2022
I was feeling a bit stir crazy in mid-October, so I suggested we head to the mountains for a weekend in early November. Unfortunately it rained for a majority of the trip and our room was small, but...
Manny’s Memorial Weekend
We traveled to Florida (my fourth trip in less than three months) in mid-September for my Dad's Memorial service. I am not going to get into too much detail here but we made it through the...
NY Summer 2022: food
During our time on Long Island we got to try a number of places, including some old favorites, and some new-to-us. Black Sheep Bagels, Jamesport - I'd heard good things about this re-branded bagel...
NY Summer 2022: sunsets and kayaking
As we do every year, we made multiple trips to the beach for sunset. Unlike 2021, we had quite a few good sunsets this summer! We found lots of jingle shells to add to our collection and managed to...
NY Summer 2022: wine and beer tasting
Much like previous summers, we sampled several wines and beers across the month of July. Lenz Winery, Peconic We've been members for years now, and Lenz always has some interesting wines available....
Pacific Northwest, June 2022: Washington waterfalls + Mount St. Helens
Midway through our time in Seattle, we drove down to the trailhead for Coal Creek Falls and North Fork Falls. At about 3 miles total, it was a nice leg stretcher and we were happy it wasn't raining....
Pacific Northwest, June 2022: Washington food & drink
Our first stop after dropping the bags at the hotel was Efeste Sodo for a wine tasting reservation at 4pm. We used to be wine club members years ago but left the club because the shipping got to be...
Pacific Northwest, June 2022: Oregon food & drink
Portland On our first morning in Portland we wanted a relatively quick breakfast, so we opted for bagels at Bagel Land. I got the simple lox on an everything bagel - very reasonable at $7. Eric had...
Pacific Northwest, June 2022: Oregon wine tasting
Dominio IV - Our first wine tasting of the trip. Jose did a great job taking care of us and we enjoyed sitting at the high top outside on the patio. We even had a mini tour after the tasting was...
Pacific Northwest, June 2022: Oregon waterfalls
With an open afternoon and good weather we headed south out of the Willamette Valley to Silver Falls State Park to do some hiking. We'd been there on a summer trip in 2016, and we were hoping that...
Our Itinerary
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)