Suzanne 
Last week, in my first post for How to Create a Virtual Vacation Maui Style, I introduced you to the general concept of creating a vacation at home. The Coronavirus has hijacked travel, and we need to have a way to at least pretend to be in a tropical destination. Don’t we?
Imagine the cold-sweet sip of a tropical Mai Tai, Seared Ahi Tuna with Vegetable Fried Rice, and a mound of ice cream covered in chocolate fudge in a decadent slice of Hula Pie. Yes, please! Tell me more. This delicious list is just the beginning of an authentic and tasty Maui Style vacation you can create at home.
The COVID 19 pandemic has all but ruined our travel calendar and certainly curtailed any type of air travel over the blue Pacific. Many people have underlying health conditions that prevent any possibility of travel no matter what is happening in the world. Maybe a Maui vacation is not in the budget at all?
Well, my non-traveling friends, I have a solution. Disappointed by my lack of travel options during the Stay at Home mandate, I needed to change my thinking. I had to look at my current situation and determine just how to move forward when I could not write about future travel or plan any of our own adventures. Just like you, I couldn’t enjoy a Maui vacation if I wanted to!
Are you daring to dream of the perfect place to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation? I think it is time for us to use our imagination and make some plans. I am not a doctor, just your travel enthusiast friend who wants life to be safe and full of adventure. We can dream, create the plan, and be ready for when the time is right.
So for today, I am teaming up with my friends at Hotels.com to dream of a place where the restaurant scene is exceptional, the small-town feel is sophisticated yet rustic, and the great outdoors is just steps away!
A Fall getaway to Jackson Hole is just what we need to heal and satisfy our travel hunger. We took a road trip to this enchanted setting last summer, and it absolutely knocked me over. There is a wide variety of accommodations to choose from, and you can decide which suits you best. From high-end luxury properties to more affordable and casual ones, there is lodging for every budget.
Since we are all working from home, I have an idea for you. Are you looking for something fun to do during your lunch break tomorrow? How about tuning in to a video podcast with Deborah Kobylt! I will join Deborah via Zoom to chat about life as an empty nester.
What changes have we experienced? How are the challenges different now that the kids are grown? What fun adventures do we have planned? Where have we been and where are we going next? I will share about the origin of Adventures of Empty Nesters and a whole lot MORE!!
Did you ever think you would be planning a virtual baby shower? Was that even a possibility last year or the year before? Now that Zoom is part of our everyday culture; we used it to celebrate our daughter.
I am not going to lie; having a virtual baby shower for our daughter Alex was an emotional decision. Well, truthfully, it was the only decision that could be made, but still so hard!
No friend, co-worker, or family member would see her in person and get to hug her and admire this physical feat of strength. She is carrying two enormous humans in her body!
Oh, COVID-19, you have changed our lives forever. I am not going to get into the politics of any of it, but suffice it to say I am angry, but managing my thoughts. My sweet daughter deserved to be celebrated, and I was going to figure out just how to do it. I have never attended a virtual baby shower, have you?
Because I am a blogger, I will write all about it, share the details and you can receive the benefit of my experience. I want you to have the best shower or celebration EVER, so if my design ideas help you, I am happy!
Have you given any thought to taking a trip? Are you itching to get away? Fearful? Undecided? I have some first-hand experience that I look forward to sharing with you. I hope it will help and give you a little perspective.
Let’s go back a few months to my first flight during the Coronavirus.
As a travel writer and empty nester with no immediate family commitments, my travel calendar is always full. In between my scheduled business travel, my husband and I travel together a great deal as well. We are always on the go, just ask our friends and family! Non-stop unpacking and packing, watering the yard in between, living a semi-chaotic existence. Maybe it was too much? We had the chance to discover just how insane our lifestyle really is/was—more on that in an upcoming post.
The virus has caused all of us to pause and appreciate our health and our blessings. My husband traveled for business every week, at times we were like ships passing in the night. However, the hotel points and accumulated air mileage allow us to book amazing empty nester adventures around the world. Life has its trade-offs.
Just about mid-March, we were all grounded, abruptly stopped in our tracks from leaving our homes, let alone travel anywhere. We were receiving conflicting news from all sides and just trying to feel our way through this world-wide catastrophe.
Are you tired of the same old thing, day in and day out? Does a new type of cooking adventure sound interesting? A virtual cooking class is a great place to begin! Whether I take a cooking class tour or one close to home, I have learned a ton about the craft of cooking delicious food. These types of classes not only boost your cooking talents, but there is always a surprise tip that you would have never picked up from just reading a recipe.
Are you looking for virtual cooking classes now that we are not gathering in large groups? The Food Network & Cooking Channel, along with the New York City Wine & Food Festival, have created NYCWFF at Home.
The beauty of wine and food festivals is that they enable the everyday cook to mingle with accomplished and often famous chefs while tasting bites of local restaurant food. Due to COVID-19, we aren’t able to attend festivals and do so many other things, and one of those activities is to take a cooking class with a large group of people.
However, during the Stay at Home mandate, this group of enthusiastic food lovers at NYCWFF managed to put together a cohesive, organized, and delightful cooking class series.
While safe in our homes, we can all participate in a unique opportunity to cook alongside and engage with an NYCWFF personality.
I have already taken two classes and absolutely adored the experience. These chefs are incredibly generous with their knowledge, tips, and cooking techniques. You never know what new cooking gem will be uncovered!
Our little video Cocktail Adventure has been moving along and catching speed. You all have been so supportive with your comments and enthusiasm, and we aim to please! Even our non-drinking friends are enjoying this little escape as well!
We began this adventure six weeks ago to connect with everyone stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are baking amazing new recipes, letting their creative juices flow, and investigating new personal talents. Also, liquor sales have gone up dramatically! Hello? You are making cocktails too!
Not exactly sure how we could contribute, we created Cocktail Adventures, where we film a short 4-5 minute video and offer a little cocktail history, our favorite recipes, and a travel memory that is enhanced by this drink.
My husband Craig does some research, we include our signature recipes, and I add my friendly spin on our travel memories.
Today you are in for a treat! A tasty trifecta of the perfect ingredients and stories as well as the three videos we filmed in one take. Yep, one take. Why waste time on perfection? There’s no such thing!
Authors note: When you visit here at Adventures of Empty Nesters my favorite topic is travel. I share where we have been, where we are going, and what’s on our personal travel calendar. It feels odd to me to not participate, let alone write about it, but I have had to adjust, at least temporarily. We all are adjusting aren’t we?
Wow, what month is this? Did Spring arrive? Today is the 497th day of the COVID – 19 Stay at Home mandate. Right? Or does it just feel like it?
Craig and I have created a small urban garden every year since we moved into our empty nest. We planted a couple of fruit trees, cultivated lettuce in the winter and tomatoes and herbs in the Summer, and loved it.
This road trip to Nashville was originally published the day of the recent tornado. Not the perfect time to be dreaming of a trip to this amazing city. So, I decided to re-publish in order to bring it to your attention. When a city deals with a natural disaster of this magnitude, it is up to the travelers to come to visit and flood the city with revenue! Consider planning a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, you will love it, I promise!
It’s official. A trip to Nashville is a fun-filled, tasty tour of music history and fantastic live entertainment.
It seems like virtually everyone has been to Nashville, Tennessee, and then well, maybe not. I have done a little research and have found some intriguing information. Several other fantastic travel bloggers have been to Nashville, toured the city, dined at great places, and written entertaining and informative articles. But… it seems that on this trip we added some other places to experience as well. We had a blast in Nashville.
This only demonstrates that a destination can entertain its visitors in a myriad of ways. So with that being said, here is what we chose to do!
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