Adventures of Empty Nesters: A Year in Review – How Much Fun Did We Really Have?
2017 was a very busy and truly spectacular travel year!
So I decided to do a quick year in review, not to boast about how many places I have been, but to unpack, pause and appreciate what can be accomplished through thoughtful planning, careful research, great relationships, accumulated miles and points and the best dog sitter in the world!
I started the year with knee surgery on Jan 6th, so the pace of the travel was slow in the beginning, but it quickly picked up in early March. I may not have been fully recovered but we had adventures to take, people to see and places to go. There was no sitting around.
Life in the Empty Nest at Christmas…is Awesome!
Life in the Empty Nest at Christmas is definitely different from when the kids lived here. Not bad different, just different. Actually… exciting different.
We don’t have any Toys R Us shopping to do any longer or a list for Santa. Most of our shopping was done online, how about you? What we do have is lots of quality time with our grown children and our extended family. I think that is what Christmas is really about. We spend more time planning the menus and the handcrafted cocktails, making playlists and taking selfies and Boomerangs. What’s a Boomerang? It is an app where it takes a four second video and repeats it over and over. It’s creative and clever and everyone seems to be doing it. You can see more over on my Instagram=> Here!
New York: Dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns ~ An Extraordinary Culinary Adventure
A Fairy Tale Dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns ~
How well do you know your food? Have you thought about where it comes from? How it is grown? How it is prepared?
Dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pleasantville, NY
We traveled by train thirty miles outside New York City to enjoy the holiday season and to meet up with my good friend and fellow travel writer Irene Levine of Getting on Travel and her husband Jerry. Irene and Jerry live locally and have visited Blue Hill at Stone Barns on several occasions. The restaurant mood was calming and a lovely stone fireplace lit the path to our seats for a magical four hour meal.
The Very Best Restaurant in Cozumel: Buccanos at Night
To find the best restaurant in Cozumel on my first trip there was quite amazing! However I did not discover this jewel on my own, I was actually a guest of my friend and fellow travel writer, Tam Minton of Travels with Tam.
Tam invited three of her best travel writing friends, Sara of Travels with Sara, Melody of Wherever I May Roam and Me to her beloved island of Cozumel. She and her husband own a lovely vacation home and have enjoyed the delicious restaurants and superb scuba diving on this quiet island for the past 19 years. Tam was an excellent tour guide, gracious hostess and she knew where to eat great food. We had a ridiculously fun time full of a few wacky (and fabulous) adventures. Although we had not all travelled together before, we had so much in common that it was extra satisfying!
Adventures of Empty Nesters :: New York City at Christmas
New York City at Christmas is the best time of year to visit!
Greetings!
We make every attempt to continue a Christmas tradition of traveling to New York in December to soak up the sights and lights of this beautiful city during the holidays. I just wanted to check in to say hello and let you know you can follow along over on our Instagram ===> Here! And on our Facebook Page ==> Here!
Do you have special plans for the holidays? Check out our trip to NYC…
We Have Exciting News! Come See Our New Video for Adventures of Empty Nesters
A New Video for Adventures of Empty Nesters!
I am very excited to announce that we have just finished a new video for Adventures of Empty Nesters. We wanted to convey to our audience just what we are all about! We partnered with Clint Simone (our very talented nephew) as he filmed, directed and produced this pretty snappy video.
Clint’s vision was to show what it is really like in the “Empty Nest” and how embracing Life 2.0 is the best way to find adventure at this time in our lives. Our kids are grown and flown from the nest and now it’s our turn. It is time to determine what we want to do next and how we will go about it.
Luxury Retreats :: Dreaming of a Trip to the Dominican Republic
Is a trip to the Dominican Republic on your destination list?
Do you like to make future travel plans? Do you keep a running list of possible destinations in your head? Written down somewhere on your desk? Or do you just wing it and decide last-minute? I always have an active lineup and it constantly changes. However, at the end of every travel year, one of my favorite activities is to create a list of possible future dream destinations for the very next year. Each calendar year we always include a tropical beach vacation even if it we can only get away for a week.
Part of our criteria is traveling to a fascinating place where we have never been and where there is more to do than just sit on the beach. Many amazing destinations that I am unfamiliar with reach out to me to say hello. I was recently introduced to Dominican Republic home rentals and I was thrilled to hear about the possibilities!
My Epic Adventures in Bangkok :: Ten Reasons to Visit Thailand
Asia has always been on my wish list, but when the opportunity to visit Bangkok with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and China Southern Airlines came about, I said “Pick me, pick me!”
A fun-filled travel plan was created to transport seven, seasoned, travel writers, a friendly public relations representative and an energetic authority on Thailand from the TAT. Our proposed adventure was to explore Bangkok and visit several outlying areas as well. It was a travel recipe of epic proportions, coupled with a luxurious airplane experience like no other! We all were more than ready for this Southeast Asian Adventure.
My Upcoming Empty Nester Adventure :: Travel to Asia
Yes! I am leaving on Sunday to travel to Asia for the first time. The wonderful people of China Southern Airlines and Tourism Authority of Thailand Los Angeles are inviting me as their guest along with seven other travel writers.
Pinch me now, I am over the moon excited to see this part of the world! Just imagine walking through Bangkok and the Chang Chui Market, shopping at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, visiting majestic temples, and a bike ride through the inner city oasis of Bang Kra Jao… maybe even a Thai Boxing Class!
