Have you seen our Empty Nester Video? It will make you smile.

February 28, 2020June 11, 2018

empty nester video — Dinner at Kualoa Ranch, Oahu

Adventures of Empty Nesters: How did it all begin? The quick version.

Four years ago, I was having a bit of a struggle trying to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Where did I belong exactly? Our son was in college, our daughter had graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle and never moved back to California. My husband Craig was often traveling for business and I no longer had to spend every waking moment focused on what the family required. Everyone was happily doing their own thing, I was truly an Empty Nester and it was my time now.

Created in 2014, AdventuresofEmptyNesters.com has evolved through the years, with the original emphasis on my life in the Empty Nest. I adored offering advice to others who were about to begin this new empty nester chapter or already living it. As time passed, I allowed the blog to carry me and my thoughts along with it toward new adventures.

Adventures in Hawaii :: 26 of the Best Things to Do on Oahu

February 28, 2020June 5, 2018

Finding the best things to do on Oahu can be a challenge, there are so many to choose from!

We recently had an absolute blast traveling to this exotic paradise with long time friends and our grown kids. Our dear friend Pam has lived on the island for 30 years and insisted on taking us to her favorite spots. We were able to experience Oahu from a locals perspective and now you will benefit too from her awesome ideas!

Vacation Rentals – Rent a home in East Hampton NY? Yes Please!

February 28, 2020May 31, 2018

Would you like to rent a home in East Hampton?

Have you ever thought about it? Yes, me too. But I always wondered how would I go about it? How much would it cost? How would it all work?

Lucky for us, Roni McGuire, an almost Empty Nester, took a chance and reached out to me via email. Why not she thought? Roni was looking for an additional way to market her exquisite rental property in East Hampton. So she researched empty nester travel writers and thought she and I would hit it off. She was right. After several phone conversations we have easily become fast friends. Empty nesters have so much in common and can connect on so many levels. We all totally understand each other from a parental perspective as well as a myriad of other topics.

Chris Erskine’s Happy Hour Hiking Club Takes a Tour of the LA Times Building

February 28, 2020May 29, 2018

Just in time! We were so fortunate to take a tour of the LA Times building only two weeks before they move to their new location.

Our tour of the LA Times ~

Yes, it’s true, the Los Angeles Times is packing up and moving from Downtown Los Angeles. The new owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced in April, that he is vacating their historic, architecturally significant home and taking The Times to El Segundo because he could not reach a satisfactory lease agreement. The new building is just about twenty miles (but a long commute) from Downtown. The landowners wanted to increase the rent by $1 million per month. Wow!

This news came as a huge shock to the employees of the newspaper and Los Angeles history will be forever changed. The fearless leader of our Happy Hour Hiking Club, author and columnist Chris Erskine, has worked for the LA Times for twenty-eight years and he was able to arrange a special tour for us just before they all left for good.

What to See in Seattle ~ Your Complete List of Our Favorites!

February 28, 2020May 24, 2018

How do you decide what to see in Seattle?

Trying to decide what to see in Seattle is a major challenge, but a fantastic problem to have! The city is so amazing and there are so many tasty restaurants, picturesque spots and fun bars. Time and again many friends and colleagues ask me where to go and where to eat in Seattle. These personal recommendations are our absolute favorites and are places we go on a regular basis. This list does not include every single touristy activity – you can get those from another travel site or guide book. Of course there are several insanely great shopping areas (Downtown and University Village are our favorites) and a visit to the Flagship Nordstrom is a must.

Plan your next adventure! A Trip to Portugal Should Be On Your Travel Radar

February 28, 2020May 21, 2018

Angela, my dear friend from college and avid traveler, has returned to the blog to share their luxurious adventure in Portugal. I didn’t know nearly enough about this incredible country, but now I know that a trip to Portugal must be at the top of my travel adventure list!

How does one describe Portugal? Glorious. Mysterious. Land of ancient explorers. A must-go destination.

Portugal had been on our travel radar for some time. Between reading about it on travel sites, seeing Porto featured on my favorite fashion blog, and one of our daughters having visited Lisbon when she was studying in Madrid years ago, that was enough to whet our appetites.

Friday Roundup – Bits and pieces we didn’t get a chance to talk about this week!

February 28, 2020May 18, 2018

Happy Friday! If you missed it…You can find this week’s post about == > How to Stay Fit When You Travel ===> HERE My Friday Roundup: Links to Awesome Stories You Have Probably Not Seen. Don’t you love it when someone else does the work? OMGee 20 Books everyone ill be talking about this Summer! …

The Arrival of Spring in New York – Or did we just skip straight to Summer?

February 28, 2020May 14, 2018

Here’s one more adventure to share from our recent trip to New York City.

Spring in New York – Was it ever going to arrive?

It was late April, surely it was time for the arrival of Spring in New York? Right? The weather has been so strange this year. For most of the country and my friends in the Mid West and in the East the temps were still extremely chilly and they even endured a recent snowstorm. Ridiculous!

While on my recent trip to Nebraska in late April it was freezing cold and there was snow on the ground. What? When I agreed to attend an ecotourism conference in Kearney, Nebraska did I ever imagine it would be this frigid! Ha, joke’s on me! And there’s more…

A New York City Restaurant Recommendation That Came From Instagram

June 11, 2021May 7, 2018

How did I find a New York City Restaurant Recommendation from Instagram?

It seems that lately since the whole Facebook privacy scandal, social media has become more of a negative than a positive. There are certainly a great number of attributes I do not like about it, but there are plenty of things social media does well.

Using Instagram as a referral system is definitely a popular activity and many people (like me) use it as an important food and travel resource. Prior to traveling to a new city, I peruse the hashtags and check out the restaurant accounts and often find some pretty yummy things. Receiving a New York City restaurant recommendation from a reliable source and not just from YELP is a much better scenario. At least for us, it is. I do trust those sites, but when the Editor in Chief of Bon Apetít Magazine recommends a local, smallish, out-of-the-way little restaurant and says “It is some of the best food I have had in a while”, I listened!

A New York Times Adventure: A Travel and Photography Workshop In N.Y.C.

February 28, 2020May 1, 2018

A Travel and Photography Workshop ~

We traveled to New York City this past weekend in order for me to attend NYT Journeys Travel Smarter Weekend: Food and Photography in New York City. Sounds like my kind of adventure, don’t you think? I honestly did not know what to expect exactly, but knew that I would come away with lots of inspiration and definitely a few handy tips and tricks for successful and enjoyable travel.