Hello, Reader. Last week we left you hanging a little. We mentioned having a 6-day weekend coming up and plans starting to unravel. Well, as we thought may happen, Chicago never quite solidified into a yes. No stunning skyline, no deep-dish pizza, and no day spent cheering on the White Sox. Instead, we loaded the kayaks in the truck and headed to Chain O' Lakes State Park for a challenge we'd been eyeing for a while. Nine lakes, connected by narrow water passageways, paddled in one go. In...
14 days ago • 3 min read
Hello, Reader. Week after week I pop into your Inbox with information about places we've been or places we're planning to go. I share ideas for how to plan your next trip, things to do, and general inspiration in the hopes that you take the next step to experiencing somewhere amazing for yourself. But what about the in-between times? This is one of those weeks… I've got 6 of the next 7 nights on the work schedule (close enough to feel all-consuming), followed by six nights off. Yep! I've got...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Hello, Reader. I know, I know… it's still technically summer. The A/C is still running, the pool floats are still out, and yet here I am, standing in my kitchen, baking sourdough and daydreaming about flannel and pumpkin spice like the basic fall girl I proudly am. I walked out of work at 7 a.m. the other day and the Indiana humidity hit me like a wall. I just stood there thinking, "I can’t wait for cool, crisp fall mornings." Even though the calendar says we've got plenty more of summer...
28 days ago • 4 min read
Hello, Reader. Watching Saturday night's fireworks with the national coverage on in the background, my mind drifted back to another celebration, one where the guest of honor got her own cake and a crowd gathered to celebrate a panda’s birthday. If you’ve been with us for a while, you might recall late last summer when we talked about plans to visit Washington, D.C., and attend Qing Bao’s birthday party at the National Zoo. If not, I can’t wait to bring a smile to your day as I tell you about...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hello, Reader. Everyone's talking about America's 250th birthday and that's got me reminiscing about some of my favorite Fourth of July celebrations over the years. When I was in my teens, my family loved to watch the fireworks over Lake Tahoe. Nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the California-Nevada border, Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places. We'd stake out a spot on the beach, wait for darkness to fall over the mountains, and then watch the sky light up over the water,...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello, Reader. I hope your week is off to a great start! Keeping up with our walking theme from last week, I thought I'd share one of our favorite ways to explore new destinations. You guessed it... Walking! Sometimes it's just wandering streets or trails, turning whichever way the moment strikes, but sometimes we're a little more strategic. A while back we took a road trip to Pittsburgh, PA. We had a whole day to explore the downtown area and driving in we were struck by the number of...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, Reader. We've spent a lot of time lately talking about the Dominican Republic: the planning, the trip itself, how to see the island without breaking the bank. And we'll keep talking about it, because there's more to share. But this week I want to take you somewhere a little closer to home. Last Friday I laced up my running shoes and headed out onto one of Indiana's Rail Trails. If you haven't explored the trail system here, it's worth your time. There are several well-maintained paths...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, Reader. Have you ever really wanted to take a vacation, but thought, "It's just too expensive"? We sure have, and I bet you have, too. Our recent trip to the Dominican Republic was one of those trips. We'd had our eyes on the DR for years, but the cost of a trip like that, done right, can feel like a wall. Eleven nights. Two people. Flights, hotels, excursions, food, transportation. It adds up fast. When we finally ran the numbers, a fully paid version of our trip would have come to...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, Reader. I have a question for you this week: When did you last play tourist at home? You know the feeling. You're planning a trip and suddenly you're three hours deep into TripAdvisor, Viator, and every travel blog you can find (and hopefully one of those is wanderfordays.com! 😉). Ghost tours, cooking classes, food tours; you want all of it. You want to feel the place, not just see it. So why don't we do that at home? Seriously. When's the last time you looked at your own city (or the...
2 months ago • 4 min read