Family Reunion in Boston, Mass.

December 15, 2017

Back in August I flew out to Boston for a family reunion. I'd never been to Boston before, so I was extremely excited to visit! Some of my family lives in Beverly, Massachusetts and they hosted most of the festivities. What a beautiful area it was. Their house is absolutely gorgeous. They have restored it from being converted into 6 apartments. Supposedly President Taft used to come over to smoke cigars on the top floor and play pool - everything and everywhere has SO MUCH HISTORY! There have even been some movies filmed on their street. It is that beautiful! One night there were some fireworks over the water that is literally across from their house that just happened to correspond with the last night of our family reunion. Coincidence? I think not. It was literally one of the best family reunions I've been able to go to! On the way home, I got to drive back with my dad! It was fun to do some site seeing with him. What follows is a breakdown of what we did.

Friday, August 4th

Flew to Providence, Rhode Island instead of Boston because my flight was majorly delayed and I wouldn't have been able to meet up with family until after 9 PM.
Dad picked me up and drove from Providence to Boston. (THANKS DAD! <3)
Drove to Beverly to see the house, talk to family and have a pizza party!
Salem ghost tour

Saturday, August 5th

Peabody Essex Museum and roaming around Salem on a rainy day.
Sailboat with family and dinner at an old rail station converted into a restaurant.
Candlepin bowling after dinner

Sunday, August 6th

Boston Freedom Walk
Chicken and Lobster dinner in Beverly
Fireworks and goodbyes (official end of family reunion)

Monday, August 7th

Whale watching tour from Boston Harbor
Drove to Amherst, Mass. to stay with family

Tuesday, August 8th

Breakfast with dad and family
Saw the family farm that my grandpa spent a few years growing up on in Cattaraugus
Drove to Niagara Falls: both the US and Canadian side

Wednesday, August 9th

Niagara Hornblower boat and journey behind the falls tour on the Canadian side
Drove to Detroit through Canada

Thursday, August 10th

Henry Ford Museum - Greenfield Village and National Park movie

Friday, August 11th

Rouge factory tour where we got to see some F150s being put together and the actual Henry Ford Museum itself
Drove back home to Iowa.

Rachel's Travel Hacks

April 27, 2017

Instead of actually packing for my trip to Spain next week, I decided to write a blog about how I pack and prepare for any trip I go on. I was talking to some coworkers today about some things I usually do to prepare for trips and pack, they said, "That is a great idea," so I thought I would share some packing tips with you!

FINDING THE DEAL

In the past couple months I've found incredible deals on flights and trip packages. I have done this through following pages on Facebook believe it or not! I booked a $1400 trip to Paris and London (flights and hotel included!!) from Travelzoo , and a $350 return flight to Spain from Des Moines (unheard of) on The Points Guy all in the same night. I'm sure my boss thought I was crazy when I emailed him about it! When I find deals like this, they're just too good to pass up! I'm sure there are more pages to follow to keep track of flight deals, these are just the ones that I used to find my incredible deals recently.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

So you've just booked your flights. Now what?!

Do your research: I would suggest finding things that are of interest to you. They don't necessarily have to be the typical tourist attractions, but those are fun too! I generally use Pinterest and Instagram to find things that look interesting enough to make me want to go there. Then I do a little reading up, and plan my visit! Sometimes the great deal is just getting you to a region you want to go (like Europe), not necessarily a city you want to visit. Find out how to get to a city that you want to explore and then use the tips from above to be a well researched and prepared traveler (if that is your type of thing).

Even if you're not the type to do research for a trip and would prefer to "wing it", I think it is a good idea to at least see what the country or city you are visiting has to offer, so you're not sitting around fumbling through maps and wondering what you should do for the day.

It is also a good idea to research customs of certain countries so you don't mistakenly offend someone or make a gesture that isn't acceptable. For example: look up what the rules are on tipping in the country you're visiting. Why tip if you don't have to?!

Where to stay: My friend and I comb the internet (blogs, Air Bnb, Hostelworld, etc) to find some funky, beautiful, and relatively inexpensive places to stay. We opt for Air Bnbs or private rooms in hostels over run-of-the-mill hotels. We have stayed in places like an old Church to a re-purposed manor house.

How to get around: I'm a huge fan of public transportation. I research how to get to and from the airport, or train station using public transport. Using public transpiration is usually the cheapest way versus a taxi, or express transportation through a private company. Also check to see if there is a punch card, or day ticket you can use. It is generally cheaper, and can sometimes be passed around throughout your group to be used by all!

If you can't or don't want to use public transport and are adventuresome enough to use UBER, I would recommend it. You can order one using wifi, even if your phone doesn't have cellular service!

Before you travel: Download specific cities to your phone using Google Maps. (Don't know how? Find a tutorial here.) These downloaded areas will work, even when your phone is on airplane mode. Star places of interest, and while on wifi, use Google Maps to navigate to a particular point of interest. Screen shot the directions and you're off! As long as you know how to get back to where you're staying via public transportation, or know how to find free wifi, you will never get lost. I like to go to all the surrounding starred points of interest when I get to an certain area too.

Downloaded section of London with all my stars!

PACKING ESSENTIALS

On EVERY single trip I go on these are items I bring along with me:

Packing cubes or space bags- I have a few of each of these and they are wonderful! You can roll your clothes to save space, and then put a ton of said rolled clothes into the packing cubes or space bags! You can pack so many clothes into a carry on size piece of luggage with them, not to mention larger pieces of luggage!

A travel size Febreze - life saver! For those pieces you bring along that you want to re-wear: just spritz and you're ready to go! Such a great item to pack.

Travel Febreze - Check the travel size section at Target!

A collapsible bag - I usually just travel with a carry-on. But what if I buy too much British chocolate (this has happened to me) and I don't have enough space to bring it back? Pack one of these handy bags that fold up small, but become little backpacks, or like the one pictured here, a small duffel bag to bring back those tasty treats.

My camera - I especially take this on my personal vacations, but sometimes even on work trips. If there is something I want to document, I snap away! I also think you can never have enough memory cards, just in case! I generally always have a camera around, even if it is just my iphone.

Snacks - I don't like to buy food from airports, and if I'm not on a flight that is long enough to offer meal service, then I'll always have some sort of backup nourishment. My go-tos are apples or fruit and then high protein granola bars.

Reusable water bottle - I ALWAYS bring a re-usable water bottle, empty to start with until you get through security, and then find the nearest water fountain, and you're good to go! Who wants to pay 2.50 or more for an airport water anyway!?

Chargers and converters - For my phone and camera, because you never know when you'll need them. On my recent trip to Paris and London, I mistakenly left my converter in my checked bag, which subsequently got lost. I was literally lost with out my phone! I had planned on relying on it to navigate the city.

I hope this list of my travel hacks will help you become a savvier traveler from the planning process to your return.

Happy Traveling,

Love, Rachel

I Followed My Stars

April 14, 2017

March 14-22 I visited Paris and London by myself. This was truly my first time traveling alone, except for when I studied abroad. I was so proud of myself for navigating the cities alone, and never once getting lost. I even helped someone get to their hotel in Paris! While I could write literally pages and pages about what I did and what happened, I won't (though I'll provide a link to it if you're interested in reading more). Here I will just outline what I did each day.

This blog is named "I Followed My Stars" because my first day in London when I met up with my friend Emily. I told her about my method of getting around the cities. I had logged into Google Maps and starred a whole bunch of things that I was interested in seeing in Paris and London. Each day, I would pick a star and figure out how to get there. From that point, I would wander to the other surrounding stars. My friend Emily called it following my stars, and I absolutely loved that phrase, so it stuck!!

March 16 -

Monmarte tour with Localers
Climbed and walked through Sacre Coeur
I followed a route that took me in a circle to see major landmarks including: The Eiffel Tower, the Trocadero, Arch De Triomphe, Champs Elysess (with detours to Pierre Hereme and Laudree for a taste test!), Place de la Concorde/Luxor Obelisk, Ponte Alexander and back to the Eiffel Tower

March 17 -

Climbed to the top of Notre Dame
Walked around the grounds of the Lovure
Palais Royal
Galerie Vivienne, Passage Joffery, and Passage de Panoramas
Printemps roof top cafe for the view
Catacombs tour with Localers

March 18 -

The Marias
Isle St. Louis and the banks of the Seine
Arab Institute - Beautiful building
San Chapelle
Luxembourg Gardens

March 19 -

Coppa Club near Tower Bridge
St. Dunstan's in the East
Leadenhall Market
Petticoat Lane
Spitalfields Market
Covet Garden

March 20 -

Walked through Kensington and Notting Hill
Portobello Road
Camden Market
Primark

March 21 -

Skygarden
Borough Market
Tate Modern
Millennium Bridge
One of my favorite walks: from Leicester Square ending at South Bank. Walk by: Trafalger Square, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Westminster, Big Ben, London Eye, South Bank, South Bank Book Market
Back to Leicester Square

Austin, Texas

March 8, 2016

I did so many amazing things on my week long trip to Austin, Texas. Most importantly, I got to reconnect with a wonderful friend I met while in Australia, LeighAnna. She now calls Austin home, so of course I had to go visit! I saw the sights of Austin and also took a day trip to San Antonio. I think I got a good feel of the city of Austin. Good food, abundant drinks at interesting and wonderful bars, and many outdoor activities.

Because I am such a visual person, I will let the photos tell the story of my trip in chronological order.

Here is a list of things I saw or visited by day.

Sunday, January 31:

Rainey Street
Ladybird lake
Driving tour of Austin
Yard Bar

Monday, February 1:

South Congress - including Uncommon Objects, Lucy in Disguise and Joe's Coffee
Toy Joy, Easy Tiger and a few other little shops around the downtown area
Texas State Capitol
Graffiti Park on East Baylor Street

Tuesday, February 2:

Toured Indeed.com's new digs
Zilker Park
Barton Springs

Wednesday, February 3:

Mission Trail in San Antonio including Missions San Jose, Espada, San Juan and Concepcion
The Alamo
San Antonio Riverwalk
Market Square

Thursday, February 4:

Enchanted Rock
Luckenbach
Fredricksberg
Oasis Brewery with stunning views of Lake Travis

Friday, February 5:

Butter Half mural
Greetings from Austin mural

Enjoy!

Rachel

Ladybird Lake trail

Ladybird Lake turtles

Ladybird Lake kayaks

Yard Bar

The. Best. Bar. (in the world.)

The employees were called "bark rangers"

Uncommon Objects

Joe's Coffee graffiti wall

Texas State Captiol

Graffiti Park

Austin skyline

View of the Austin skyline from Zilker Park.

Barton Springs

Mission San Jose

The biggest and most well known mission on the Mission Trail.

Mission San Jose

San Jose Mission

Mission San Jose

Mission Espada

Mission San Juan

Mission Concepcion

The Alamo

San Antonio River Walk

Enchanted Rock

Luckenbach

Luckenbach Chicken

Lake Travis

The wonderful view of Lake Travis from the Oasis Brewery patio.

Oasis beer flight

What a gorgeous view of Lake Travis in the background!

Enchanted Rock

Oasis Sunset

Brewery patio

Oasis

Patio views

Greetings from Austin mural

Butter half mural

Two Years Ago

February 15, 2016

Two years ago today, I landed in a foreign country that was about as far away from home as I could possibly go. I was so excited and nervous to explore a new country and I was blown away by how beautiful Australia is. Little did I know it would steal my heart during my discovery process. Here are some of my favorite photos from Sydney. Someday I will return to the wonderful land down under where my spirits are lifted and I truly feel at ease. <3