A Capitol 4th: Washington, DC.

TravelingLoveBug

Washington D.C. is a spectacular place. It is home to President Obama, Congress, and is the capital of the United States of America. I visited over the holiday weekend and stayed in the neighboring city of Old Town, Alexandria, VA with a wonderful friend from college. Old Town is a quaint little place, and one of the cutest I have ever seen. It is lined with brick sidewalks, gorgeous brownstones, and wonderful shops, and bakeries. I enjoyed walking up and down the walkways, and sightseeing around the historic buildings, and churches. In DC, we stopped by the White House, the Washington Memorial, the National Mall, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, the National Archives, the US Navy Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, China Town, the American History Smithsonian Museum, and the Natural History Smithsonian Museum. We also spent some time in Georgetown, which was absolutely amazing. It felt as if I stepped into a time machine and traveled back a few decades. Although the stores are new and modern, the architecture is old and historic. Georgetown was also lined with brick buildings, walkways, and brownstones.

Wonderful Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia and all of its quainty goodness:  DSC_0623 Read more →

Boating Day at Peanut Island, WPB, FL

TravelingLoveBug

Summer is my absolute favorite season in Florida. You may ask, isn’t it summer year round in Florida? Well, my answer for those curious love bugs out there is sorta. For Northerners it is; however, for the rest of us Floridians we know the real best time to be in Florida is October-March. So you may now be thinking, well wait a second here–you said your favorite season is summer?  Yes, it still is, and I will explain why. Summer in Florida is like living out a perfect beach day for 3 months in a row year over year. The water is crystal clear because the sky is the bluest, and the sun is the highest. Our pools and beach water are the warmest they ever will be (due to the extreme heat, and lack of pool heaters obviously–who needs them in Florida?), and the roads are clear of snow birds! Another great perk of the summer time down South is the lack of restaurant waits on Friday and Saturday nights! Being a frequent restauranteur, I truly enjoy this one. Of course, please take no offense to you snowbirds out there, I too LOVE being in Florida from October-March because it is our best weather and sunsets. I joyfully welcome your touristy dollars to continue enriching our Floridian economy…just stop going 35 in a 45. Thank you. I spent last weekend in my hometown of West Palm Beach visiting my amazing father for Father’s Day. We had a great day boating to Peanut Island and hanging out by our pool. I am truly blessed to have such a great, hardworking role-model in my life. I have never met anyone who works harder than him. He loves us so much and lives to provide a fabulous life for his family. For those of you who know me personally, you know I am a huge daddy’s girl. My dad is one of my best friends, my biggest fan, and gives me the truest advice known to man. He also has an impeccable sense of charcter, and can sniff the sketchy ones out right away. I still have a lot of learning to do from this man, but if I turn out anything like him, I am guaranteed a life of happiness and success. I also acquired my love of photography and traveling from him. We have big dreams, and we go after them each and every time.

Amazing view pulling into GORGEOUS Peanut Island. #GoPro
Amazing view pulling into GORGEOUS Peanut Island. #GoPro
What kind of Father's Day tribute would this be without an AWESOME throwback to circa 1990.
What kind of Father’s Day tribute would this be without an AWESOME throwback to circa 1990?

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Living in a Summer Wonderland: Picnic Island, South West Florida!

TravelingLoveBug

Picnic Island is a gorgeous little place only accessible by boat just before the Sanibel Island bridge. I spent the day there with co-workers and enjoyed every second of it. One of the many wonderful things about living in Florida, is having the flexibility to enjoy fresh ocean air, sand between your toes, and warm ocean waters whenever you want! Life gets so busy and stressful these days! It is so important to take a step back and breath in all that life has to offer. Whether it is taking the time to be a tourist in your own town or visiting your favorite lunch spot over and over again, we have to strive to make the most out of this beautiful life we have been so graciously given. If we don’t, what is the point of living at all? Live it big, live it full, live it with people you truly love.

During season, Picnic Island is swarmed with tourists and locals alike looking for that middle of the ocean, islandy feel. You are not only guaranteed a fantastic picnic with great views, but you are right smack dab in the middle of a 3 in 1 ecosystem. Like I have stated so many times before, SWFL is an incredibly interesting place. We have beautiful sugar sand beaches, and not to far from that we have panthers, deer, bob cats, and black bears patrolling our forest like marsh! Within the 3 in 1 ecosystem, you have access to great views of the water and sandbar, mangroves and swampland, and trees you thought only existed up North. Enjoy our beautiful day venture through this fabulous island!IMG_4549 Read more →

Weekend Adventures: Key West, Florida

Weekend Adventures: Key West, Florida

TravelingLoveBug

Key West is a fabulous, yet historic place. Many of my childhood summers involved road trips to the Florida Keys. I have created great memories there, and was so happy when my best friend, Ally, called to tell me we were celebrating her 24th birthday in Key West. Me, along with 6 girlfriends, made our way down the East Coast of Florida, across the gorgeous Seven Mile Bridge, to the the very last key to celebrate Memorial Day and our very best friend! Without a doubt, Key West exceeded our expectations, provided a platform for us to laugh, reminisce, enjoy drinks, great food, and tan our sun-kissed skin. We went to our favorite bar, Flying Monkeys, and rented beach cruisers to get us around the island. We stayed at The Palms Hotel, (stay tuned for reviews below) a very small bed and breakfast, and explored the quaint culture of this old Florida city. There is so much to do and see in Key West it is almost impossible to accomplish it all in one weekend!

The first stop on our long trip down the coast of Florida led us to the beautiful island of Islamorada, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Tiki Hut, a wonderful little gem with great views of the crystal clear water and awesome live music!

The views were absolutely wonderful!
The views were absolutely wonderful!
DSC_0502
This guy was extremely talented! I can’t get enough of islandy music. Bring me a mojito and some steel drums any day of the week, and I am there!

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A little piece of South West Florida

TravelingLoveBug

South West Florida is one of those places whose hidden gems will transform your whole experience of this quaint little place. The problem with it is, you have to know where to go at all times. You have to look for the hidden treasure, but once you find it, you always want more. If it isn’t completely obvious by now, the ocean drives me. It lights a passion in me that I cannot express. I am a complete and utter beach bum. There is something so fantastic about salty hair and sun-kissed skin. I just love everything about it. I love being a Florida girl. I love being blessed with the ability to sink my toes in the sand at any time.

I pretended to be on vacation this past week. I encourage everyone to be a tourist in your own town. You never know what you will come across! Plus, it is quite fun! Although pretending, I had a great reason driving my imagination. Sean’s family was in town visiting from Pittsburgh, and vacationed with us. We went out to dinner every night, enjoyed the perfect weather, and had so much fun catching up. This blog post will showcase our weekend from dinner at Nervous Nellies on Fort Myers Beach, to bar hopping the classiness of the good ole FMB, all the way down to a beachy pool day in Naples. We had sunshine, drinks, and great food. What more could you ask for?

If you haven't tried Nervous Nellies, I highly recommend you jump in your car and go right now. The views are great, the live music is fun and tropical, and the food...oh my god....the food is FANTASTIC. The menu is gigantic! It takes 15 minutes to figure out what you want. The portions are huge, and will leave you will leftovers the next day. Try this colorful place out. You wont regret it.
If you haven’t tried Nervous Nellies, I highly recommend you jump in your car and go right now. The views are great, the live music is fun and tropical, and the food…oh my god….the food is FANTASTIC. The menu is gigantic! It takes at least 15 minutes to figure out what you want. The portions are huge, and will leave you with leftovers the next day. Try this colorful place out. You wont regret it.

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The beauty that is West Palm Beach, Fl & the Amazing Mother who lives there!

TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

I AM HOME. I AM HOME. I AM HOME. I love being home, and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of the amazing moms out there! I was born and raised in West Palm Beach, and it is truly one of the BEST places in Florida. The weather is sunny and warm, it is on the East Coast so you have beautiful blue waters, there is a ton going on, and it is close to Miami if you are craving that true metro feel. There is so much to do here–from beach life to shopping to night life, you can constantly stay busy. There is also a big boating community down here as well, and no surprise, I grew up on a boat. In fact, my first word was “pescado” (fish) in Spanish but I probably said it more like “pe-cao.” I have a deep passion for the ocean as if you didn’t know from this blog. The East Coast of Florida is known for its beautiful sunrises. I woke up early this morning to catch some photos on my GoPro, and boy was it a treasure. We found a gorgeous bluish purple jellyfish (yes, we have jellyfish here) and a capsized boat. I feel sorry for the owner. Genuine rookie mistake. The East Coast of Florida is also known for their huge Cuban community, and being from a big Cuban family, we had to stop at the Cuban bakery and pick up fresh Cuban bread, croquetas and pastelitos. DELICIOUS! I can’t find good Cuban food anywhere in Fort Myers! PS. Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mothers out there. I know I treasure and love the heck out of mine. Also, check out the flowers from my parent’s garden! The purple orchids were taken from my grandpa’s garden, but nonetheless, we were able to make a wonderful floral arrangement. Northing like home grown flowers! They are so beautiful.

DCIM100GOPRO
Hands down one of the most beautiful jellyfish I have seen in Florida in a long while! #GoPro

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Fiji Day 6: Happy Easter from Namale as we celebrated our last morning in paradise

TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs!

The Namale life is still as fresh in our minds as the daily mojitos we enjoyed in SavuSavu during our time there. We can still smell the fresh mint, and taste the refreshing lime as we reminisce on our islandy days in this sunny wonderland. We dream of operating on Namale time, and crave our 3:00pm afternoon nap in the hammock overlooking the ocean. I can feel my eyes slowly closing just thinking about the sound of the waves smashing into the sand. We were so blessed to rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection in true paradise. We enjoyed Easter morning by starting the day with room service. The Namale staff took our breakfast orders, as well as the entire resorts, the night before at dinner. They brought room service to each bure. We were delivered fresh breads in a beautiful hand woven palm frond basket.

Sean and I relaxed in the sun, went paddle boarding, and said goodbye to our favorite parts of the resort! We had such a blast paddle boarding. We laughed the entire time because we kept falling…we don’t know if it was the pitcher of mojitos we drank before or the waves crashing into the boards. All we know is that in the midst of laughing our butts off, we were stranded in the middle of the lagoon for 2 hours laughing hysterically. The hotel staff even took it upon themselves to take the boat out to check on us not only once but twice to see if we wanted a lift back to the resort. I will never forget that Easter morning of laughter. I wish I could go back. The Namale team does an excellent job of making you feel like a true part of their family. Upon leaving, they have you sign a cement brick, and they place the dried bricks around the entire resort enticing you to come back and find it.  We were so sad to leave as they loaded our suitcases into the van and sang us traditional Fijian goodbye song.

Happy Easter! We love our Handmade Palm Frond basket.
Happy Easter! We love our Handmade Palm Frond basket.
Happy Easter! He has risen!
Happy Easter! He has risen!

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Fiji Day 5: A trip into the village of Naidi, SavuSavu.

TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

I know it has been awhile since my last post, so please accept my apologies. I have been adjusting to the time change and jet lag! Yes, it really is as bad as everyone makes it seem. Sean says it is all mental, and he luckily has not suffered. I, along with many people that I have spoken to are suffering from a bad case of it. I finally have begun to feel normal this weekend, and it has been a full 8 days since I landed. This post will showcase our last full day in Fiji. We went into the village of Naidi, experienced the culture, tasted their homemade ice cream, and did a little shopping. We are so incredibly blessed to live the life we do in the USA. Yes, Fiji is complete paradise, but the Fijians who live there really do live in villages. The homes were like nothing I have seen in the U.S. Many homes had blankets covering the windows with tin roofs and concrete bricks that made up the frame of the house. Out of respect, I did not photograph or post any photos of the houses and people around them. Below you will find pictures of the village streets and markets. It was truly an eye opening experience, and I feel incredibly blessed to have had the upbringing I did. When we finally got back to the resort, we did a lot of relaxing, and then got ready for another ocean front private dinner.
We, for the first time ever, got to see the moon rise from the ocean. It was remarkable and like nothing I have ever seen! I had no idea the moon was even capable of rising like this. The moonlight was just beautiful.

The ocean opposite of the village.
The ocean opposite of the village.
There were 3 natural hot water springs outside of the village. Some Fijians wait there turn and cook there dinner over these hot springs.
There were 3 natural hot water springs outside of the village. Many Fijians wait their turn to cook dinner over these hot springs to save money on electricity bills.

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Fiji Day 4: Celebrating our 3 year anniversary with Waterfalls, Massages, and Beachy Deliciousness

TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

As a quick update, Sean and I are safely back in Florida. We arrived yesterday around 11:00am EST. It was a very long journey with multiple strenuous layovers, but it was all worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Sean and I could not have asked for a better way to end our journey through the South Pacific, than shutting down our vacation in Fiji. In this post, you will see how we spent our fourth day. Although a month early, we celebrated our 3-year anniversary together, and what better way to celebrate it than in paradise! For those of you who do not know Sean and I personally, we do not have a “typical anniversary date.” We met in May of 2011 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina while interning for University Directories. We shortly began hanging out/dating, and the rest was history! Hence, we do not have an actual date as it all just kind of happened

We started off our 4th day in paradise with breakfast in bed, and we then made our way over to the spa where we were given a 105 minute heavenly couples massage while listening to the waves crash against the rocks. After hanging out at the spa, we made our way to a beautiful waterfall, and had a very nice picnic lunch. That night, the Namale staff created a wonderful dinner for Sean and I to enjoy on our own private stretch of the beach. The stars in Fiji are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. You can see each and every little twinkle including the Milky Way! It was unbelievable. I tried to catch it on my camera, but I had some technical difficulties. After our romantic dinner, we went to the Kava Bowl, Namale’s entertainment center. Sean and I have a friendly competitive nature, and I am proud to say I beat him in Air Hockey best 2 out of 3. I guess I cant fail to mention that he beat me in bowling. We had an absolute blast, and even ordered a pitcher of mojitos (our favorite) & chips and salsa late into the night. We also began watching Anchorman 2 in their movie room, but fell asleep. Overall we had an absolutely fantastic day!

We enjoyed amazing breakfast in bed!
Champagne breakfast in bed! Take me back!
Enjoy a close up
Enjoy a close up of our yummy breakfast! We were spoiled by the Namale staff!

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Fiji Day 3: Vinaka! Secluded meals, Horseback riding, Cave explorations, and Kava!

TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

Sean and I highly recommend a trip to Fiji! We wish we didn’t have to leave because we’re having a total blast. Honestly, we have had so much fun together. Our days have been full of exploring, relaxation and laughter. Today was absolutely wonderful. The Namale team set us up with 2 Private meals, and they were just to die for! We had breakfast on their “Lover’s Deck” looking over the ocean by the jacuzzi, and then dinner in a romantic cave. They decorated an oceanside cave with at least 100 tea lights so it was glimmering in the moonlight beautifully. In between meals, we went horseback riding on the beach and around the property. We also walked on reefs and explored the caves finding any and all hermit crabs we could find. After dinner, Sean became the “Bametti” in the Kava Ceremony.  The “Bametti” mixes the kava in a huge bowl, and has the honor of handing it out. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with the workers (local Fijians) drinking Kava. I have some great videos of it that I will share once we get back to the states!

We had the most wonderful private breakfast. Here is the picture of the setup! Love my Seansy.
We had the most wonderful private breakfast. Here is the picture of the setup! Love my Seansy.
A close up of our private Champagne breakfast! It was delicious. The blueberry pancakes reminded me soo much of my best friend, Ally, who loves them! Miss you Als!
A close up of our private Champagne breakfast! It was delicious. The blueberry pancakes reminded me soo much of my best friend, Ally, who loves them! Miss you Als!

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