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Tag: coronavirus

Great Lakes – Great Summer Road Trip

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On August 4, 2020

In Michigan, Project: State Parks, Road Trip, Travel, Wine Travel

Lake Michigan on Fire at Sunset

I am back from another epic road trip around the great lakes. Due to COVID-19, we had a difficult time planning our summer vacation. I believe this was our 5th or 6th different vacation plan. From canceled flights to mandatory quarantines, it is not easy to plan a trip in 2020. Because of this, we ended up staying close to home.

Here’s a look at our itinerary and the trip report to come:

Day 1: Straits State Park – exploring St. Ignace, Manistique, Kitch-iti-Kipi

Day 2: Fayette State Park – exploring the historic townsite

Day 3: Heading west – Laughing Whitefish Falls, Canyon Falls, Lake of the Clouds

Day 4: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park – Adventure Mine, Presque Isle Waterfalls

Day 5: Porcupine Mountains – paddling Lake Superior, Union Bay Campground

Day 6: Heading south – Agate Falls, Bond Falls

Day 7: Door County – Peninsula State Park, Cana Island Lighthouse, Wine Tasting

Day 8: Back to Michigan – Bailey’s Harbor Lighthouse, SS Badger

Day 9: Ludington State Park & White River Light Station

As with our other big road trips, this was a very busy trip, but it was good to get out into nature after so long being stuck at home. We were not the only people to have this idea, though. Everyone near the Porcupine Mountains area told us that it was much busier than the typical summer. The campgrounds we stayed at were packed pretty much every night we were out. If you are heading into nature this summer, just be aware that you are not the only people doing this. Prepare to be around people and be sure to take the necessary precautions to keep you and your family safe.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

How to Feed Your Wanderlust in Quarantine

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On April 27, 2020

In Travel

New York Skyline from the Norwegian Gem

I don’t know about you, but being stuck at home day in and day out is really starting to get to me. We had a trip planned a few weeks ago that we had to cancel and that really stung. When the highlight of your week is going to the grocery store or catching some sun on your deck, you know you’re going stir crazy!

  • Reminisce over past trips: Edit photos, get out your travel souvenirs, make a photo book, write about your adventures, create a photo gallery wall with your travel photos. I just got a photo travel map to add pictures to.
  • Read travel books: Libraries are closed but many have resources available to check out electronically. Visit your library’s website for more information. While it takes longer and does cost some money, pick a dream destination and order a book from Amazon. I got a National Parks book and Northern California book to read while stuck at home. Not into reading travel guides? There are great memoirs and novels out there to feed your travel bug too.
  • Binge travel shows: With so many streaming services out there these days, you can always find something to watch! To fuel your wanderlust, I recommend checking out National Parks: America’s Best Idea (Amazon Prime), Travel Man (Hulu), Expedition: Unknown (Hulu),  Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Hulu), Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix), and Samantha Brown’s Places to Love (free on PBS.com and the PBS app).

The view from the top of South Bubble Mountain

  • Create your travel bucket list: Where do you dream to visit? Make a list. Chris and I did this a few years ago and without even realizing it, when I found the list again last summer, we had already crossed a few places off of it. Organizing our thoughts helped us to make decisions about future trips.
  • Plan your dream trip: While you have extra time, research a bucket list trip. Figure out where you would stay, eat, what you would like to see. Start at trip on TripAdvisor or make a vacation Pinterest board. A Cornell study shows that planning a trip can make you as happy, if not happier, than actually taking it. If you, like me have a flight credit from a cancelled trip, pick a place and book it. We booked flights to California for this summer. I know there is a possibility that it won’t be safe to travel when that date comes, but right now it feels good to have something to look forward to and plan for. And if we have to cancel it, I have already saved a lot of places on TripAdvisor for when we can actually get out there.
  • Research places to go near your home: Eventually this virus will go away and you will probably not be able to hop on a plane right then. Find places nearby that you can escape to for a little bit. There may be some places close to your house that you never even knew about before. Check out Google Maps, TripAdvisor, Yelp, ask your friends on Facebook for inspiration. Check out onlyinyourstate.com for unique ideas!

Grand Canyon South Rim

Travel show host Samantha Brown posted something a few weeks ago that really stuck me and I wanted to share it with you. She writes on her blog: “I had to go back to work [hosting travel shows] a week after 9-11. There was the financial crisis of 2007, H1N1, floods, fires and volcanic eruptions. All of these events abruptly changed my immediate course of travel..But one thing I’ve learned in two decades? Travel comes back.” Travel always comes back.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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