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I Think I Love LA
Sometimes when I arrive in the LA area, I think of the original (1982) Annie movie clip where she sees Oliver Warbucks’ mansion and just keeps singing, “I think I’m gonna like it here!” I could list SO many reasons why LA is one of my loves, but to keep this brief, I’ll just give…
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Sequoia National Park
If you like hiking through ancient forests with breathtaking views of canyons and rushing rivers and the tallest trees you have ever seen, with birds singing above you and leaves and sticks crackling and crunching beneath your feet, you might love Sequoia National Park. I said to Dan several times, “This place is a photographer’s…
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San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is one of my most favorite places to travel because that’s where my son Branden lives! (And, it’s also a really great place in and of itself!) I recently spent about three weeks there, and loved every minute of it. I’ve decided to use this blog post to share some of my favorite…
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New Orleans, Louisiana
There were two main reasons we visited New Orleans. (1)Dan’s team was playing in the Super Bowl (go Birds) and (2) Mardi Gras! We stuck around the area for about a week and a half (our trifecta was in Slidell), so that we could have a romantic dinner cruise on Valentine’s Day. (Thanks, Dan, it…
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Miami, Florida
We spent just one day in Miami Florida, and to sum it all up, it felt like a city-wide immersive art experience to me! We had two places on the itinerary: (1) Little Havana, and (2) Wynwood. Little Havana was all about the food for me, and Wynwood was all about the art. Turned out,…
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Florida Keys
First of all, I’ll start this post by saying that I LOVED the Florida Keys! We spent about five days there, and it was sheer bliss. I definitely want to go again some day! Secondly, I feel compelled to mention that it is not the most vanlife-friendly place in Florida. Having said all that, I…
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Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park was absolutely at the top of my National Park bucket list. I was intrigued and excited to see the “largest tropical wilderness in the United States” according to the National Park Service. My wish list was simple: (1)See an alligator, (2)See a crocodile, and (3) Take some amazing wildlife and nature photographs.…
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Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, home to hundreds of bird species, is a paradise destination for birders from all across the country. It is only 10 miles from Cocoa Beach and about an hour east of Orlando. If you happen to be visiting central-East Florida, I would highly recommend a visit! I have only just…
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Joanna’s Birthday Cruise
For my birthday, Dan took me on a 7-day Caribbean cruise, starting in Port Canaveral, Florida, and stopping in three places: Nassau- Bahamas, Amber Cove- Dominican Republic and Grand Turk- Turks and Caicos. We sailed with Carnival, on what is widely considered the best ship in their fleet–the Mardi Gras. We have been on several…
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Van for the Holidays: Charleston, St. Augustine, & Orlando
It was our first holiday season living and traveling full time in our camper van, and the best way I can describe it is– that it was different. But don’t worry, we still had a great time! One reason it was different is because living in a van is not conducive to the type of…
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I Didn’t Know My Family
My Backstory My childhood home consisted of my mother (Peppi Louise Musser) and my older sister Beth. There were no grandparents or any other biological relatives in my life. There was also no father, but that is a subject for another post. All I knew was that something bad happened to my mom in her…
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Washington DC… with a side of Phoenix, Arizona
Yes, I know the geographers out there are probably going, “Hey, hold on, wait just a minute…..those two places are thousands of miles apart?!” True! But, that’s where we were over the past couple weeks. You see, #vanlife brought us to Washington DC, and then we flew from there to Arizona for Thanksgiving with our…
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Philadelphia, PA
I have lots of love for the city of brotherly love. It is a wonderful place to experience American history, taste delicious food, and cheer for professional sports alongside some of the most passionate fans in the nation. It seemed only fitting to start our Philly weekend at LOVE park. Saturday After our traditional photo…
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The largest Amish community in the world is in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Until we visited Lancaster last weekend, I had only heard a few things about the Amish, and I wasn’t really certain about those things: I was very curious to learn more about the Amish and get some of my questions answered, so I…
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New Jersey
New Jersey has some very unique and distinctive characteristics, as compared with other states I have visited. In the short two weeks that we spent there, I noticed some things that make you go hmmmm (as the song says), and others that make you go ahhhhhh! I’ll do my best to explain. There is a…