New Zealand Road Trip: Coromandel & Raglan Return

At this point in the trip, after Hobbiton, we were winding down and didn’t have much of agenda for the last couple of days. We decided to voyage up to the Coromandel Peninsula to check out the hot water beach.

It was about a two hour drive from Matamata, and unfortunately we ended up being a little disappointed. You’re supposed to be able to dig into the beach and reveal little hot water pools, but at least at the time we went, the one small spot of beach with hot water underneath was quite crowded. There were a few groups enjoying their hot tubs—and you could see steam coming over—but there were many other groups digging to no avail. We tried our best at digging, digging, and digging, but ultimately there was no hot tub for us!

We didn’t have a set agenda for where to go next, so we decided to head back toward Raglan and try again for surfing Manu Bay. But first, we stopped overnight at a pretty epic camp spot and our best sunset of the trip:

We fared a little better at Ranglan for attempt number two. Bryan got some waves. I tried the point break and kind of caught a wave, but quickly fell off. Oh well, at least I tried, I guess. Then it was sadly already time to pack up the boards in preparation for the flight.

We had our last dinner and breakfast in the van to clear the fridge, then headed north to Auckland—the last stop for me.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Hobbiton

This might be my most important post of the trip, since we based our whole itinerary around our reservation at Hobbiton. We did the second breakfast tour, and it was well worth it. We lucked out to extreme measures with the weather. It can be really windy, rainy, and overcast in Spring in New Zealand, but we had the perfect sunny day. It even started raining immediately after our tour was done. Talk about good fortune!

First of all, we woke up early here in our van:

We were only a short drive from Matamata, where Hobbiton is located. We drove up through the green rolling pastures (the sheep weren’t featured in any of the movies.) Here we go!

I got a coffee from the cafe, and got scolded (by Bryan) for almost making us late! Then we took a short bus ride to the movie set.

I won’t spoil the experience with all of my photos, but the scenery and hobbit holes looked amazing. There was so much impressive attention to detail. We loved every second of it.

Our guide started out on a working holiday visa. Imagine that being your work away job in New Zealand! And there was a guy on our tour who had learned some songs from the movie on the tin whistle and played them for us.

The general scenery was also gorgeous:

We got to go inside of one hobbit hole. There was so much to see, I think I could’ve stayed all day, or moved in forever! The attention to detail continued, with the fireplace lit and a pipe still smoking on the end table.

Hobbit life alwaysseems pretty sweet to me! Next we headed to the Green Dragon Inn for a pint. I enjoyed a lovely cider by the fireside.

Then we had made it to second breakfast. It’s a good thing we were hungry. All the food was delicious!

I have about a hundred more photos, but it’s best to go see for yourself. And rewatch all the movies while you’re at it! It was a truly magical experience.

New Zealand Road Trip: Rotorua and Mount Maunganui

After our Māori cultural experience in Rotorua, we found a place nearby to park for the night. It was a little tight, and we got one of the last freedom camping spots. There was a nice lake for our morning view:

We spent the next day in Rotorua and ended up visiting the Polynesian Spa. I didn’t take any photos inside, but there are a few natural hot springs in the town and plenty of massage places and spas. The Polynesian Spa was on the higher end, and we got to pamper ourselves soaking in different temperatures of hot springs and a cold plunge. We also got really nice couple’s mud massages! It was a splendid way to relax (and shower) after life on the road.

After our spa day, we drove about an hour north to Mount Maunganui. We stayed the night, though it was a bit difficult to find a camping spot. The lots in town only had a few spaces and the lots outside of town were isolated and felt kind of sketchy. I think this was the only place we had real trouble finding a place that felt right. We eventually landed on a nice marina spot for the night.

The next day, it was raining, so we found a laundromat in the morning, but by the afternoon it had cleared up enough to go surfing (this was kind of a surf trip, remember?)

It was extremely windy, so I had a struggle session, and I think we encountered 3-4 seasons of weather in about an hour, including a pretty double rainbow! My board and I almost blew off the beach as I walked back to the van.

In the evening, we had a nice meal at Latitude 37 and then drove to camp near our location for the next day: Hobbiton in Matamata! Of course that will deserve its own post. Coming soon…

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Tongariro, Bungy, & Rotorua

It was time for our biggest New Zealand day yet! We fueled up on ramen in the van on our last night in Wellington, then we really wanted to squeeze in as much as possible, so we decided to try to fit Tongariro National Park, bungy jumping (for me), and a Rotorua Maori cultural experience in one day. It was packed in, but the schedule was definitely doable with some time to spare.

We woke up super early from our parking lot in Wellington and drove about 3.5 hours north to Tongariro National Park. We started with a short walk to Tawhai Falls (also known as Gollum’s Pool) since we were on a Lord of the Rings streak.

Next, we parked the van in town (not an easy feat, but we were able to street park) and did a longer hike of the Taranaki Falls Loop, which was a little under 4 hours. It was an easy hike with gorgeous views from below and above the falls.

We could’ve enjoyed much more time in the park, but we were on a time crunch to get to my bungy jumping appointment. We grabbed some lunch in the van and drove a little over an hour to Taupo (AJ Hackett Bungy). To be honest, I was feeling pretty nervous at that point and wouldn’t have minded if we missed the appointment! But we made it with time to spare, and they let me walk right up and jump early (lucky me!) I was actually a little relieved to see that it wasn’t as high as the really, really high other bungy jumping locations in New Zealand. I felt less anxious and more excited as I got my harness fitted and walked out to the platform. The staff members were really friendly and reassuring, so I felt better. But when I made the jump, I uncontrollably screamed “OH MY GOD!” I don’t think anything can prepare you for that feeling.

At the bottom, a boat lowered me down, and I got to have a nice little ride back to the dock to hike back up to the starting point. It was the perfect experience! I almost considered jumping again, which you can do for about $80 more, but the weather was starting to turn rainy. Onwards we went to our next destination…

We drove another hour and arrived early to our cultural Maori dinner in Rotorua. Just enough time for a van shower and change in the parking lot before the show. In Rotorua, there are a few different Maori villages that offer tourists the opportunity to learn about Maori culture. We weren’t sure if it would be cheesy and extremely touristy, but we decided to go for it, and I’m glad we did.

We went with the Mitai Maori Village. We spent the evening watching demonstrations and performances, hearing a Q&A session about Maori culture, and eating an amazing (and massive!) hangi meal. I felt like we were able to learn a lot about a special aspect of New Zealand, so it felt worthwhile—though it was a very large group and definitely a touristy activity. After dinner, we walked back down to the stream and saw a few glow worms along the trail in the dark.

And that was a wrap on our most jam-packed New Zealandy day!

New Zealand Road Trip: A Weekend in Wellington

After our rainy and windy drive through Taranaki, we spent the night in a field near Waiinu beach and woke up to this:

The wind was on the waves, so we started to make our three hour drive down to Wellington. On the way in, Bryan had to stop and buy a new laptop, and I learned that driving and parking the van in the big city is no fun!

Luckily, we found a big parking lot for freedom camping and there were a few spots still open. We left the van and opted for Ubering (or DiDi-ing) around the city for the weekend.

We hiked up Mt. Victoria and hit some Lord of the Rings filming photo opps along the way.

I learned that Wellington is very windy! The city gets 175 days a year of over 60 knot winds. We could definitely feel it as we walked up to the summit of Mt. Victoria. The views were beautiful, though!

Burger joints are popular in New Zealand. We tried Burger Liquor for dinner and really liked it. Their burgers, curly fries, beer, and milkshakes met our refined American standards.

Our parking lot overnight stay was just fine. And in the morning we headed to a delicious brunch at Neo Cafe & Eatery, then to the National Museum of New Zealand. I originally wanted to go because I thought it was free, but when we got there we found out it’s only free for New Zealand residents. However, the $35 NZD (was about $17 USD at the time) was really worth it. It’s a very well-done museum, and there was so much to see and discover!

Later that day, we visited Weta Workshop, another of the LOTR stops on our trip. This is where they make many of the props and costumes for the LOTR and Hobbit movies, plus so many other movies with magical props and designs! It was really neat to learn how the actors get into character and see (and touch!) some of original movie props.

We probably would’ve stayed another night because the drive to get to Wellington is quite long, but we had big plans for the next day. I’ll tell you about that next time. But for now, I’ll leave you with some late night van ramen:

New Zealand Road Trip: Rainy Day

After our attempt at surfing in Raglan, we camped overnight near the Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. The freedom camping spot was really pretty when we arrived at just about sunset, but it was high tide. We didn’t end up seeing the rock formations because when we woke up at low tide it was rainy and windy.

What a change overnight:

We had gotten pretty lucky with weather up to this point, so we couldn’t complain. We decided to set out on our route to Mt. Taranaki, even though we didn’t have high hopes of seeing anything. And we were right! Here’s where a lovely view might have been:

On our way to the viewpoint, the van company texted us with a warning that we should pull over due to high winds. So we were actually stuck for a couple hours near the viewpoint. We took a short hike around and had some lunch, then we needed to find a rainy day activity.

Enter, the movies! We had a great time visiting Hawera Cinemas. They had comfy seats, table service, and authentic replicas of props from the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies. Plus nice people. We went full New Jersey and saw the Bruce Springsteen movie on the day it came out. It was a rainy day win.

New Zealand Road Trip: Raglan

Before setting off on this trip, we agreed that it wasn’t a surf trip but more of an adventure trip with some surfing along the way. However, we did bring our boards around the world, so we were hoping for some surf. After we made our way around Northland (the northern region of New Zealand’s north island), we headed down to Raglan on the coast.

There weren’t many (or any?) free camping areas in Raglan, so we paid to stay in this big field with bathrooms and showers. It was windy, cold, and rainy the night we arrived, but the next day turned out nice.

The drive out and down a winding hill to the ocean was beautiful. And there were certainly waves that day.

I didn’t take any photos of the actual surf spot, but it was a point break with a long paddle that tested the limits of my comfort zone. I decided to paddle out to see if I felt like being brave enough to go for any waves.

It turns out, I was not brave enough since with point breaks you usually have to start at the most powerful peak of the wave, which is usually also crowded with the best surfers. I lingered on the side hoping for the leftovers if someone fell off early or missed a wave. But, I was a little too timid, so I watched from the sidelines. Then the waves started getting bigger, so it was time to head back in. Bryan and I tried to paddle in, but we were fighting hard against the channel. The only way to get in was to catch a wave, so I caught a huge one and rode it on my belly all the way in.

Whew! I’ll need to work on my point break courage, but there was a debatably well-earned van shower and brunch at Orca Eatery. I also tried NZ’s delicious Hokey Pokey ice cream for the first time. That’s a new favorite.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Waipu Caves

After we left Spirits Bay, we experienced our first dump station visit. This was my first time staying in a van, so it was a new adventure for me. I thought a dump station would be a bigger, bathroom-type room, but it’s basically just a hole with a water spout nearby. Unloading the grey water and refilling the fresh water were fairly easy—it just took some adjusting to park the van in the right spot for the hoses to reach. And I won’t go into details, but after our first cleaning of the van’s cassette toilet, we decided to only use it in case of serious emergencies! Most of the campgrounds had their own bathrooms anyway, so that plan worked out well.

Onward! That night was another one where we arrived in the dark and didn’t see the view until the next morning. I knew from Google Maps that we parked on the side of Coca Cola lake (Rotopokaka) and that there was a beach nearby. This is the beauty we woke up to in the morning:

The beach wasn’t far away, either. I walked up a sandy hill and came upon this view on the other side:

Wow! What a perfect place to camp for the night. I was hoping for some waves, but there weren’t any, so after my walk we continued on our driving journey.

New Zealand is known for having glow worm caves, and a lot of people go to the Waitomo Caves which are bigger and offer black water rafting. We wanted a less crowded and more relaxed glow worm experience, so we decided to check out the smaller Waipu Caves Scenic Reserve. It was only a short walk from the parking lot until we found this entry to the cave:

We were glad to have our headlamps as we waded in the dark through some ankle-deep water.

I didn’t see any glow worms, and I was actually going to keep walking into knee-deep water when Bryan stopped me and told me to turn off my head lamp. There were glow worms everywhere! As soon as I looked up, I could see hundreds of them on the cave walls above us like a starry night sky.

My iPhone 14 didn’t do it justice, but you get the idea:

Overall, I’m glad we stopped at the caves. The whole Waitomo black water rafting is probably more of an experience if you’re looking for a half-day/full-day experience, but Waipu was an impressive little stop on our road trip.

Thankful

Hi there! I’m pausing my usual travel posts to say thank you for reading this blog! I’ve been keeping it up for nine years, and I’m grateful there’s someone listening on the other side of the screen… some of you have even been following along the whole way. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day with loved ones and/or doing something you enjoy, and I wish you many blessings to come.

New Zealand Road Trip: Spirits Bay

Our next stop was my favorite camping spot of the trip. We left Whangarei and drove almost all the way to the northern tip of the north island, Spirits Bay.

It was so picturesque, with horses roaming on the hillside and a short walk to the ocean. We parked our camper van in a field and walked to the beach just in time for sunset.

I wish we had unpacked our boards a little sooner, because the waves were perfect that evening. But they were still wrapped in cardboard and plastic wrap to protect them through the flights. We waited to surf the next morning when it was windier and the waves weren’t as good.

But we still paddled out and had some fun. Then we made a nice breakfast with perfect weather and a perfect view, so I really can’t complain.

I would 100% recommend staying longer than just one night in this magical place. But we only had a couple weeks with so much to see and do, so we headed off that afternoon for our next stop.

Spirits Bay, I hope I get to see you again someday!

New Zealand Road Trip: Whangarei Falls

After stopping in Sydney, it was time for the true vacation part of the trip… a campervan adventure in New Zealand!

I woke up early to fly into Auckland and met Bryan in the airport. Our flights conveniently landed at about the same time without any hiccups. We got a ride to pick up our van from Wendekreisen, and we were all set to move in!

We decided to unpack our clothes into the drawers and leave our suitcases at the office. That ended up being a very good decision, because every bit of space counts when you’re living in a van for two weeks, especially with surfboards.

Our next stop was the grocery store (Pak’nSave) to stock up. I love grocery shopping in other countries to see the local delicacies, like these green-lipped mussels and golden kiwi:

Then we headed north into the Northland region. I was nervous about driving the van in the dark on unfamiliar roads (I would later learn that I didn’t need to be), so we planned to drive about two hours to our first stop. Since it was already getting late, we decided to save our groceries and grab takeout from a burger place on the way.

When we arrived in Whangarei, our plan A campsite was full—not surprising, because we knew it only had four parking spots—so we moved on to plan B (Waikaraka Layby). In the dark, it just looked like a parking lot on the side of the road to spend the night. We set up our bed, put out the window shades, and settled in for our first night in the van.

In the morning, we woke up to this view:

Not too bad for our first morning in New Zealand!

Then it was time to start exploring. Our first official stop in Northland was the beautiful Whangarei Falls. Fun fact I learned: “Wh” is pronounced like an “F” sound. I’m glad my friend told me that before I left home!

The falls were lovely, and they led us to an easy trail where we did a short hike past kauri trees.

Some of the trees are thousands of years old! We had to be very careful to clean our shoes at the boot-cleaning stations, because many of the kauri trees are dying due to a disease from foreign soil.

It was a nice, peaceful walk to took us to another waterfall:

We looped back to the van for some lunch sandwiches, on our newly discovered world’s best bread, Vogel’s Bread, and prepared to drive further north.

We stopped to check the surf at Shipwreck Bay, but it was too small, and there wasn’t anywhere to park the van unless we wanted to take the risk of driving onto the sand. We did not! (And I think the van company forbids that anyway.) But it was another beautiful view:

We continued our drive north to one of my favorite spots on the trip, Spirits Bay, just in time for sunset. I’ll tell you more about that next time!

Stopping in Sydney

After my work trip to Melbourne, of course I needed to make a stop in my former home in Sydney. My friend Mike is still living there, and it was close enough for a quick visit. I left Melbourne early in the morning a short Jetstar flight. I found I wasn’t needing much sleep due to the excitement of working in the events industry and a healthy amount of jet lag.

I arrived at Mike’s apartment around mid day and we went to grab some delicious middle eastern food for lunch.

Both of us were still on the clock for work, so we spent the afternoon catching up between calls and emails. At night, we had some tasty Chinese food for dinner and stopped at a pub. Then, I forgot to take a picture, but we went to one of my favorite movie theaters, Golden Age Cinema, to see the new Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio movie, which I thought was fantastic. I love how the Golden Age theatre is small and intimate and offers a carefully curated set of movies. I’ve stayed on their weekly newsletter since 2019! Plus, they have good snacks.

When I lived in Sydney, I spent a fair amount of time in Bondi Beach (even though shockingly I never surfed there!) The next day, I felt compelled to revisit , especially because the yoga studio I used to go to has since moved to Bondi. I took a morning class at Om House, where I was sad to find that my former teacher Eileen was not teaching, but I took a lovely class with Trevor.

After class, I ordered breakfast at a nearby cafe and bookstore (Gertrude & Alice). As soon as I sat down, I saw a sign that said “No laptops,” which I fully respect in a bookstore, but which wouldn’t suit me because it was my last day of work before two weeks of vacation!

I ate very quickly, and it was immediately time for second breakfast. I headed over to Cali Press for a smoothie and banana bread— a very popular item in Australia.

I finished my most essential work and decided to leave some for the very last minute in the airport the next morning (risky!). That was because my visit happened to very fortunately coincide with SXSW Sydney music festival. Mike works in the music industry, so he invited me to meet him and his colleagues at a rooftop happy hour. I had a great time and met his coworkers from all over the place—New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, and even a band from way back home in the Hudson Valley, NY.

That night, we went out with Mike’s friends and checked out a few shows. SXSW Sydney is a very scaled down version of the bigger SXSW, but there were bands playing in bars and stages in the streets throughout the city. I’m happy I got to be a part of it!

Then it was time for bed and an early rise to fly to New Zealand the next day. My visit to Sydney was too short this time, but it was very sweet!

Work Trip & Wave Pool in Melbourne

Earlier this year, I started a new job. When I was applying, I knew there was a strong chance of some international travel, so when they asked me to go manage an event in Melbourne, Australia, I was excited to say yes! It would be my first visit back to Australia since I did a working holiday visa back in 2019-2020.

I decided to make a whole workaction out of it. I would fly to Melbourne to work the conference, visit my friend Mike in Sydney, and then meet Bryan in New Zealand for actual vacation. I carefully selected my flights and packed my bags.

Of course, the morning I was set to fly out, I woke up to a text message that my flights were rerouted, adding an extra stop and landing me in Melbourne only a few hours before the event. I frantically rescheduled everything and, luckily, found a better flight out. I was on my way!

After many long hours of flying, with a brief stop in San Francisco to stretch my legs, I landed in Melbourne. Our hotel was in the Central Business District to stay in walking distance to the event, so I took the airport SkyBus to the CBD. My first priority was coffee, Australia’s specialty. I needed a flat white, and Come Back to Earth Coffee did the trick. Apparently my second priority was a donut, but I didn’t know it until I walked past the window of FOC Melbourne and felt the call to step inside. It was yummy!

After that breakfast, my third priority was a quick workout in the hotel gym. Then it was time for a bit of work. My boss and I met up with our Australian partners at the Melbourne Convention Center to check out the venue. All was in order and looking good, so we’d have the afternoon free to roam… and it was Sunday for goodness’ sake!

The weather was perfect and the walk to the convention center was right along the river:

I was hoping to have the afternoon off, because I had big plans in mind. I’d been dreaming of booking a surf session at the fancy wave pool, URBNSURF. I’d never tried a wave pool before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Since I didn’t really know what I was doing and I’m not the world’s greatest surfer, I booked a lesson so that I would get a board and wetsuit included and hopefully wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. But first, food! I grabbed a quick snack from Onigiri To Go on Degraves Street, a street with a lot of cute little restaurants and shops, then I took an Uber back out towards the airport to URBNSURF.

The wave pool was magical. The check in process was seamless, and the staff were all very friendly to help me get set up with equipment and check in for the lesson. And as much as I enjoy the natural appeal of changing into my wetsuit in surf spot parking lots, it was pretty nice to have a changing room with showers for before and after. There were also lockers and water coolers nearby.

The wave pool produces waves at different levels and styles according to a schedule that varies throughout the day. I signed up for the easiest waves (cruiser) and the next level up from beginner lesson (beginner progressive). It ended up being a little below my level, but I caught tons of great waves and had a blast. The coach was really helpful, and it was probably better for my jet lag to lean toward an easier session. The sun was shining the whole time! I didn’t need booties and some people weren’t even wearing wetsuits.

I headed back to the hotel and got some tasty indian takeout for dinner (Me & Yogi Indian Kitchen). I didn’t take a picture, but here’s some street art near our hotel:

After that, it was full-on work mode, with conference events from sun up to sun down for the next two days, followed by work dinners at night. We did have a nice Thai meal at BangPop and enjoyed the evening walks back to the hotel along the river.

Once the work was done, my next stop would be Sydney…

Local Summer in LBI

This year, I was one of the lucky ones to spend fall on Long Beach Island in New Jersey.

We rented family friends’ beach house for about a month and got to frolic on the beach, surf, and live like LBI millionaires (in a 70s style cottage that reminds me of my grandma’s house with the best floral wallpaper and an abundant tomato garden.)

If you ask me, September and early October are the absolute best times of year to be on the island. The weather was cooling down at night but still perfect in the day. Bailey got lots of beach walks and made new friends at the park down the street.

It was nice to have our own place, make meals, have friends over, and sit out on the porch in the “old neighborhood.” And it was only a short drive to the nearby surf spots, so way easier to squeeze in some waves before or after work. I even got to sub a few yoga classes and see my yoga friends at Yoga Bohemia.

After the month, we were off on the next adventure, but it was fun to take a pause on LBI for a spell.

A Perfect Long Weekend in Maine

This summer, for our three-year first-date-a-versary, we decided to take a road trip to coastal Maine. We’d visited Maine a couple of years back (and both been separately other times), and we wanted to get back to some of our favorite spots plus some new ones!

After leaving from my family reunion in upstate NY, we traveled to Ogunquit. It’s one of my favorite places in the US! We had a great time and scored some fun waves surfing the river mouth.

We stayed at a cute, dog-friendly hotel and went to see live music at the Leavitt Theatre.

And when there weren’t any waves, we took an afternoon to hike at Mount Agamenticus and immerse in nature.

Our next stop was Portland, for my first time. We were only there for one night to visit with some of Bryan’s friends, but it seems like a really cool city. Of course we had to get clam chowder…

And try potato donuts from Holy Donuts. I liked them, but it was a stiff competition with Congon’s in Well, ME.

In the morning we took a walk and saw this pinecone made of shovels. And got second breakfast from Tandem Bakery (not pictured.)

Our next stop, thanks to Bryan’s friends, was Popham Beach. We’d planned to camp, but they invited us to stay at their family house. It was incredible!

First the weather was foggy and grey. We wanted to check the surf but couldn’t see two feet in front of our faces. We did sea and hear some seals swimming around by the beach.

It eventually cleared up to this amazing view:

And we walked along the beach. The waves weren’t quite surfable on the days we were there, but we had a lovely relaxing time anyway.

On the way out, I’d read about the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and wanted to stop but wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m so glad we made the little detour! We spent the day troll hunting for Thomas Dhambo’s trolls— these magical creations made from recycled materials—all throughout the gardens.

Then I needed an ice cream stop to refuel for the rest of the drive:

And we ended up in Acadia that night to set up our campsite (at Bass Harbor Campground):

And catch the sunset at Bass Harbor:

The next day, we went for a hike up Cadillac Mountain on the North Ridge Trail. It was a long trek over rock face in the sun but with beautiful views almost the whole time. I think Bailey did a better job than me since there was one part where we had to lift her up a ladder!

My last night dinner was worth the wait! I finally caved to a lobster roll at Side Street Cafe.

And neither of us are allergic to blueberry pie…

The next morning we took our time and got brunch at Clark Point Cafe plus takeaway popovers from a really neat non-profit kitchen that offers “pay-what-you-can” popovers, porridge, and coffee breakfast to the whole community (Common Good Kitchen). Then we set out for the drive back to New Jersey. It was a long one on a Sunday in the summer but totally worth it for our time in Maine!

An Actually Fun Road Trip from New Jersey to Ohio (and back)

When I went to visit my sister in Cleveland this spring, I decided to turn the eight hour road trip into an actually fun and enjoyable adventure across state lines.

On the departure day, I woke up extremely early, so early that the roads of central Jersey were dark and spooky. I hoped that no deer would venture to cross my path. They obliged, and by 8am I’d made it to my sister’s former home in Harrisburg and picked up some bagels to bring to them as a treat and breakfast for me.

By lunchtime, I was in Pittsburgh and stopped for lunch at Mediterra Cafe. The patio is laptop and dog friendly, and the day was beautiful, so I spent a couple hours having lunch and catching up on work.

Getting up so early really helped, because by about 5pm I was in Cleveland for a fun weekend with my sister. I wrote about my Cleveland favorites in another post.

After that, it was the return road trip that really stood out. I decided to take the long way for maximum sightseeing purposes. I booked a hotel to spend the night in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

On the way, I stopped and had some yummy coffee and breakfast tacos from Drip Coffeehouse + Kitchen. And snuck in some work calls on my pesky laptop again. Afterwards Bailey and I walked through Historic Brookville and saw the Jefferson County Courthouse.

We made it to our hotel in Williamsport around 5. The Genetti Hotel is a dog-friendly hotel that’s technically owned by Best Western, but they put in all the care and heart of an independently run hotel. Look at this note they left in the room:

Bailey is not usually allowed to be a bed dog, but sometimes she gets a special treat at hotels. Shhh!

Hot Yoga Williamsport was right across the street, so I dropped off the bags and ran right over for class. It was a heated studio and really nice class taught by a wonderful teacher named Jenelle (@the_body_aligned).

Next up, it was time for some tourism, so I took a walk through the town and onto Millionaire’s Row, a strip of old victorian mansions that used to be occupied by the wealthiest Pennsylvanians. Today some of them are a bit run down, but many are still beautiful and impressive to see.

It was almost dinner time, so my next stop was the Bullfrog Brewery, which was back closer to my hotel. It was easy to walk around the town since nothing was too far away, but far enough to get some steps in after being on the road all day.

At the brewery, I had a tasty apricot beer and a giant plate of nachos (with a small side salad for balance!) and followed it up with a homemade root beer. It was a perfect dinner stop in my book.

After dinner, I headed back to Bailey and we settled in for the night. It would be another early morning.

I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, but I’d always wanted to visit Ricketts Glen State Park. Bailey and I packed into the car super early and got to start hiking just after sunrise. The sky was cloudy and a little drizzly, but that meant uncrowded trails and rushing waterfalls.

The Glen Falls Loop trail passes 21 waterfalls (21!!) and is considered to be the best waterfall hike in the eastern US. I didn’t keep count, but trust that there were so many amazing waterfalls.

There’s a 7 mile version of the hike and a shorter 3ish mile loop that still passes the same number of waterfalls. I decided to take the shorter route, since I still had quite a bit of driving to do that day. Bailey loves hiking, but she agreed to get back in the car.

I hadn’t found any breakfast places on the way, so I ate a few sad soggy leftover nachos and then we finished the rest of our 3.5 hour drive home to NJ.

If you have the time, I definitely recommend taking the long way to make your road trip maximally fun!

Two Day Trips from Savannah

You might have noticed I got a little bit behind on blogging earlier this year… so this post is from the spring, but I hope you enjoy it!

My mom and stepdad live in New Jersey during the summers. During the winters, they live in the magical little town of Savannah, Georgia. They’ve been snow-birding for a while now, so I’ve gotten to visit Savannah many times and, of course, I have my Savannah favorites.

But since I’ve visited the city so many times, sometimes I like to get off the beaten path. My mom has taken me to do many wonderful things not too far away, and in my opinion, these are some of the best day trips from Savannah.

1. Bluffton, South Carolina

Bluffton is a small, quaint little town that would be cute to visit on any old day. But in my opinion, the best day to visit is for Mayfest.

This year was my second time visiting for Mayfest (and for Mother’s Day), and even though it rained, it was still a hit.

We started by browsing the little shops in Bluffton. Then we walked through some of the vendor tents before it started to downpour. It was the perfect opportunity to duck into a store that was serving mimosas and to grab lunch at The Cottage. Their shrimp and grits are so good!

Although the rainstorm put a damper on the outdoor activities, we still got to experience some of the joys of Mayfest. The last time we came, we got to watch the pie-eating contest and the silly “ugly dog contest”. It’s always a fun-filled day in Bluffton!

2. Tybee Island

Another favorite day trip from Savannah is out to the beach at Tybee Island. It had been a few years since I last visited Tybee, and I was due for a return. I’d love to try surfing there someday, but the conditions are pretty inconsistent. Instead, my mom and I stopped to explore the lighthouse and museum.

And had a surprisingly delicious lunch of oysters and hot dogs at Sea Wolf! It was the perfect Mother’s Day celebration, and both trips made for an entertaining rainy/overcast weekend.

There are so many fun things to do in Savannah that you might not need to stray from the beaten path, but if it strikes your fancy, these are two nearby trips I would definitely recommend.

Cleveland Favorites

My family just found out that next month, my sister will be moving from Cleveland to New Jersey! She’s been living in Cleveland for the past year with her husband who was completing a medical fellowship.

When I first found out that’s where they were heading, I have to admit I was a little bummed. Cleveland has a reputation of being cold and grey… and it’s far away from the east coast! But I had the chance to visit them twice during the past year, and the city absolutely surpassed my expectations.

I was surprised to find lots of nature activities, hip new shops and restaurants, and the usual friendliness and good neighborly vibes of the midwest. We’ll be happy to have them back on the east coast, but I think they’re pleased with their year in Cleveland.

So, in honor of their last few weeks in Ohio, here are some of my favorite Cleveland things they introduced me to:

1. Nature Walks at Rocky River Reservation

   The biggest surprise I found was that Cleveland has a lot of nature areas to explore. The weather might be grey a lot of the time, but the city’s parks are full of color and activity. The Metroparks system has tons of hiking and biking trails to explore.

2. Watching Games at Lakewood Truck Park

Cleveland is definitely a sports city. While we were waiting for my sister to get out of work, my brother-in-law brought me to the food truck park for a few drinks. It was a fun atmosphere with lots of young people watching games, drinking beers, and eating snacks.

3. Spotting the Cleveland Signs

There are six Cleveland signs around the city. I’ve only seen about three, but spotting them can take you to other cool locations, like this view of Lake Erie and downtown from Edgewater Park.

4. Climbing the Tower at Holden Arboretum

The Holden Arboretum is about a 30 minutes drive from the city, but I would say it’s worth it for climbing the Emergent Tower and exploring 20 miles of nature trails. The canopy walk was closed when we visited, but the leaves were changing colors which gave us an awesome view.

5. Hiking at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I have a goal of visiting all the national parks, so of course Cuyahoga Valley was on my list of want-to-do activities. It’s one of the smaller national parks, and the hike we did was close to the road so not very immersed in nature, but I would still say it’s worth visiting if you happen to be in Cleveland.

6. Day Tripping to Chagrin Falls

We went to Chagrin Falls during both my fall and spring visit. It’s a great place to take visitors or stop for the day, with lots of shops, restaurants, and views of the falls.

7. Sunsets over Lake Erie

I haven’t gotten lucky enough yet to see people surfing on Lake Erie (or to try it myself), but the sunsets sure are pretty.

8. Vintage Shopping at Paradise Galleria

Paradise Galleria is THE COOLEST VINTAGE STORE I’VE EVER BEEN TO. Actually, it’s the coolest store I’ve ever been to! It’s kind of a big warehouse with sections for different vendors, and it’s full of amazing stuff. It has a ball pit and a slide! Wow! I could spend hours there.

9. Mediterranean Tapas at Zhug

My sister took me to lots of yummy restaurants in Cleveland, but Zhug really stood out. I love mediterranean food and all the plates were delicious and very shareable.

10. Indoor Mini Golf at Birdietown

Last but not least, indoor mini golf! We played a quick round at Birdietown and had a great time. The course is neatly designed—challenging enough to keep you interested and fun to play with friends. Plus they have food and drinks.

I guess I won’t be back in Cleveland anytime soon that I know of, but I’d be more than happy to visit again!

Recap: Portugal, Spain, France Surf & Road Trip

We’re back in New Jersey now, so I have more time to recap our whole trip. We spent six weeks in July and August 2025 traversing the coast of Portugal, parts of Spain, and a quick dip into France. This was technically a “surf trip” in that we brought surfboards, but we weren’t expecting much for waves in Europe in the summer. We were pleasantly surprised! Most of the spots we found had at least a little bit of surf. Sometimes the wind was strong, but we made it work and were pretty happy with what we got.

We divided the trip into two parts, because our credit card rental car insurance has a max of 31 days, so we knew we would need to come back to Lisbon mid trip. That worked out well, and I would highly recommend either of these road trip routes. I think you would need a full month to do the first part. We spent 2-3 nights in each place, and we definitely could have spent longer, but I don’t think we could’ve done it in any less time and still enjoyed ourselves the same. We’ve determined that three nights is the ideal minimum stay to truly enjoy a place when you’re road tripping around. The second part of the trip on the southern coast of Portugal could probably be done in any amount of time. It’s a beautiful place, but I’m not sure if we would go back again in August, if given the choice, because of the crowds.

Here’s a list of the places we stopped and stayed:

Part One:

• Ericeira

• Peniche/Baleal

• Nazaré & Praia de Mira

• Porto

• Salinas

• San Sebastian & Zarautz

• Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion

• Capbreton

• Salamanca

• Cascais

Part Two:

• Aljezur

• Sagres

• Burgau & Praia da Luz

• Alvor

• Vila Nova de Milfontes

• Lisbon

And a map of the whole route:

Some other details: We flew in and out of Lisbon airport on American Airlines, and we luckily didn’t have any trouble with the boards in a 7’6” board bag that actually measured a bit too long for their baggage limits. We worked remotely the entire time, and the only place we ran into any issues with wifi was in Alvor, which is pretty deep into the Algarve region.

Overall, it was a lot of driving and moving around, but I’m so glad we did it the way we did. We really got to see some amazing places, and it was a perfect mix of surf, nature, and culture. It was a really nice trip and one that will provide great memories for many years to come!

Thanks for following along on the journey.

Namaste,

Cori

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Last Stop in Lisbon

We finally reached the end of the road. And I’m very sorry to tell you, I didn’t take many photos on our last night in Lisbon. It was a busy day.

We woke up in Vila Nova de Milfontes and ate Tomas’ delicious breakfast one more time. Then we went for quite a fun surf. After that, it was about a two hour drive to Lisbon.

We stayed at a hotel near the airport that was pretty convenient (Le Jardin Lisbon). And we tried to clean the intense amounts of dust and dirt off the rental car with a large water bottle.

We were still working—hence not many photos, but we took a break to go into the city for dinner. We found the most amazing Portuguese vegan restaurant (Kong).

They make all the typical Portuguese dishes—bacalhau a bras, octopus, pasteis de nata…—and everything is vegan! We’re not vegan, but we like eating vegan food, and it was awesome. We started with some “sausage” croquette appetizers, and then I had these yummy seitan ribs:

We skipped dessert at the restaurant, because it was time for our last round of pasteis de nata. We went to Manteigaria and bought a dozen to bring back home.

And that was a wrap on six weeks of Portugal, Spain, and France! It was a really fun trip, filled with food, surf, new places, different languages, and an exploration of whether we’d want to try to do a longer term stay in Portugal or somewhere nearby in Europe. After all, I’d say the answer is a definite yes.