Melbourne, Australia’s cultural capital, offers a dynamic blend of entertainment and culinary delights that captivate both locals and visitors. In the year ending September 2024, Victoria welcomed approximately 86.9 million visitors, contributing $39.7 billion to the state’s economy. 

Wellness Experiences. Plymouth, a historic coastal city in Devon, England, has become a notable destination for wellness tourism, aligning with the global industry’s significant growth. The wellness tourism sector is experiencing rapid expansion, with the global market size projected to reach $1.35 trillion by 2028, reflecting a substantial increase from previous years. 

The holiday season often brings joy, togetherness, and an increase in spending, Americans planned to spend an average of $2,100 in 2024, a 7% increase from the previous year. This included gifts, travel, decorations, and celebratory meals, making it a financially challenging time for many. Especially retirees living on fixed incomes. 

The floating boardwalk of Greenwich National Park can be found on Prince Edward Island. It was the first adventure we set our sights on after arriving on PEI. We settled in to our accommodations for the next ten days and got busy mapping our path of adventure.

Richmond, Virginia. It was our first visit to the city; a city deeply rooted in American history with direct ties to the civil war. It’s a city with historical neighborhoods, a modern city center and incredible murals seemingly around every corner. It’s where we experienced Mexican/Asian fusion for the first time and you know what? It works! Virginia Commonwealth University calls Richmond home, and it has a student population of 25,000+. With no set expectations on this our first visit to Richmond, our eyes and minds were open to new experiences.

Halloween.  Dia de Los Muertos. It’s not so much that I’m madly in love with the holiday, although I do think it’s crazy fun. I am, in fact, madly in love with all things fall. The trees are bursting with color and mother nature is gearing up for winter as we near the end of October.

Our second day in New York City found us making our way from Casablanca to Madison Avenue and 41st where we visited the New York City Public Library. From there we took a lovely stroll on The High Line and ate lunch at the Chelsea Market, which was followed by yummy cocktails at sunset with rooftop views.  It all made for quite the day, having walked a total of eight miles.  Who says NYC is not pedestrian friendly?

Everyone should visit Times Square at least once in their life.  It’s one of those iconic destinations that has to be experienced to be appreciated, or not.

When we owned our B&B in southern Oregon, the phenomenon of Airbnb was just burgeoning on to the hospitality scene, but we could see the writing on the wall.

It’s a fairly bold statement, “Why Everyone Should Visit Ashland, Oregon” but sometimes you just gotta make a big statement.  And, as long as you can back it up, why not go bold?