Practical Wanderlust

28/06/2023

Sorry for the weird posts this week y'all - my personal fb got hacked and they were able to get into our business pages and accounts too 😭 I've gotten it back now, so please let me know if you see anything else weird!!

Pics from a lovely day we spent in Central Park, NYC this week with family ❤️

08/03/2023

Oh it's a jolly holiday with Bugsy ✨️🏰🍭 When Jeremy picked Disney World for his 35th birthday trip, I was nervous. I mean, we’ve done Disney World plenty of times – and I was there pretty much every single day when I was a Cast Member. But we’d never, EVER done Disney World with a baby. And this trip, we’d be bringing along Baby A for baby’s first Disney trip!

Would she hate it? Would we hate it?! I had no idea, but I feared the worst. We both braced ourselves for a cranky, overstimulated baby that we’d be spending 5 days straight entertaining in the parks while switching off riding our favorite Disney rides.
But to my absolute surprise, Baby A LOVED Disney World. She loved rides. She loved shows. She loved characters. She was really into birds all of a sudden, and for some reason, lamps? She loved Cast Members, she loved dancing to music as we walked through the parks. She LOVED Disney World! And we loved getting to see it through her eyes. Disney with a baby is so worth it, y’all!
I just hit publish on a massive guide to visiting Disney with babies, full of tips and tricks including the best (and worst) parks and attractions for babies, where to stay, and a few essentials to pack. Plus the story of something terrifying that happened to us on a ride. It's linked in our bio and stories!

02/12/2022

Has Baby A. changed the way we travel? ✈ Before getting pregnant one of my biggest fears was that I would have to say goodbye to traveling, my passion turned career. I knew it was possible to travel with kids, but I thought it would be really hard and that we'd have to make a lot of sacrifices (something I also needed to come to terms with about the whole kid thing, generally, before having one).
But color me shocked when I tell y'all that at this point, we are actually able to travel almost exactly the same as before. It may just be because at 7 months, Baby A is not yet mobile, and I'm sure the future holds lots of challenges for us, but at this point? Y'all. It's no big! Babies are great travelers, who knew?? Not me!
✈ Flight? She slept the whole time in the carrier and was entirely unfazed by the time change.
🥨 Food? She happily eats whatever we're eating, chills in her high chair at restaurants and charms all the servers.
🏰 Exploring? Bundled up in her down and wool travel outfits, she's good to go in the carrier/stroller from about 9am to 4pm, which is our "out exploring" window too. She naps on the go, which is great for travel though it's not always ideal at home 🤣
The main difference is activities. We avoided taking guided tours this trip because we want the flexibility to stop and nurse or nap or simply readjust as needed without inconveniencing others. (Honestly though she's been on our 3 hour food tour several times, so she'd probably be fine.) And certain activities will require us to split up, like anything after 6pm or anything adventure-y (horseback riding, snorkelling etc) so that sorta sucks because Jeremy and I are codependent and like to do everything together 🤣 But thats... kinda it!
This trip has us feeling back in our element 💪4 cities in 2 weeks, taking trains and transit from place to place, exploring on foot, hitting every Christmas Market and popping into museums all day long - we are having a blast and Baby A is the best little adventure partner we could have asked for!
Questions about traveling with a baby? Reality checks about traveling with a toddler? 😬 Drop us a comment!

31/10/2022

Happy Halloween! 🎃 we dressed up as marine animals because we got a baby turtle costume from Buy Nothing and I had shark and lobster costumes lying around from previous years 🦞 I managed to keep the lobster claws on for about 5 minutes before Baby A. decided they were terrifying 🤣 luckily she found my eye stalks and Jeremy's shark head HILARIOUS. We're handing out candy on our front porch tonight! What about you? Did you dress up today?

25/10/2022

Happy fall from our little family to yours! 🍂🍁 Our little bug is 6 months old and we've been having the coziest fall, y'all. Orchards and pumpkin patches and distilleries and nature hikes - there's so much explore in our new home state! (Also, were we the people on a distillery tour who brought a baby? Yes. She had a great time.)
These days Baby A. is all settled into a groove. She's sleeping well, she's eating real actual human food (which makes her even more fun at restaurants), and she's able to spend all day out adventuring with us and nap on the go. She's also finally gotten all of her vaccines, which means we're starting to gear up to take our first big trips with her! She's a big fan of fall because of all the things that make fun crunching and crinkling noises. Nature is neat.
Our daily lives look very different than they used to. We're parenting in shifts, so one of us takes her for a full day while the other one works/does chores/runs errands, and then we swap the next day. We also pick a day or two a week to do a fun activity together as a family (including , of course) like going out on a hike, day trip, eating at a new restaurant, etc. Techincally, most of those all count as work too, since we're researching and discovering new places for or and shooting lots of pictures and videos which I'm sure we will (eventually) use. If I have one piece of sage parenting advice to offer new parents, it's to never give up on on-the-go naps in a stroller, car or carrier! It makes getting out and going on adventures much easier. (That said, do I wish she would also nap on her own at home sometimes? Absolutely. Working on it. Balance!)
Long story short, parenting is the most amazing thing I've ever done and I absolutely love it, y'all. Like I really can't believe how much fun and awesome our little tiny human is already. She's actually like, hilarious. Like, the silliest little prankster. She has a huge personality, and has since like, 2 months? I was genuinely shocked, I never knew babies were so cool! So yeah. Everything is pretty great. How are y'all doing??

29/07/2022

Snow-covered Alps. 🏔 Pristine, glimmering lakes. 💧Lots of cheese and chocolate. 🧀🍫 Switzerland is at once modern and historic, where you can cross a wooden bridge adorned with 15th-century paintings, as well as take a train up a mountain to see the Matterhorn up close and personal.

Nature here is imminent, beauty is everywhere, and Switzerland is truly as stunning as they say (“they” being me!). And you can all this and more on an incredible 5-day Switzerland itinerary!

Snow-covered Alps, glimmering lakes, and lots of cheese and chocolate... this 5-day Switzerland itinerary includes the best of Switzerland!

28/07/2022

Bubbling thermal springs. 🫧 Volcanic peaks and craters. 🏔⛰ Pristine turquoise lakes. 🛶 Lassen Volcanic National Park, located in the northeast corner of California, is an under-the-radar National Park home to a prehistoric landscape dotted with thermal hot spots and volcanoes.

Besides the burbling acidic pools that smell like cooking sulfur, you’ll find densely wooded forests and wildflowers sweeping over hills and valleys. Following the 30-mile road that winds throughout the park, watch for one of the 200 lakes and try to identify one of the four types of volcanoes that are all concentrated in this unique and magical place.

Bubbling thermal springs. Volcanic peaks and craters. Pristine turquoise lakes. Here are 28 epic things to do in Lassen National Park!

26/07/2022

Two Utopian Societies with two different labyrinths. 🌀 A roofless church with gilded gates. ✨ One strange place.

Situated along the Wabash River about 35 minutes outside of Evansville, Indiana, the town of New Harmony, Indiana seems like any other well-manicured midwestern town. But its s**c and span look is not just community pride – but hearkens back to when it was a real-life utopian society. Well, actually, two of them.

Check out the best things to do in New Harmony, Indiana - like walking around two labyrinths and exploring the relics of TWO utopian societies!

25/07/2022

Sandy, sweeping beaches. Old, haunted cities. Lots & lots of seafood. Florida is nicknamed the Sunshine State, with an average of 237 sunny days a year. It’s truly the land of a million sandy beaches, theme parks, and a whole lot of things to do. And it’s one of the best places for a mini-vacation with so many truly unique weekend getaways in Florida!

I’ve collected the 10 best weekend getaways in Florida, whether you are looking to sit on the beach, go on adventures, explore its history and hear ghost stories, or see some drag shows and go to the gay beach (yeah, Florida, I said gay). 🌈⛵️🏝

Here are the 10 best weekend getaways in Florida, from beach getaways, to nature adventures, to ghostly bar crawls! 60+ activities included!

22/06/2022

In 7 days we're moving across the country 😱😱😱 this move has been on the horizon for so long (nearly 2 years!) that it had somehow stopped feeling like an actual thing that was happening and had become sort of a vague theoretical idea... right up until a couple of weeks ago when it smacked us in the face again 😅
We have been scrambling to get ready, but there's been so much to emotionally process lately that we're both reeling. New baby, leaving our home of 10 years, Jeremy's last class of kids graduating, packing up his classroom of 7 years and saying goodbye to teaching. It's quite the emotional roller coaster 🎢
There's so much change all at once, and so many things we didn't get a chance to say goodbye to yet. Loved ones we wish we could spend more time with. Road trips we never took. Tiny towns we wanted to see again. Restaurants we've been craving. Spending 9.5 months pregnant is a terrible way to say goodbye to a place, y'all 🤣
We'll be back to visit of course, but it's hard to say goodbye to spontaneous weekend trips down Highway One, redwoods and the beach just 15 minutes away, renting cabins with friends in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, fresh oysters by the side of the road in Point Reyes, and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline across the Bay around every corner. Living here is nothing short of magical. 🌉
It's been an hell of a decade, Oakland. We're going to miss you like crazy. 💙💛

07/05/2022

Meet Aurora! Aurora's birth went nothing like we expected it to - but then births rarely do. My body never went into labor. While we were checking into the hospital for my induction, Aurora showed signs of distress. 20 minutes later, I was getting a c-section. Our care team was phenomenal - kind, supportive, validating, comforting, & everything I needed in that moment. With their help and Jeremy's (who managed to keep me laughing through the scariest moment of my life), I made it through.
The 3 days we all spent recovering in the hospital may have been the happiest of my life. We were in our own little love bubble, with nothing to do but bond and navigate our new life together.
I will forget the uncomfortable bed, the sleep deprivation, nurses coming in every few hours, screaming in pain from a bad latch, and crying in agony trying to walk the 10 steps from the hospital bed to the bathroom, because none of that matters.
What I won't forget is looking down at my daughter sleeping on my chest while sunlight streams in through the windows and birds chirp outside and my incredible husband naps on the world's least comfortable sleeper chair. The way my stomach kept doing flips, that feeling you get going downhill on roller coaster, just from the magic of it all. I've never been more at peace.
But even though I felt emotionally at peace with my birth and my beautiful new baby, having a c section means that I was completely non functional for about a week. I couldn't sit up, lift, move, use the bathroom, twist, adjust, feed or clean myself, or even sleep without assistance.
Unfortunately, neither could the adorable pair of cheeks that I just birthed. But luckily for both of us, Jeremy is a superhuman who somehow managed to juggle a helpless newborn and a non-functional partner while deeply sleep deprived, all while showing us both that we are a gift, not a burden. I've never felt more loved and cared for and lucky than I did that first week, at my most vulnerable.
Since that first week, things have gotten much, much harder. But I'll save that for another caption. Today, I just want to cultivate joy and gratitude. She's here. And she's everything ❤

13/04/2022

We did it! And by that I mean, we took some maternity photos before giving birth, which seems like... the right order of operations 😅 Can you tell Instagram photoshoots are my least favorite part of the job?? Between my useless carpal tunnel hands and squished lungs, getting ready for this shoot was an ORDEAL, but y'all, it was WORTH IT! I felt like such a fertility goddess all day. And let's face it, it's probably gonna be a long AF time before I look this good again 🙃 We shot these in the same redwood grove where we got married - take a look at our IG stories to see how different we look (aka how much we've aged 😱) since then!
Weirdly, although most people talk about the final weeks of pregnancy being torture, I'm like ... totally fine. Like, I don't know if it just feels like that compared to the hell of my 1st and 2nd trimesters? But I'm honestly doing ... oddly great.
I'm sleeping through the night - like, 10 glorious, uninterupted hours of sleep (I am a champion sleeper, please let this be genetic). Going on long (slow) walks (waddles) each day. Minimal swelling (though my carpal tunnel is going strong). Eating whatever junk food I feel like (in tiny amounts, shortly followed by several heartburn meds, but still). Like, I could keep doing this for weeks! Which sure sounds a whole lot easier than labor 😭
And honestly, feeling *just fine* really makes it hard to feel ready for a tiny human to arrive in all of their screaming, sleep-interupting glory 😅 but if baby doesn't make their grand appearance on their own time this week or next, then things get riskier and a lot more involved - more medical interventions, more time at the hospital, bla bla bla.
So I'll just be over here eating dates, chugging pineapple juice, and trying to convince myself that I'm ready to eject a whole-a** human from my body and then keep it alive 24/7. Did that sound convincing?! Wish us (me, mostly) luck, y'all!

07/04/2022

Cayucos, California is a tiny coastal town located in California’s Central Coast, right on the Pacific Coast Highway. You'll pass through it as you fly down Highway One. Here's why you should stop and explore! https://buff.ly/2MefbCX

31/03/2022

Ever been to Nashville, Tennessee? Well, why not?! 🎤🎸We've written up a massive weekend itinerary so you can check Music City off your bucket list. https://bit.ly/3qoK5OF

24/03/2022

From amazing food and drinks to spine-tingling ghost stories, here are all the best things to do in Savannah, GA on the perfect weekend trip! https://bit.ly/3IucZU3

22/03/2022

Who ever actually stops in Mariposa on the drive to Yosemite?? 🌲 🦋

Authentic California history is present in the town of Mariposa's splendid streets and structures, many among the oldest in California! Y'all know we LOVE some good ol' California history so we had to stop and spend some time here. 🤩

Here are some things you can do in Mariposa:
📍 Visit the courthouse 🏛
📍 Go to the Mariposa Museum
📍 Visit the History Center's outside exhibits 🌞
📍 Walk around Old Town
📍 Stop for pics infront of the Mariposa mural 📸
📍 Enjoy a flight of beer at 🍻

Have you ever stopped at Mariposa? What did you do? Let us know in the comments below! 🤗

11/03/2022

Volcanoes. Hot springs. Cloud forests. Monkeys swinging through the treetops. White sand beaches. Costa Rica is a tropical, eco-friendly paradise! Here's the Ultimate Costa Rica 2 Week Itinerary.

https://practicalwanderlust.com/two-weeks-in-costa-rica-itinerary/

This Costa Rica 2 week itinerary features 3 national parks, cloud forests and rainforests, snorkeling and swimming, ziplines and hanging bridges, volcanoes and hot springs, and plenty of wildlife!

10/03/2022

Once in a lifetime, a pair of shoes comes along that is so comfortable and versatile, it replaces all of the other shoes in your suitcase: the Chosen Shoe. In the of case of my husband and I, that shoe is the Allbirds Tree Skippers! 🙌 👟

My husband and I have each owned a pair of Allbirds Tree Skippers for 3 years now. But are they worth the hype? Here's our unbiased review.

04/03/2022

Napa Valley is a lot of fun, and that’s not just the wine talking. 🤩 Rugged mountains, steamy hot springs, rolling vineyards, and 260 days of sunshine is as appealing for tourists as it is for vines; although I’m willing to bet that we have more fun! 🍷

Rugged mountains, steamy hot springs, rolling vineyards, incredible food, and even a few spirits - yes, ghosts: here are all the best things to do in Napa.

28/02/2022

Ice-glazed lighthouses. ❄️ Glittering ice caves. ✨ Snowshoeing between wineries. 🍷 A Bavarian village? Michigan in the winter is a surprisingly cozy blend of vibrant cities, charming towns, and a pristine wintry wonderland. 😍

Michigan in the winter is a blend of vibrant cities, charming towns, and pristine wintry wonderland. Here's where to visit this winter!

16/02/2022

I just hit publish on my 2021 year-in-review post. (Slightly late, as always.) 😅

Most of my year in review posts have had some sort of theme to tie them together. Like the year I went full time in my blog, or the year a pandemic hit and we almost went under ... you know, exciting stuff. 🙃

This year? This was like the year of its-still-2020 and also the year of its-not-2022 yet. It was also the year I had some extremely unpleasant health complications. 🤢 So the original working title of this post was "the year of in-between," and then I added "and puke" to s**ce it up (there is ... a lot of puke in the post, fair warning). 😂

But as I wrote, I realized there were some big highlights: like, we got vaccinated (!!), and I got pregnant (!!!). 🤰 And as my mindset shifted and I started looking ahead to what my life post-baby will look like, I started making significant changes in my business. I stepped way back from the day-to-day of Practical Wanderlust, empowered my team to make decisions without me, and even began sending them on trips on my behalf. 🙌 I also started a whole NEW blog (because why have just a human child when I can also birth a brand new business baby at the same time?). And at some point, I stopped thinking of myself as a "travel blogger" - because at this point, am I? I'm really not so sure anymore...

So I called this the year of metamorphosis. 🐛🦋 Not only did my body go through a Kafka-esque transformation into a foreign entity that I hardly recognized and had almost no control over (so much puke) - but because over the course of the year, bit by bit, almost imperceptibly, everything shifted.

You can read all about it - plus all the juicy details about how much the blog earned last year - in my full, very long, 2021 year in review post. 📲

https://practicalwanderlust.com/2021-year-in-review/

16/02/2022

Steaming hot springs and geysers. Cozy lodges with roaring fireplaces. Thick blankets of snow on rolling mountains. Visiting Yellowstone in winter is one of the quietest, most beautiful and peaceful ways to experience the world’s first national park. 😍❄️

Hot springs, geysers, snowmobiles, bison and wolves: here's everything you need to know to plan a trip to Yellowstone in winter!

14/02/2022

Happy Valentine's Day! 🌹💗

Today is my FAVORITE holiday. 🥰 I love pink and hearts and a good excuse for crafts and unapologetically expressing love and affection. Jeremy and I are mush-tastic year round, but we take Valentine's Day as an opportunity to shamelessly shower everyone and everything around us in love and affection, too! Here are some of the different kinds of love that we'll be feeling sappy about today:

💕Love for ourselves. We choose to put ourselves first and our relationship/each other second - that's the foundation of our happiness and the core foundation of our whole marriage. Today, we are feelin' all kinds of obsessed with our awesome selves! 🤗 I hope you spend some time today doing sweet lil' things for yourself that bring you happiness.
💕Love for each other. This is not new - we shower each other in disgusting mushy compliments all day, every day - but we ARE going out on a date tonight ... and then heading to a store to compete to see who can find the lamest, grossest, sappiest Valentine's Day card. We will then pay too much money for that card and then inflict the worst romantic poetry that we can come up with, exquisite co**se style. Stoked.
💕Love for what we do. Jeremy loves his school and his co-teachers, but especially, he loves his students. Today he's celebrating his love for them with some yummy treats! 🍪
And as for me... today I'm writing about a trip that I loved, and pouring my heart into my storytelling. It's reminding me both why I love travel, and why I feel so strongly about sharing that love with all of you! 🛩
💕Oh, and one last mushy shout-out: LOVE FOR YOU! Yes, that's right: we truly love you all. Your DM's and support and comments and the fact that there are people out there who think we're as funny as we do 😂 (lol jk nobody thinks we're as funny as we do, that's impossible) all means the world to us, and we're so appreciative for you.

So happy, happy Valentine's Day! What kinds of love are you celebrating today? 💖

11/02/2022

Snow-topped mountains. 🗻 Hot springs. Ski resorts and cozy lodges. Dog sledding and sleigh rides underneath the Northern Lights. Wait, hang on - where am I talking about now? (Pssst: it's CANADA!) 🇨🇦
Most of the photos of Banff on Instagram are from warmer months. But Banff National Park is a winter wonderland for outdoor adventure lovers and snow sports enthusiasts 🏂 (or just like, people who really like frolicking in the snow, eating poutine, and maybe befriending a caribou or moose). You can go ice-walking through river canyons with giant, frozen waterfalls looming over your year. You can play ice hockey on a lake in front of a castle. You can eat braised elk poutine and maple taffy EVERY SINGLE DAY (spoilers: this is exactly what we did). 😋

Visiting during Banff’s winter season will show you a sparkling, icy, snow-dusted side of the Canadian Rockies – all with fewer crowds and cheaper prices! 🙌

And I have a MASSIVE guide with everything you need to know to plan a winter trip to Banff, including what to pack, where to stay, where to eat, and 23 of the best things to do during your visit! ❄️

📲 https://practicalwanderlust.com/things-to-do-in-banff-winter/

Have you ever been to Banff? Was it in the summer or winter?! Let us know in the comments below! 🤗

09/02/2022

Monterey is one of the most beautiful towns along the California coast – and the most historically important! 🙌 Famous for its incredible aquarium – part interactive museum, part animal conservation facility, part research lab – Monterey has loads to offer as a weekend trip from San Francisco. Which is why we visit Monterey several times a year! 🤗

Here are some things we did on our most recent trip:

📍 Head to Downtown Salinas and check-out the Salinas Farmers Market, offering the freshest produce from Monterey County. 💐

📍 Stuff yourself silly with some bomb af lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes (drooling just thinking about them 🤤) at Winston's.

📍 Visit the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. If you’re a fan of any Steinbeck novel (or if a visit to Monterey garners your interest – AND IT SHOULD) you can’t miss a visit to the National Steinbeck Center! 📖

📍 While you're still in Salinas, head to Mangia, a delicious husband-and-wife owned Italian restaurant. Be sure to oder the Bruschetta di Nonna, topped with generous dollops of housemade ricotta, pesto, chopped pistachios and a honey drizzle with a chili kick. 😋

📍 Tap into your inner-child and get creative at Board & Brush in Monterey! 🎨

📍 Stay at Seven Gables Inn, located in a beautiful yellow Victorian across from Lover's Point Beach. The views in our room were incredible! 😍

📍 Watch the sunset at the Inn at Spanish Bay and enjoy a cocktail with appetizers while listening to the bagpipes! 🎼

📲 Save this post for your next trip to Monterey! Which of these activities are you most excited to do?! Let us know in the comments below 👇

Note: Our trip was sponsored by

07/02/2022

Meeting the Monarch Butterflies at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary was so magical! ✨🦋

Nicknamed “Butterfly Town, USA,” Pacific Grove welcomes thousands of monarch butterflies here between October and March! I really suggest you go see them before they take off soon ✌️

Did y'all know butterflies symbolize transformation? 🐛 Twas the perfect time for me to be surrounded with their grace and lightness as my body quite literally transforms into a safe cocoon for baby Garcia! 🥰

02/02/2022

Sometimes the best travel companion is an instrument, one that is small, pleasant, and perfectly portable – like the ukulele! 🥰 While it makes sense that a ukulele is a perfect travel buddy based on size, ukuleles specifically designed for travel are very much a thing. If you’re in the market for a lightweight, travel-friendly instrument companion, in this post you’ll find absolutely everything you need to make a decision! 🙌

We field-tested the best travel ukuleles on international flights, at the beach, and backpacking. Plus, the best travel ukulele accessories!

02/02/2022

Freshly fallen snow dusting towering redwoods. ❄🌲A waterfall that looks like lava. A 17th century English feast?? Wait, are we still talking about Yosemite National Park? Yes, y’all: Yosemite in winter is a whole new park! 😍 If you’ve only visited Yosemite in the warmer months, prepare to be dazzled, because it’s just as beautiful (arguably more) in the winter. And like, a LOT less crowded. 🙌

Yosemite in winter is just as beautiful (arguably more) in the winter - and MUCH less crowded. Here's everything you need to plan a trip to Yosemite National Park in winter!

31/01/2022

Instagram: 🤩
Reality: 🤣

How freaking cute is this unicorn snow tube though?! ✨🦄

31/01/2022

Las Vegas is a glittering city, full of entertainment, twinkling lights, and fabulously long nights. 🥳 Restaurants and museums dot the Strip, and outdoor activities are also plentiful close to Vegas for an adventurous day out. 🤩 The city of pleasure has so many options that sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin! Luckily, we created the perfect weekend in Vegas itinerary to help you plan a jam-packed 3-day trip to Sin City. 🙌

The perfect weekend in Vegas itinerary for a jam-picked 3-day trip to Sin City! Where to eat, play, stay, how to get around, and more.