Empty Nester Adventures: Starting a Garden Could Be a Lifesaver

starting a garden
That would be my dog, Rocco, right there next to me! He is never too many steps away.

Authors note: When you visit here at Adventures of Empty Nesters my favorite topic is travel. I share where we have been, where we are going, and what’s on our personal travel calendar. It feels odd to me to not participate, let alone write about it, but I have had to adjust, at least temporarily. We all are adjusting aren’t we?

Could starting a garden be a lifesaver? Yes, I think it can.

Wow, what month is this? Did Spring arrive? Today is the 497th day of the COVID – 19 Stay at Home mandate. Right? Or does it just feel like it? 

Is starting a garden on your list of possible adventures? What are you creating to stay S-A-N-E?

Craig and I have created a small urban garden every year since we moved into our empty nest. We planted a couple of fruit trees, cultivated lettuce in the winter and tomatoes and herbs in the Summer, and loved it. 

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A Road Trip to Nashville! There’s a Myriad of Delightful Choices

trip to Nashville

This road trip to Nashville was originally published the day of the recent tornado. Not the perfect time to be dreaming of a trip to this amazing city. So, I decided to re-publish in order to bring it to your attention. When a city deals with a natural disaster of this magnitude, it is up to the travelers to come to visit and flood the city with revenue!  Consider planning a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, you will love it, I promise!

A trip to Nashville should be on your adventure list!

It’s official. A trip to Nashville is a fun-filled, tasty tour of music history and fantastic live entertainment.

It seems like virtually everyone has been to Nashville, Tennessee, and then well, maybe not. I have done a little research and have found some intriguing information. Several other fantastic travel bloggers have been to Nashville, toured the city, dined at great places, and written entertaining and informative articles. But… it seems that on this trip we added some other places to experience as well. We had a blast in Nashville.

This only demonstrates that a destination can entertain its visitors in a myriad of ways. So with that being said, here is what we chose to do!

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A New Adventure: Our Cocktail Video Series to Entertain & Educate!

cocktail video series

A New Cocktail Video Series – Making the best of the Stay at Home mandate

Today we live in an unfamiliar universe where we can’t leave our house or hug our parents, and toilet paper is at a premium. You can’t make this up if you tried.

Social media is overflowing with people trying to make a difference, make you smile, perform a family dance, share personal anecdotes, encourage, and even educate. New Video Series are popping up frequently from celebrities as well as everyday folks. I say, “Bring It! 

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How Can We Emerge From Stay at Home, Better Than Ever?

 emerge from stay at home

How can we emerge from Stay At Home in the best possible way?

We don’t have the green light yet, but we should start thinking ahead. How can we emerge from the Stay at Home order? That is up to us. The financial hardships are devasting for everyone, but we need to persevere; there is no choice! Will we be stronger? More thoughtful? Introspective. Yes, I think all of these will be good descriptions.

I plan to focus intently on the process and route that I take from this recent lifestyle roadblock, ready for new adventures, and a lot more focused on the right things. 

This past six weeks (Which feels much longer, right?) has been full of highs and lows. Everyone is trying to see where they fit and what feels right. Some people have turned to art, others to writing, reading, and cooking. Meanwhile, we are walking our poor dogs to death!

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Culinary Tourism is So Much Fun :: Learning How to Make Macarons

learning how to make macarons
Holding a partial tray of pistachio macarons after filling

Travel offers so many types of learning experiences

Is learning how to make macarons a worthwhile life skill? To some, not so much, but to the rest of us, baking challenges enhance our culinary skills, create BIG smiles and a happy sense of accomplishment!

As I write this post, we are in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, and flour is at a premium. It took me two weeks to find five pounds of white flour, and I only have it because my stepfather found it for me! Whoever thought that finding baking flour would be a problem?

However, during this small window of time, many of us are turning to baking as therapy as well as a way to learn a new skill. Some are honing our baking chops to see if we can up our game as well! So far, I have tried my hand at Foccacia and Blueberry Scones – Successfully!

Just a few months ago, when flour was an ingredient I took for granted, I learned how to make macarons. I traveled to Seattle to see our daughter and included this culinary adventure. The class was held at The Pantry and was taught by Marianna Stepniewski, a skilled pastry chef, who showed us many special techniques and offered tips and tricks. After she demonstrated what we needed to do, we tried it ourselves and took turns. We divided into four groups of three and each made a flavor.

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5 Clever Ideas That Will Enhance Your Future Travel Life

future travel

What do you need for your future travel life?

Are you missing the exhilaration of an upcoming adventure? Do you dream about your future travel life? You do know that we will travel again! No question. Will it feel different? Absolutely. Will there be new rules in place? Most assuredly. However, an adventure to a new or favorite destination will fill you up again in ways you may have forgotten.

Like you, I have been house-bound, safe at home for a while, although it feels like an eternity. Do you feel that as well? But my dream of strolling through a new city or tasting a delicious local dish has never left me. I know we will be out there again, discovering and living our lives as we have in the past.

While we are patiently doing our part to keep the virus from spreading, it is essential to keep our thoughts lively and hearts full. 

Plan ahead, get organized, dream BIG, research, create, prepare, and make lists! How about a recipe for a successful future travel life! Here are a couple of suggestions for you.

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What Brings You Joy During the Corona Virus Pandemic?

Big Question: What brings you joy during the Corona Virus Pandemic?

How are you all doing? So many thoughts run through my head on a daily hourly basis. How about you?

One minute I am cruising along getting things done, being creative, feeling accomplished. The next minute I am scrolling and scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, looking for something to entertain me and make me smile. Are you doing that? At times I am sad, sometimes I am worried, other times I am extremely distracted.

I know that we have to be responsible and understand how serious all of this is and how we MUST stay at home in order not to spread germs.

But I am a travel writer, and I travel for a living! I don’t pretend I went somewhere and write about it. I actually go there! My friends in the tour business have shut down tours, travel brands can’t spend their marketing dollars right now to hire me to write about a destination that no one can visit! Hellloooo, this is a challenge, I’m not going to lie.

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Can’t Travel Today? 8 Ways to Help You Dream Now & Play Later

can't travel
Can’t travel now, but we can dream – The Plantation House – Kapalua, Maui

Got travel challenges?

Are you wondering what to do now that we can’t travel freely? I know we all have to do our part and therefore, armchair travel is best for now.

Traveling is my passion, my career, and what lights me up. I am always thrilled to hear about your latest trip and the vacations of others. I can live vicariously or better yet; I can find adventure too. Since we are not currently traveling, and many of us have chosen to cancel or postpone travel arrangements, maybe now is the time to dream about your next trip?

Life is busy and we don’t always take time to enjoy the process of the hunt! To create the perfect trip or vacation, a carefully researched itinerary is the best way to go! Now is the time to get down into the teeny tiny details!

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The Tastiest Dishes & Most Delicious Cocktails of 2019

tastiest drinks
A celebratory Piña Colada on a sunny afternoon in Maui

Tasty Dishes & Enticing Cocktails

I began my search for the tastiest dishes of the year by sifting through my photos starting in January. However, by the time I reached the month of June, I had already chosen 30 different tantalizing feasts for the eyes! How to choose?

Be honest, do you want to see that many of my “highlights”? I don’t believe so. Therefore, I carefully looked for colorful, unique meals and surprisingly incredible drinks that are worth celebrating once again. A few of them are favorites due to their unique nature or element of surprise!

I have narrowed down this list to a more manageable number and I hope you enjoy revisiting them as much as I do!

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