Lady Red Travel

I can’t believe it’s already that time of year again! This was definitely the year of revenge travel. I was fortunate enough to go on eight different trips, visiting three new countries and three new states. Here are some of my favorite adventures of 2022!

Snorkeling with manatees in Florida

My first trip in 2022 was a long weekend in central Florida, to experience the Daytona 500 races for my husband Sean, who’s a big NASCAR fan. In between the races, we spent one day in Crystal River to cross off a major bucket list item of mine: swimming with manatees! It was quite chilly in February but definitely worth it to witness these cute creatures out in the wild!

Attending Wanderfest and becoming part of the Wanderful community

My favorite podcast, Zero to Travel, had a contest offering free tickets to the first annual Wanderfest, hosted by the Wanderful community. I happened to win a free ticket to the festival and booked a spontaneous long weekend in New Orleans! It was abnormally cold that weekend for New Orleans, but I met so many nice women and had an amazing time! I even ended up joining the Wanderful community after the travel festival.

Oregon “Workcation”

I experienced my first “work trip” attending a tech conference in Portland, Oregon! In between conference sessions, I was able to sneak off on adventures around Portland and even an afternoon road trip to the beautiful Oregon coast!

Road trip to Virginia and the Outer Banks, North Carolina

Sean and I ended up getting invited to our first “destination wedding” in the Outer Banks, North Carolina this past summer, specifically in Cape Hatteras. Since the island is 2.5 hours away from the nearest airport, we made a road trip out of it and explored both Virginia and North Carolina. Highlights of our trip included relaxing on multiple beaches and finding quirky Atlas Obscura site, including the UFO house!

Whale Watching in New England

I went on a southern New England road trip with my mom and sister during the end of spring and were able to explore Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. One of my favorite experiences on the road trip was our whale watch experience with Captain John Boat Tours from Plymouth Massachusetts. Even though I had been on a few whale watching tours in the past, I felt that we had more up-close and personal experiences with a number of whales, including a mom and her baby! We even saw a couple of whales breach right in front of our eyes.

Greece: Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini

Greece has been on my mind for years and I spontaneously decided to book a tour through Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini this summer. While flying into Athens took almost two days due to travel mishaps, it ended up all being worth it for the Greek culture and history, meeting so many new people, and the adventure of exploring the Mediterranean!

Day trips to Boston

I’m lucky enough to live close enough to visit Boston for the day. And I ended up visiting Boston pretty often this year, from Wanderful day trips, to a work retreat (which required staying overnight in the most haunted hotel in New England). Boston is the closest “big city” near me and will always have a special place in my heart with all of the adventures I’ve had there.

Solo birthday adventure in Portugal

I went on a spontaneous, short trip to Portugal to celebrate my birthday a few months ago, which was one of the prettiest countries I’ve ever visited! The architecture in Portugal is magical, with the Disney-like castle of Pena Palace in Sintra, to Belem Tower in Lisbon. I’d love to go back and explore more of Portugal someday!

Microadventures close to home

When not traveling, I still managed to “travel locally” and went on quite a few microadventures. From kayaking out in my backyard with the local river to visiting America’s Stonehenge for summer solstice, there are so many places to explore in southern New Hampshire!

Road trip throughout the Emerald Isle for an anniversary trip

This October marked our 10 year relationship anniversary (4 years married)! With both of us wanting to visit Ireland, we thought what better time than to go and celebrate our anniversary! From medieval cities, to narrow roads, to getting lost in the Irish countryside, we experienced so many adventures together (and had enough pints and chips to last us a lifetime).