Hi! I’m so glad you’re here!
Hi, I’m Miriam! 👋
And I’m finally making time for my hobby.
When I turned 40, I decided it was time to start doing some things just for me.
So I got a spa treatment.
I thought, Okay, I’m off to a great start!
And then… that was pretty much it. 😂
For the next couple of years, I kept trying to figure out what my hobbies actually were. And honestly…I felt like I didn’t have any.
I had spent years being a nurse, raising kids, taking care of a family, and doing all the things that come with being an adult. After leaving bedside nursing and fully immersing myself in my full-time NCLEX prep role (which I absolutely love), I kept coming back to the same thought:
I need a hobby.
I tried sourdough. Because… why not? (To be fair I was doing this before T Swift 🤪)
And I was very excited when I finally produced an actual edible loaf. If you know, you know. 😂
But making two sandwich loaves a week for my family probably wasn’t exactly the hobby I was looking for.
Then I started thinking about what I loved when I was younger.
I loved creative writing.
In fact, I used to make book reports just because I wanted to. And what were those book reports about?
Places.
I would pull out our encyclopedia (I know, geeky 😂), pick a country, research it, and write about it.
Maybe that’s where my love of travel started.
Then we started collecting memories instead of stuff.
Around 2018, my husband and I decided we were done buying stuff, things, and junk for Christmas.
Instead, we would take a trip.
We could see how quickly time was passing, and we wanted to spend it making memories with our boys.
At first, our trips were small and local. But eventually, we started running out of fun things to do close to home.
So we decided to see more of the United States.
And what better way to do that than through our national parks?
Our trips aren’t all national parks, but over the years, they’ve become a huge part of our adventures.
And some of those adventures happen in our RV. 🚐
While our RV trips are often to local campgrounds, I’ll share those adventures too along with some useful tips for unplugging, camping, and making the most of your time outdoors. Or glamping, if you want to get technical. 😉
So back to the big trips…
I spend an entire year planning these trips.
(Mostly just because I love to make sure I have the best itinerary and I think it’s fun!) I research the destinations, the routes, the hikes, where we’re going to stay, what we should see, what we can skip, and how to make it all work.
Then I put the entire adventure together for our boys to open on Christmas morning.
And yes… it can get expensive.
But I’ve also learned how to make these trips happen without spending a fortune.
I’ve found ways to save money, make the most of our time, and build incredible trips without needing an unlimited budget.
Over the years, people started commenting on our adventures.
“How do you plan all of this?”
“Where did you find that place?”
“How long did you spend researching this?”
“Can you send me your itinerary?”
And eventually, it clicked.
This is my hobby. And if you know me, when I get an idea, I RUN with it and make it happen. So here we go!
Travel planning combines so many things I love—research, writing, creativity, organization, discovering new places, and, most importantly, creating memories with my family.
So that’s what I’m here to share.
I’ll tell you what I’d do again, what I’d do differently, what was worth the money, what wasn’t, and all the little things I’ve learned along the way—plus some of the funny bloopers we’ve had along the way. (Whoops!)
Maybe it’ll help you plan your own adventure.
Maybe it’ll inspire you to finally take that trip you’ve been talking about.
Or maybe you’ll just get a little lost in the adventure with us.
Either way, I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s get lost. 🌎