A Truthful Traveler

Our third day on our unique Oregon & California coastal adventure got off to a rainy start as we headed into the Newport Bay area. If you sign up for Airbnb using my referral link you will get up to $50 USD off your first stay, and $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more, and I will receive up to $20 travel credit, at no extra cost to you! If you sign up for Airbnb using my referral link you will get up to $50 USD off your first stay, and $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more, and I will receive up to $20 travel credit, at no extra cost to you! We woke up to a beautiful day in San Geronimo, and it was soon clear that nothing about the rest of our unique California & Oregon coastal adventure would be normal.

One of our greatest accomplishments as a family has been spending a lot of our time hiking with our baby/toddler. We started hiking with a baby when he was around 2 months old, and since then Noel has accomplished around 35 different hikes. Hikes can be as simple as a walk through a park; you’re still getting yourself and your baby/toddler outside! When on long hikes, make sure you give your baby/toddler some time out of their carrier to to crawl, walk or play!

But, while Maui is often ranked the #1 Island in the World by Condé Nast Traveler—and the islands, as a whole, receive more than 8 million visitors annually—there are dozens of incentives to keep a visit to Hawaii off your bucket list. Likewise, most Hawaii celebs treat us mere minions like pals, whether that’s Willie Nelson putting on an impromptu jam sesh at Charley’s on Maui’s North Shore, Pierce Bronsan eating tapas at the next table over in Kauai, or Owen Wilson hitching a ride in, again, Maui’s Paia. Whether they’re country keiki who ride horses on the islands’ upper slopes or beach brats that can’t seem to get enough time in the ocean, the children of Hawaii understand from birth that the best life is one that’s lived outside. All of this is nothing to say of the dearth of noise you’ll find on the islands’ serenest beaches and hiking trails, like Maui’s Haleakala Crater, which scientists deemed the quietest place in the world.

My favorite part of Pinterest is the ability to quickly save “Pins” to boards and come back at a later time to actually click on the links and read the information. Another great way to get print information in the form of a “guide book” is to get your hands on tourism materials. Food is a full on sensory experience, and walking through markets or listening to stories of how a family got into the mozzarella making business (I got to watch real mozzarella being made on the Amalfi Coast!) can really add to the experience. If you started out with an idea of traveling through the Balkans in Europe, now you probably have an idea of which cities and towns you want to see, some good restaurants or types of cuisine you want to try, and some potential options for accommodations.