Hit the Road Jack! My Travel Adventures in Key West, Santa Fe, & Joshua Tree
This travel post has been long overdue in coming, seeing as I soaked up the sun and sea air in Key West in early February, bundled up in snowy Santa Fe and Taos in late February, and shimmied over big bad boulders in Joshua Tree in early April.
Did I mention it’s May.
May 30 as I am writing this. Almost June to be exact!
I thought about skipping this post altogether, but I promised you {way back when…}, that I would share my travel photos and adventures with you,and I never go back on my promises.
Never.
Plus, in case you hadn’t realized it already, I have the travel bug.
Big time.
So, for those of you who have the bug too, here’s some travel inspiration {and travel tips!}, from me, to you 🙂
Key West, Florida
Heading to Key West? Here are my tips on where to stay, what to eat and drink, and where to go…
- Stay: Waldorf Astoria Casa Marina
- Eat: Santiago’s Bodega {Yummy tapas}; Latitudes Restaurant {So romantic!}; Sun Sun at Casa Marina {Yummy ceviche right on the beach.}; Key Fisheries Market & Marina in Marathon {Seriously fresh seafood}
- Drink: The Bull & Whistle Bar {Great people watching.}; Rick’s Tree Bar; Blue Heaven Restaurant and Bar
- Do: Tour the Hemingway House; Hoof it down colorful Duval Street for drinks and people watching; Check out Karen Beauprie’s gorgeous paintings and prints at the Sodu Gallery on Duvall Street; Rent a convertible and cruise along Highway 1 for a Drive of a Lifetime!
Taos and Santa Fe New Mexico
Heading to Taos or Santa Fe? Here are my tips on where to stay, what to eat and drink, and where to go…
- Stay: If you’re travelling with a group, your best bet is to rent a house. This one we rented was perfect for our group of 12!
- Eat: We cooked most of our meals at the house, but a few restaurants to try in the Taos Ski Valley are The Bavarian Lodge {very charming decor on the mountain!} and The Stray Dog Cantina. We had a yummy lunch in Santa Fe at Rooftop Pizza where I enjoyed a gluten-free pizza and spinach salad. And, although I didn’t get to eat at either of these restaurants {I told you I need a trip back to Santa Fe!}, both The Shed and Coyote Cafe came highly recommended to me.
- Do: In Taos~Why ski of course! Here’s some info on the mountain, where lift tickets, at less than $80/day, are a good bet compared to many other ski resorts. In Santa Fe check out The Loretto Chapel, visit The Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, and check out all the art galleries and cool shops!
Joshua Tree, California
Heading to Joshua Tree? Here are my tips on where to stay, what to eat and drink, and where to go…
- Stay: We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground which was the only spot that had availability on a Spring Break weekend. It wasn’t a bad spot, but I recommend snagging a spot at the Jumbo Rocks Campground if you can, for spots with lots of shade from the shadows of the boulders!
- Eat: Cook it yourself! If you want a little ice cream treat to cool off, there is a Foster’s Freeze not far from Joshua Tree, in nearby Twentynine Palms.
- Do: Hiking…Biking…Bouldering…Wild Flower Viewing…Star Gazing….You name it! There are lots of things for the whole family to enjoy, and the best part yet? There is no Wi-Fi inside the park!!! Learn more here…
Whew! This was a long post, but so many adventures I wanted to share with you…
Now it’s YOUR turn!
Where have you travelled to lately? What are your travel plans for this summer? What’s on your travel bucket list??? Here’s what’s on mine!
As always, I love hearing from you! Please join the conversation, and, if you enjoyed the post, I’d love it {and truly appreciate it!} if you stumble, tweet, pin, or share the post. And, if you haven’t done so already, be sure and sign up for my monthly newsletter, Delicious News, and you can enter to win a copy of this gorgeous Mighty Spice cookbook in my May issue.
EA you are living life to the fullest and it’s an inspiration. I have been to the keys but never to Santa Fe. I bet I would love it though we are not skiers. We drove by Joshua Tree when we visited The Grand Canyon years ago but never stopped. I love the desert anywhere in the world. It’s so powerful. I gasp as I look at the boulders. 🙂
Is it a coincidence that I love your recipes/food choices and these are 3 places I want to go? Hmn. I would love to do both Santa Fe and Taos. Travel…we’ll be in VT a bunch this summer, Calistoga/SF for 4th of July, Croatia in August and I am speaking in Sun Valley in Sept (all concentrated as we ski all winter/no travel). We were in Tulum in March, you’d love it there, have you been? Travel bucket list…love it we have a world map with push pins in our house.
Loved seeing your holiday snaps! The ones from Joshua Tree are especially intriguing. Love the wild desert flowers in bloom. For some reason I have a soft spot for deserts (and high plains, and desolate Scottish mountains too), I guess because I grew up near the beach. My daughter is in Italy with a friend’s family while Mr A and I will go to London for food, food and more food! I am also going there for the Food Blogger Connect meet-up, which is the biggest food bloggers conference in Europe, so that’s my big summer treat! But Edinburgh (my town) comes alive in August with its various music, comedy, book and ‘the arts’ festivals so we will stay put and enjoy ourselves here. Have fun with your lovely family this summer.
Ahh, I love traveling vicariously through you! All those places would be on my travel bucket list though I’d be apres-skiing vs. skiing and probably just day tripping vs. camping 🙂
As soon as hubby is employed again, need to plan next destination trip -it’s been too long since I’ve left the country!
Not a skier or a camper, huh? That’s ok 🙂 I’m a big fan of apres ski myself, and can only take a couple of nights in a tent! Fingers crossed you get to go on a bucket list trip soon!
This post makes me SO homesick. I loved Hemingways place and visited often when I lived in Florida. I loved the urinal story and the cats and well, everything about Key West from the sunsets to the pie.
Loved visiting Hemmingway’s house too, and the cats were everywhere 🙂 Wish I could have tried the Key Lime Pie, but I couldn’t find any gluten-free options. Must make some this summer!
So jealous!!
These look like wonderful trips.
My summer travel won’t be *quite* as exciting… although I do leave for Alaska in just a couple of weeks. Yeah, I’m pretty excited about that one 🙂
They were all so much fun Regan 🙂 Alaska? Now I’m jealous too! Definitely on my travel bucket list. One day…
fun trips I think Joshua tree looks fun 🙂 love your adventurous spirit
Thanks Rebecca! Your travel adventures always inspire me too 🙂 Have a wonderful time in Scotland!