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Blog
Categories
- Destinations
  - Asia
    - Japan
  - Europe
  - North America
    - Mexico
    - United States
      - Midwest
      - Northeast
      - Southeast
      - Southwest
      - West
  - Oceania
    - New Zealand
  - South America
    - Colombia
    - Peru
- Tennessee State Parks
- Nashville Local
- Books
- Personal Essay
About
- My Story
- Work with Me
Press
Contact

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Day: July 20, 2023

Destinations

A Walking Tour of Duddingston Village, an Edinburgh Hidden Gem

July 20, 2023

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Yes, avoid feeling old by taking a solo trip! ✈️🙅‍

Yes, avoid feeling old by taking a solo trip! ✈️🙅‍♀️💀

To celebrate turning 40, I booked a small-group trip to Morocco with @gadventures and was reminded how, in my beautiful life full of routine, I’m still capable of coping with the unknown. (And the decision-making and time management on my, and ONLY my, terms were pretty fantastic, too. 😉)

You don’t need to cross an ocean for self-care, but if you need the push, this is me encouraging you to just book it!

Where would you go in your own?
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#gadventures #morocco #solotravels #thisis40

Through the souks of Marrakech. 🌞 When I first arr

Through the souks of Marrakech. 🌞 When I first arrived in the city, discombobulated from jet lag and time change, I had too much anxiety to explore on my own. From an ocean away, all I felt from pictures was a claustrophobic labyrinthine of streets that I feared would overwhelm my already fragile senses.

But five days later, more accustomed to the unease of unfamiliarity, I had gained the confidence to explore on my own.

And fortunately, Marrakech (the old medina, at least) welcomes its visitors with an infectious positive energy. The motorbikes that push their way through pedestrian crowds do so more with a nudge than a bulldoze; vendors smile and say hello to encourage your interest in their wares.

Whether the source of my comfort was the city’s warm reception to visitors or my own found-again confidence at being solo, I’m not entirely sure—probably a combination of both. Either way, it’s the addictive high of that intrepidity that keeps me booking plane tickets.

Daily life in Essaouira’s medina. 🌊 If ‘medina’

Daily life in Essaouira’s medina. 🌊

If ‘medina’ makes you think chaotic and claustrophobic, Essaouira’s will convince you otherwise. Maybe it’s the adjacent oceanfront that lends a calming coastal vibe to the city, or maybe it’s just a longstanding air of confidence with who it is—the oldest international port in the country that has long attracted travelers and traders, artists and musicians.

Though I know it’s a major tourist destination, it never felt like one. Everything is more relaxed. Shop sellers yell greetings instead of prices; restaurants build a menu from the day’s catch and ease you through a meal; streets are quiet enough to allow a rest and idle conversation.

Just look at the resident cats. In every peripheral corner, in every stretch of sunlight—there they are perched or stretched, calmly and happily taking up their due space.

Window views in Tamri, a small-town “Banana Villag

Window views in Tamri, a small-town “Banana Village.” 🇲🇦

We stopped here specifically for a snack, the driver still running the engine as our guide hopped out to cross the street and buy a bunch. According to him, the bananas from here are like nowhere else. They’re small and sweet, the perfect size and consistency compared to the over-engineered ones from my suburban American grocery store.

In those few short minutes waiting, I thought about the snapshots of life you could capture just from a car window. Incomplete, but full moments lived.
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#morocco #tlbestshot #afarmag #travelersnotebook #strideby

2025 adventures: posting for posterity before the

2025 adventures: posting for posterity before the month is half over!

We started the year with snow days and enjoyed winter around town. Visited 4 new state parks and NYC twice. Checked off a life-long dream destination with my entire fam in tow. Crossed state lines multiple times to see friends (and Beyoncé). And ended the year on a new continent!

We never really start the year with many adventures or destinations in mind, so I don’t know exactly where 2026 will take us. As always, we’ll just stay open to adventure, follow our whims, and embrace spontaneity.

Happy new year!

Souk El Had (Sunday market) in Agadir: my first je

Souk El Had (Sunday market) in Agadir: my first jet-lagged introduction to Morocco.

As a first-time visitor, it’s everything you expect from a place you’ve only read about. Vendors yelling their prices in Arabic; sales happening in French, broken English, whatever language necessary for these quick negotiations. The crowds roll slowly, like a wave, pushing through the crowded aisles past magnets, rugs, pottery, bananas.

For many, it’s a stop on a tour bus or a stroll from a hotel, an eye-opening and memorable immersion into a new locality. But for others, it’s a weekend shift or family outing—a tidbit of everyday life that will be forgotten by the time the sun rises on Monday.
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#morocco #gadventures #agadir

Hunting for Christmas trees in downtown Nashville!

Hunting for Christmas trees in downtown Nashville! 🎄

Plan a walking path that hits the boutique hotels (we usually start at @thefairlanehotel and head down 4th), grab cocktails as needed, end with dinner at @gannonsnashville or @opheliasnashville.

Highly recommend this outing on a weekday evening to avoid the usual downtown crowd. 😵‍💫

📍Vinyl Christmas pop-up at @thefairlanehotel
📍Lounge seating @noelle_nashville
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#nashvillegram #madeinnashville #nashville #christmastree

@hopsandskips

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