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The Wonder Luster

For Those Of Us Whose Dreams Won't Die Between 17 and 65.

Life is wondrous! Feed your lust for life with the tools & inspiration to help make it a great one.

A Trip To Big Sur & Northern California

Travel | January 21, 2015

When I visited Big Sur and other gorgeous northern California cities, I almost cancelled my flight home. I was so tempted to stay. See why!

When I visited Big Sur and other gorgeous areas of northern California, I almost cancelled my flight home.  California is a big, big state.  I was born and raised in California for 24 years, before heading off to Chicago- and while I’d been up and down the state, everywhere from the Coachella Valley to Eureka in the far north, I had never headed over to Highway 1 to see Big Sur and the beautiful beach cities of northern California, luckily though, I had an opportunity to remedy that.

Big Sur California

If you’re driving along Highway 1 in Big Sur, you can stop at Nepenthe Restaurant.  Admittedly, the food is really expensive and it wasn’t that good- but, as with many tourist spots, you know you’re paying for the view.

Honestly- the ambiance is amazing and the staff were pretty nice. (One was pretty stoned, so I’m guessing that’s why she was so nice?)…below is the view from the Napenthe restaurant, so grab a beer and enjoy!  The gift shop below was pretty fun too!

Napenth at Big Sur California

Seriously, no filter on this one..it was just that gorgeous. 

One thing I love about California is the color. The sunshine, the bright hues, the colorful people.  You slow down in California, but it’s worth it.  Oh yes, and then there is the wine. I love wine.  I tried so many good wines during the trip- namely, Carmel Ridge that makes an awesome Moscato.  Enjoying that bottle on the balcony of the Carmel Mission Inn with a friend, watching the sunset will be one of my favorite memories from the trip.

image1In between galavanting in Big Sur & Monterey, we stayed at the Carmel Mission Inn (read my hotel review).  It was colorful, fun and relaxing after a long day of coastal driving and photo taking.  I even snagged a bottle of sparkling wine to enjoy in the room…let’s just say this was the *only* bottle I got my hands on while in wine country….Wink, wink.

Shannyn Loves Bubbly

Palo Alto is also a fun area, perfect for morning jogs on the Stanford campus, sun bathing and wine tasting.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves…talking about it only makes me miss it more right now!

image2image3A trip to Northern California

I love California, and I’m debating if a move back out there is in my future.  The cost of living is quite high, but honestly- not much worse (depending on the area) than Chicago- and I would not have to dig my car out, or bundle up to survive 5 months out of the year.  I love Chicago, but man, when you spend a few days in California while your apartment pipes are nearly freezing over- it’s sort of tempting! Can you see why I almost cancelled my flight home?

California - A Photo from Monterey, CA

 

 

Life is wondrous! Feed your lust for life with the tools & inspiration to help make it a great one.

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Kyoto. ✨obsessed✨ we already want to go back Kyoto. ✨obsessed✨  we already want to go back 😍 #travelblogger #familytravel #familytravelblogger #travelwithkids  #japan #kyoto #japantravel
Traveling with kids is no easy feat, but it’s ab Traveling with kids is no easy feat, but it’s absolutely rewarding. I was told once that you don’t take vacations after kids, you simply parent in a new place- and while that’s true, it’s the kind of parenting we find the most rewarding because it’s helping both kids and adults grow, stretch and experience new things together.

Some days, it’s just easier to survive parenthood by staying home and getting through it- but if you yearn to see the world, and you feel you can’t because it’s not the right time to travel with kids at whatever age, I encourage you to reconsider when it would be “perfect” and do it anyway.

Husband and I dreamed of seeing Japan since we were kids, and what a gift it is that we could live our dream with a family in tow.  Will they remember it? No. But we sure will, and that matters too. 🩷✈️🌎 

#familytime #familytravel #familytraveltips #familyadventures #travelwithkids #travelwithme #travelhack #travelhacking #traveling
Planning an international flight with your baby or Planning an international flight with your baby or toddler? Get a bassinet! Usually (not always) it won’t cost you extra, and you’ll be able to safely let your baby snooze while you enjoy a beverage on your next long haul flight.  Since bassinets have to clip into the bulkhead, there’s only about 4 seats, and one area (two bassinets total) that can accommodate a bassinet per flight- so call your airline early and add it to your reservation!  This was a lifesaver for our @delta flight from Tokyo this spring, but not all airlines offer it (though most international, long haul flights) will!  Happy travels! ✈️🩷🌎. 

#familytravel #familytrip #travelwithkids #travelwithbaby #travelblogger #instatravel #familyadventures #travelhacking #travelhacks #familytraveltips #traveltips
You took your babies to Japan??! Yep! We did. Life You took your babies to Japan??! Yep! We did. Life is short. Pandemics happen! We waited for nearly 3 years for Japan to open back up and now we have 2 under 2! 

There is no perfect time to travel. There are advantages to each development stage- so if you have the ability to go, go. Perfectionism be damned! We took a 1.5 and a .5 year old- and while we had some jet lag, we had a great trip.  Slow down, lower your expectations and just enjoy the world school you get to experience through the eyes of a little one!  Plus, if they can fit in your lap it’s cheaper to travel!! 🤑 

We saved $10 a paycheck for several years and used reward points for our hotel. Traveled right before busy Sakura season and had less crowds and less cost! Happy travels ✈️🌎🩷
Getting married wasn’t the best of my life, it g Getting married wasn’t the best of my life, it gave me the best days of my life.  Happy two years of being contractually tied to me, dear husband. I adore you and can’t wait to plan our next adventures! ✈️🌎🩷

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