The Sky Ridge Yurts are perched on a mountain and provide an incredible experience for glamping in North Carolina. These yurts overlook the Nantahala River Gorge from their vantage point near the Smokey Mountains. While the view is reason enough to book your trip, other persuasive factors include the luxurious amenities in the yurts and seemingly limiteless options of things to do nearby. Wait – what is a yurt? A yurt is a round tent traditionally used as a nomadic dwelling in […]
Category: USA
Florida.
Visiting Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: A Review + Tips.
Enjoy Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
North Carolina.
Things to Do in New Bern, North Carolina.
A Guide to the Outer Banks Lighthouses in North Carolina.
Visiting Clingmans Dome in North Carolina.
City Break: A Mini Guide to Shelby, NC.
Hiking in Shelby, NC: the First Broad River Trail.
Lodging:
Cozy, Eco-friendly Treehouse in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Stecoah House – Luxury Cabin Rental in North Carolina.
Glamping NC: Staying at the Sky Ridge Yurts near Bryson City.
Rustic Cabin Escape in the Mountains of North Carolina.
Virginia.
Hiking Humpback Rocks in Virginia.
Staying at a Luxury Yurt in Afton, Virginia.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Ride Reviews and Tips for Visiting.
Other:
Cedar Fair Amusement Park Tour:
Part 1: Kings Island and Cedar Point.
Part 2: Canada’s Wonderland, Niagara Falls, and Dorney Park.
Rustic Cabin Escape in the Mountains of North Carolina.
As much as we enjoy traveling to fascinating places with overflowing itineraries and a ‘see everything’ attitude, we also love to get away from it all. That’s why once a year, on our anniversary, we intentionally travel to a place where we can leave everything behind and reconnect with each other. For our third anniversary we chose a rustic cabin in the mountains of North Carolina for our escape, and it was exactly what we needed. Disclosure: This […]
Visiting Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: A Review + Tips.
This was a pretty special trip for us. Mr. Meena’s grandparents live near Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and he’s visited the park several times on family vacations over the years. We’ve driven past the park each time we were in the area (so that he could gaze fondly upon the coasters) and hoped that we’d soon be back and have time to visit this park together. So after about three years of wishing for this trip (and also almost three […]
MJ Donuts – Some of the Best Donuts I’ve Ever Had.
Maybe it’s the variety of donuts available, the fact that they use 0% trans-fat oil, or the women who always serve us so kindly (and send us on our way with more than we ordered) that have made me come to love this place so much. Whatever it is, it has led me –along with many other people – to proclaim that MJ Donuts serves some of the best donuts I’ve ever had. And I don’t say things like that […]
Hiking in Shelby, NC: the First Broad River Trail.
This was our first hike in a little over a month and also our first hike since we moved back to the USA, so I’m glad we found one that was relatively short, flat, and easy. We wanted to ease back into hiking as we start to explore the lovely region that’s currently our home in the Carolinas. This hike was also a good choice because it features a historic wooden railroad trestle bridge and 120 foot long suspension bridge. […]
City Break: A Mini Guide to Shelby, NC.
When we turned onto the inner city streets of Shelby, NC, I was filled with joy – almost as if I was returning home after a long absence. Which is because, in a way, I was. Though I had never visited Shelby before, this was my first day trip and small town experience since returning to the USA after a year living in Germany. I was admittedly nervous (and afraid I’d be disappointed) to see how traveling in America would […]
Our Reintegration into the USA.
We’ve had a wildly successful but mind-numbingly exhausting first week of reintegration. Coming home has been a lot like riding a bike again after many years; we remember how to do it but there are still many unfamiliar sensations and a strong likelihood of falling down before we get things right again. Here are some of the things we faced this week along with some tips for others going through the reintegration process. 6 Phases of Our Reintegration into […]
Repatriation: Our First Week Back in the USA.
This week is going to be a whirlwind. We left Germany last Saturday around noon in one time zone and arrived in the USA in the afternoon of another. We made the long, slow trek though the airport customs line with our bird, Koopa, who passed his USDA inspection with flying colors. Since we had to fly to an airport near Washington DC instead of the one closest to our home in Charlotte (because it was the only […]
What America Means to Me as an American Abroad.
As an American living in Germany I’ve established a better understanding of how Germans (and Europeans) generally view Americans. The first thing that I learned was that some people don’t like it when you say you’re from America – which I can totally understand. They want you to be specific and say you’re from the USA and not just gloss over the fact that plenty of other countries are also technically ‘America’. This topic never comes up when you’re living […]
Our Cedar Fair Park Tour Part 3: Kings Dominion and Money Saving Tips.
Welcome to part three of our Cedar Fair Park Tour adventure. You can view the first two parts here: Our Cedar Fair Park Tour Part 1: Kings Island and Cedar Point. Our Cedar Fair Park Tour Part 2: Canada’s Wonderland, Niagara Falls, and Dorney Park. Park 5/5: Kings Dominion, Doswell, Virginia. “Virginia’s Premier Themed Amusement Park” We got to visit this park on day 10 of the trip, and the park was celebrating being 40 years old. We visited on Memorial […]