• Image of a man and woman wearing masks and holding up tickets

    What Life Was Like The First Weekend NYC Reopened

    The spring of 2021, you remember it, don’t you? The weather was warming. The flowers were blooming and we all came out of our lockdown caves, and squinted at the sun. We walked onto shaky ground, hoping upon hope, that maybe life would somehow get back to “normal”. That June, we had a little help rediscovering one of our favorite places on the planet from an unlikely source. This is the story of how Jimmy Fallon helped us experience what life was like the first weekend NYC reopened. The Jimmy Fallon Connection Stephen enters a lottery every year for tickets to Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show. While getting…

  • Medal for the NYC Marathon in the foreground with the Statue of Liberty in the background

    Make Your First NYC Marathon a Smashing Success

    Just before the world hit the “pause” button, Stephen ran his first New York City Marathon. Though we had been to the Big Apple many times previously, this was his first time there for the running of the race. If you’ve never been to Manhattan OR if this is your first NYC marathon, let us share some things we’ve learned along the way to make your first NYC Marathon a smashing success. Don’t even THINK about driving a car there Unless you’re a big fan of stress, near misses, horn honking and altercations just forget the idea that driving a car there would be “better” in any way. Instead, get…

  • Have you ever wanted to soak in a vat of beer?

    Let me ask you, have you ever wanted to just soak in a vat of beer? Or how about drink a beer in the same bar Mozart used to frequent? Or here’s a fun one, have you seen Spider-Man: Far From Home? Regardless of your answers, you’re in luck because today we are going to do a little TBT and share with you our amazing 12 hour adventure in Prague! After the Berlin Marathon in 2018, we rented a car drove down toward Munich for Oktoberfest. (Which doesn’t actually mean “Okay to Beer Fest”, in case you were wondering if the Sam Adams ad was correct.) Since we had a…

  • Small beagle and a black labradoodle sitting on a porch

    Dog Sitting in the Biggest, Small Town in America

    ICYMI – we love to travel and not JUST for the sake of the adventure. Sometimes we leave our home base to provide home and pet sitting for others. Join us this week as we share of very first away from home gig in “Adventures in Dog Sitting – Louisville Edition.” (Someone, please cue a giant movie title). The Prologue July ended up being sort of a crazy month for us. We were already planning to be in Atlanta over the 4th of July weekend so Stephen could run the Peach Tree Road Race. (If you’d like to hear a funny story from that race, check out this post.) Also,…

  • Moments you remember the most - trying Amaro in Italy

    The moments you remember the most might surprise you

    We took our youngest daughter and her best friend on a trip to celebrate their graduating high school with honors. The ladies decided they wanted to experience London, Paris and Rome. As we built our itinerary, we made sure to hit all of the famous tourist spots. When we look back on our trip now, the things we saw aren’t really the things we reminisce about. This taught us a valuable lesson – when it comes to travel, the moments you remember the most might surprise you! Join us as we share the highlights of our European World tour and the lessons this trip taught us. London – 2 days…

  • Cameron Sloan and Ferris at the Art Institute of Chicago the Chicago

    How to “Museum” like a BOSS

    Whether you steal away for just one day or you’re on the trip of a life time, seeing everything you want to see isn’t always easy. Let’s say you’re going to Paris and wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Did you know the Louvre has 380,000 pieces of art. If you only spent 30 seconds looking at each one, it would take you more than four months to see everything. And the gallery the Mona Lisa is in is about as far from the museum entrance as it can be. But never fear, in this article we will give you the tools to “museum” like a BOSS. The backstory In…

  • Man made hill that looks like the shoulders and face of a man. There is a waterfall spilling from his mouth into a lake.

    If Willy Wonka Created a World Made of Crystal

    Were you like me when you were a child…watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory over and over again? Did you ever wish you could find a golden ticket instead of those pint sized hellions? What if I told you, I visited a place that was like…if Willy Wonka created a world made of crystal instead of candy? Would you want to run and explore it too? Come with me and you’ll be in a WORLD of pure imagination at Swarovski’s Krisallwelten Wattens in Austria. The back story In 2018, we were planning a trip to Berlin so Stephen could run the marathon. As we looked at the calendar and…

  • Marathon runners closely passing by the camera

    The Craziest Things I’ve Seen as a Runners Wife

    Over my career as a runner’s wife, I’ve had the opportunity to go to more than sixty marathons, half-marathons, 10ks and 5ks. From what I’ve been told, it’s unusual that a spouse would attend so many races. Here are some things those “stay-at-home” spouses might not think about: Showing up to a race is a good way to show support for your partner and acknowledge all the work they’ve done to get there. Racing can take you to some amazing destinations. We’ve been to Berlin, London, Boston, Big Sur and New York just to name a few. You can see some AMAZINGLY CRAZY things by going.   Join me for a…

  • Hidden Gem – Cliff Bell’s Jazz Club in Detroit

    Looking for some “travel insider” tips? Check out our collection of hidden gems. In these posts, we will highlight some amazing sites and experiences that are under-rated and often overlooked. But, let’s keep these just between us because we always want to be able to get in when we want to go!  This week, let’s talk about a local place that we adore, Cliff Bell’s Jazz Club in Detroit, Michigan. Cliff Bells How we found it We first visited Cliff Bells in 2016 when looking for something to do on our anniversary. We discovered them by doing a Google search for “things to do in Detroit”. Even though they’ve been…

  • Ready for Cleveland Marathon

    Cleveland – The Marathon and the Speak Easy

    Now that spring had sprung in Michigan there is just one thing to do…ROADTRIP! Let’s face it, folks, after being cooped up for the winter everyone is dying to get out and stretch their legs. And of course, there just isn’t anything like Cleveland in the spring – especially when there is a Marathon to run AND you found out that you’re staying on top of a Speak Easy. Join us for some Ohio based shenanigans as The Travel Oracle hits the road! Day 1 – Getting there and Getting Ready! Thank GOD our friends wanted to carpool and that the driver has a hybrid! In fact, I don’t remember…