I remember strapping into these hard, pain-in-the-ass boots, not knowing what I was doing as I headed to my first ski lesson. Afterward, I was nervous about skiing and exploring the rest of Blue Mountain Resort, but I did. And the year after that, I rejoined the ski club. Once in a while, the other popular kids did join me, but mostly, I adventured around the mountain, praying I would not injure myself.

Since then, I have buckled my ski boots up in Pennsylvania and Colorado as I skied solo. Now, I will be honest: I stay on mostly double greens and blues in CO and sometimes a couple black diamonds in PA.

I am not a super fantastic skier, but it doesn't matter. Because I firmly believe that you should try solo skiing, check out my reasons why!

If you google "how to ski alone," you will see the advice: don't do it. And I will say, “I call bullshit on that.” I will call bullshit on that because if you follow the tips below in a ski resort, I think you will be perfectly fine.

Here are my top ten tips to ski solo….

In my series Important Things I Have Learned from Solo Traveling, I mentioned the concept of dating yourself. I FIRMLY believe we must take ourselves out on a solo date, even if we are dating another person. And I am not talking about just one date; I am speaking about dating yourself just as you would as another person.

Over time, I developed one issue about solo traveling that most travelers don't discuss. It's not the airport delays, language barriers, or spending too much money. 

The issue I have is that we are NOT solo when traveling.

With holiday bars becoming increasingly popular in Washington, D.C., I wanted to provide you with the ultimate guide for your visit—or even if you live here. This year, there are over 10 pop-up bars in D.C.

If you're visiting, you'll probably only be able to check out a few of them. But if you do, please reach out to me at Wanderingbel; I would love to grab a drink! But for now, I will share some tips and tricks, as well as explain why you must visit my four favorite pop-up bars.

So, since I desperately needed some grounding in the form of a date night for myself, I got into my car and drove about an hour to King Spa in Chantilly, Virginia, on a cold, rainy November Friday.

If you plan a date night with yourself at King Spa, below are my tips to make things go smoothly.

I wasn’t planning to write about my time here since I didn’t camp or see UFOs. However, I have recently been talking to a friend about aliens, and I just started to watch X-Flies for the first time (yes, I am late to the game). My friend mentioned a lot of UFO activity in the Sand Dunes area.

So, since I have just published my 8 Tips for that National Park, I felt this would be a fun piece to write. Maybe you guys will stop here on your way to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

In September, I went to Colorado Springs for a work trip. Despite being busy, I was able to play and explore a new area of my favorite state. Below are my recommendations for outdoor places you should check out if you have a few days in Colorado Springs—with tips for each one.

Read on to learn tips you can use, as well as my experiences in this park, to help you get a glimpse of the excitement available to you at Great Sand Dunes!

When I first heard about Luray Caverns, I was intrigued. What are these imposing spikes coming from the ceiling? How did they form? How did anyone find this place? I had so many questions and wonders. So, when I was in Shenandoah this past summer, I made a pit stop here.

 I will discuss how the caverns were found, the formations, some of my favorite attractions, and my takeaways!

Over the years, I have explored my fair share of trails in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Since it was my first national park, it holds a special place in my heart. The first time I came here, I hiked Old Rag with an ex and his two friends. Since then, this park has become the one I’ve visited most. Today, I will share some things you need to know about these trails, my favorite ones, and some personal stories about them.

Here, you explore with a boat or small watercraft instead of your feet! The American Canoe Association named Janes Island one of North America's best paddle trails since it offers over 30 miles of water trails that meander throughout the island's salt marsh. The great thing about most of these trails is that they are protected from wind and current, which helps if you are a novice paddler.

It all began with a guy named Captain John Smith. He led two Chesapeake expeditions in the early 17th century from Jamestown to document its geography and native peoples. He found his way to Smith Island in 1608. Then, throughout the 17th century, settlers came from southwestern England and Wales and established farms across the island group.

I am a sucker for hot springs and thermal baths, so when I researched Budapest, I was surprised to find that Széchenyi Bath is the biggest and most popular thermal bath in Budapest—and all of Europe, for that matter! How crazy is that??

Once I arrived at the Jo&Joe hostel after taking the train from Prague, I still couldn’t believe it was inside the same building as IKEA. You could look downstairs from the check-in/bar area and see people wandering the store's aisles. It really cracked me up.

But my amusement was short-lived…..

These are my top three tours you should do as a solo traveler in the Lake District, UK

I share my experience at Wateredge Inn and why you should stay here as a solo traveler!

I spent three nights and two full days in Vienna, Austria. Full disclosure: after Prague, I made this a rest point on my trip. This choice worked out perfectly since it rained a lot while I was there. The universe knew I needed rest.

The one tip I recommend you use while doing a food tour of Vienna is to pack your patience and go solo or make a reservation because it was packed everywhere I went. The average time you’ll wait to be seated is around 25 minutes.

Nowadays, travelers love coming to Budapest to see the beautiful Parliament Building and the Castel (Buda) during the day and enjoy the pub crawls and clubs (Pest) at night. While there for my three-day tour, I stayed on the Pest side, which felt slightly worn down than the Buda side. I believe it is like this because when Budapest was under communist control, the Pest side was hit harder than the Buda side.

Let’s examine the places I ate and drank and what foods I tried so that you know the best places to go when visiting Prague!