I am not sure how my obsession with National Parks started, but over the years, I have made every attempt to visit all the Big 63 national parks. Luckily for me, The Big Island is famously known to be the home to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. This was my first time seeing volcanoes this close since my trip to Iceland many years ago. I truly fell in love with the area and its mana, which I will explain in more detail below.

Here are the top four things you must do if you only plan to be here for a few days.

 What if I told you that the USA has two of the four rarest beaches on Earth?

And you can hike or ride on the back of a pickup truck to see one of them?

Lastly, what if I told you that Key West isn't the southernmost tip of the USA?

Did I pique your interest? Would you actually ride in the back of a pickup with 8-9 other strangers?

It’s a lot more fun than it sounds!

I debated back and forth about where I wanted to stay near Volcano National Park, and Volcano Inn was on my list since it was a four-minute drive from the park. After texting and talking with the manager of this place, I decided to pull the trigger and book my stay. I am SO happy I did! This place is truly magical!

My main food goal in Hawaii was to eat all the fresh fish I could, and boy, did I accomplish that—and then some. Below are my six favorite places to eat, drink, and have amazing experiences. I picked these places based on their vibes, food, drinks and the overall memories I took from them. As you will see, I returned to some of these a few times!

To be honest, surfing wasn't on my list of things I needed to do in Hawaii until my boss told me I needed to do it. Okay, boss, challenge accepted! This was the perfect way to spend my last day in Oahu: going on a quick hike and then spending my last few hours in the ocean learning the most popular sport in Hawaii, surfing!

IslandView Hawai'i is the only family-owned and operated pelagic shark dive tour in Haleiwa, Hawai'i. Before becoming a tour company, it was once a crabbing company that provided their family's primary source of income and food.

For a while, the family only invited friends on their boat to swim with the sharks since they were a family of divers and lifeguards, and they felt comfortable taking them. That changed in 2012 when they realized they could provide a safe and controlled environment for visitors to experience the magic of swimming cage-free with sharks.

My favorite thing to do in Colorado is hitting up as many hot springs as possible. It doesn't matter if it is winter or summer. After a day's adventure, soaking in a hot body of water is refreshing and relaxing!

With almost 100 hot springs in the state, you may be unsure which ones to visit. If so, check out my three favorite hot springs below!

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.