LOLA LIFESTYLE ™

There has always been a laundry list of places I have always dreamed of going. It’s always felt that way… you know, a dream. Something that would always be just out of reach. The moments that only play in your mind. The fantasies you create when you think about what you would do if you won the lottery. But this year, in my house, I decided I wasn’t going to dream anymore, I am going to create.

So from here, what do I do? Well, I feel like the best place to start is to write down all the places and things I’ve always wanted to do (USA edition). I need a starting point. Try to prioritize the most amazing opportunities, in my personal opinion. Of course, everyone will have a different list of things they would love to see. Some will want to visit all the big cities, others live in huts on the beach. This is just a small list of my most wished places to visit.

1. Alaska

Alaska has always been that exciting bucket list item. If I could only chose one place to see before dying, it would be Alaska. I want to see the glaciers and coastline from a cruise ship.

I want to find the Draco constellation in the stars on a crisp night, from a glass top train.

I want to lay in a field to watch the northern lights sway in greens and purples across the sky.

I want to hike to crystal clear lakes, like Reed Lakes.

I want to feel completely and utterly in tune with nature and I feel like there is no better place than Alaska for me to do that.

2. Redwood Forests

Have you ever wanted to hug a tree? If you could hug a tree, don’t you think hugging a redwood would be amazing? Well, I do. They say hugging a tree actually helps you connect to the planets energy. Some say tree huggers are crazy, but if you could reduce your stress and cortisol levels, relax your nervous system and give yourself more energy by hugging a tree, would you contemplate giving it a try? It’s worth trying at least once in my opinion, and a redwood seems like the tree that deserves a hug.

To walk among some of the oldest trees in the country (second to the Bristlecone Pines) seems like a great way to spend a couple weeks or months. I have been to California countless times, but never to Northern California where I could meet some of these living giants. Some of these trees were just spouting out of the ground when the first settlers were arriving in California and the great gold rush began. While many other redwoods saw their ill fate because of the gold rush, being perfect lumber for the settlers.

Hiking its endless trails and imagining what the trees would tell you if they could talk. The stories you would hear, the people and animals they have met. Learning about the forests history, puts this close to the top of my list!

3. Grand Canyon

While I have been to the Grand Canyon once before, it was only for one day and we only did one trail that was very touristy. We made it to “Ooh Aah Point,” and then turned around to head back up. I have to advise that it was high anxiety for myself as a mother with small children doing the trek. At the time, I had my youngest who was under a year old, a three year old, five year old and a 10 year old. My husband shepherded my son, the three year old, I had my oldest holding the hand of my five year old and I was baby carrying my youngest. At each switchback, I would have my two daughters switch so that the younger of the two always stayed on the inside of the trail. They warn you that however long it takes to go down it will take at least twice as long to get back up. It’s true. Believe them.

Sadly, I lost my photos from that trip. I wish I could share some real life photos, but today I cannot.

With my children quite a bit older now, I look forward to the day I can make my way back and do more of the things I would love to do while there. River rafting in the gorge.

Hiking in the early hours to see an amazing sunrise slowly move across the tips of the rock formations, creating a sea of gold and burnt sienna glow.

Maybe even learn some real rock climbing. But I think the most exciting part of really immersing yourself into the Grand Canyon is to learn the real culture of the people who have been here for so many years. I come to find myself realizing that I really enjoy learning about cultures. Maybe we will learn to make native jewelry made with coral for good luck, or learn to craft recipes for delicious meals, such as the three sisters soup.

All I know, is that when I am done with the Grand Canyon, I will feel like I’ve learned the land through generations of moments that were sculpted from the sun, the wind, the river and from the people who have laid their hands on its beautiful soil.

4. Salem, Massachusetts

Taking a jump here, because my first three picks were all about nature, culture and adventure. This pick is all about folk lore and mystery. Do you believe in witchcraft? Or do you believe that women were feared for being outside the norm? One of those statements has to be your truth. For me, I believe in witchcraft. Maybe not the super scary voodoo hex kind, but the kind where we can heal with things from nature and be connected intuitively to others around us. There were two subjects in school that always really interested me, the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust.

While Salem from the standard perspective seems like a normal little place near Boston, Massachusetts, it is anything but.

Between visiting Museums, ghost tours and psychic readings, I will have to find time for stopping at the “Hocus Pocus” filming locations, along with getting to Pickering Wharf for some delicious food.

I would also love to get out on the ocean and do a whale watch, maybe a charted fishing trip? Who knows, maybe we’ll run into some famous fisherman from Wicked Tuna.

5. Hawaii

For a very long time, I said, I don’t care if I ever get to Hawaii, but let’s be real, I was only trying to convince myself that wasn’t true because my past has some demons, and I didn’t want to ever be on swamped beaches with an ocean of sharks. Of course those are overdramatized interpretations of what to expect in Hawaii. What I would really love to see in Hawaii is the local version. The non-tourist destinations. I want to live like a local. I want to go to the beaches no one knows about, maybe do some skinny dipping. Find a hot spring, hike a mountain, see a volcano. Maybe those things sound a little touristy, I have to admit. But really, wouldn’t you love to find a hidden waterfall that isn’t bombarded with tourists that you could sit down next to, allow your kids to play in the water while you close your eyes and just listen to thousands of gallons of water falling onto the rocks below? That’s sounds like paradise to me.

While all of the nature elements are amazing in Hawaii, too many to even think about mentioning, there is a spot that I am very excited about and would definitely not want to miss. It is the Byodo-In Temple. A replica of the Buddhist Temple in Japan. Buddhism has been a learning adventure of mine for the last year or two, that I could rabbit hole talk about all afternoon, but I’ll save that, since this blog isn’t about Buddhism. It will be a purely amazing moment to sit in a temple and attempt a moment of zen. This might have to be something I do without my kids, at least one of the days I’m there.

While I put Hawaii as the last of my top five picks, I believe that it will teach my family a lot about nature, and culture while getting to enjoy some amazing beaches and tasty food.

So, there it is. My top five spots to visit. With my plans of traveling at least half the year each year, but being a little more stationary with my visits, expecting to be in one location for the majority of my travel, it might take our family some time to get to all of these amazing places. If it means I get to really sink into the places we’re going, it will be worth it. There’s no rush when we are living once and lodging anywhere!

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-Erica-