Tag: eastcoast

A Few of My Favorite Beaches

With winter (hopefully) winding down, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite beaches on the east coast!

Since I was old enough for my parents to take me to the beach, I have been soaking in the sun and playing in the sand. The beach has been a place of relaxation for me my entire life. I take any opportunity to go to the beach.

If you are planning a short day trip to the beach or want ideas for a week or two vacations, I hope this helps you plan!

(Note these beaches are not in order of my favorite to least favorite. I am going to just begin at the top of the east coast and make my way down)

 

Narragansett, Rhode Island

I went to the beach in Narragansett almost 9 years ago and it still stands out as one of my favorites. The little town around the beach is adorable and there are mesmerizing rocks and rock structures near and on the beach. Not only is this a great beach to spend the day, but it is also close to Newport which is one of my favorite towns! In Newport, you can hop on a sailboat and take a relaxing cruise to see beautiful homes along the shore.

 

Sea Bright, New Jersey

I just went here for the first time this past September and fell in love. This whole area is charming and quaint but the beach area was definitely stunning. There were cute shops and restaurants along the beach. The beach itself was lovely and there were restrooms near the parking area and beach area.

 

Wildwood Crest, New Jersey 

This Beach really has it all! It’s a FREE New Jersey beach. Yes, you read that correctly! There are many hotels, motels, and rentals in the Wildwood Crest area. I have always lucked out and have gotten places about a block away from the beach! The reason why I love this location so much is that the beach is beautiful, not too crowded, and it’s close to all of my favorite evening beach hang out places! I love the Wildwood boardwalk and the vintage arcade there. I also love going to Stone Harbor and Cape May for dinner and shopping!

 

Cape May, New Jersey

Since I brought up Cape May, this beach is near and dear to my heart. I have grown up on this beach. Cape May is a beautiful old beach town with history, gorgeous beach vibes, and fun all in one place. I love the carriage ride you can take on a warm evening where you learn the history of Cape May. The Cape May beach is beautiful and the Washington Street Mall is the perfect place to hang out in the evening.

 

Lewes, Delaware

This is an area that I just recently visited. On the drive to the beach, there is a little street in Lewes that has the most delightful shops and restaurants. The Notting Hill Coffee Roastery has a really cool coffee shop vibes and is a great place to refuel. If you are really into coffee, this is definitely the place to go. They roast their own coffee and have a whole wall of bags of coffee to buy! This main street in Lewes has an old church, a unique book store, and a lighthouse boat nearby! In the Cape Henlopen State Park, there is a great beach for swimming and shelling in the summer!

 

Outer Banks, North Carolina 

I’ve only been to the Outer Bank once but it was one of my most adored beach experiences! I stayed in one of those large beach houses that have great beachy vibes. It was walking distance to the beach and also to the little town of Duck. One of my favorite parts of this beach vacation was taking an open-air jeep tour. The jeep took us miles down the beach and saw wild horses near houses that were only accessible by driving on the beach! The Outer Banks is very unique and stunning.

 

St Augustine, Florida 

This is by far my most treasured beaches on the east coast of Florida. The beach is beautiful and quiet. The town of St Augustine is beautiful, old, and historic. There are fun restaurants and shops. There is even the Fountain of Youth you can visit! I haven’t gotten to the Fountain of Youth but I cannot wait until I visit again! Also, Flagler College is in the town of St Augustine. I defeintely recommend stopping by to look around the campus. It is an impressive and historic campus.

 

Dunedin/ Honeymoon Island, Florida 

Dunedin and Honeymoon Island are my favorite!!! Dunedin is a cute town! They have hip restaurants and coffee shops. Off the coast of Dunedin is Honeymoon Island State Park. This park is wonderful. It’s the perfect combination of wilderness and the beach. The ocean is clear and calm. There are walking trails which are fun and give you the opportunity to see Florida wildlife.

 

Siesta Key, Florida 

Below the Tampa area is a rare beach with quartz sand. The sand stays cool even in the hot sun! The really cool part of lounging on the beach was during sunset when multiple weddings happened. I swear there must have been 4-5 weddings that happened at sunset. It was the perfect way to end a relaxing few hours at the beach.

 

Sanibel Island, Florida 

Ah, Sanibel. This is the best beach on this list. Though I loved each one of the beaches I listed before, Sanibel and the area around Sanibel really impacted me. The beaches are so natural. Sea creatures are in their natural habitat and nature just exists that way its suppose to. There are so many opportunities to see wildlife there. I went to take a boat to Cabbage Key and there were a few manatees swimming around the harbor. Another time, I stopped at a beach right off the roadway and there was a dolphin showing off for the people on the beach. The shelling in the area is amazing as well. Full, remarkable, and unique shells are everywhere! Even though I have only vacationed here once, I plan on traveling here many more times throughout my life.

 

There are so many beaches on the east coast that I haven’t visited yet and that I am eager to get to. If you have a beach I should add to my list let me know and I’ll visit is ASAP!!
Hope this helps you plan your beach adventures in the future!

 

 

When Trips Do Not Go According to Plan

You never know what to expect when you’re traveling. You could have smooth traveling days and even smoother days at your location. Other trips can lead you to new and unexpected places. And other trips could leave you wanting to never return to the area.

I have had some trips that have moved smoothly. Every day goes according to plan and every activity meets all my expectations. Other trips though, do not follow this formula. I have had trips where there just isn’t enough time to see it all or some plans fall through. Trips like my most recent trip to Florida, nothing goes according to plan at all. I find these trips exciting and character building. These types trips make or break travelers.

I hope they make more then they break.

I have learned that with each trip that does not go according to plan, you just need to go with the flow. Seriously, do not resist where the trip is trying to take you. You may miss out on something great because you are disappointed. I am a natural planner and I admit, I definitely start feeling discouraged when every plan falls through or changes. IT’S OKAY TO FEEL THIS WAY! Just don’t let this feeling linger. Embrace the path that the universe is putting you on and go with it!

Like I said, this happened with my most recent trip to Florida. Looking back on the trip, it was so unique and eye-opening because I went with where the trip was trying to take me.

The best example would be that wherever I travel, I always need to go to a new coffee shop. I need to try a new, single origin coffee. I look for coffee shops that roast their own coffee and have a certain vibe. I found these two coffee shops that meet my criteria near downtown Orlando. Luckily, our plans had us driving by downtown Orlando a few times, which means we could stop! Every day, every time,  our plans would fall through on our way to the coffee shops. We would have plans, leave early for these plans, and we would just happen to hit 30 minutes of traffic on the way. That would have been the 30 minutes we would have had to get coffee! I even tried looking at coffee shops along the routes we would be driving and one after another, our plans to stop would fall through.

On the 3rd day of the trip, plans fell through again to visit one of the coffee shops. I decided right there and then that I was done planning. This trip clearly had other plans for me. Later on the 3rd day, we visited a cute little town and we stumbled upon this tea shop called The Rosie Lee Co. They had loose teas lining the wall and a bar where you could order them. To the right of the bar, you could smell and buy the loose teas to brew on your own. I am obsessed with loose teas and love trying new ones. This place had a cool vibe and was like heaven! I was smelling the different loose teas and the barista started telling me about some of their specialty drinks. One was a turmeric latte with coconut milk and honey.

Fun fact about me: I love turmeric tea and I make lattes at home with turmeric tea. 

I was dazzled about how amazing that sounded. I ordered one right away.

Honestly, it was one of the best turmeric lattes I have ever had!

If I had coffee earlier in the day, I might have not given that shop much of a glance. And if I did go in, I might have ended up passing on the turmeric latte. But since I just let the trip take me where I needed to be, I ended up with an amazing turmeric latte and some loose teas I could bring home.

So please please please don’t get discouraged if your trip does a 180 last minute. Go with the flow! It’s a part of the journey.