Twenty-eight oak trees line the awe-inspiring driveway of the decadent Oak Alley Plantation in New Orleans, Louisiana. These were the reason why Jacques Joseph Roman chose this plantation to woo his wife into moving from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter and into the countryside. Marie used the plantation as a social gathering point for all of her city friends and entertained guests on their own country retreats. The plantation was even the site of many popular films like Interview With a Vampire and Primary Colors.   The plantation cultivated sugar cane and its owners became one of the richest families in the South.  Since then Oak Alley Plantation has become an icon of New Orleans and its rich history has attracted people all over the world to visit, get married, and have special events.   Our tour began with a pickup point along the Mississippi Rive   » Read More

Bryce Canyon: home of the hoodoos.  If you don’t know what hoodoos are, then you are in exactly the same boat as me a couple months ago.  Actually, before this trip I had never even heard of Bryce Canyon (let the gasps of silence ensue). It’s funny actually, because it became one of my favorite places during our West Coast trip.  It was truly spectacular: one of those sights of nature that you just have to sit down for a moment to take it all in. Hoodoos are giant rock formations eroded from time.  The native americans believed that the hoodoos were actually spirits trapped in rock form, and that’s why many are given names that personify their rock shapes. It always amazes me that the forces of nature can create landscapes that look more like works of art.  In Bryce Canyon, for example, the giant hoodoo rock formations seem like something   » Read More

Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!<br/>The bus picked us up from LA, and then the Travelers4Fun Team was off! First stop: Solvang, a Danish village nestled about an hour north of Santa Barbara. A sunny spring day was a perfect backdrop for the colorful red, green, and yellow buildings and charming, wood-thatched wind mills. Once off the bus our tour group quickly dispersed, each of us following our noses toward a medley of delicious scents coming from all directions. From freshly-baked, authentic Danish pastries, to chocolates made on the premises, to home-made ice cream shops on every corner, Solvang was a sugar-lover’s dream. <br/><br/>I personally couldn’t resist Ingeborg’s Handmade Danish Chocolates, their display of giant chocolate Easter bunnies was too enticing to pass up. Two friendly chocolate-makers were kind enou   » Read More

I was lucky enough to take a trip to New Orleans this past week and see what it has to offer. It had always been one of the top places on my bucket list, as I’m sure it is for many others. The food, the music, the French influenced architecture, and of course, the rich history, bring people to this delectable melting pot of a city.   Although many warned me of the smothering August humidity, I seized my opportunity to go regardless of the temperature. Plus, it was no secret among my friends that I loved being blanketed by humidity, to their chagrins. We stepped off of the plane and taxied our way over to the French Quarter, only a half hour away. The small cobblestone streets and hidden alleyways alluded to the city’s age, which was built during a time where a horse and buggy were the main mode of transp   » Read More

Continuing along Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!After the Travelers4Fun team wrapped up lunch in Solvang, CA, we were off to our next stop: Hearst Castle. Nestled atop a hill North of San Luis Obispo – about a two hour drive from Solvang – we arrived mid-afternoon. The Hearst Castle Tour is optional, and at $25 I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves art, history, architecture, or old Hollywood glamour. Many of the tapestries, paintings, sculptures, and mosaics are one-of-a-kind, and some pieces date all the way back to the 3rd century! A little history: Hearst Castle took just under three decades (28 years, to be exact) to complete. William Randolph Hearst worked closely with architect Julia Morgan to design a Spanish Revival-inspired estate. As a child, Hearst traveled through Europe with his mother, and inspiration from his tra   » Read More