Category: Pre-Trip

Solvang, CADay 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

Category: Pre-Trip

Everyone dreams about the big city, the Big Apple, Manhattan, the “city that never sleeps”—New York City.  I’ve been to NYC many times, I went to school in New York and my mom lives in Manhattan, but with a city so bustling and full of things to do, it was definitely a different experience to see it on a Tours4Fun tour.  I saw so many things that I didn’t have the time to see before—or didn’t even know existed! The intrepid Air and Space Museum was one of these.  I would have never thought to go to this museum before, but I was so glad I got a chance to explore on my T4F trip.  It’s a pretty huge museum full of vintage planes and artifacts.  It almost felt like you were stepping back in time, in an old air hangar filled with war planes, fighter jets, and army helicopters.  It was a mix between Top Gu   » Read More

Category: Pre-Trip

YosemiteYosemite was one of our favorite family vacation destinations, so I was excited to revisit the beautiful park after a decade had passed. Our tour group got an early (very, very early) start to our day, and made it to Yosemite by 9 am. March turned out to be the perfect time of year to visit the Yosemite, because the waterfalls were flowing at maximum force as the snow started melting heading into the warmer months. Our first stop gave us perfect views of El Capitan. At 3,000 feet from base to summit, El Capitan is one of the largest granite monoliths (mountain consisting of a single massive rock) in the world and a favorite challenge for rock climbers from around the globe. The next stop was Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America. Our group made the short easy hike to the base of the falls where we got up-close views of the water freely flowing over a tall cliff through m   » Read More

Category: Pre-Trip

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

Category: Pre-Trip

Hearst CastleContinuing 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

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I Love The Smell of Rotten Eggs In the Morning

Category: Pre-Trip

So when I think of what the Yellowstone Hot Springs were going to be like, I thought of two things: rotten eggs and the movie Lake Placid.  If you didn’t know the sulfuric acid that the hot springs emit, give off the delicious odor of deviled eggs.  But fear ye not, the smell is bearable once you are distracted by the beautiful colors of the springs.  One thing to be clear about the hot springs before you visit Yellowstone is that you can’t go swimming in them.  Yes, there are many hot springs throughout the world that offer this divine activity, however the Yellowstone hot springs are a bit more volatile.  Reaching a whopping 160 degrees, these hot springs would surely cause more than a little burn; they might even melt your skin off!  So be sure to stay on the marked trails and admire nature’s dangerous beauty from afar. I was surprised by just how different each hot spring looked.  It seemed that each one had its own personality, color scheme, and vibe.  Some seemed serene and peaceful, while others seemed torment...

Pictaresque Lake Powell Cruise

Category: Pre-Trip

We started off our day in Salt Lake City waking up at the crack of dawn, groggy eyed and morning-breath stricken, but it would be worth it.  After taking another power nap on our morning bus ride, we were finally woken up by our tour guide’s enthusiastic salutation, “Good morning everyone, and welcome to Lake Powell!”  Lake Powell marked my first official cruise of this whole Travelers4Fun journey, so I was pretty excited to step out of the bus and see the glimmering morning rays of sunshine reflecting on a beautiful desert lake.  Yup, it was definitely as scenic as it looked in all of the pictures.  We stepped into the visitor center and began perusing through the gift shop filled with an explosion of Native American souvenirs.  We were surrounded by cowboy hats, feather dream catchers, and precious stone jewelry.  After getting our tickets from our tour guide we walked down to the dock, by this time our morning perkiness had kicked in and we were ready to start a full day of exploring through the western countryside.  The...

Volcanoes, and Goonies, and Bears, Oh My!

Category: Pre-Trip

So our trip starts on Wednesday and we’ve been planning all the details from what videos we’ll be creating, to what blogs we’ll be writing.  We are so excited to share our journey with you all, and can’t wait to get on the road already! I haven’t been to most of these places before so it will be a fresh point of view for everyone that’s curious about traveling to these destinations.  My dad always jokes that Yellowstone is the super volcano of the world and that it’s going to explode and kill us all.  So…wish us luck?  I think I’ve always thought of Yellowstone as a beautiful landscape that smells like rotten eggs.  But I think after the first couple doses of sulfuric acid I’ll be free to explore the natural scenery to its full extent.  Plus, who hasn’t had a secret desire to see Old Faithful?  I think I’m excited most about the famous “hoodoos” at Bryce Canyon National Park.  Hoodoos are natural rock figures that Bryce Canyon’s indigenous Paiute...

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