Ski season is just around the corner, and the Ikon Pass is making it even easier to ski across the country by adding a new California mountain to the mix.
30.08.2024 - 22:34 / insider.com / Sunshine State
Melissa Dewalt caught the travel bug a decade ago when she drove from her home state of Pennsylvania across the country to California to visit her then-boyfriend. She then road-tripped north to Seattle.
"That was my first trip out west, and I was hooked," Dewalt, a 31-year-oldchiropractor, told Business Insider.
In 2018, while in Louisiana on a trip for her sister's birthday, Dewalt realized she had traveled to her 37th state — and resolved to make it to all 50.
She carefully mapped out which states she would hit over the next few years and aimed to visit her last state, Hawaii, on vacation to celebrate her 30th birthday.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, thwarted many of the trips she had planned, so while she still traveled to Hawaii as she turned 30, it was state No. 46. In August, she completed a road trip through her final states: Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota.
Dewalt said she prefers spending her money on stateside travel rather than hopping overseas because she is most drawn to natural wonders across America.
"I've never really had the desire to go to Europe. I'm very much a mountain girl," she said. "I would rather see natural things created by, like, glaciers and rivers."
Growing up, Dewalt didn't think much of Alaska because it was so far away.
Going into her 50-state journey, she expected Montana to be her favorite destination, but the landscapes of The Last Frontier captured her heart.
"It's just a fairy tale up there," Dewalt said. "Growing up, one of my favorite things was to go to Maine, and it always stuck with me how special it is to see mountains and the ocean in one view."
Dewalt and her husband took a northbound cruise from Vancouver and arrived on land in the port city of Seward. They then took a picturesque train ride up to Fairbanks.
They also stopped in Alaska's biggest city, its capital Anchorage, and Denali, a national park that is home to the highest mountain peak in North America.
They saw wildlife and even the northern lights.
Dewalt said it was the trip of a lifetime.
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"It should be a bucket list trip for everybody," she said.
To Dewalt, Florida was the least impressive state, mostly because she felt her itinerary included only overdeveloped and touristy spots. She said she didn't see enough natural beauty for her liking during her time in Florida.
"We went up to the 10th floor of the hotel," Dewalt said. "But it felt like there was nothing here, just a bunch of roads and theme parks."
However, she added that she's open to changing her mind about the Sunshine State.
Dewalt said she and her husband are traveling back to Florida next year for a wedding and plan to visit the Everglades, wetlands known for mangroves and crocodiles, and Biscayne National
Ski season is just around the corner, and the Ikon Pass is making it even easier to ski across the country by adding a new California mountain to the mix.
Clarksville, a historic district of Austin, Texas, has lately emerged as a stylish dining and shopping enclave. Among the area’s most compelling new businesses is La Embajada, a design shop housed in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow. Combining the hospitality and interiors expertise of its founder, Raul Cabra — who has designed tableware for some of Mexico City’s most celebrated restaurants, including Rosetta and Pujol — La Embajada presents a refined, regionally diverse selection of Mexico’s artisanal offerings. A series of small rooms display vintage and contemporary furniture, from stately midcentury armchairs and 1970s glass sconces to a minimalist agave fiber rug by the Oaxaca-based textile artist Trine Ellitsgaard. The house is also an actual residence. Cabra often stays in the bedroom up the creaky stairs, and he’s recently made it available for short-term stays (bookings include a daily basket of baked goods from Austin’s Swedish Hill). Guests can purchase the room’s handmade décor, such as a pair of sleek bedside lamps in milky white onyx, a 1960s La Malinche dresser and a bedspread from a Michoacan manufacturer that once supplied Herman Miller. Downstairs, glassware, candles and gifts fill a section modeled after a typical general store in a small Mexican town. But La Embajada’s heart is its inviting kitchen, where visiting chefs cook elaborate meals and staff prepare ice cream and coffee. In another twist, every bespoke detail — including a hammered copper sink, caramel-colored tiles and waxed pine cabinets — can be custom-ordered for one’s own home.
America's third-smallest state by land mass is suddenly at the center of the nation's latest airline turf war.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, August 27, 2024, and now, here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Alva Vanderbilt's 39th birthday present from her husband was a 140,000-square-foot summer "cottage" on the shores of Newport, Rhode Island.
I'm a big proponent of creating a spending strategy when applying for a new credit card. That way, I never miss out on a welcome bonus and don't overspend trying to achieve one.
It’s a steamy May morning in Thailand’s lush Khao Yai National Park, just a two-hour drive northeast of Bangkok, and the tok-tok call of a gecko sounds as I stand on a balcony overlooking the GranMonte wine estate. Among its holdings are 7 guest rooms and 40 acres of vineyards at the edge of a tropical jungle, all baking in the 80-degree heat. The winery’s workers protect themselves from the sun, wearing wide brimmed hats and long-sleeved layers as they prune the vines that tangle and twist around dozens of constructed frames. Later in the year, the grapes that they bear will become bottles of Grenache, Verdelho, and Cabernet Sauvignon—all of them with roots, literally, in Thai soil.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scarlett Kiaras-Attari, a marketing executive and education content creator who moved to the UK for her studies. It has been edited for length and clarity.
As summer begins to wind down, travelers are starting to hunt for bargains on fall and winter travel. Allegiant Airlines, a discount carrier based in Las Vegas, recently released tons of deals on flights for under $50 on theirdeals section throughout November, which they describe as a «great value.» Customers can get flights to popular destinations throughout Florida including Tampa and Orlando, as well as vacation spots such as Vegas or Nashville.
After decades of caring for his autistic son, Ryan, Adam Murphy, a 51-year-old father of three from Gloucestershire, England, noticed that Ryan, 27, was becoming a bit more open to trying new things. His son, Mr. Murphy realized, might be able to take his first airplane ride.
As part of our Disney Diaries series, Business Insider has been gathering must-do itineraries for Disney World and Disneyland from people who love the theme parks.