Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going


I would say that this year has already proved a good one as far as travel is concerned. Just in the last few months we’ve already visited 5 other states outside of Tennessee. We’ve saw the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, experienced Mardi Gras and explored the Mobile Bay of Alabama, took a quick detour to the beach in Florida’s panhandle, visited the city of Ashville in North Carolina, and explored all over the city of Lexington Kentucky. Definitely a good start to the year.

But we are also looking ahead to some of the plans that are in place for the rest of the year and we are getting really excited for these! So far this is what is coming up for us for the rest of the year…

APRIL:

Here in a couple of weeks we will be driving along some of the Natchez Trace Parkway. This historic road trip is one of America’s favorites that begins in Tennessee and continues on for 450 miles down to Mississippi. With many historic spots along the way and beautiful scenery to enjoy this may become a new favorite part of Tennessee.

part of the Natchez Trace Parkway (photo : nationalparks.org)

Then at the end of this month we will be enjoying another Tennessee favorite as we head off to the Great Smoky Mountains to get in some hiking and to have a day of thrills at Dollywood. The west part of Tennessee is known for Elvis and Graceland, but the east part is all about Dolly Parton and enjoying the area that she calls home.

(dollywood.com)

JUNE:

In June, my work is sending me a conference in Denver. I have been through Denver many times because I have family that live there, but I’ve never really seen what the city has so it will be fun to explore around. While I am there, my aunt has invited me to join her for the Southern Ute Bear Dance. She works closely with the tribe in that area and having the opportunity to meet them and be part of such a special celebration with them is really incredible.

Southern Ute Bear Dance (crazycrow.com)

So far we have some plans for the spring and the fall, but our summer is still wide open ready for us to fill it up with plans. But when the fall comes we have some bigger plans happening that we are really looking forward to.

OCTOBER:

October is taking us to Costa Rica! We can’t wait to explore the rainforests and see the volcanoes of this beautiful country. We will be staying in the Guanacaste region of the country. We want to see as many of the national parks in this region as we possibly can. And apparently this region is abundant in national parks so we will not be disappointed in that.

Costa Rica (photo : govisitcostarica.com)

NOVEMBER:

And last but not least in November we are heading to the City of Lights to experience Paris. Paris seems to be one of those places that people either love it or hate it. We thought to retry for Germany since our trip there last year was canceled, but we just couldn’t find a trip within the price range of our vouchers. After considering a number of different places we finally landed on Paris as an alternative. There are a bunch of places that Brad and I have wanted to see and for a little girl she is ecstatic about seeing the Eiffel Tower thanks to the character of Fancy Nancy. She has already started packing for this trip despite the many talks of how many months we have to wait.

Paris (photo : viator.com)

So there it is, the beginning of our plans for the rest of the year. Have you been to any of these places? Any suggestions or ideas you have would be greatly appreciated! I hope your own travel plans are unfolding into a wonderous year of adventures for you!

17 responses to “Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going”

  1. arielaonthego Avatar

    I plan on going to Dollywood (but you already knew that lol) and I’ve been to Paris! The view from the Eiffel Tower is breathtaking!!

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      I’m so sad we won’t be at Dollywood at the same time! Hopefully another time 🙂 I am looking forward to seeing all of Paris from the Eiffel Tower!

  2. leightontravels Avatar

    The rest of the year looks amazing for you Meg. I was enjoying all the U.S. stuff and then BOOM, Costa Rica and Paris. Plus an entire summer to enjoy before all that. Very exciting plans indeed, looking forward to reading about it all. Dollywood looks like a lot of kitschy fun.

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      Thanks Leighton! I’m pretty excited for the kitschy fun of Dollywood because I’m quite a fan of Miss Dolly 🙂 but we are really counting down for our fall trips to get here-it’s just so hard to wait until then! I hope you have a great week

  3. Little Miss Traveller Avatar

    What a splendid year ahead to look forward to Meg both with adventures in the US and further afield to Costa Rica and Paris. It all looks superb. I’ve been to Paris but not for ages, that’s all!

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      Thank you Marion, we are really looking forward to all our trips, but especially those this fall. Oh I was going to tell you, Phil and Michaela said they got tickets to Immersive Van Gogh in London for when they get back from Egypt. I know you had wanted to go when it was in Manchester, so hopefully you can go see it in London. Have a great week xxx

      1. Little Miss Traveller Avatar

        That’s so kind of you to let me know Meg, I’ll look into it right now xx

  4. Agata 40thousandkm Avatar

    Exciting travel plans, Meg! 🙂

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      Thank you! I’ve loved seeing all your pictures lately 🙂

  5. thehungrytravellers.blog Avatar

    Excellent, obviously I think you will love Costa Rica, and Michaela and I are DEFINITELY in the “love it” camp as far as Paris is concerned. Enjoy!!!

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      We are really excited for Costa Rica! I’ll be rereading all your posts about it as we get closer to going. I’m so glad to know that you love Paris. Fall trips just can’t come soon enough 🙂

  6. Travels Through My Lens Avatar

    You have an exciting year of travel plans set out before you! I’m looking forward to reading your posts about these amazing places.

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      Thank you! We are really looking forward to them and enjoying figuring out our plans for them. 🙂

  7. Monkey's Tale Avatar

    Sounds like a great year. We loved Costa Rica! And of course Paris will be amazing! Enjoy!! Maggie

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      Thank you! We are really excited about them and can’t wait to see them in person 🙂

  8. The Travel Architect Avatar

    What a great year of travel. You international plans are especially exciting. Costa Rica! Can’t wait for your posts on that. The husband and I think Paris is GREAT – don’t let anyone tell you differently (many will try). 🙂 Rosetta Stone is expensive but fabulous for learning the language – the definitely will appreciate it if you can speak to them with some French. I’d take the d’Orsay over the Louvre any day, if you feel the need to do an art museum, but the Louvre is a classic. However, you’ll walk out of there thinking, “I’ve never seen so many mostly naked overweight ladies and chubby little cherubs in all my life.” Eat as many pastries as you can – even the bad ones are excellent. I think all the “usual” stuff that tourists see is great, but so is just meandering the quaint narrow streets. I hope you love it as much as we do!

    1. grandmisadventures Avatar

      haha, I laughed out loud on your comment on the Louvre! Those are great suggestions and much appreciated! We will definitely put d’Orsay on our list and of course a large amount of pastries as well. I’m really glad to hear that you love Paris. As we’ve been telling people our plans we’ve gotten such extreme negative reactions so to hear you say you love it is so encouraging 🙂

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