What makes you smile? What makes you happy?

Travelling. 

I get to travel at least twice a year and it's just a wonderful experience every time. I even enjoy PACKING for a trip. I know that's crazy but it's all about the anticipation of travelling that gets me motivated to pack. 

Over the last few years, I've been to Las Vegas a million times, Portland, Vancouver, Puerto Vallarta, Miami, Grenada, Seattle, etc. I love exploring different parts of America. The food, the people, the air, the culture, it's so vast and varied and beautiful. And the few times I've been out of the United States has been magical and I need to do it more. Europe plus me = a shitshow tour with an accent.

My travel partner-in-crime is usually my husband. We both love to eat new things (him more so than I) and check out the local scene. I love walking down random streets with him and exploring the area. We NEVER do chain restaurants, bars, shops unless it's something that isn't available in our Midwest neck of the woods.

One of my favorite places we've been to was a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta that had THE BEST CHILAQUILES I have ever eaten in my entire life AND some bomb ass mimosas. Listen, if your restaurant has a mimosa menu that starts with "traditional" (with orange juice) and then devolves into raspberry, blueberry, cherry, strawberry, pineapple (and other assorted fruit juices) mimosas, I am yours forever. Our server was amazing and funny and we went back multiple times. So worth the bug bites I got.

It's not just the food either, it's the people we meet when we travel. In Portland, we met a guy who was a marketing director for a huge weed dispensary in California and he got really into showing us his social media strategy. In Grenada, we got emotionally adopted by an enormous extended family on their annual family reunion trip. In St. Louis, I cheered on a parade of drunk women who walked out of a tiny bathroom as they successfully convinced their friend to not call her ex. 

There's something so pure about waking up in a new city with an entire day's worth of adventures awaiting you. I try to do at least one thing that scares me or makes me nervous with every trip (like going on a tiny boat out in the ocean at 70 mph) because life is too short not to. Travelling keeps me young, keeps me happy and gives me something to look forward to every day. I already have three trips coming up this year and it's not even March yet.

If you're not big on travelling, why the hell not?