In some ways, living permanently somewhere and running a travel (and interior design) blog can be a bit of an obstacle. Inherently, you travel less when you’re not a fashionable Instagram nomad. But, it also allows you to become an expert in your home cities. You know that Google doc or forwarded email you dig out when you have guests? Well, here’s mine for San Francisco- a place I thought I’d only be a month-long tourist… three years ago. Continue reading “Clarity in the Fog: Visit San Francisco Like a Local”
Category: United States
Austin has undeniably made its mark as one of the US’s coolest smaller major cities. Celebrated for music, culture, and business as the home of SXSW, certified by Silicon Valley as a tech outpost, and regularly noted as a happening, young, growing city, Austin is Texas without the spurs. Continue reading “What’s Hot in Texas-Cool Austin”
anchored & adrift’s Insider Interview series connects our readers with the firsthand stories and perspectives of travel and design industry professionals and other featured guests.
While a travel blog focuses on storytelling, hospitality professionals are story creators. They work to make our adventures into incredible experiences that we crave and yearn to escape through again and again. Traveling is the dream, and these hard-working hosts make it a reality. Continue reading “Insider Interview: A Look Behind the Scenes of Hotel Hospitality with Megan C.”
Bruh, can’t wait to smash the pow with some super gnarly runs. -said by some ski bum, somewhere
Tahoe, in a very, very different way than Sabrina saw Paris, is always a good idea, despite the niche language barrier that settles in with snow season. The lake and surrounding scenery are beautiful in any season, whether the renowned blue water is paired with summer’s green forests, the warm palette of fall, or snowy layers from winter through spring. This time of year, if climatic conditions are willing and the snow gods are benevolent, the mountains are in great shape and weather forecasts often expect sunshine. This week, a “March miracle” leveled up the lakeside experience, dumping about 5 feet of snow at Tahoe-area resorts. After a previously dry season, this storm is a welcome game-changer for this year’s spring skiing.
Whether you want to “shred the gnar” (that’s filed under Phrases I’ve Learned in California) or relax in a winter wonderland, here’s what you need to know for a winter trip to Lake Tahoe. Continue reading “Lay of the Land: What to Know to Shred Your Snow Trip to Lake Tahoe”
From anchored & adrift’s current HQ in San Francisco, it seems like everyone went to Hawai’i for the holidays. Some had a particular island or even a particular resort they always visited and continued to frequent, and some had the island chosen for them because of a wedding, a family gathering, or another event. But if you have never planned your own trip to Hawai’i, where should you start? With eight main islands (and 137 recognized islands total) it can be overwhelming to try to pick one lush, tropical oasis over the other. Continue reading “Hawaiian Holiday: There’s Something for Everyone in Blue O’ahu “
San Francisco is still developing its brand as turnaround port for major cruise lines, but it has always been a true destination city, topping travel bucket lists globally. With a new, convenient cruise terminal just steps away from the heart of the city -which, when occupied, also serves as an unavoidable reminder for all waterfront visitors to look into cruising- and all the attractions the City by the Bay has to offer, experiencing SF as a home port is a delight for any experienced or new cruiser.
Continue reading “From the Bay Area to the Open Ocean: Cruising from San Francisco”
anchored & adrift has temporarily relocated from Washington, DC to San Francisco for one month. In this Destination Deep Dive series I share what not to miss in SF from my after work and weekend adventures.
Sunshine, clear skies, and warm weather make for a good weekend. Add an all-terrain adventure and you’ve got a great one. Yesterday, I headed to East Bay to meet a friend and Oakland resident for an insider look at life on the other side of the Bay Bridge. Continue reading “Destination Deep Dive: SF – A Day in East Bay”
Washington, DC, a top destination for foreign and domestic visitors alike, is consistently at the top of listings of the fittest cities in the US. While sticking to a workout plan while traveling can be tough, the proliferation of gyms and boutique fitness studios in the city can be can be an opportunity to try something new or attend a destination class.
The keywords to describe health in northwest DC are luxury, boutique, and niche. In addition to local, multilocation gyms like Balance and Vida, group fitness classes are the name of the game. From Zumba and cycling to Piloxing and Pound, DC has it all. For travelers, the great thing about these classes is you can often take a free first class or week, or buy just a single class or a small class package if you’re staying longer, instead of subscribing to a monthly membership. Continue reading “Sign Me Up: Where to Work Out During a Trip to the Fittest City in the US”
The streetcar track runs through the center of St. Charles Avenue, on a grassy strip of land between each direction of the road. Joggers run on the narrow area of grass that separates the two streetcar tracks, because the sidewalks are too uneven to safely exercise on. After all boarding passengers have inserted $1.25, the streetcar jerks to life and heads toward the next stop. While our elevated seats provide great views of stately mansions on St. Charles, and tourists snap photos of the streetcar as it goes by, the old world ride is only graceful on film. Our ride is rickety and slow, and as the driver winds a joystick back and forth, the engine and breaks shudder and groan as we continue toward the bustling French Quarter. The lights flicker on and off, and the stop requested signal interrupts any streetcar-induced reverie like a blaring alarm. This is New Orleans. Continue reading “A Big, Easy Weekend: While City Systems Fail, New Orleans Culture Is Wonderfully Alive”
Every part and every neighborhood of Manhattan offers a different NYC experience. In this series, I focus on a day spent in one of the many varied sections that make up Manhattan. See below for links to other day-by-day tips for enjoying Manhattan’s diverse neighborhoods.
It’s a tale of two cities, or countries or neighborhoods, however you to prefer to phrase it, in the heart of New York City. Directly next to each other, even entwined thanks to some outlier stores, are two unlikely neighbors- Chinatown and Little Italy. The first time I went was spontaneous, and I had not yet become familiar with the layout of Lower Manhattan, and I was shocked when one moment I was eating dumplings and trying authentic soymilk on one street, and I was suddenly on a bustling Italian restaurant avenue on the next. While you could argue that world history (and modern globalization) makes these two countries more closely related than they appear, it is still an unexpected situation. Here are my suggestions for a day in Chinatown and Little Italy: Continue reading “New York City Sights: A Day Spent with Unlikely Neighbors in Lower Manhattan”
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