Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

10 Ways to Travel More This Year

What obstacles keep you from traveling more? Chances are, the answer is time or money. With work, family obligations, bills and more, it just never seems to be the right time to book that plane ticket. These 10 tips will help you brainstorm ways to find more time and money and travel more.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Iceland Excursions: Hjalparfoss, Haifoss and Gjain

If you want to escape the heavy tourist spots in Iceland, look no further than this scenic inland day trip to the Thjorsardalur Valley, where just a few miles from the popular Golden Circle you’ll find an untouched landscape of waterfalls, rivers and plains

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Christmas Traditions Around the World

I’ve spent the holiday season in three countries and all over the United States, so Christmas has meant coats, flip-flops, and everything in between. But despite many changes in scenery and climate over the years, a few traditions prevail.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

5 Magical Holiday Events in Huntsville, Alabama

From colorful rows of evergreen trees to dazzling icicle forests, the holiday vibes are strong in Huntsville, AL. This is a Southern destination that doesn’t often get painted in wintry white, so fostering a festive atmosphere is especially important.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

17 Travel Experiences I Loved in 2017

This year, I saw the Northern Lights in Iceland, dancing across the dark night sky in fluorescent shades of green. I experienced a different kind of light show standing in the middle of Times Square in New York, on a long-time-coming trip to a city I once I thought I'd live in, but still hadn't visited years later.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Why I'm Thankful for Travel

The holiday season here in the United States evokes images of turkeys, pies, family gatherings and crazy shopping deals. But most importantly, it provides a time to think about what we are blessed with. ...  I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on everything I have to be thankful for because of travel.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

7 Iceland Waterfalls That Will Give You Wanderlust

Iceland is a waterfall chaser’s dream and these seven stunning cascades will definitely win you over. Driving the Ring Road that loops the island, you just have to glance inland every few seconds to see another huge waterfall gushing down towards a farm or pasture. See which ones deserve a spot on your Iceland bucket list!

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

I Quit My Job as a Travel Writer to Travel and Write

Are you confused by the title of this post? I don’t blame you. The decision to quit my job as a writer and assistant editor for an internationally circulated travel magazine was confusing, scary and overwhelming.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

5 Budget Tips to Save on Food in Kauai

When you think of a Hawaii vacation, do you immediately see dollar signs? Since it's the northernmost of the major islands (and therefore more remote), Kauai, in particular, can empty wallets pretty quickly. Just like anywhere else, though, exercising control over what you spend makes a huge difference.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Why I Started a Travel Blog So Late in the Game

You all know that compliment “you’re one in a million,” right? Well, when it comes to travel blogging, it often feels like I’m just one OF a million. Or millions. And that’s not completely false. Google the phrase “travel blog” and you’ll get nearly 300 million hits.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Disney’s Pandora Land — the Good, the Bad and the Really Long Lines

I have a confession: I’ve never seen the movie “Avatar.” I somehow missed it in its heyday and it’s one of those movies I tend to forget about until it pops up on TV. So, from the few minutes I’ve caught in channel flipping, this is the extent of what I gathered: it’s about blue creatures

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

Beach Stays: Sea Shore Motel in Santa Monica, California

It was shortly after 8 p.m. when we walked in to the lobby at the Sea Shore Motel. We had not had dinner yet and most of the local restaurants were closing in an hour. “We’ll just check in really quick, grab our key and head out,” I thought, naively. There are certain charms about smaller hotels.

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Michelle Joy Michelle Joy

5 of Our Favorite Towns on California’s Coast

Striking hilltop mansions, rugged cliffs and dramatic sunsets combine to make California’s Central Coast a bucket list destination. Like many visitors to the area, we opted to do a road trip along the stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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