Drink Like a Local in Charlottesville, Virginia with Cville Hop On Tours

Offering guided winery, brewery, cidery, & distillery tours, Cville Hop On Tours takes the guesswork out of planning your next boozy tour of the Charlottesville, Virginia area...

This post was created in partnership with Visit Charlottesville & Cville Hop On Tours. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website.

Oops, I did it again... ;) I planned, hosted, & attended my second ever local bloggers retreat in Charlottesville, Virginia last month. Some of you all may recall my first Sip, Dine, & Shine retreat in Charles Town, West Virginia back in 2016. This year's venue may have changed, but it was awesome to get the ole gang back together again (Erin from Delightful E Made, Brianne from Cupcakes & Kale Chips, & Karyn from Pint Sized Baker). Nicole from Mediavine & Or Whatever You Do joined us as well on this year's retreat, and boy we were glad to have her!

We all stayed in a restored 1790 cabin tucked away at the end of a long gravel driveway about 45 minutes outside of Charlottesville. And while we certainly loved the seclusion & peacefulness of our rental home, it definitely made us all appreciate the fact that we had decided to book a winery tour with Cville Hop On Tours even more! It was definitely a much better choice than trying to pile all of us into one of our cars & winging it on our own to try & explore the local winery scene. ;)

Sip Your Way Through Pittsburgh with City Brew Tours

Discover Pittsburgh's favorite neighborhoods by sipping your way through the city with City Brew Tours...

This post was created in partnership with TripAdvisor. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

One of my favorite ways to explore a new city (or as in this particular case, different & new to me parts of a city I already love) is to book a culinary tour with a local tour group. I have hopped on winery tours & the occasional local foods tour, but brewery tours just may be my personal favorite. 

Local breweries have just recently started making a comeback from the days of Prohibition in many cities & areas of the country, popping up in once was industrial neighborhoods of towns & cities. They bring with them not only some tasty & creative local brews, but also have restored a revitalized sense of community & pride in these once forgotten parts of the city. 

Recently, myself & one of my girlfriends booked a brewery tour through TripAdvisor & hopped on with City Brew Tours in Pittsburgh to explore & get a small taste of the local brewery & microbrewery scene in a city that was once the heart of the steel industry of America...

5 Places to Visit in the Finger Lakes (That Are Not Wineries)

The Finger Lakes region of New York is so much more than just wine country! From quaint downtown areas with wonderful local shops to waterfall chasing to a growing craft brewery scene, here are 5 Places to Visit in the Finger Lakes That Are Not Wineries...

The Corning Glass Museum tour, Watkins Glen State Park hike, & Farm Sanctuary tour were all provided courtesy of TBEX North America 2018. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

I obviously have nothing against wineries. In fact, I think most of you all know by now that I love myself a good winery tour & tasting while traveling. ;) 

But I do think that when most people consider planning a trip to the Finger Lakes that they assume that they have to be wine lovers in order to enjoy the area. Today's travel post is to show you all that the Finger Lakes region of New York has so much more to offer than just great local wineries.

From quaint downtown areas with wonderful local shops to waterfall chasing to a growing craft brewery scene, the Finger Lakes is so much more than just wine country.  Now that isn't to say that you couldn't pop into a winery or two (or four!) for a tasting while in the area, but you most certainly do not have to be a wine aficionado to truly appreciate the Finger Lakes of New York.

Although I only scraped the tip of the iceberg during the few days that I visited the area, I am sharing 5 of my favorite must-visit places in the Finger Lakes (sans the wineries) with you all below...

Two Reasons You Need to Plan a Visit to Weston, West Virginia

If you ever needed a reason to plan a road trip to Weston, West Virginia, then I have two for you- the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum & Lambert's Vintage Wines...

I know when most people think "road trip", the small town of Weston, West Virginia probably doesn't even cross their minds. Unless you happen to be into ghost hunting and paranormal activity, you may have never even heard of the infamous now closed mental hospital there. 

And you may be hard pressed to find the handcrafted wines that the quaint Lambert's Vintage Wines produces at a wine shop or liquor store near you. But scores of weddings, events, and celebrations are booked at that local owned winery tucked away at the end of a gravel road from visitors across the country each year. So much so that Lambert's is already booking weddings and events into 2016!

On a rare all day date with my husband and my sister and her fiance, we decided to head 45 minutes south down I-79 to Weston for the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum's opening day of the year. Ghost hunts and tours are offered all year round per reservation, but the asylum opens to the general public for tours in April of each year. 

The asylum offers two types of tours to the general public- historic/heritage tours and paranormal tours/ghost hunts.  Since this was our first time visiting the asylum and my husband and I happen to be history buffs, we all decided on the 90 minute historic tour.  Plus, we wanted to take advantage of the special deal being offered only to West Virginia residents with a photo ID just during the month of April- $10 off the the 4 floor historic tour. ;) 

Charlottesville, Virginia: The Perfect Couples Getaway for Foodies

Breweries, wineries, & a growing local food scene in the picturesque foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains makes the historical city of Charlottesville, VA the perfect destination for a foodie couples getaway... 

This post was created in partnership with Visit Charlottesville. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website.

Even though my husband & I love to take trips with the kiddos to explore new destinations, every once in a while we like to get away- just the two of us. We try to sneak in a couple's getaway at least 2-3 times a year. These one-on-one trips don't have to be far away or even lengthy. Sometimes, a 3-4 hour road trip with a few days to explore a new (or long-time favorite) city on our own is all that we need. 

When Visit Charlottesville reached out to me about coming to visit their city & the surrounding Albemarle County for a few days with just my husband, we jumped at the chance. The Charlottesville area of Virginia had been on our travel list for well over a year now. We were drawn to the history of the area (hello, Thomas Jefferson's breathtaking estate is located there!) as well as to the city's culinary scene & the growing number of wineries & breweries popping up all throughout the 700-acre county.

During our 3-day visit to Charlottesville, we discovered that the local food & drink scene permeates just about every area & place that you visit in the city and in the surrounding Albemarle County. Even the two historical sites we visited had a foodie focus to them...

A Summertime Travel Guide to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

From battlefields to ghostly tours and tales of hauntings, to a vintage baseball tournament, to a constantly expanding local culinary scene, Gettysburg has a little something to offer everyone during the summer season...

This post was created in partnership with Destination Gettysburg. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Summertime was just made for weekend road trips. For my family and I, anywhere within a 4-hour drive is game. We pack our bags for a 2-3 day stay, load up the car, and hit the road. One of our favorite destinations for a quick and fun getaway is the historic city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is just a short 3 1/2 hour drive from the Pittsburgh area.

Last summer, we had the pleasure of teaming up with Destination Gettysburg to plan the perfect 3-day family getaway. From battlefields to ghostly tours and tales of hauntings, to a vintage baseball tournament, to a constantly expanding local culinary scene, Gettysburg has a little something to offer everyone.

Hidden View Bed & Breakfast: A Destination In & Of Itself in Loudoun County, Virginia

The Hidden View Bed & Breakfast can provide the most luxurious home base as you explore the Loudoun County, Virginia area, but it is also a destination in & of itself- perfect for a girls' trip, a couple's getaway, or when you just need a few days of "me time" to yourself...

This post was created in partnership with Visit Loudoun. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

I know that when you typically start to plan a trip or a weekend getaway you end up booking a room somewhere to simply serve as your home base while you explore the area. You want a clean and comfortable place to sleep and shower, maybe a pool on premise, and perhaps a free continental breakfast. Booking the accommodations is a starting point, but not usually the thing you are looking forward to most about your upcoming travels.

That cannot be said about the guest rooms at Hidden View Bed & Breakfast in Hillsboro, Virginia. In fact, you could possibly spend most of your time during your visit to Loudoun County in your room and exploring the grounds of this beautiful bed & breakfast and be totally content... but I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. Not when there is so much to see and do in the area, but that is for another blog post. ;)

Planning a Getaway to Grapevine, Texas

Experience luxury, delicious Texan cuisine, and a brief step back in time in the historic & charming town of Grapevine in North Texas...

All accommodations, meals, & experiences were provided courtesy of Travel Media Showcase & its sponsors. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Last month I had the pleasure of attending Travel Media Showcase for the first time in the lovely city of Grapevine, Texas, which is located halfway between Dallas & Forth Worth. While I spent a good part of my first visit to the state of Texas at the actual showcase events, I did get a little time to explore the resort we were staying at and to experience the charms & tastes of Grapevine. 

But before I get into the details of my Grapevine Getaway, let me tell you all a little bit about Travel Media Showcase (TMS). The showcase (which is in its 16th year) is an opportunity for travel writers, journalists, & bloggers to network and learn from each other as well meet and interact with representatives from convention & visitors' bureaus (CVB's) from across the country. 

Not only are those in travel media given the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with the CVB's of their choice, but the showcase provides plenty of opportunities for writers and CVB reps to interact and get to know each other on a more personal level whether that be over a cocktail or as part of a local tour of the area. The connections that you can make at the Travel Media Showcase with other travel writers as well as with those representing the visitors' bureaus are simply invaluable. So much better than a back & forth over email, don't you think? ;)

Though my visit to Grapevine was far too brief, I did come away with a few travel nuggets to share with you all about the area...

Why You Need to Make the Food & Wine Conference Happen in 2016

As a brand ambassador for the 2015 Food & Wine Conference, I was provided a conference ticket at a discounted rate. All opinions (and occasional droolings) stated below are my own.

When it comes to which food blogger conferences I chose to attend, I would like to say that I am pretty picky. I really have to justify the expense of the conference and the traveling involved as well as the time that I will be spending away from my family. That is probably why in my over 3 years of blogging I have only attended 3 food blogger conferences so far. Would I like to attend more of them and travel more and learn more? Well, yes! :) But like I said above, they cost money and have to be worth the stress of finding child care for my youngest while I am away and my husband is at work. So far, I can say unequivocally that all 3 blogger conferences I have attended have been 100% worth it. 

After hearing so many good things about the Food & Wine Conference from many of my food blogger friends online, I decided to apply for a brand ambassadorship with the conference. I had no idea if I would make the cut, but I decided that if I did I would find a way to make this conference happen this year. And let me tell you all something- I am so glad that I landed a spot as a brand ambassador! Not only did I get to attend an amazing food blogger conference, but I also was able to be a brand ambassador representing Wisconsin Cheese. I mean, you all know me by now. I love my cheese, so it was a match made in heaven.