california road trip: los angeles

Where: Los Angeles, California

As you may know, I’m from the west coast. And though the feelings are not quite as intense as they once were, whenever I make my way back there, it feels like returning to the homeland. The second I land, my body just knows…it’s California. The air smells different, it feels different. The sky seems like a different color and all the plants seem to be whispering in a different way than they do in Florida (where, really, they’re screaming–not sure what types of fucking bugs live in there) or New York (where you can’t hear anything they’re saying, anyway). So it never matters what time of day I arrive–the initial high I get from being in California keeps me awake and moving until I’m finally peeled away.

thanksgiving in florida

Where: Merritt Island and Palm Beach, Florida

I’m lucky enough to have parents who live in Florida–which means when we visit for the holidays, we escape the beginnings of New York’s winter and land in warm, humid climates down south. This isn’t something I appreciated when I lived there (who wants to sweat ALL year round?) but, now, it’s something I look forward to.

an island hop and a skip

Where: St. Barths

One thing we rarely do is take a typical beach vacation. I don’t love actually getting in the ocean (but I do like to look at it, with a cocktail in hand!). We tend to save our money by doing the beach-thing at my parents’ home in Florida, rather than buying a plane ticket and booking a hotel room somewhere else. So I’d almost forgotten just how awesome it could be… until we were invited on a family trip to St. Barth’s.