Part 4 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs)

This is part FOUR of a multi-post saga about our month long cross country road trip in a prius - a 31 day adventure my husband and 2 dogs and I took in the late summer of 2021 (yes… it’s actually taken me 2 years to finish writing the blog, because I’m a busy lady and don’t blog too often any more)! Anyway, if you came across this post before reading the rest of our journey, you may want to check out Parts 1, 2 & 3 first.

PART 3 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs)

Yes. It has actually been almost 2 years since our epic month long road trip and I FINALLY have gotten around to blogging part 3. Better late than never… right? 🤪 Anyway, here are the deets about the first part of our second half of our journey in the summer of 2021! If you’re stumbling upon this and have not read about our previous adventures, I recommend reading Part 1 & Part 2 first. Then after this there is one final leg of the journey… Part 4!

Plantaholics - our favorite plant nurseries in SW Florida

Heyyy! Those who know me well or follow me on social media know my husband and I are legit plant addicts. We love plants so much that we literally bought a house 6 years ago just for the plants (our apartment complex kicked us out for having too many). No regrets there though - that was a very great decision for a number of reasons. But anyway - we have been shopping and buying plants literally everywhere we go, and have some favorite gems in Southwest Florida near my mom (she lives in Venice, so we get to visit a lot of these nurseries whenever we visit her). We live in north Florida so these are all about 3-4 hours south of us, but well worth a trip if you’re down in that area visiting.

Vegans in Savannah

We spent some time in Savannah, GA this past March and we really loved it there! We of course brought all the dogs, and we also had my art display because we traveled there for Savannah’s first annual Vegfest as a vendor. I wanted to highlight some of our favorite things to do and vegan eats from our trip - and as always, all the deets about how we travel since I constantly have people ask me some form of the following question: How do you travel everywhere with 3 big dogs, in a prius, with so much stuff, and where do you stay and find vegan food along the way? If you’re curious to know any components of that question, read on to find out.

PART 2 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs)

This is PART 2 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs) - a multi-part blog about our 2021 cross country trip (yes, I’m slow here… life has been busy so I’m finally getting this posted)! If you haven’t yet, please check out and read PART ONE here to learn about some backstory to our trip, preparations we made, and details about our first 5 days traveling and living out of a prius with 2 big dogs. Here’s the next part, starting with day 6!

Vegans in Miami

We went to Miami last weekend and had an AMAZING time! We traveled for “work” but fit in lots of leisure too (which for us is essentially just amazing vegan food, lots of plants, and time with our pups). To learn more about some of the best ALL vegan eateries, how to travel with 3 pitbulls in tow (in a county with a “pit-bull ban”), visiting some of the best plant nurseries and edible plant sites, AND - added bonus, we always share how we manage to fit so much crap in the prius (because we also had my entire art display with us for a festival). YES.. it was an awesome trip, and we can’t wait to go back in the future!

PART 1 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs)

This is PART 1 of “You Do NOT Need an RV to Travel” (a witty recap of our cross country month long road trip in a Prius with 2 big dogs)

A guide on what to pack for a cross country trip (in your car!)

To give this post a little more context, you may want to check out my recap of our recent cross country trip (PART 1). We spent a month traveling in and basically living out of our prius.. with two big dogs! Here’s a guide on what we packed, which I’m sharing in hopes to help out others planning a similar trip to ours. Credit goes to my husband Josh for putting together our original packing list, which of course was modified and adjusted as we started packing the car and were ready to hit the road!

Mystic Canyon Yoga Retreat 2021

This past August, I had the great pleasure of participating in a yoga retreat with one of my best friends and 11 other fantastic women on a Mystic Canyon Excursion.

 

  

Road Trippin' Fall 2019

Every 6 months or so the mountains call my name. We try to plan a camping trip at least once a year but this year were lucky enough that we were able to squeeze in an extra bit of travel on our way up to New Jersey for a friend's wedding. With the fall being a completely crazy time for both my husband and I (he's boggled down with research and work as a busy PhD student and I'm buried in art projects for the busy fourth quarter as an artist!) we were really fortunate to be able to take some time to get away and see some great friends, some family, and touch on some of our old stomping grounds a few weeks ago. Of course we didn't have enough time to see and coordinate a visit with everyone and for that we are sorry, but are so grateful to have seen so many people that mean the world to us <3 Here's a little recap of some of our favorite stops, lots of great hikes, a lot of fabulous blog-worthy VEGAN eats, and a load of road trippin' adventure crammed pack into just nine days. Enjoy!

Wet but Worth it - A Travel Memoir of Camping and Hiking with a Pack of Pitties in the NC Mountains

We LOVE Asheville, NC and the Blue Ridge Mountains.



Last month, we made our third trip to the Asheville area. Here is recap of our past two trips to the NC Mountains which includes different trails and places to explore as well. Just about everything in our past itinerary is dog-friendly and all the hikes were fantastic, so check out that blog post for additional recommendations. Everything in this post is dog friendly. We've had a lot of experience camping in different seasons and a variety of weather conditions (as you can probably guess from the title-- this one was WET and rainy).. so we've got some tips and suggestions for you. Here's a recap of the highlights of our trip to help guide you if you're looking for some of the best dog-friendly hikes and overall fun and thrilling adventures to do with your family!

The best dog beach - Venice, FL

This weekend we spent some time with my mom down in Venice, FL where I was an art vendor at Sarasota Vegfest, and of course we got in some much needed beach time. We really take for granted the beautiful, pristine, dog beach in Venice where we spend most of our mornings with some of our fur-kids whenever we visit (I say some, because it's rare and a time of the past where we bring our combined number of SIX dogs with us all at one time, but they all have gotten there share of beach time during different trips). People keep asking more about this fantastic dog beach, where is it, what is it, tell me more! So here ya go :)

Orlando Vegan Food Tour Part 2: Guide to Vegan Disney, and Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival!

Last week I got to hang out at Disney with friends, where we enjoyed tasty vegan eats at Magic Kingdom and Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival. If you're vegan and planning a trip to Disney soon, I hope you will enjoy this helpful vegan food guide for some of the best treats for affordable prices at these two Disney Parks in Orlando! Our last Vegan Food Tour in the Orlando area encompassed several restaurants and shops inside and outside of Disney.. but this trip was a Disney day, so we enjoyed all our food within the Disney Parks! For more guidance on planning your vegan-friendly Disney trip, check out Vegan Disney World; the best online guide that helped us know which foods were vegan without having to ask the park staff! We only covered 10 vegan options during our day trip to Disney, but there are several more you can find on the Vegan Disney website! Here I am with my vegan Disney friends! :)

Orlando Vegan Food Tour Part 1

As avid Orlando-goers and vegans, we had the ultimate privilege to accompany two of our good friends on an all Vegan Food Tour yesterday within the Orlando, FL area. As annual pass holders, we all had been trying to coordinate a trip to Disney World together for a while now, and decided to take our trip a step further by cramming in a ton of all-vegan food stops along the way to make our day completely packed with the most exciting adventures for plant-based foodies and Disney enthusiasts alike. If you happen to love vegan food AND Disney World, then this guide will be a perfect tool to help you plan your trip to Orlando. We were only able to pack so much into our single day adventure, but plan to have additional Orlando Vegan Food Tours in the future to hit up all of the Vegan establishments we missed (there are many more than those mentioned here!). So, if you like this post, subscribe to my blog and stay tuned for similar adventure guides in the future :)

The Best Vegan Pizza in Gainesville, FL

So when I get obsessed with something, I like to share my obsession with other people so they too, can become obsessed. If you love authentic NY style pizza, but decided to ditch dairy (or just want to try something new!) you've gotta check out MORA PIZZA in Gainesville, FL.

A Guide to Hiking and Exploring Asheville, NC

My husband and I take advantage of every opportunity we can to do some traveling and exploring, whether near or far. Traveling, whether it be a 2 hour drive to Disney World, a day trip to the springs or beach, or camping in the mountains almost 8 hours away gives our busy minds a rest and a literal break from the responsibilities and craziness of life (we all need that, don't we?). Trips that involve nature and the outdoors however bring a different kind of rejuvenation for the brain... breathing in fresh oxygen cycled out by forests of trees and escaping the hustle and bustle of human life. It really allows our bodies to recharge and our minds and souls to start with a new clean slate, kind of like a weekend eases the mind for the start of a new busy week but with a little extra mediation added in there. I can be an emotionally sensitive person but getting a regular dose of nature is the only medication I need to stay sane.

The Life of a Jumping Spider Lab Manager: Spiders in AZ

Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Arizona for a week with the Taylor Lab (the lab I manage at UF) to collect jumping spiders for our research. Yes... I did say jumping spiders. How cool is that?

VegFest Gainesville 2017

In my opinion, absolutely the best festival yet to hit Gainesville Florida..... was VegFest!!

A Dog Parent's Guide to Traveling the Florida Panhandle & New Orleans

FINALLY Josh and I have been able to enjoy a true vacation that we were wayyyy overdue for. We love traveling. We love exploring. We love getting outside. My many jobs and his grad school workload have kept us from seeing more of the world for the past year and a half. Our last true getaway together (with the exception of our occasional weekend travels down to Venice, FL to visit my mom) was to Asheville, NC when he had a conference there in Fall 2015. We brought the (what was then just 2) dogs, and enjoyed a week long trip of hiking and exploring in between his meetings and presentations. There's been an aching in my heart to get out there and see someplace new, so Josh was awesome and planned out an 8 day long trip camping and exploring the outdoors through the Florida panhandle, getting us eventually to New Orleans, LA where we stayed in an Airbnb and got to experience the city-life. We brought 3 of our 4 dogs with us on this trip.. and with them being pit-mixes and large, most would think our trip was "burdened" or "limited" due to them, but really, with good planning and some well behaved dogs it wasn't at all. Most places we went we were welcomed with warm smiles and lots of doggy love, and with the exception of the nasty lady who kicked out all out of the NOLA sculpture garden in City Park, we didn't face much discrimination at all based on their breed.

A Vegan Travel Guide for the Cruelty-Free New Orleans Tourist

After spending 8 days of travel roughing it with 3 of our dogs along the Florida Panhandle (and eating canned foods and homemade PB&J's for the convenience and to save money for later in the trip) we then spent a few days exploring New Orleans where we allowed ourselves to indulge in every vegan restaurant we could find, because after all, we haven't been on a real vacation in forever so we felt we deserved this!