It may seem like a peculiar time to start writing monthly recap posts for my travel blog. We can’t exactly travel at the moment, so what will I have to recap on? But, to me, it feels like the best possible time to start writing recaps. I’m looking forward to traveling more than ever and can’t wait until I can start booking trips. I’m not sure what travel will look like or when exactly I will be able to plan a trip. But I know that when I do start traveling again, I want to document it.
Additionally, I think starting this monthly recap post during this global pandemic will help me to embrace different types of travel. Right now, I can’t travel internationally. I haven’t traveled internationally at all in 2020 actually, and I’m unsure when the next time I will. I hope that I can travel to a different country in the upcoming months. Trust me, I will fully embrace international travel when it is safe to do so. But until then, I will be looking into domestic travel. There is so much of the United States that I have yet to explore. My USA bucket list is long! I guess there’s no better time to explore your own country than when various international borders are closed, right?
It’s weird for me that it is June 1st and I’ve only been on one trip this year. I know, I know, many people don’t travel quite as frequently as I do. But I run a travel blog, and I love to travel (what can I say?). Anyways, in February and March, I went on a road trip from Las Vegas, Nevada through Arizona (and even made some quick stops in Utah and California). It was such an incredible trip and came at the perfect timing. Days after this trip is when everything began shutting down.
Until I can pack my bags again, I’m going to spend some time exploring New York and going on lots of day trips. (P.S. I am a self-proclaimed queen of day trips and even made a day trip and weekend trip planner that you can get for free!).
Now that we have finished the introduction to this new monthly series, let’s get into the recap for May.
Table of Contents
Destinations Visited
Stayed at Home
Most of May (and March and April) have been spent staying at home. When I wasn’t in my physical house, I’ve been wandering around my neighborhood and exploring various parks and streets in Buffalo.
Chimney Bluffs State Park
At the beginning of May, I headed to Chimney Bluffs State Park. We spent the day soaking up some sunshine and walking along this bluff lined beach of Lake Ontario.
Niagara Falls, New York
I’m lucky enough to live about 20 minutes away from Niagara Falls. However, usually, I don’t visit very often in the Spring and Summer because it gets so crowded. But there was barely anyone there the couple times I visited!
Rochester, New York
Mostly, I visited Rochester for a little social distance picnic with some friends. But I had some time to stop by the beautiful George Eastman House and see the lilacs in bloom.
May Highlights
Spring Blooms
Spring has sprung! It has been so nice taking things slow and being able to appreciate the spring blooms. From cherry blossoms to lilacs and everything in between, I have seen my fair share of beautiful spring flowers this year. Spending so much time in one place makes you take more notice of the shifting seasons. I’ve watched as buds started forming on trees, to full bloom, and sadly watched as the petals fell to the ground.
Video Calls
Videos calls have been one of the best things to come from this whole ordeal. While I haven’t been able to physically see people, I have been able to connect on Zoom and FaceTime. This has been a game-changer! Not only am I chatting with local friends on a weekly basis, but I have also been able to communicate with travel friends from around the world.
Daily Walks
I have been going on a walk almost every day for the past few months. It has been such a great way to get my steps in for the day. When you’re not traveling or at work, you have to work for those steps! I have been averaging around 10,000 steps a day. This has been a great way to stay healthy and has helped to keep my head clear.
Seeing Niagara Falls Almost Empty
Seeing Niagara Falls almost empty was such a surreal experience. I went back two days in a row because I was so shocked to see it that way! It was both a positive and negative experience. Positive, because I felt like I had the whole place to myself (aside from maybe 100 other people) and negative because I knew why it was so empty.
Most Popular Blog Post
10 + Movies to Fuel your Wanderlust: This post is full of my all-time favorite travel movies. I’m not saying these are the best travel movies of all time, but I love them! Check out some of my slightly corny choices.
* I actually haven’t posted that many new blog posts this month, so I have included posts from April and May. I’ve been working on tons of back end things for my blog.
Other Blog Posts
Things to do in Las Vegas Besides Gambling: I covered some of the best things to do in Las Vegas if you’re not a gambler. I did put a couple of dollars in a slot machine, for experience’s sake. However, the two times that I visited Las Vegas, I barely gambled and had an amazing time!
How to Visit Seven Magic Mountains: Colorful Rocks Near Vegas: I just loved this colorful art installation! Find out everything you need to know to see Seven Magic Mountains before it is gone!
Ultimate Armchair Travel Guide: During this time of not traveling, I pulled together my resources to create this epic guide to Armchair Travel, the art of experiencing travel from home.
Most Popular Instagram Photo
I am not surprised that this photo from Monument Valley is the most popular this month. This spectacular viewpoint in Utah is so Instagrammable! When I saw that the route I was driving from Page, Arizona to Canyon de Chelly past by Monument Valley, I knew we had to make a detour. A quick drive to the Utah state line and we made it to Forest Gump Point! Be sure to follow on Instagram for more photos!
View this post on Instagram
What I’m Working On
During the month of May, I spent a lot of time working on behind the scenes work for my blog. I have been reading and learning a lot! This is what I have been working on and I intend to work on moving forward.
Building my email list
I have neglected to build an email list for the last few years. I just kept putting it off and not putting much effort into it. It was always something that “I’d work on next”. Well, email marketing is so important! With changing algorithms and the potential of some social media becoming obsolete, I’ve realized that it is so important to have a way to connect with my incredible followers and readers.
I created my first freebie for email subscribers! You can get it here! I am so excited to start sending out regular newsletters and valuable content to my subscribers.
P.S. I would be so grateful if you signed up for my newsletter!
Learning SEO
If you have a blog or website, you know that SEO is one of the most important things. Proper SEO helps you rank in search engines. While I have some knowledge of the topic, I am constantly trying to learn more and improve my SEO skills. I have been reading a ton about the topic and even signed up for MOZ SEO courses, which were free throughout May.
Plan on posting more frequently
I only posted one blog post during the month of May. I’m okay with this because I worked on so many other facets of my blog. (the behind the scenes types of stuff). But moving forward, I plan to post way more frequently. I know that I need to up my posting frequency in order to share about the amazing places I have visited.
My goal is to post one blog post per day for the month of June. I know this sounds a bit crazy and I know I might fail. It’s June 2nd, so technically, I already failed. But, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. Moving forward in this month, I am going to write as much as I can. If I can’t get a new blog post out every day, at least I can publish as much as possible. Why am I doing this? One of the biggest things that hold me back from hitting publish on a blog post is second-guessing myself. I want everything to be perfect so I don’t push publish. I think this challenge will help me to more quickly through writing and editing blog posts and will stop me from second-guessing myself.
Create more Youtube videos
I started a Youtube channel in December and I have neglected it. I’ve recorded so much content, yet I haven’t got around to editing it and creating videos. My plan this month is to work through and my video from my trip to Nevada and Arizona and to post them on Youtube! Videos will be coming, so watch this space!
What I’ve Read This Month
“The Vacationers” by Emma Straub
I can’t believe that I am just reading this book. It came out in 2014. Yet, here I am in 2020 raving around “The Vacationers“. This was the perfect lighthearted travel-inspired book to read. I read this book over the course of two days. I couldn’t put it down!
The story is based on a dysfunctional American family who vacations to the Spanish island of Mallorca. This story is everything you’d want from a juicy drama-filled book but nothing you would want from your own family vacation.
“Around the World in 80 Trains” by Monisha Rajesh
I am a sucker for a good travel memoir. “Around the World in 80 Trains” is just the kind of armchair adventure that I needed during this time. Each chapter showcases a different destination, its’ train system, and Monisha’s experience. After reading this book, I was left wanted to plan a train journey of my own.
What I’ve Been Doing
Taking photos of birds and bees and trees, yes that is what this has come to. But its’ been super nice! When I travel, it is always go go go and I don’t always have time to capture those details. It’s been nice having the time to focus on a different type of photography.
I started watching Anthony Bourdain from the very beginning, I am watching “A Cooks Tour”, I didn’t even know that this series existed until a little research. I only watched Bourdain on Travel Channel and CNN.
I started a puzzle and didn’t finish it. I literally took apart the puzzle after doing a quarter of it. I just don’t think I’m a puzzle person and staying at home has not been boring enough for me to sit down and finish a puzzle.
I have a baby pool! This isn’t new, I always have a baby pool. But on sunny days in May, I have been lounging in the pool and reading travel magazines. This will continue through the Summer I’m sure.
Enjoy this super cheezy TikTok video I made of my baby pool…
@comejoinmyjourney Epic pool for a pool day! Just wait to see it! #pooltime #poolchallenge #poolparty #babypool #summertime
What’s Next?
Travel wise, I literally have zero plans for June (or 2020 at all, really). But hopefully, I’m going to explore more of Buffalo and take lots of day trips throughout the state. Maybe, just maybe I will actually plan a trip (Finger crossed!)
