I am a cheap thrifty person. 

Okay, maybe it would be accurate to say that I'm right up along the very border of cheap. I'm not crossing the line though. Only my toes are over the line. 

I have a story to share from my college years. I was 18 and working as a Pizza Hut manager and there was a time when trying to save a few dollars put me in a dangerous situation. Okay, there were several times, but we're just going to focus on one for this blog post.
I had a coupon for a free car wash. The regular price was $4.99, so without the coupon there was no way I would ever be getting my car cleaned. My Alero wasn't that dirty and I didn't want to waste the coupon, so I put off the car wash until the day before my coupon expired. 

After leaving work and nearly midnight, I took my Alero through the automatic car wash. It was the last day before the specials changed at the grocery store, so after the thorough washing, I decided to drive next door to do a little grocery shopping b…

After our 2-week Tasmania road trip, I think we might move to Hobart one day. There are so many fun things to do in Hobart! Just call us Tasmaniacs.

For this portion of our adventure, we hadn't picked up our rental car yet. Other than the need for an occasional Uber (the Hobart airport is much further away than we'd expected), we found Hobart to be a pleasantly walkable city, even in May.

Don't skip Tasmania when you visit Australia. Here is our complete guide to the best things to do in Hobart, plus a couple of places you can skip:
Things to Do in Hobart I'll start with everyone's favorite, the food. Food is what travel is all about, isn't it? If I could go back in time, I'd shake my younger self by the shoulders and say, You're on Vacation!Stop eating at McDonalds!

If your fondest vacation memories are of the things you ate, you can't miss the Salamanca Market. It's too amazing and drool-inducing to include here though. I've devoted an entire b…

I am so sad while writing this blog post, which is full of photos from the third annual Taos Summer Wine Festival, held in the breathtaking New Mexico mountains. We had the best time, eating gourmet food and toasting new friends at the ski resort, but...
...we don't get to go to the Taos Summer Wine Festival again for an entire year.
:'( Photos from the 2017 and 2018 Taos Summer Wine Festivals

For the first time in 3 years, we didn't have to make a mad dash to scramble 3 hours to the Taos Ski Valley in time for dinner. My husband and I were actually able to take the day off on Friday! 

The festivities on the first day didn't begin until the evening, so we opted to drive one of New Mexico's secret gems, the Enchanted Circle. It's a National Forest Scenic Byway that goes around Wheeler Peak, which has an elevation of more than 13,000 feet and is the highest natural point in the state. Our stops included Taos and Red River, which are popular weekend destinations for Ne…