An hour-long drive from Columbus takes you to a place called Springfield. It’s close to Yellow Springs and makes a good home base for a fun, quirky Ohio weekend. With options for interesting dining, antique shopping and outdoor exploration, you can get yourself a full Midwestern travel experience.
In the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of — moments when we human beings can say “I love you,” “I’m proud of you,” “I forgive you,” “I’m grateful for you.” That’s what eternity is made of: invisible…
As you’re 150% aware, we’ve been under stay-at-home orders and restricted rules for social distancing. We’re still allowed outside (yay!) so we’ve been visiting a few not-so-well-known parks and nature preserves for some hiking, as well as canoeing on the open water. This has been a welcome way to get fresh air and some exercise,…
Even though we can’t physically travel right now, we can still explore from our couches! A week ago, I asked you all on my Instagram stories to send me your favorite books, movies or TV shows that feature destinations that make you feel like you’re there. My example was movies like Julie & Julia; a…
I am not an alarmist. I am not a hypochondriac. I am not fearless, but I’m not fearful. I rarely can be swayed off a plan, and I rarely change my mind once I’ve made it up. I sound like a real stick-in-the-mud, but I think it’s important it be said before I say why…
If you’re looking for a day trip from Columbus with equal parts food, outdoors and indoors, may I suggest Toledo? We’ve been here many times, but we just went this winter for a full day, and it did not disappoint!
The Windy City. We hadn’t been to Chicago in a long time. The first time we went, it was for our first wedding anniversary. It made sense to visit for our 11th anniversary in December. It’s a great weekend trip from Columbus. If you’ve never visited, you should consider a trip soon.
If you’re an airline reading this, and you don’t like what I have to say, then change my mind. I would be happy to give your airline another try, but here is my personal roundup of airlines from least to greatest. This is based on my personal experience, and not necessarily from a list of…
At the end of every year, I like to reflect. Where did we go? What did we do? What did we see? This was a fun year of traveling. We experienced some things we’ve never done before.
Visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina in September challenged us in a lot of ways. Realizing that while I was watching Arthur on PBS, kids my age across the world were dodging bullets and hoping to avoid the mass genocide happening right before their eyes. I’ve been wanting to reflect on this in some way, but just…
At long last, we’ve been interviewed in a podcast style! The Phonic Scribe interviewed Jared and I about our travels through the years.
Traveling during the holiday season can be stressful. More crowds, more delays, and just overall more potential for frustration. I have traveled many times during holiday weekends and here are a few of my tips.
Do you remember in grade school when you learned about other countries? I remember in sixth grade, everyone picked a country and we had to research what they ate, what they wore, what was on their flag, etc., and then present it to the class. We had to bring in a “traditional dish” to share…
I love thrift stores. So much in fact, that I started an Instagram thrift shop called Thrifting with Nina. (Decided to stick with my “brand”). I love going to thrift stores and finding amazing secondhand clothing and household goods. I find too much to keep for myself, so I decided to sell some on Instagram. …
We travel all the time to places where we don’t know the native language. We’ve had some issues, but most of the time (especially in Europe) everyone speaks English. If a German meets someone from France on the Swiss Alps, they will speak English to each other. It’s the most common language you’ll find among…
Road-tripping through the former Yugoslavia (aka the Balkans, aka the coast of the Adriatic, aka eastern Europe) was an incredible experience. There are so many sights to see, and cultures to explore, and of course you can’t see it all. This is what we did, how we did it and what we saw.
I was reading through some travel trends recently and it got me thinking. Many of the very popular tourist destinations are overcrowded and it’s a deterrent to many of us. We want to enjoy these beautiful spaces with some solitude, without all the headaches of crowded travel buses, long lines, and rude tourists. But, we…
The Ohio State Fair is nostalgic for me as an Ohio baby. We went as kids and teenagers, enjoying the food, rides and concerts. My sister even worked at the pork stand in high school. It’s been awhile since I’ve been, so I was excited to see if it was how I remembered it as…