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Beaches, California, Monterey, Wanderlust

The 17-Mile Drive in Monterey

The Lone Cypress on the 17-Mile Drive Monterey, California

While visiting Monterey, we decided to drive the 17-Mile Drive after a day driving through Big Sur. The 17-Mile Drive is located on Pebble Beach Resort land and requires a vehicle entry fee of $10.50 (as of Fall 2019). This fee can be reimbursed with a purchase in any Pebble Beach Resort restaurant. The drive is open to the public from sunrise to sunset. Since we were coming up from Big Sur in the south, we entered through the Highway 1 Gate giving us access to the stops in order. There are five gates you can enter from giving you different starting points.[...]

Big Sur, California, Itinerary, Monterey, San Francisco, Wanderlust

San Francisco to Big Sur 5-Day Itinerary

A red Golden Gate Bridge spanning across the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco, California | Local Love and Wanderlust

Golden Gate Bridge seen from Battery Spencer We normally visit Southern California, so when we had to decide on a trip to use our Southwest flight vouchers with we decided to explore San Francisco to Big Sur spending 5-days exploring and enjoying everything both destinations. This itinerary is an exact replica of our 5-day, 5-night trip to San Francisco and Monterey, California. I included rough timestamps of our days to give you an idea of how long each visit took and in the end, I summarize how much this trip cost us. I wanted[...]

Cleveland, Local Love, Restaurants

The best things I ate in 2019: Cleveland Edition

Cheesy Corn Dip from Barroco in Cleveland, Ohio | Local Love and Wanderlust

Good restaurants is something Cleveland thrives at and living in town we find ourselves checking out new hot spots and old favorites quite often. Here's a list of some of the best things I ate in Cleveland this year. Cheesy Corn Dip at Barroco This cheese dip is nothing less of life changing. I know I've said this about Barrio's Queso, but this is next level amazing. This taste like the richest mac and cheese sauce with pops of corn throughout. You can add chicken, chorizo or veggies. They serve this up with arepa fries (omg the besssstttt) and tortilla chip[...]

Big Sur, California, Wanderlust

A Quick Trip To Big Sur, California

Waterfall into the Pacific Ocean at McWay Falls, Big Sur California | as seen on the Local Love and Wanderlust Blog

Big Sur is one of those places that should be on everyone's travel bucket list. While there are a lot of tourists, one still has a sense of peacefulness and solitude from the fast-paced chaos of the outside world. While on a recent trip to San Francisco, we visited Monterey for a couple of days and took a quick trip to Big Sur, California. Read on to see just how much you can fit into one day! McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Drive The Big Sur Coast In One Day We stayed in Monterey for a two-day detour[...]

Cleveland, Local Love, Restaurants, Taco Tuesday

Hola Tacos in Lakewood, Ohio | Taco Tuesday

Mexican food spread on bright colorful table at Lakewood, Ohio's newest taco joint Hola Tacos.

Hola Tacos In Lakewood, Ohio Your New Favorite Taco Joint This week was the surprise soft opening for the long-awaited Hola Tacos in Lakewood, Ohio and of course, we had to visit! Hola Tacos is a taco stand Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood that offers L.A. & Mexican inspired tacos and other fares in a walk-up style taco stand that will eventually have seating, indoor space, and more. Run by the family who operates Barraco Arepa Bar, another favorite spot, this taco stand will be a simple take on authentic Mexican tacos. Keep reading to see what we thoug[...]

New York, New York City, Wanderlust

Shop and Eat Your Way Through Nolita, NYC

On our most recent trip to NYC, we spent a lot of time in a cute little neighborhood named Nolita. Smack dab in the middle of some other great NYC neighborhoods such as Bowery, NoHo, SoHo, Chinatown and Little Italy, this Lower Manhattan neighborhood was in a perfect location to stay and explore.

Cleveland, Local Love, Winter

26 Fun and Unique Things To Do In Cleveland This Winter

I'm going to make a bold statement: Winter is not that bad. There, I said it. I'm sure I will have a lot of people disagreeing with me but I stand by that statement. Winter is my least favorite season, but I've learned to embrace it and enjoy the things our city has to offer.