Blog » Local Love & Wanderlust

Visiting Toledo’s Metroparks – A Cleveland Day Trip

Worms eye view of trees in Oak Opening Preserve part of Toledo, Ohio Metropark

Visiting Toledo's Metroparks is only a 2-hour drive from Downtown Cleveland, Ohio making it a perfect destination for a Cleveland Day Trip. While Cleveland has many of its own Metropark systems, we found Toledo's to be a unique experience. This set of Metroparks ended up on my radar after seeing some amazing photographs of "The Spot", a dense forest of trees whose extremely tall trunks make for some extraordinary photographs. There is a string of Metroparks in the Toledo area and we only had time to visit four of them and fit in what seemed like the[...]

At Home, Local Love

Virtual Cleveland Experiences

Ah, remember going out and doing things? Wasn't that fun? While many of us are doing our part by staying in, many local businesses and museums are offering us a wealth of resources and experiences to keep us educated and entertained while stuck at home. These Virtual Cleveland experiences are free and open to the public, even those who don't live in Cleveland can enjoy these awesome experiences. Take a look, there really is something for just about everyone! If you know of any other great resources please share in the comments below! Virtual Cleveland Expe[...]

National Parks, Wanderlust

Barataria Preserve Near New Orleans

Man walking on wood trail through tropical swamp

Walking the Palmetto Trail On a recent trip to New Orleans, we decided to rent a car and drive to a swamp. We chose Barataria Preserve near New Orleans, part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, because of its uniqueness and that very little gets between you and the wildlife. While the park consists of several trails, we settled on the Palmetto Trail, a .9 mile Point-to-Point trail. This is an important detail as you’ll see later on in my story. Tip: Did you know there is a visitor center for Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve in the Frenc[...]

Wanderlust

Where to Stop Along the 17-Mile Drive in Monterey, California

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.[...]

Itineraries, National Parks, 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[...]

Wanderlust

A Quick Trip To Big Sur, California

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[...]

Local Love, Restaurants

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[...]