TRAVEL WITH ME
I don't just plan trips.
I take them.
I’m Gina. I’m usually planning one trip, researching another and wondering where the hell I can squeeze in the next one.
I love old cities, great food, neighborhood pubs, road trips, beautiful scenery and places with a hell of a lot of history. I'll splurge when something is genuinely worth it, save money when it isn't, and I'll almost always choose the scenic road over the fastest one.
But what I love most is actually experiencing a place. Meeting people. Eating the local food. Learning the history. Wandering into somewhere we didn't plan to find. Having a drink with the locals and coming home with stories that weren't on the itinerary.
And sometimes, I want you to come with me.
MY RULES FOR ONE DAMN GOOD TRIP
You don't have to travel like I do. You have to travel like YOU.
Take what inspires you, leave what doesn't, and stop worrying about whether you're doing travel “right.” Plan enough to feel confident, then give yourself permission to experience the world on your own terms.
Work hard. Be responsible. Save your money. Then enjoy some of it. Your life is happening now—go live it.
🚗 TAKE THE SCENIC ROAD
The fastest way isn't always the best way. Leave enough room to stop in the village, follow the interesting sign and find out what's around the next corner.
🍴 EAT SOMETHING LOCAL
Try the regional specialty. Find the neighborhood restaurant. Ask somebody who lives there where they eat. Food is one of the best ways to understand a place.
🗺️ HAVE A PLAN. DON'T BE MARRIED TO IT.
Know the things you absolutely don't want to miss. Then leave room for the things you didn't know existed until you got there.
🔥 STOP WAITING FOR PERMISSION
If you can responsibly make the trip happen, stop asking permission and take the damn trip.
🥂 I CAN REDNECK WITH THE REST OF 'EM AND DRINK CHAMPAGNE WITH THE BEST OF 'EM.
Roadside bar or five-star hotel. Cozy B&B or castle. Street food or an incredible dinner. Great travel doesn't belong to one price category. Splurge when it's worth it. Save when it isn't.
📵 PUT THE DAMN PHONE DOWN
Take the pictures. Use the map. Book the tour. Then put it away for a while. Look around. Talk to somebody. Sit in the square. You traveled all that way to be there—so be there.
🌎 TALK TO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE YOU
Different languages, traditions, histories and ways of living are the whole damn reason to see the world. Ask questions. Listen. Share a meal. Have a drink. Be curious about people.
💰 SPEND ON WHAT MATTERS TO YOU
Save where you don't care so you can spend where you do. If you can afford an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life, you don't need to justify it because somebody else would spend their money differently.
WHERE I'M HEADED NEXT ✈️
WINTER 2026: ICELAND → ROME → RHINE RIVER → AMSTERDAM
I love traveling with my family—they are an absolute blast!
This Christmas, we're taking a Rhine River cruise through the Christmas markets in honor of my mom, who passed away from breast cancer in May 2026. Having my family together for this trip will make an already incredible experience especially meaningful.
But of course, I couldn't just fly straight to the cruise. 😂
Before meeting up with everyone, I'm taking advantage of the Icelandair Stopover program and spending three nights in Iceland—with hopes of finally seeing the Northern Lights! I'll be based in Reykjavík and visiting the Sky Lagoon, chasing the Northern Lights, exploring the Golden Circle and spending a day along Iceland's spectacular South Coast.
Normally, I would absolutely road trip Iceland. But since I'm traveling in winter, I decided this was one of those times when it's worth spending a little more and letting someone else do the driving. I'll be joining small-group and coach tours instead, which also gives me the chance to meet other travelers along the way. And yes, I'll be doing this part completely solo.
From Iceland, I'm heading to Rome, where I'll meet my aunt, uncle and cousins, Jeffrey and Bryan. We'll spend a few days exploring ancient Rome, eating incredible Italian food and drinking plenty of good wine.
Then it's off to Zurich, where we'll meet my brother, sister, niece and her best childhood friend before boarding our Christmas market cruise along the Rhine.
This trip has a little bit of everything I love: solo travel, family, history, food, wine, winter scenery, Christmas markets and plenty of adventure in between.
This one is going to be a damn good trip. ❤️
WINTER 2027: MT. BACHELOR, OREGON
SKIING • SUNRIVER • CENTRAL OREGON
My favorite mountain to ski—hands down!
Most years, I buy a season pass to Mt. Hood and spend my ski days there with one of my best friends. It's an easy hop from Portland, so I can get my mountain fix without turning it into a full vacation.
This year, though, my brother and I decided we want to spend more time skiing together, so we're heading back to one of our original favorite ski destinations—Sunriver and Mt. Bachelor.
We're planning four days in Central Oregon filled with skiing, mountain scenery and plenty of time back at the lodge with a hot toddy in hand. Nothing overly complicated. Just great skiing, time with my brother and a return to a place we've loved for years.
Sometimes one damn good trip means going back to where the good memories started. ❄️🥃
JANUARY 2028: SKI JAPAN!
Details coming soon....
SEPTEMBER 2027: IRELAND → LONDON
🇮🇪 IRELAND — WE RIDE AT DAWN!!!
Two weeks. One rental car. My brother and me. This is going to be a mighty craic!
September 2027, my brother and I are heading out on a two-week road trip through Ireland. We're both huge Game of Thrones fans, so we're starting the trip by completely nerding out—touring the Game of Thrones Studio, taking a private tour of Winterfell, having a medieval Winterfell dinner with extras from the series and, naturally, trying our hand at archery. Because apparently watching the show wasn't enough. 😂
From there, we'll road trip through Northern Ireland, spending time in Belfast, exploring Game of Thrones filming locations along the spectacular Causeway Coast and stopping in Derry for a little Derry Girls fun.
Then we'll cross back into the Republic of Ireland and hit the Wild Atlantic Way, working our way down the western coast with plenty of room for scenic drives, unexpected stops, local food and, of course, neighborhood pubs.
This will be my second time road-tripping through Ireland, so I'm deliberately building this trip around some of the places and experiences I missed the first time. We're splurging on a night in a castle, giving ourselves an extra day and night in Dingle to wander the town and enjoy the pubs, driving the entire Ring of Kerry and finally exploring the southern coast that I skipped completely on my first trip.
We will close out the trip by puddle jumping from Dublin to London for a two night stop I can tour the Tower of London again (a personal favorite) and do the hop on hop off bus for one day of leisure time.
The important things are planned. Everything in between is where the adventure happens.
This trip is going to be MIGHTY CRAIC. ☘️🍺
FALL 2028: NORWAY — ROAD • RAIL • SAIL GROUP TRAVEL TOUR
I'm purposely waiting until 2028 so the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo is fully reopened before I go. Because what good is Norway without seeing some Viking history?
Details coming soon.....
💡 YOU ALREADY HAVE A TRAVEL GROUP
YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET.
Think about the people you already spend your time with. 📚 Your book club. 🎲 Your Bunco or card group. 🌱 Your gardening club. 🏓 Your pickleball crew. 🥾 Your hiking friends. 🛶 Your kayak club. 🏄 Your surf buddies. ⛷️ Your ski crew. 🏌️ Your golf group. 🍷 Your wine club. 🎶 Your music friends. 📸 Your photography group. 🧘 Your wellness crew. 🥂 Or simply the friends you love hanging out with.
Those are travel groups. You just haven't taken them anywhere yet.
NOW...IMAGINE THIS.
Jazz in New Orleans. A music festival in Europe. Live music in Ireland. A concert you've all been dying to see. Sometimes the event IS the destination.
Read the stories. Explore Edinburgh's literary side, wander old villages and castles, then raise a glass together in a Scottish pub.
Trade the usual card table for a private villa, warm evenings, margaritas and your regular game night somewhere a hell of a lot more interesting.
Spend your days exploring magnificent English gardens, historic estates and charming countryside villages—with plenty of pub stops along the way.
Play some pickleball, then add beaches, wildlife, waterfalls, great food and a few cocktails. Suddenly Tuesday night pickleball looks very different.
Take those hiking boots to Italy for spectacular mountain trails, alpine villages, rifugios and some very well-earned Italian food and wine.
Trade your local water for the Adriatic and paddle along Croatia's spectacular coastline, islands, coves and historic seaside towns.
Powder days, Japanese food, hot springs and après-ski with the same people you already chase down the mountain at home.
You've been drinking the wine together for years. Maybe it's time to go meet the vineyards. Villas, wineries, long lunches and a lot of very good reasons to stay another night.
SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED? 💡
YOU STARTED WITH THE PEOPLE.
THEN WE FOUND THE TRIP.
Group travel doesn't have to mean a bus full of strangers following someone with a flag. It can simply be your people, doing something you already love, somewhere you've always wanted to go.
And chances are, while you were reading that list, you thought of somebody.
Perfect.