I’m a California girl through and through. I was born and raised in Orange County, where I grew up an arm’s length away from the mountains of Big Bear, the beaches of Laguna, and – of course – Disneyland. When I’m not traveling or working remotely, I come home to my apartment in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Over the decades, I’ve had countless experiences (good and bad) that have made a lasting impression. Here are some of my favorites:

• Caving in the world’s largest cave in Vietnam
• Puffin watching in Iceland
• Solo-traveling in Thailand
• Omakase at the fish markets in Japan
• Kayaking near dolphins in Hawaii
• Manta ray night snorkeling in Hawaii
• Watching the sunset in Oia

I am a DIY traveler 100% of the time. I do a ton of research each trip to find the perfect balance of top sites, yummy bites, hidden gems, & bucket list experiences.

• I prefer independent travel and will always choose to self-drive and plan over booking a tour package.
• I appreciate nature and cities equally but I have a soft spot for waterfalls, oceans, and wildlife.
• I’m an active traveler – there’s just so much to see on our beautiful planet!
• I love food and will always make a list of places to eat wherever I go. No matter what, I can’t go for more than a few days without noodles, bread, or rice. Spicy noodles are my particular Achilles heel.

So many places and so little time! My dream vacation is to go to Antarctica during the emperor penguins’ hatching season.

Since that’ll be a few years out, I’d love to visit Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Australia, and New Zealand in the next 1-2 years.

Western Europe

• Austria
• Belgium 
• England*
• France*
• Germany
• Greece
• Iceland*
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Scotland
• Spain

Eastern Europe

• Croatia*
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Slovenia

* places I’ve either lived in, visited multiple times, or spent more than 2+ weeks

• Cambodia
• China*
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Philippines
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Vietnam

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States of America*

• Arizona
• California*
• Colorado
• Florida
• Hawai’i (Maui, Oahu, Hawai’i)*
• Maine
• Massachusetts*
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New York*
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia (Washington D.C.)
• Washington
• Wyoming

Click here for the full list of US National Parks

• Acadia
• Alcatraz Island
• Arches
• Bryce Canyon
• Crater Lake
• Death Valley
• Everglades
• Glacier
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area*
• Grand Canyon
• Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
• Lincoln Memorial*
• Mount Rainier
• Muir Woods National Monument*
• National Mall and Memorial Parks
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Navajo National Monument
• Point Reyes National Seashore*
• Redwoods*
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park*
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon*
• The White House
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial
• Washington Monument*
• World War II Memorial
• Yellowstone
• Yosemite*
• Zion*