How To Find Adventures.

I get asked quite frequently how I find the places I venture off to.

My adventure style is thinking outside the box: find places that very few people know about....

Here's my process:

My main weapon of choice is social media. 

Pinterest is an awesome place to get ideas for where to eat in a new city, popular places to visit, etc.
Just type in the name of the state/town you want to visit and you'll be overwhelmed with ideas!

But when I really want to discover a hidden, quiet place.... I resort to my Instagram Fam.

Yup. I'd say this is where I find a solid 75% of my adventures.
I find and connect with popular photographers in my area on Instagram -- they always know the good spots ;)
But I also look under popular tourism hashtags on Instagram. #VisitNC is a great one for North Carolina, and #DiscoverSC is awesome for South Carolina. Scroll through the photos found under these hashtags to see what everyone else is posting...find a cool photo, make a new friend & ask the owner where they took it...then off you go!

Through Instagram and Pinterest I've found a Pub Cycle in Asheville, several Key West hideouts, and my favorite find,  Botany Bay.

While social media is definitely a tool us adventure junkies are lucky to have, I must tell you, never underestimate the power of a good ol' fashion map.

One of the first things we purchased when we moved down here.
A giant map.

This picture is something you'll see on daily basis in our apartment. Me wearing the same sweats every day, unbrushed hair, and staring at this map planning my next adventure.

What I look for are 'green' areas on a map. That indicates a park or a wildlife area. I zoom in to get the name, plug it into a GPS, and go.

Very wild and unplanned, but you know what?
Take it from a seasoned traveler; the best trips are always unplanned.

Like this sunflower field we found this past weekend. All I did was google 'Sunflowers SC' and this wildlife management area popped up. In the middle of nowhere, South Carolina. Hardly anyone was there besides for a few locals just fishing.

I don't have any major trips coming up, so the blog might be a little quiet. Which feels bizarre, but It's my norm for the Summer time. Did you know Summer is the most expensive time of the year for flights/hotels? Because of the perfect weather and school vacation. Knowing this, I try to stick to local road trips to get my adventure fix during May-August. But as soon as Fall and Winter roll around....See ya!

Especially around My Birthday.

Did you know the first week of December is the cheapest week out of the entire year to travel? Because it's nicely wedged between Thanksgiving and Christmas - Everyone's so busy with holiday planning and shopping, the last thing on their mind is taking vacations.
I'm talking rows to yourself on the plane and no lines at Disney Land.
I knew hospitality school in Las Vegas would pay off someday.
;)

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PS. Mitch and I started a natural-health based instagram account! Our name is @evolve2health.
Our goal is to open your eyes to things you probably never knew about the American diet.
We also throw in a few mental health tricks here and there.
I love posting on it, I just shared our 'earthing' hike the other day which was so cool.
Be sure to check it out!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.
<3