The Daytona 500
Guest Post: Vicky Akins
I don’t understand the love of racing. I watch it on TV and this is what I see: Go very fast, turn left and repeat. I just don’t get it. But because my husband is a HUGE fan, and a very thoughtful young man, who is a friend of our son’s bought him and 5 of his friends Daytona 500 tickets, we found ourselves on our way to Daytona Beach, Florida. This was my husband’s fantasy trip while I was certain it was going to be my nightmare.
When I was a kid we had three television channels, children were the remote control and Saturday mornings were dedicated to cartoons. One of my favorites, and where I caught my first dose of wanderlust, was the adventures of Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the moose, his dim-witted sidekick. It was during an episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle that I was first introduced to Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Peabody’s Improbable History took me around the world and introduced me to the likes Alexander Graham Bell, Shakespeare and Napoleon. I was mesmerized by the WABAC and dreamed of traveling to far off places and meeting fascinating characters.
Has the weather got you down? Have you got cabin fever? Well, have we got the Rx for you with some of our warm weather favorites. It’s time for an adventure and you don’t even have to leave the house to find inspiration! Every week we host a radio show, Road Trip Radio where we chat about food, travel and adventure. Of course, between midlife memory loss and ADD we often go off track and you never know where that [...]
We are so pleased to introduce the latest addition to the MidLife Road Trip family, the very talented Eric Post. Eric will be joining us as in intern while he attends the University of Tampa and we could not be more thrilled to have such a talented and accomplished young man on our team.
Meet Eric Post
Eric is incredibly excited to be climbing aboard the MidLife Road Trip team this year! Having been bitten by the travel bug shortly after birth, Eric considers himself incredibly fortunate to have traveled across the United States and abroad to four countries throughout his busy life. But, a mission trip to Haiti in the spring of his freshman year in college is what he considers to be the defining moment in learning what the many beautiful faces and places of this earth have to offer and teach us.
How could we let 2013 pass without highlighting some of the year’s Most Memorable Foodie Moments. So much of our travels are about food. Learning about local culture, breaking bread with new friends or toasting old ones with a fabulous wine, trying something we’ve never had before or learning about the ingredients it takes to make an amazing meal. Sometimes it’s as simple as an unbelievable donut and a great cup of coffee and other times it’s a multi-course meal in a 5-star restaurant.
Our travels over the last 12 months have taken us to some incredible destinations. As hopeless foodies, we love sharing our culinary adventures. So as we reflect on this year’s journey, we thought we’d share some of our most memorable dining experiences of this past year.
Without a doubt this has been the most incredible travel year ever, not just in terms of the places we’ve been, but in the friendships we formed and the personal growth we experienced. Perhaps that’s why we consider travel to be the perfect therapy for a midlife crisis (or any aged crisis for that matter). Here’s a brief recap of our incredible year. FEBRUARY Gainesville, Texas We were honored to be the featured speakers at the annual Gainesville Area [...]
Molokai is one of the most beautiful and spiritual places we’ve ever visited. It has the highest sea cliffs in the world, lush tropical vegetation, a fascinating history and a population of beautiful souls. There is nothing touristy about Molokai. It is authentic, genuine and unpretentious. Molokai will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Some of the highlights or our journey included a visit to a plumeria plantation, a kayak trip, a tour of the Hawala Valley, and [...]
We headed down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for some great food and crazy fun with people who take their tailgating as seriously as they take their LSU football. Tailgating at LSU is an incredible experience with some of the best food we’ve ever encountered. LSU may occasionally lose a football game, but they’ve never lost a tailgate party. We have a new appreciation for all the ways you can prepare alligator and jambalaya. What do you love most about [...]
A Fall Festival Not to Miss: Check out the Jambalaya Jam! Good Eats, Good Music and Good Family Fun! The annual Jambalaya Jam in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a must for fall festival fanatics. Guests at this incredible down town street party are invited to dance in the streets to live music and sample some of Louisiana’s best jambalaya from over 40 competing teams. These folks are as serious about their jambalaya as LSU fans are about their football.
It’s no secret that we love to eat. In our travels, we’ve been blessed to experience some of the best food on the planet. We’ve compiled a list of 10 sandwiches that should be a part of your culinary Bucket List! We have pictures of some of these sandwiches. Others were devoured before we took out our cameras, still they made a good enough impression to be included in this list. Muffuletta from Central Grocery in New Orleans, Louisiana. The famous [...]
The Travel Media Group released a white paper listing the Top 20 Twitter Travel Experts. Congrats to Midlife Road Trip co-host, Rick Griffin, for eating and tweeting his way into foodie/traveler expert status with the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern and Niamh Shields! Here’s an excerpt from the white paper. The Foodie – If you fit in The Foodie category you probably hate chain restaurants and are willing to try anything new. You get a thrill out of the [...]
Sandi goes behind the scenes at Battle of the Dance in Anaheim, California where she learns a step or two from some of the best in the business. Is she ready for Dancing with the Stars? You be the judge! Either way, she got to check something off her Bucket List.
There’s no better way to kick off a midlife crisis than to jump out of an airplane! Watch as Rick checks a big item off his bucket list.
We received several emails telling us that we HAD to eat at the Berry Fresh Cafe in Port St. Lucie , Florida. So when we were in the area filming at the PGA Village, we stopped by and were treated to some great food and great fun.
We always love tagging along with others when they get to fulfill their bucket list dreams. Here’s a fun behind the scenes look at the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama with our friend Max Akins, where we drove real NASCAR race-cars at speeds of 174mph!
While at Guy Fieri’s closing party at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, we ran into one of our favorite Travel Channel celebrities, Andrew Zimmern, host of Bizarre Foods, eating of all things, a cupcake.
Rick heads to the Atchafalaya Basin near Baton Rouge for a swamp tour on a fan boat – checking one more item off the Bucket List. Check out our other exciting adventures in Baton Rouge: Houmas House Plantation and Gardens Tailgating at LSU Fan Boat Swamp Tour Making Mango Crab Cakes Midlife Road Trip Theme Song Jambalaya Jam
We got to check something else off our Bucket List as we trained at the official PGA Training Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. It was so cool learning from the people who train the pros on the PGA tour. The technology they use is nothing short of AMAZING.
Seeing 1.5 million bats take flight is an amazing sight. While in Austin, Texas we visited the famous Congress Bridge – home of the largest urban bat colony in the world!
Austin, Texas is weird and we love it! Austin is known for incredible food and fantastic music and #SXSW … Take a behind the scenes peek at what weird about Austin! And .. another check off our Bucket List!
I went to Vail and got “Tips from the Mountain Top” on my Nokia Icon.
If you don’t know how to ski (and I don’t) navigating with the weight of the layers of clothes, boots and skis is challenging enough. Add to the mix balancing with a camera and all bets are off. Enter Nokia Icon, a game changer for me. I slipped it into my jacket pocket, hopped on the gondola and headed up the mountain to meet my ski instructor Christy Remeta, a 16 year veteran on Vail mountain. Christy was amazing. She immediately got my focus on where it should be, skiing, versus the “what ifs” that were running rampant through my helmeted head. What if I fall? What if I break something?
Under Christy expert tutelage I focussed, my fears subsided and I was able to enjoy the moment, the mountain and the learning to ski experience. The Vail Ski School is on top of the mountain which is absolutely amazing! Even if you never progress from the bunny hill, you get the same breathtaking view of ‘real skiers’. It was gorgeous and the perfect backdrop to ask Christy for a few tips about skiing Vail.
Happy Hump Day!! It’s not every day you get to see rhinos playing leap-frog! If you love animals, you’l love our behind the scenes look at Lion Country Safari, in West Palm Beach Florida.
The final port of call for our fabulous Holland America cruise aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam was Key West Florida where we got to check “Eating Key Lime Pie in Key West” off our Bucket List ! We asked around and the locals told us that Kermit’s Key Lime Shoppe was THE place to go so we did. Not only did we get to fast some of the best key lime pie on the planet, we got to meet the famous Key [...]
We headed down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for some great food and crazy fun with people who take their tailgating as seriously as they take their LSU football. Tailgating at LSU is an incredible experience with some of the best food we’ve ever encountered. LSU may occasionally lose a football game, but they’ve never lost a tailgate party. We have a new appreciation for all the ways you can prepare alligator and jambalaya. What do you love most about [...]
A Fall Festival Not to Miss: Check out the Jambalaya Jam! Good Eats, Good Music and Good Family Fun! The annual Jambalaya Jam in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a must for fall festival fanatics. Guests at this incredible down town street party are invited to dance in the streets to live music and sample some of Louisiana’s best jambalaya from over 40 competing teams. These folks are as serious about their jambalaya as LSU fans are about their football.
Just a quick behind the scenes look at our super fun Fashion Night Out adventures in New York City during Fashion Week. Bucket List CHECK!
Carnival Cruise Lines conspired with Food Network megastar, Guy Fieri, to open an instantly addictive eatery called Guy’s Burger Joint on the lido deck of the Carnival Sunshine. Though many cruisers just ask for a plain burger and some fries before heading over to the radical toppings bar where they create their idea of the perfect burger, there is a menu of Guy’s signature burgers that should not be ignored. During our recent Mediterranean cruise, Rick had the opportunity to [...]
I’ve long said that a road trip is the perfect therapy for a midlife crisis. There’s something about hitting the road to explore a new destination that rejuvenates your spirit and fuels your wanderlust. I’ve always wanted to take an open air road trip on a motorcycle but I never have, for several reasons. I don’t own a motorcycle, I don’t have a motorcycle license, my wife, Denise, thinks they are unsafe, and she’s afraid I might get a tattoo [...]
As a part of Expedia’s Find Your Storybook campaign, we are exploring the theme of Ancestry Travel. We are embarking on a quest to discover where we came from by researching our ancestors, tracing their paths and visiting, the places they lived, worked, played and died. Chapter One of our journey entails research. Family records only take us back so far. So we reached out to Ancestry.com to help us discover more. They were excited that we chose to make Ancestry [...]
Do you have what it takes to be a great Phonetographer? Perhaps you’re not even sure what a phonetographer is?
The urban Dictionary defines Phonetographer as “One who is always taking photos with the camera in their phone. Most often artsy photos that end up posted on social network sites like Facebook.” Ever since camera phones came into existence we have been sharing everything from the food we eat to every move we make in the infamous selfie.
What are some of the benefits of being a phonetographer?
Regardless of where you are, your phone is usually with you. If it’s not, more than likely you are in the throws of a severe panic attack.
It’s easy to carry. Slip it in your pocket and you’re good to go.
The technology is king and while it’s pretty sophisticated even I can use it, and use it well. It’s idiot proof. Take the Nokia Lumia Icon. It takes HD video and it has four built in speakers. Add to that a 20-megapixel camera with a single–finger zoom and you’ve got a pretty darn good chance at taking some fabulous photos.
Seeing 1.5 million bats take flight is an amazing sight. While in Austin, Texas we visited the famous Congress Bridge – home of the largest urban bat colony in the world!
Austin, Texas is weird and we love it! Austin is known for incredible food and fantastic music and #SXSW … Take a behind the scenes peek at what weird about Austin! And .. another check off our Bucket List!
I went to Vail and got “Tips from the Mountain Top” on my Nokia Icon.
If you don’t know how to ski (and I don’t) navigating with the weight of the layers of clothes, boots and skis is challenging enough. Add to the mix balancing with a camera and all bets are off. Enter Nokia Icon, a game changer for me. I slipped it into my jacket pocket, hopped on the gondola and headed up the mountain to meet my ski instructor Christy Remeta, a 16 year veteran on Vail mountain. Christy was amazing. She immediately got my focus on where it should be, skiing, versus the “what ifs” that were running rampant through my helmeted head. What if I fall? What if I break something?
Under Christy expert tutelage I focussed, my fears subsided and I was able to enjoy the moment, the mountain and the learning to ski experience. The Vail Ski School is on top of the mountain which is absolutely amazing! Even if you never progress from the bunny hill, you get the same breathtaking view of ‘real skiers’. It was gorgeous and the perfect backdrop to ask Christy for a few tips about skiing Vail.
Happy Hump Day!! It’s not every day you get to see rhinos playing leap-frog! If you love animals, you’l love our behind the scenes look at Lion Country Safari, in West Palm Beach Florida.
We saw this fun infographic from our friends at Wish.co.uk and couldn’t resist sharing Hollywood’s 12 lessons for the ultimate road trip. Enjoy!
We enjoyed more than a few of these chocolate covered cake balls at the Jambalaya Jam in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They came in a variety of flavors, so naturally we had to sample them all to make sure we didn’t miss anything. The red velvet was Rick’s favorite while Sandi preferred the chocolate. Chocolate cheers to you and yours! What’s your favorite chocolate dessert?
So Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and you need a Valentine vino to compliment the chocolates and roses, something that’s not too expensive, something to win points in the romance department. Think red! I’m playing it safe and going with one of my favorite wines reviewed last year - Apothic Red, a full bodied red blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. It has an intense dark fruit flavor with hints of mocha and vanilla. At $14 a bottle, [...]
It’s National Chocolate Cake Day and we are celebrating with Chocolate Cupcakes! Because we’re a mix and match kind of group, we like to take a little of this, a pinch of that and see what we come up with. This is never more fun than experimenting with one of our favorite desserts; cupcakes. Armed with a recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes (that are supposed to be stuffed with peanut butter filling) found on www.howsweeteats.com, the Midlife Road Trip test kitchen decided to see just how much chocolate we could stuff into a cupcake. Is there ever such a thing as too much? Our sweet tooth voted ‘No’.
For traveling foodies like us, Tampa’s brand new Epicurean Hotel, a 137-room boutique hotel devoted to extraordinary culinary experiences might be as close to nirvana as you get.
To kick things off, they had a Grand Awakening Reception, a celebration to Awaken Appetites Unknown™.
We applaud the Epicurean for not only an amazing party epicurean hotel but, their cutting-edge concept, a marriage of all things we love. Food, wine and a hotel who’s rooms feature an in-room personal artisan pantry stocked with premium liquors, locally crafted beers, Perrier, a selection of San Pellegrino and a diverse selection of 5 1/2 bottle varietals with suggested pantry pairings such as, prosciutto, chocolate and sea salt caramels and chévre.
Part of the prestigious Autograph Collection® of Marriott International, Inc., you get bet your favorite Bordeaux that we’ll be back to try a stay at the Epicurean Hotel.
We are incredibly honored to have been named one of TripIt’s 15 Must- Read Travel Blogs for 2014! We are humbled to be included in this impressive group of bloggers and to be recognized by a company that we love. Being in midlife we need all the help we can get in keeping our travels organized and can’t imagine traveling without Tripit’s smartphone app. Thanks for the app and the recognition!
Call it what you will, a bucket list, a wish list or a vision board but we should all should have one. Every year we put together a list of things we want to ‘check off’ and 2014 is a doozy. The thing is, you need to be specific, know what you want and know where you’re heading. After all, you wouldn’t take a road trip without directions, right? Think of this list as your GPS!
And most important, let us know what’s on your list! We may have missed something!! The older we get, the Bigger we DREAM!
When Andrea Metcalf invited me to a week of Naked Fitness, I froze in my tracks. My answer, unequivocally NO, I shrieked! The HORROR! I don’t look at myself naked, why would I subject anyone else to such a sight, I laughed uncontrollably. Well Naked Fitness isn’t about taking your clothes off after all. It’s about stripping away the excuses and looking in the mirror (fully clothed I might add) and seeing what is really there! What an opportunity lie [...]
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