2018 Travel Adventures!

2018 was an amazing year for traveling. Unlike 2017, where a lot of our travel was very planned out, we decided to be a bit more loosey goosey with our travel plans this year. Allowing the destination, time of year and adventures to just come to us. 

The result was a year of transformative and magical traveling! We went from one of the warmest destinations to one of the coldest. Big cities and vast countrysides. We laid on beaches and hiked up glaciers. We got a wide variety of experiences and that left us very satisfied with our 2018 travels.

Our travel kicked off pretty early with Costa Rica in late February/ early March. We trekked through the rainforest, climbed a volcano and sun bathed, (more like fried but so worth it) on a beautiful beach. 

April brought my long time best friend and I together in Jacksonville for a concert that was like 8 years in the making and left us with some of the most amazing street art we had ever seen. 

June and summer meant it was time for our annual trip to California and as always we did it up big! We hiked a little bit of Topanga Canyon for the first time. We took a little day trip to the breathtaking Joshua Tree National Park and we spent the summer solstice burning some candles and setting intentions on Victoria Beach in Laguna! We incorporated some new Cali experiences with some of our favorite LA classics.

In September we took a small day trip up to Georgia for mom's birthday and this time we dragged my brother along! Our main attraction was a super chill hike through Providence Canyon State Park otherwise known as The Little Grand Canyon. We would definitely recommend this park for hikers of all levels! Be mindful of the temps, though. The summer months can get pretty hot, even in the shade.

I wrapped up the year of travel in late November/ early December with one of the most epic trips to Europe with some co-workers! We explored parts of Iceland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This trip really rivaled all the rest and added a few more countries to my top favorite countries that we have visited. I know I will have to take mom back, but it will probably be better for us to go in the summer, next time. 

Here is to an amazing year of travel, adventure and great people! We are so grateful for every plane we board and every mile we drive. We are eager and excited to see what kind of craziness 2019 will bring to us and you! 

If you would like to see more of our 2018 travels make sure to head over to our YouTube channel and check out some of the amazing sites we were able to experience this year. And if you would like a more in depth recount of my time in Europe stay tuned for the next two articles and videos from your favorite mother daughter travel bloggers!

We hope you are all having an amazing day and may your 2019 bring you lots of opportunities to pack your bags and explore the world. Remember:

…It's an adventure! 

The Great Magical Beginning!

It is often heard to pinpoint the exact moment where everything changes and you find one of those things, that truly makes you happy. I am Brandy, the daughter half of Pure Life Travelin. Growing up I had always been determined to never step foot on a plane. I was a nervous, panicky child and planes were at the top of my no-go list. However, something changed in me around my 16th birthday, a little cliche I know but it did. I had wanderlust so strong that it was crushing somedays. And for my birthday I had the world opened to me!

My aunt giving me the chance to fly for the first time and to New York City changed my life forever. It was magical and I got to share it with my mom. From there we went on trips to California and the mountains in North Carolina but it wasn't until college until I left the country. It was love that took me to Sweden twice, once in the summer and once in the winter! And it was adventure that took me to Costa Rica! Traveling makes my heart happy and I am so excited to start traveling more with my mom!

I’m Melissa, the mom in these stories.  My love of traveling started at age seven during my first “big” trip with my grandparents when we toured the Great Smoky Mountains’ cities of Cherokee, Asheville, and Gatlinburg. It’s a trip I remember to this day even 39 years later.  My family would travel some around the Southeast, but we never traveled too far from home. My first flight was at the age of 22 when I traveled to Dallas, TX for work training.

Once I married and had my two amazing children, and as the demands of owning our own businesses and raising children took precedence over seeing new places, travel seemed to be a luxury we couldn’t afford. Brandy’s 16th birthday gift from my sister would prompt her first flight and our first “big” trip together to New York City. Two years later we would travel to Los Angeles, Anaheim, Palm Springs and Vegas as a family to celebrate her graduation. Since then, she’s been traveling to places I’ve only dreamed of!  Last year she said, “mom, we need to start traveling, so I’m buying you a Passport”.  And so we will!  In a few days, we will embark on my biggest travel ever, a trip across the pond to explore both Ireland and the UK.  And thus begins our travels together!!

It’s an Adventure!!