Traveling by Nature

This is one of my favorite Foodie Fridays because not only did I eat some great food, but I also dipped my toes in the ocean! Check it out!

Diners

I asked the locals where I needed to grab dinner while I was visiting Jacksonville. I was very surprised when they didn’t suggest something that screamed seafood, but rather a local diner.

Metro Diner is an unassuming restaurant that was actually featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives! So given that it was everyone’s recommendation and it’s was Guy Fieri approved, I had to go.

My first impression was that it reminded my of a Denny’s and everything was sticky. However, sometimes those are the best places! The general consensus was that I had to get the Chicken and Waffles, so I went for it.

It was your classic chicken and waffles, and it came with a ton of chicken! I knew right away that I would be leaving some of this behind. This is half a fried chicken with a Belgian waffle, topped with powdered sugar. It came with a side of whipped butter and strawberry butter, and their signature sweet & spicy sauce.

I though the strawberry butter could be an interesting combination with the fried chicken, and it was. But I actually really enjoyed the mix of the sweet and savory flavors.

I ended up finishing off the waffle and ate a good portion of the chicken.

Beaches

In all my travels I’ve never actually been to the ocean. I was about half an hour away from one and I was determined to go, rain or shine! Of course it started pouring as soon as I left the diner, but with any rainstorm in Florida, I only had to wait a little bit for there to be a break in the rain. I had the perfect window to walk along the beach and dip my toes in the ocean.

I thought it was beautiful and there is nothing better than listening to the waves. It was overcast and more storm clouds were rolling in, but that didn’t stop other beach goers.

I could have spent hours walking along the beach, but the rain arrived again, and this time it was more intense than the last shower. I ran back to the car, and planned to make one more stop before going back to my hotel.

Gelati

I decided my dinner didn’t satisfy my sweet tooth, so I headed out for some gelati. This is a dessert consisting of layers of Italian ice and custard. I’ve talked about this before when we have gone to Rita’s Italian ice.

I heard I needed to try Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, an Orlando based franchise. Their dining room wasn’t open, and the drive-thru was backed up but I was committed. I was disappointed to see that they didn’t have my favorite flavor, blue raspberry, so I gave the blueberry limeade flavor a try mixed with vanilla custard.

I still prefer my blue raspberry, and I have to say that Rita’s is still the winner in my book.

The food was good, but the beach was better!

Question of the Day: Have you tried gelati before? If so. what’s your favorite Italian ice/custard combination?

Being a road warrior, I find myself having plenty of time to read when I’m on flights or delayed at the airport. That combined with the fact that I love to read wether it’s for leisure or for learning! I am usually reading a few books at a time: a leisure book, a book for my faith & ministry, and a professional development book. I wanted to share the ones I’m currently working my way through and I’m living all three!

Leisure: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

I am a huge fan of the psychological thriller genre w he n it comes to leisure reading! This one hooked my on the first chapter, which I don’t always find in every book.

This is set around a wife who’s husband disappears mysteriously, leaves her a cryptic note, and she must now protect his daughter, whom she has a difficult relationship with.

I am only about a quarter of the way through the book, but I can already tell it’s going to be one of my favorites this year!

Faith-Based: Love Does by Bob Goff

This is actually a book I’ve read before, but it was so impactful that I picked it up again. It’s really about how our love as Christ-followers should compel us to love all people and what that can look like. It has really been convicting for me both times that I have read it.

Bob Goff is a wonderful author and I love any book he writes. I’ve had the opportunity to see him speak at a conference and the world needs more people like him!

Professional Development: When the Adults Change Everything Changes by Paul Dix

I get to work with many educators in my job and this book really flips the perspective on behavioral change in the schools. It really takes a look at the adult behavior and their approach to discipline. It encourages adults to view themselves as the ultimate influence to shaping a child’s behavior.

I highly recommend it, especially if you work in education! However, I think this is a great book for any adult that interacts with children.

Question of the Day: What books are you reading right now?

Hello there! I had the pleasure of traveling to Jacksonville, Florida this week and I have really been looking forward to it. I love Florida, more specifically I love Orlando. But was excited to visit a new part of the state that I haven’t been to before. So far, the experience here has been wonderful despite the rain and lack of Florida sunshine. However, getting here was a different story.

My journey to Jacksonville began early with my alarm set for 4:30AM. I had a 7:20AM Flight. I wanted to get ready, double check to make sure I had everything packed, and get to the airport in plenty of time. Travel has been crazy and crowded for several months now, so I am always allowing for that extra buffer time just in case.

I have to be honest that I think the DFW airport is probably one of the worst in the U.S. and I try to avoid it when I can by flying Southwest through Lovefield. I also will mention that I had not flown American Airlines in over a month, but this travel morning reminded me why I hadn’t. After switching our gates to THREE different terminals that morning, the delays began. Since I had to get to Jacksonville for work I asked the gate agent if they thought we would actually take off or if we were being prepared for a cancellation. The answer was they didn’t have a plane and didn’t know where they were going to get one. I’ll keep my sarcastic remarks to myself on that one.

The airport was way overcrowded so I found an open spot on the floor where I could work on my computer, drink my coffee and eat breakfast. I grabbed a snack pack from the 7-Eleven with apple slices, cheese, and pretzels.

We finally took off about three hours after our scheduled departure time, but I was just happy to actually be on my way to Florida. I had some fun stops I wanted to make before checking into my hotel. After landing, I collected my luggage and got my rental car. I headed straight for a coffee shop I had found online for a late lunch and a caffeine boost.

Southern Grounds has a few locations throughout the Jacksonville area and I picked the one that was most closely located to other stops I wanted to make. It was a beautiful coffee shop and so spacious. I feel like most trendy coffee locations are usually small and are hard to get a seat at, but that was not the case here, There was so much room to spread out. They also had so many coffee and food options.

I opted for a drip coffee with almond milk and a breakfast bagel complete with egg, cheese, and bacon. It really hit the spot and the bacon was cooked to perfection, which Is sometimes hard to find. I enjoyed a little reading while I leisurely enjoyed my coffee and lunch.

Just a few shops down was a Macaron shop. I haven’t had this treat in a long time so I couldn’t stop myself from dropping in.

Macarons are always a little pricey in my opinion, so I just got a box of six and picked the flavors that seemed the most unique. I have only eaten of couple of them so far, but they are delicious! So far I have tried a birthday cake flavor and a basil white chocolate. That seemed like an odd combination to me, but it really worked!

I then headed towards my new weakness, which was a bad idea. One of the best thrift stores in the DFW area has a sister store in Jacksonville, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a little treasure hunt. I ended up finding so many things, some with the tags still on them. They were also have a 50% off sale which meant many of the items I walked away with cost less that $3. I’m telling you, I can’t shop retail the same anymore.

I walked away with about 12 items in total for a little under $50. I am not sure how I’m going to fit everything in my luggage and stay under the weight limit, so getting home with everything should be interesting. Here are a few of the dresses that I found.

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After wrapping up thrift shopping, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some food and water for the week. Eating out for every meal gets old very quickly, so I try to eat the hotel breakfast when available, pack a lunch and healthy snacks, and then eat out for my dinners. It seems to work well for me and I don’t get burnt out on dining out as often anymore.

Some storms rolled in while I was at Sprouts, so after I finished picking up my groceries I decided to call it a day and head to my hotel. That is until I went to go check and realized I was at the wrong one when they couldn’t find my reservation. So after a 20 minute drive back in the opposite direction I arrived, checked in, and got settled. I DoorDashed dinner for convenience. I found a health restaurant where I was able to customize a bowl of brown rice, lemon garlic kale, ancho pulled chicken, corn salsa, and sautéed peppers.

It hit the spot and I rounded out dinner with some frozen dark chocolate covered bananas I picked up at Sprouts.

The day started out stressful, but it ended up being really enjoyable. I’m looking forward to some other fun things I have planned for my time in Jacksonville this week!

Question of the Day: Do you like to thrift shop?

Hello from sunny Florida! Actually, that’s a lie — it has not been sunny for most of today. A big thunder storm blew in and I’m bundled up in my hotel room watching the rain out the window. I’ll have my travel day recap up on the blog tomorrow! But for now, I thought I’d share a fun weekend recap!

It was so nice to wake up and just spend a slow Saturday morning drinking coffee and not having anything urgent to do. We watched Youtube (as I continue to contemplate taking Traveling by Nature to Youtube) and I drank too many cups of coffee while Aaron ate breakfast. I love breakfast, but I’m oddly never hungry for it on the weekends.

We had made plans to go see Jungle Cruise at a local theater since the first showing was only $5 a ticket. Even though we have Disney+ we just can’t justify renting the release of new movies on there since we can see it in theaters for way less. And going to the movie theater just enhances the movie experience in my opinion. After discussing our plans for the day, Aaron suggested we just make a whole date day out of it and offered to take me to my favorite restaurant for an early lunch. So with that, we got ready to head out the door. I was excited to try out another of my thrift store finds. I’ve always wanted an overall dress and they seem to be coming back in style. I got the one below for a whopping $4 at a thrift store.

I also prepped a healthy snack bag for the movie theater before leaving. I’m a big lover of movie theater popcorn (why else go to the theaters, right?), but try to have something healthy on hand to fill me up, as well. I just made a simple snack mix of almonds, walnuts, dark chocolate covered almonds, and garlic bread chips.

I have spoken of my love for Chuy’s on the blog before and I truly never get tired of it. We love to split an order of chicken fajitas, and if I’m being honest, I mostly fill up on the chips & jalapeño ranch.

We ate our early lunch before heading over to a little past noon showing up Jungle Cruise. I don’t think we have been to a movie theater since the pandemic began and it was exciting to watch a movie on the big screen again, even if we were full from lunch and skipped the popcorn.

I’m going to be honest about Jungle Cruise. I was really excited to see it, despite my dislike of The Rock (sorry Dwayne!), and it is one of my favorite rides at WDW. When I say favorite I mean cry on my first ride on each return trip. However, the story line got a little weird for my taste about halfway through the movie. I loved the ending and it was a decently good movie, but not what I expected. Aaron loved the instrumental version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” throughout the film, and I would have to agree as I’m listening to it while writing this post.

We knocked out some grocery shopping after the movie because responsibilities still have to happen even on a date days. I had a coupon from Tom Thumb for $2 off a Starbuck’s drink, so I definitely took advantage of that.

We ran home to quickly put the groceries away before heading right back out the door for church. We have been doing to Saturday evening church for a little while now and really enjoy the flexibility that it offers on Sunday mornings. After church we headed to our last date night meal of the weekend, one of our favorites, Bubba’s. Its a diner-style fried chicken joint in North Dallas. It’s the one place where 75% of our meal is starch and I don’t mind one bit! We’ll usually split a six piece tender plate with sides of French Fries and mashed potatoes and rolls. You can probably understand why we try not to make a habit of coming here 🙂

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at the pool, reading, and packing for my trip this week. Stay tuned for some fun Jacksonville finds tomorrow!

Question of the Day: What was the best part of your weekend?

Hello everyone! Once again, due to my lack of travel this week, I have been coming up with different a fun blog posts to work into the rotation for when I’m not on the road and my day to day may not have too many interesting things to share. So that brings me to Things I’m Loving Thursday! This is just a quick opportunity for me to share some things that I am loving that you may be interested in and some things that make my life when traveling a little bit easier! So let’s dive in!

Malibu Swimmer’s Care Shampoo & Conditioner

This was something that my hair stylist recently recommended to me and I love it! I was a competitive swimmer for years – from Middle School through college – and I still enjoy swimming laps for exercise. However, the chemicals in pools really do a number on my already course hair and I wanted to make sure that I was taking care of it properly without having to sacrifice on of my favorite forms of exercise.

This shampoo & conditioner duo does a great job of removing the harsh chemicals and salts found in pool water and helping my hair stay hydrated after a swim. I also use the Swimmer’s Care Wellness Remedy, which are powders that you mix with water and use to effectively cleanse your hair of the chemicals. I wash my hair with the shampoo & conditioner after every swim, but only use the remedy about once a week as an extra step to keep my hair healthy. You can check out the Swimmer’s Care bundle that I buy <a href="http://<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/{{staticTextLinkDestination}}/B01KYLE17M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01KYLE17M&linkCode={{linkCode}}&tag=travelingby0d-20&linkId={{link_id}}">{{link_text}}</a>" data-type="URL" data-id="<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/{{staticTextLinkDestination}}/B01KYLE17M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01KYLE17M&linkCode={{linkCode}}&tag=travelingby0d-20&linkId={{link_id}}">{{link_text}}here!

DipWell Nail Kit

I love having my nails done, especially with the dip powder. Living life on the road presents a unique challenge with keeping up with my nails though. When I’m traveling to a new place I want to spend my time exploring and eating. I don’t necessarily want to use valuables hours of daylight sitting in the salon chair. My sister-in-law introduced me to these nail kits during the pandemic and, I’ll be honest, I was not a fan at first. However, after practicing a few times I got the hang of it and this is the only way I maintain my nails now!

You build your own kit on their website and it comes with all the necessary items to do your own manicure. You then have the option to pick 3 or 6 different colors based on your preferences and they have a large variety to choose from.

This has been a game-changer for me and it also saves SO MUCH money. The cost of the starter kit is what I would pay to get my nails done only once, but now I can do my nails over and over agin for the same price! It’s definitely`worth checking out. If you follow my referral code here, you will then get a $10 credit to use on your next order which covers the cost for a new dip color!

TRIPPIE App

I originally found this app while watching an episode of Shark Tank. It was created by a college student who wanted to help make airport navigation a little bit easier. There are a wide range of airports available on this app across the U.S. and Canada. When you choose an airport you can view a map of the terminals, the different dining locations available in each terminal, and there is a chat forum to connect with other people in the airport the same time as you. This has greatly helped me with finding my way around airports. I don’t have to try to navigate that specific airports website. I can just pick which one on the app and view the map, as well as, find somewhere to grab a bite. I haven’t used the chat forum as I do enjoy my solo travel and am not looking to make friends at the airport, but I know some social butterflies that would love this feature! The app is free so check it out!

Kuju Coffee Single Pour Over Packets

If you are on-the-go often and prefer pour over coffee, you have to order some of these! They come in a variety of different roasts and are so easy to use! You simply tear open the top and use the anchors to place over the top of your mug. Your hot water into the packet and voila! you have a cup of pour over coffee!

I love to travel with these and I’m never going back! I have traveled to some locations where a coffee shop is not open or available before I have to begin meeting with clients and maybe all that is available is the coffee machine inside my hotel room. I am not a fan of hotel room coffee as it always tastes too watered down for me and these Kuju Coffee packets were the PERFECT solution, and so easy to use too!

2 Months of Marriage

Yes I know this may not fit in with the other times on the list, but I sure am loving marriage. I got married shortly before launching this blog and it’s been a wonderful 2 months. We started off marriage a little different with me traveling as often as I do, but I couldn’t pick a better partner to support me in everything I do!

So enough with the sappy words….I hope you enjoyed this different than normal blog post and maybe found some new things to check out along the way! See you tomorrow for Foodie Friday!

Question of the Day: What is something you are loving lately? Share it below!

Hello all and Happy Wednesday! We are starting something fun here at Traveling by Nature and that is a monthly GIVEAWAY! Who doesn’t love Giveaways?! It will be something different each month based on what is going on around the blog and different brands that I am partnering with, but it will be something to look forward to each month! So stay on the lookout and visit often!

Now, on to this month’s giveaway! One lucky reader has the chance to win 3 months of free coffee from Panera! If you weren’t aware, Panera has a coffee subscription that allows you to get a free cup of coffee every 2 hours! That is a lot of coffee and adds up to a big value if you really take advantage of it. Read below to see how you enter!

TO ENTER:

• Comment on this blog post and tell me how you take your coffee.
• Follow me on Instagram.
• Tag a friend on my Giveaway Post on Instagram AND share it to your story!
• Share one of my previous blog posts to your social media!

Follow each of these steps and you will be entered into a drawing for a free 3-months of unlimited coffee at Panera!

I love this subscription because I can find a Panera almost anywhere in the U.S. and I din’t feel bad about stopping to get a hot (or iced!) coffee everytime I’m near one!

This Giveaway ends on Friday, July 30th so ENTER NOW! The winner will be announced Saturday Morning at 9AM Central Time. Good luck!

I am home this week and have a short break from travel, so I decided to do something a little different. My day to day life looks a lot different when I’m not on the road so I thought I’d give you a little glimpse. Join me as I carry out a normal day in my non-travel world!

Monday was a complete day off of work for me, but it still started early. I tend to wake up when my husband wakes up, and that usually means early. Around 6:30AM, while he got ready for work I whipped up a batch of PB Banana Oatmeal. I simply microwave 1/4 cup outs (I can never finish a full 1/2 cup serving) with 1/2 cup water and 1 TBS. ground flaxseed. The best part of oatmeal for breakfast are the different toppings you can add. This morning it was simple with a sliced banana and a heaping scoop of peanut butter.

I decided to take the morning slow. It has been a long time since I had a morning at home where I didn’t already have plans. No morning is complete without a cup of coffee. I brewed a cup and settled in for a few old episodes of my favorite travel Youtubers, Kara and Nate. Seriously, check out their channel! When I start to feel burnt out by travel, their videos give me renewed inspiration!

After my breakfast had settled for awhile, I headed to the gym for a short run on the treadmill. It is way too hot to run outside in Texas right now, so for the next couple of months I’ll be opting for indoor workouts. I used to run everyday religiously, but have fallen out of the habit the last few years. I recently started pushing myself to get back in the swing of things and have really been enjoying the runner’s high again! I did an interval of running for 8 minutes and then walking for 2 minutes. I repeated this for a total of three times. I’m looking to get back into running marathons again, but building up my endurance is key to that goal.

I had a few errands to run, so I took advantage of my post-run energy and headed out the door. I stopped by Office Depot where I had a print order to pick-up for the other business I run.

I had a free coffee from Panera to use, so I stopped by on my way to Target. Check back on the blog tomorrow, because there is a super great GIVEAWAY starting tomorrow that you won’t want to miss! And it definitely includes coffee!

I ran by Target for some extra hangers. My closet had gotten out of control and I had put off buying more hangers until now. I’m happy to say everything is organized again and I now have more room to enjoy my new hobby of thrift shopping 😉 (PS: Visiting one of the top rated Thrift shops in Florida next week; stay tuned!)

Before heading home, I stopped by one of my local nail salons to get my eyebrows waxed. I’m pretty sure the last time I had this done was before my engagement pictures back in April, so it had been way to long.

I was starving by the time I got home and was able to put together lunch quickly thanks to some meal-prepping I did on Sunday. This recipe is coming to the blog on Friday for Foodie Friday, but here’s a sneak peak. These are super easy Queso Chicken Tacos that you must try! Check back on Friday for the full recipe! (Hint: It’s only 4 ingredients!).

The afternoon was full of working on the blog, planning and preparing things for my subscription box business, and cleaning around the apartment. It was a whole lot of boring that probably wouldn’t interest you anyway so we’ll zoom right past all of that.

Heading straight to dinner, another easy recipe saved the day. I’m a big fan of Egg Roll in a Bowl recipes and I made my own with simple ingredients that I had on hand. I simply sautéed cabbage and shredded carrots in coconut oil until they were soft, and topped it with two eggs, green onions and sriracha sauce. It was simple, but so good and filling.

Post dinner treats were some leftover sugar cookies. Aaron and I celebrated Christmas in July on Sunday with Hallmark movies, Christmas music, and cookies. We’ll be snacking on these cookies the rest of the week!

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with Aaron. It really is good to be home for a full week. These times are rare with my job, and while I love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for anything else, it’s nice to curl up on my own couch, next to my husband, watching reruns of Friends together.

Seriously, check back here tomorrow for the coffee GIVEAWAY! It’s one you won’t want to miss!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is something fun you did this past weekend?

It’s another Foodie Friday here at Traveling by Nature and this week we’re taking it to Baltimore! I didn’t go the traditional East Coast route with seafood for this post, but I did find a wonderful locally sourced restaurant located near Downtown Baltimore.

Gunther & Co. is a globally inspired, locally sourced restaurant. Their menu changes often to keep up with what’s in season and it was so, so yummy!

The inside of the restaurant was very modern with an industrial look. The ambiance was very calming. I had a reservation for one around 5:30 on a Thursday evening and it wasn’t crowded at all!

My server was great and very attentive, sharing that week’s specials with me and making some wonderful recommendations! Gunther & Co. also has a raw bar where you can order oysters. They had a good variety, as well.

I started off my meal with a bowl of Black Bean Soup, and wow! This was the best black bean soup I have ever had. That is not an exaggeration. It was topped with an avocado crema and cilantro. It was served quickly and was very hot! There is nothing worse than being served a “warm” soup at a restaurant.

After polishing off my bowl of soup, I indulged in their seasonal flatbread, that was actually more like a whole pizza! Look at the size of that thing! It was topped with lemon garlic ricotta, spinach, seasonal squash, and olive oil! It was delicious and light. The flavor was not over-powering. I ate about half, as I was still saving room for dessert!

After a wonderful first and second course, I was ready to begin heading back to my hotel knowing that traffic was going to be heavy and I still needed to pack. I ordered dessert to-go and it was brought out quickly.

I chose the Whipped Goat Cheese Panna Cotta based on my server’s recommendation. It was paired with a blueberry compote, lemon-poppy seed sorbet, honey drizzle, and a lemon pizzele. It was so good and this was also light. I didn’t feel too full after this entire meal and felt good knowing that it was all locally-sourced.

If you’re ever in the Baltimore area, treat yourself to a nice dinner and head over to Gunther & Co! You won’t regret it!

Now I know this blog is pretty new and hasn’t featured any International travels (YET!), but I promise you I have experienced my fair share of traveling overseas. These 3 tips featuring our this past month’s Travel Tip Tuesdays are important for any time you travel on a plane, but are KEY for those international trips! Check them out!

This may seem like a given, but seriously, bring your own snacks! Avoid paying for over-priced snacks that you can get for a third of the cost outside the airport. Some of my healthy favorites are protein bars, trail mix, popcorn, peanut butter crackers, & bananas!

What are your favorite travel snacks? Answer below!

This may not seem super important, but it is! Especially on long flights! This alone might make or break your trip. It can make it a comfortable and painless experience or a horrible one. I learned this real quick.

There are so many airline options to choose from. It can be a bit overwhelming.
Check out sites like Airline Quality which gives you reviews on all the airlines. Do some research and find an airline whose airfare is affordable, and whose reviews are great.
Make sure you research all the airlines you are considering. Not all airlines are created equal; in fact, long-haul travel may be where you find the most significant differentiation between airlines. If you can, choose a newer model plane. It will be equipped with up-to-date equipment and amenities.
Some things I look for is that that it has in-seat power outlets. I end up doing a lot of work on the plane so this is important to me.

Speaking of seats, that’s the next thing you should focus on. Picking the right seat is equally as important. I’m usually a window seat person! However, the aisle seat is the best way to survive a long-haul flight because you will have the luxury of being able to stand frequently and stretch your legs and make frequent bathroom visits without disturbing your seatmates.

You can go to SeatGuru, which has airline seat maps and a comfort rating system. You can plug in your flight number, and it shows you the layout of your plane. Not only can you see what seats you can choose in your cabin, but there are also reviews from previous passengers. They let you know things like if a seat is uncomfortable, a seat does not recline, or if the seat does not have overhead space. I found this super helpful.

Picking a seat that is not too close to the bathrooms or galley helps so much if you do not want to be disturbed. You can also consider an exit row which gives you more legroom. Whether you like a window or aisle seat, do yourself a favor and really plan ahead for this part. I promise you that it’s worth it. Choosing the right airline and the right seat will make your trip much more pleasant.

Get the travel insurance!

I used to be one that passed on the travel insurance to save a few bucks on my trips. But if you travel as much as I do now then you know that eventually something is going to go awry. And when that happens I want to be covered!

There are a variety of ways to get travel insurance. Personally, I purchase mine through through my health insurance company. Yes, it’s an extra expense that you have to budget into your trip, but it sure saves a LOT of money if something keeps you from going on your trip. Think injury, emergency, or even a global pandemic.

Question: What are your go-to travel tips? Answer below!

I traveled to Baltimore, Maryland this week and decided to check out something fun while I had the time! Baltimore has one of the highest rated Aquariums in the U.S., and since ocean life is one of my favorite things, I had to check it out!

It is located at the Harbor in downtown Baltimore and sits right on the water. The harbor leads into the ocean and really sets the scene for a beautiful aquarium.

One thing I will say about this aquarium is that it has a bit of an odd design and you really have to be aware of where you are in relation to the other exhibits to make sure you don’t miss anything. It is layered on different floors so you will experience going up a lot of escalators throughout. I started off with entering The Reef exhibit and it was breathtaking.

It has this modern look and every time you look down you just see ocean with a variety of fish, rays, and sharks. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful and I could have stayed in here all day had it not been so crowded.

To see more exhibits you take an escalator up to the next level which provides you with an even better view of The Reef exhibit. How cool?! On the next level there are a variety of fish in individual exhibits and there were too many to take pictures of all of them.

In this area you can also touch stingrays and horseshoe crabs. But the most surprising element was that you could touch jellyfish! I asked the staff member about the safety of this and she explained that the type of jellyfish in this tank are not strong enough to sting human skin. They do ask you to touch the top of the jellyfish as to not harm their tentacles.

There are a series of additional fish exhibits on this level before you are met with another escalator that brings you into a tropical rainforest paradise. Check out this video!

Here you are able to walk through a rainforest environment and it felt realistic! By that I mean in was incredibly humid and who knows what my hair looked like after finishing that exhibit.

There were not many animals or fish to see in this exhibit, but there were birds flying around freely and a sloth. Who doesn’t love sloths?

After the rainforest, you guessed it, more fish! To quote a kid I overhead at the aquarium, “After awhile all the fish start to look the same!”. I sort of have to agree with him. But there were some other pretty cool, unique exhibits to see.

As you wrap up this wing of the aquarium you begin to work your way back down to the lower level by winding down several levels of ramps. These ramps take you deeper and deeper into an ocean environment with sharks swimming back and forth. It was honestly a little eerie, but totally awesome at the same time! How creepy does this guy look?

The next area you can check out is Pier 4 and this is where you will see the dolphins. The National Aquarium recently moved their dolphin exhibit Oceanside! They are no longer having scheduled dolphin shows, but if you time it right you may get to see them working with their trainers. Take a seat in the stadium and enjoy an impromptu show! I was lucky enough to time it perfectly, got a front seat, and had some great views of the dolphins playing and performing tricks!

Such beautiful creatures!

Right after the dolphins, they have a new Jellyfish exhibit with several different types. You can’t touch these, but there are plenty to see! This area did have a very foul smell to it and I’m not sure if it was the jellyfish or something else. Just something to note.

The last short exhibit is themed after the Australian Outback. This was similar to the Rainforest, but not as impressive. Although, it did look down on a beautiful indoor waterfall.

Overall, this was a beautiful aquarium with some award-winning exhibits, and the pictures don’t do it justice. However, I wouldn’t rank this at the top of the aquariums I have been to. I’m personally attached to the Dallas World Aquarium, but I may be biased. The National Aquarium is definitely one to check out when visiting Baltimore!

That’s all for today and come back tomorrow to see this last month’s compilation of travel tips all in one place! Until next time, friends!