Practical Wanderlust

Off-Beat Couple's Travel Blog

Hey, we're Lia and Jeremy, the couple behind the Practical Wanderlust travel blog!

MEET LIA & JEREMY

Hey there! We’re Lia & Jeremy. We created Practical Wanderlust in 2016, just before throwing all of our stuff in storage and embarking on a year-long honeymoon. The honeymoon was pretty much a disaster (read all about it) but we had a great time anyway.

On our blog you’ll find practical, down-to-earth, budget-friendly travel tips that will help you avoid making all of our terrible, terrible mistakes. We love off-the-beaten-path travel and discovering what makes a place unique (and a little weird). Our goal is to inform you & make you laugh (preferably at the same time). We want to show that travel doesn’t have to be perfect – sometimes it’s a complete disaster, and that’s OK too!

Want to know more about us? You can low key stalk us here & on our social media channels.

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  • Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week, so even though I like to think I appreciate Jeremy every day, I want to give him an extra shout-out (even though I'm a few days late, whoops). He deserves it. .⠀ Jeremy, aka Mr. Garcia, is the kind of teacher who would do anything for his kids. Extra office hours. Texts on nights and weekends. Phone calls on vacation. Weekends spent planning an educational field trip to Colombia with @take_flyte_org (psst: the donate link to help support the trip is in our bio! Everything helps😉).But it's not just about dedicating his time. Every day he strives to better his ability to instruct both his kids and lead his team (he's also a grade lead, & attending night school classes - free time? what's that?). He provides emotional support, guidance, and encouragement. He provides unconditional love and acceptance. He cheers his kids' successes and gives them the ol' "I know you can do better" disappointment speech when they don't meet expectations. And he does it all with plenty of jokes (although to be fair, most of them are terrible).⠀ . Mr. Garcia is the kind of teacher that you remember from high school years later. The wise-cracking, tell-it-like-it-is hard-a** who will always be there when you really need help and support. The "tough but fair" teacher. The teacher who demands your respect, but knows when to break character and crack jokes. The teacher who gets your meme reference but turns it into an awful joke that makes you cringe. The teacher who listens to the same music as you, but plays it off like he isn't cool. The teacher you add on Instagram and Facebook and come to with your struggles in college and hit up for a beer after you turn 21 (his first graduating class just turned 21, we're reeling). He's that kind of teacher. And the world needs more teachers like that. . In the era of school shootings, being married to a. high school teacher is a little terrifying. But Jeremy always tells me that the best way to prevent a school shooting is to tell his kids how much he loves them every single day. And he does. . Do you have a teacher who made a positive impact on you in high school? Tell me all about them in the comments!
  • You wouldn't know how STRONG I am by looking at me. You wouldn't know how many years I've spent training myself - both emotionally and physically - to develop that strength. You wouldn't be able to tell how far I've come. How hard I've pushed myself. How much I've trained. . To become strong emotionally, I trained my mind. I learned how to look at myself in the mirror and say kind things - sometimes out loud, sometimes SHOUTING over the negative voice in my own head. I had to learn to forgive myself for being a flawed and imperfect person. I had to pull myself from the brink of death and recover from repeated instances of trauma. I even had to learn how to eat again. . To become strong physically, I had to train my body. I had to learn how to activate muscles that had NEVER been activated. I had to accept how weak I was, that I lacked physical strength and mobility, and lean into those weaknesses in order to correct them. I learned to identify those weaknesses and failures as data - useful information that could inform my training and help me improve.. When I started powerlifting, I couldn't even lift the bar. I couldn't even get into a squat without falling over - that took me a full year to fix. When I started hiking, I couldn't go for more than a few minutes at a time without needing a break to catch my breath. When I started rock climbing, every inch up the wall felt like torture. . When I started recovering from my eating disorder, the biggest challenge was owning up to the pain I'd been inflicting on my own body. It was apologizing to myself for the torture I'd put myself through, and making amends with my tormentor: myself. .I'm not perfect. But in powerlifting, you have to fail in order to build more muscle. I find the same is true for emotional strength.. Today, I am STRONG - both emotionally and physically. I still train my mind and my body, because training never stops - it's a lifelong practice. And the more I train, the easier it gets to face challenges that I face - because my training has prepared me for it. . In what ways are you strong? Let's celebrate our strengths (and lovingly, fearlessly acknowledge our weaknesses) in the comments!
  • Are you traveling this summer? Where to? 🌻 One of my favorite perks of being a travel blogger married to a teacher is a nice long summer break filled with travels together (because we can relax when we're dead, I guess). We've been gearing up for our summer trips and getting SO excited! A highlight of last summer was spending 2 weeks in Bali, where we visited this stunning water temple. Here's what we're planning this summer:⁣ .⁣ 🍍We're starting with a quick little trip to Maui, Hawaii, because @southwestair rolled out super budget-friendly flights from Oakland to Hawaii and we snagged a killer deal! Poke and fresh pineapple, here we come.⁣ .⁣ 🇨🇴Next, we head to Colombia for our @take_flyte_org trip! We'll be traveling for 2 weeks with 17 of Jeremy's students. I'm SO stoked to be able to tag along to take photos and see Jeremy in his element teaching a field trip curriculum & lesson plan that he's been working on for a whole year. I feel so lucky to be part of such a life-changing experience for an amazing group of kids. . 🌴From Colombia, we'll pop up to Panama for spend a couple of weeks backpacking with my BFF! She likes beaches, so we're hitting up 2 of Panama's most beautiful island chains: San Blas and Bocas del Toro. She's also fluent in Spanish, which means less of a chance of getting horribly lost thanks to my mediocre Spanish translation skills (yay!)⁣ . 🏘️After that we head back home for a wedding. Then we have 2 more weeks that we're still mulling over. Thailand, perhaps? Or should we just stay at home knowing we'll be exhausted from a month straight of nonstop travel? (That, probably.)⁣ .⁣ 🏇Finally, we're headed to Louisville, Kentucky for a memorial and celebration of life for my Grandmother who passed away earlier this year. Spending time surrounded by family and my oldest friends will be the perfect finish to an epic summer. . So, I want to hear from you: what amazing trips do you have planned this summer? And do you think we should travel for those 2 weeks or stay home and rest? 🤔 Drop us a comment!
  • Walking into the only part of a house I can afford 😭 Today is Kentucky Oaks day, and schools back home in Louisville are closed in observance of this unofficial, very Kentucky holiday! 🏇The Kentucky Oaks is a horse race at Churchill Downs, much like the Derby, except about a thousand times cheaper to attend. The winner of the race is adorned with a garland of lillies instead of roses, the cocktail of the day is a vodka cranberry, and the entire city of Louisville shows up in full Derby regalia, giant fancy hats and all.⁣ 👒⁣ .⁣ None of this explains why, growing up, we got today off of school. Like, you can't go to the tracks as a kid. You can't drink or gamble, which is the whole point of going to the races. And since I left Louisville to attend college before I turned 18, I never even got to go to the Oaks (or the Derby). I demand a do-over!⁣😤⁣ .⁣ At any rate, the Kentucky Oaks are firmly a local tradition. Not many Louisvillians attend the actual Derby, because it is insanely expensive. If a Louisville local wants to see some of the celebrities that come to town for the Derby, they'll line up alongside the red carpet for annual events like the Barnstable Brown Gala, an annual Derby party hosted by the original Doublemint Twins and attended by A-List celebrities.⁣ .⁣ Oh, and the Oaks isn't the only race that locals attend during Derby week. There's also Thurby: it's the Thursday before the Derby, and it's far less formal than Oaks or the actual Derby. You might be able to get away with khakis instead of a seersucker suit *gasp* ⁣ But Thurby is local's only - sorry, y'all. Like you can technically go, but don't tell anyone I told you about it, OK? I don't want to have my Louisville card revoked ⚜️⁣ .⁣ Anyway, while all of this pomp and circumstance and celebration and is happening (I swear Derby is the biggest annual holiday in Kentucky), I'm sitting at home in my PJs being cranky because I live in California.😭 So, y'all, let's play a game: what questions do you have about Louisville, Kentucky, bourbon, or the Derby? Drop 'em below!
  • Savannah, Georgia is full of stories. Fascinating, dark, glamorous, morbid stories - often all at once. This house, on the corner of a quiet square and framed by waving Spanish moss, is the star of one of Savannah's best and most famous stories. This is Mercer House.⁣ .⁣ If you've read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, you already know this house. It's the house where Jim Williams, a prominent member of Savannah's Noveau Riche class in the 90's, murdered a young man who turned out to be his secret lover. That young man was widely known among the wealthy as "the best piece of a** in town" - a prostitute, and a popular one, at that. Are you on the edge of your seats yet? Because this story only gets more ridiculous.⁣ .⁣ Jim Williams claims he murdered Danny Hansford in self-defense. Danny was violent and prone to drunken outbursts. But the evidence didn't support that theory. And over the course of 4 different trials, Jim was convicted again and again, appealing his conviction each time and bailing himself out of jail.⁣ .⁣ As his trials dragged on, he sought the help of a team of expensive lawyers - and a Low Country Root Doctor and prominent Hoodoo practitioner: Valerie Boles. She would go to the Bonaventure Cemetery to communicate with the dead and cast spells meant to help Jim's trial. And it worked: Jim was finally ruled innocent and went home to live in Mercer House.⁣ .⁣ But the story doesn't end there. 6 months after he returned home, Jim Williams dropped dead - in the exact spot where he would have stood if he been shot by Danny Hansford. Neighbors claimed they saw Valerie leaving his house a few days earlier. Supposedly, he didn't pay her bill. Y'all, NEVER piss off a Root Doctor.⁣ .⁣ Today, the house is a museum, occupied by Jim William's sister. She won't allow guests to talk about the trial or her brother's death (understandably) but you can tour the home and see the very place where it happened, in all of its glitz, glamour, and elegance.⁣ .⁣ For more fascinating stories from Savannah, check out the link in my bio (yep, I wrote a whole post). Had you ever heard of Mercer House? What's your favorite true crime story? Drop us a comment!
  • I get homesick as hell this time of the year. You see, it's Derby week. 🐎Which means nothing if you're not from Kentucky, but to a Kentuckian, it's the most important, special, festive, exciting time of the entire YEAR. Spring is in full bloom, cocktail dresses and fancy hats are being pulled out of closets and dusted off, bourbon balls and Derby pies are being made, and Mint Juleps are being mixed. It's the most wonderful, exciting time of the year. In Kentucky.⁣ .⁣ Only I'm not in Kentucky, I'm in California, and Derby week is not a thing here. At best, my friends might have heard of the Kentucky Derby. But try planning a Derby party the same weekend as Cinco de Mayo and you'll quickly find out a Californian's priorities 🤣⁣🌮 .⁣ I read a beautiful article in the @courierjournal about it (yes, I still read my hometown's local newspaper). Quote: "For Kentuckians — no matter where we live — [Derby] day evokes a certain melancholy about the fullness of time, a longing for something we can't quite put our finger on. Maybe it's family; maybe it's just the familiar. It's in our very blood, that bluegrass. I've interviewed Kentuckians who haven't set foot in the state for 30 years who still stand in front of their televisions and weep when they hear the woodwinds and brass instruments strike the first few notes of "My Old Kentucky Home." . You guys, even reading that and mentally playing the first few bars of My Old Kentucky Home in my head brought me to tears. And then, as I cried in bourbon, I started shopping for flights home, because what's more practical than booking a last minute ticket on the most expensive weekend of the year?😭⁣🥃 .⁣ I can't explain how or why I love my home so much, I just do. I just love it. See this photo of me in front of the Ohio River? That's the most polluted river in the USA. Like, they did a study and we won (lost?). But hell, y'all, I love that dirty a** river. I love it so much.⁣ ⁣ .⁣ Kentucky, for all of its flaws and all of its shortcomings, will always be my home. And this week, I'm missing home terribly. .⁣ What reminds you of home? Are there special events that always make you homesick? Drop me a comment below!⁣
  • River Street, along Savannah's historic waterfront, is the best place in town to grab a drink (to go, thanks to Savannah's open container laws), take a stroll, watch the sunset, and sample the world's best pralines at @riverstreetsweets. But, like everywhere else in Savannah, the area has a complex history, and its 200-year old cobblestone streets bear witness to a dark past.⁣ .⁣ Savannah is a port city - the Savannah Port is still one of the largest in the country. But the Port's historic claim to fame was as the South's primary point of entry for ships arriving full of cargo from West Africa: slave ships. The warehouses lining River Street today are filled with bars and restaurants, but 200 years ago, they were filled with cotton - and enslaved families. You can still see the marks on the walls where humans were chained as they waited to be sold in an auction as property.⁣ .⁣ It’s said that this area – and Factor’s Walk, just behind River Street, shown in this photo – was the site of the most death in all of Savannah, and is considered to be the most haunted part of town.⁣ .⁣ But like the rest of Savannah, the dark history has given way to a vibrant and thriving present. During our walk along River Street, we sang along to Johnny Cash with a jazz musician, admired the Georgia Queen historic steamboat, and waved at the Waving Woman. We also paid homage to the enslaved families represented by the African-American Monument, which features a statue of a family from Africa, unchained and free. The statue's inscription, by poet Maya Angelou, reads:⁣ .⁣ "We were stolen, sold and bought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith and even some joy."⁣ .⁣ Savannah is a city of contrasts, and nowhere is that more evident than on River Street. What are some of your favorite historic streets, and what stories did they tell? Drop us a comment below!.Disclaimer: our trip was #sponsored by @visitsavannah
  • #AD No Purch Nec. 50 US/DC, 18+ only. Ends 5/17/19. Rules http://bit.ly/2G2XjZH You know how some foods taste like places? How just one bite can mentally transport you to a destination you’ve visited and bring back the sights, sounds, and smells from your vacation? Brains are pretty cool, huh? Anyway, today that magical power exists in one small, round, chocolate and candy covered bite: internationally-inspired Peanut M&M’S® candies!⁣ .⁣ We’re forever looking for excuses to 1) travel and 2) eat, so we jumped on the opportunity to try the 3 new limited-edition flavors: English Toffee Peanut 🇬🇧, Mexican Jalapeño Peanut🌶, and Thai Coconut Peanut🥥. And y’all, can we just say: YUM.⁣ . ⁣ Just one taste of Mexican Jalapeño Peanut and we were instantly transported back to our month backpacking in Mexico, buying fresh jalapeños at the mercado and attempting to recreate Jeremy’s grandfather’s salsa recipe (psst: turns out the secret is fire-roasting the jalapeños, but that’s a story for another post).⁣ .⁣ But hey, you know what’s even cooler than travel magic in candy form? ACTUAL TRAVEL! M&M’S® candies is giving away an international trip to Thailand, Mexico, and England! All you have to do to enter is go to flavorvote.mms.com and vote for your favorite flavor. ⁣ .⁣ We brought our M&M’S® Peanut Fun Size Variety pack with us all week so we could share with family and friends, and we had so much fun taste testing flavors together! You can pick up a variety pack at Sam’s Club and try them all.⁣ .⁣ Which flavor are you most curious to try: English Toffee Peanut, Mexican Jalapeño Peanut or Thai Coconut Peanut? And where would you want to go if you won the sweepstakes? Drop us a comment below!⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ TRY THEM ALL and vote for your favorite flavor! New internationally-inspired flavors: Mexican Jalapeño Peanut, English Toffee Peanut, & Thai Coconut Peanut. Vote and you could win a trip around the world. @mmschocolate @samsclub

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