Girl’s trip to San Diego – Life outside of news

– San Diego, CA –

For some reason, I’ve been traveling SO much more now that I’m closer to home. Let me tell you, nothing is better than a girl’s trip.

I talked about in my last post how important it is to have something to look forward to when you work so so much. Man, oh man, it makes such a difference.

This girl’s trip to San Diego was truly something special. I hadn’t done a girl’s trip with my high school best friends in so long. Since I’ve been so far away the last two years, in some sense, it feels like life paused and now has resumed. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just nice to be closer to home again. I didn’t think I’d be able to get back here so soon. I know it would’ve been really hard to take another job so far away.

Anyways – back to the girl’s trip. It was peace, serenity, the BEST company, and just so refreshing for the soul (which I needed, I had a bit of a mid-life crisis beforehand LOL). I definitely can see why people live there. It’s like a permanent vacation.

We had sunset dinners, beach days, balcony chats, and drank wine until all we could do was laugh. It was as perfect as perfect can get.

Just a friendly reminder as a journalist to enjoy your life, prioritize your peace, and never say no when it comes to traveling with your girlfriends.

More on my trip, here.

Girl's trip to San Diego

Girl's trip to San Diego

Girl's trip to San Diego

Girl's trip to San Diego

Girl's trip to San Diego

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Trip home to New Jersey

– Work-life balance –

It’s all about balance baby! A lot of times when you work in the News industry, it’s a struggle to have a work-life balance.

I don’t have any tips myself on that because I struggle with keeping work as work, and life as life.

I went home for about a week! It was a nice chunk of time home to decompress. It was the first time in a while that I only picked up the work phone a FEW times (that’s an improvement). In this industry, you don’t want to be out of the loop about what’s going on, but you also don’t want to obsess over what you’re missing.

We don’t get unlimited paid time off, summer Fridays, or most holidays off. That’s why when we have time off – we need to treat it as time off! Writing this is a mental note for myself too, HA!

I went home for a wedding with my boyfriend’s family for the first half of my trip, then to the shore, and then lastly to my parent’s house.

It felt like a short trip just because of everything I had planned. That’s the other hard thing. When you move away from home and then come back, there are so many people, places, and things you want to do and see in just a few days. Another struggle of the work-life balance.

It was an amazing trip. Coming back to your home after a vacation back to your hometown is ALWAYS bittersweet. But, you remember, it’s all a part of the news ~journey~

See you soon New Jersey!

work-life balance

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It’s Summer Somewhere

I’m all for New Jersey’s snow, but right now I wouldn’t mind Punta Canta’s sand instead. I was scrolling through the images on my computer and came across all of our pictures from our Punta Canta trip. Immediately, I missed the sun and warmth.

My favorite excursion we took part in was to Saona Island. Saona Island is the closest thing to heaven (so I’d imagine). I’ve never seen such white sand, blue skies, and crystal clear water. The food I had on that island was some of the best, freshest food I’ve ever tasted. Getting to Saona Island was unforgettable. It’s not every day you take a speedboat and catamaran to your destination. During the trip to Saona Island, you cross from the Atlantic Ocean to the Carribean. I watched the water change from dark blue to nearly clear waters. Once reaching the clear water, we hopped off the boat and stood on the sandbar, diving down to starfish by our toes.

The most important part of any vacation for me is the food. I still remember being the fullest I’ve ever been in my life after overindulging in sushi, but what’s new? All inclusive trips are dangerous for me. I just eat, eat, eat. Anyone else?!

The trip to Punta Canta, Dominican Republic was an unforgettable one and snowy days like today, man do I miss it.

Where we stayed: Royalton Punta Cana Resort 

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Travel Diary: Naples, Florida

Being a senior in high school, if an opportunity to travel with your friends comes along, you take it. I’m so happy we all got the chance to detox from school, life and just take a few days to breathe and live worry free. I think it’s safe to say we all want to go back to Naples.

The trip began in Atlantic City, New Jersey where we took off for Fort Myers, Florida. Our flight was delayed but we didn’t land too much later than expected. The minute we exited the airport and felt that warm winter air, we all were incredibly content and thankful to being missing the snow storm at home (or so we thought). We stayed at my friend Amanda’s grandparents home, there we were greeted with a ton of delicious baked goods, sandwiches and more. The next morning we went to a beach called Clams Pass and that’s when sunburn invaded most of my friends’ bodies. That night aloe was essential in order to calm and soothe our irritated, lobster-like skin. We headed to the beach again for the sunset which was beautiful and displayed a number of orange tones.

Next day, we woke up bright and early for a boat day in Bonita Springs. This had to be my favorite day of the trip. Spending all day sunbathing on a boat and docking up to an island is my image of a perfect day, and it was just that! After the relaxing boat day, at night we headed to downtown Naples which was the cutest place ever! It was a large, popular downtown area surrounded by shops and palm trees. It had nearly anything from ice cream shops to beach stores.

Our last day, we went to Vanderbilt beach which was yet another calm and serene day! Early morning we paddle boarded which was a ton of fun until I ended up in the ocean and I was unable to touch the sandy floor below me.  Lost my sunglasses, they’re probably floating around somewhere in the Atlantic as I type this. When we got back to Amanda’s grandparents home we packed, soaked in the hot tub and went for dinner at the Clubhouse in their development. Before we knew it, we were on our flight back home to New Jersey and just a day later the snow fell…

Thank you to the cutest grandparents for keeping seven crazy people with them, xoxo.

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