As winter storm Stella hits Upstate New York, we are left with wanderlust. Wishing we were somewhere warmer with a drink in our hand laying out on the beach – or camping in the woods listening to the tree frogs chirp. To be anywhere, but here. We wanted to compile a list of places we’d like to see this year, no matter how far out of reach they might be. We’re in the process of buying a house, and we couldn’t be happier! But, with buying a house comes costs which will limit us this year as to how far and how often we can travel. Hopefully, this list we’ll be able to complete and maybe you can too! Even if we make only half of the list happen, I will be content.
PLACES TO VISIT IN 2017:
- Sanibel Island/Cape Coral –
For the past few years, we’ve been traveling every September to my parents house in Cape Coral. It is something we look forward to doing every year. Since I was a little girl, I’ve been going to Sanibel Island, my family’s favorite beach. So each year when we go to Cape Coral, we always have to take a short drive to Sanibel Island to reminisce. I love showing Shane all the different things that island has to offer. In Cape Coral, our favorite place to go and explore is Four Mile Island, see our post here to read more.
- Chimney Bluffs State Park, Wolcott, NY –
This place is on the list because it is only about an hour from our house now. This state park is on the South side of Lake Ontario featuring beautiful large clay formations. These clay formations have existed for thousands of years shaped by glaciers from the last Ice Age. Sadly, the clay formations are eroding a little each year. I thought it would be a nice little overnight camping trip or day trip to explore more of the area to which we’ve moved to.
Update: We hiked almost 3 miles of this beautiful state park this past weekend. It was our first travel destination to be crossed off this years’ list. The bluffs were breathtaking and the weather was perfect. I didn’t want to leave! Blog article to be posted soon!
- Eternal Flame Falls, Erie County, NY –
Another bucket list worthy place in New York is Eternal Flame Falls. Located in a small section of Chestnut Ridge Park resides this small waterfall. At this waterfalls’ base, an eternal flame is visible nearly year round. The flame is fueled by natural gas and may be extinguished and lit occasionally. This means, sometimes the flame can go out, but you may bring a lighter with you and relight the flame while you’re there. This sounded like such a neat thing to see that we wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else. It may be the perfect overnight camping trip this Summer!
- Yellowstone/Jackson Hole, WY –
This one may be a little further out of reach for us this year. It’s on the list because we may be going for a family trip for my Grandparent’s anniversary. Our budget may not allow for it this year, but I would love to go back to Yellowstone. This would be my third time, Shane’s second seeing Yellowstone and it’s an amazing experience every time. No matter how many times you may go and see the geysers, Yellowstone is always changing. New geysers appear, and old ones disappear. All the wildlife and colors can take your breath away.
- Kawartha Lakes, ON, Canada –
I am a huge fan of Boho Beautiful’s workout videos on Youtube. They are always going to amazing and beautiful places all around the world. About a year ago, they posted a video of them in Kawartha Lakes and it looked like a really pretty place to visit. I mainly put this on the list because it’ s one of the places they’ve visited that is relatively close to us. I would love to camp out by the lake and hike the many trails there.
- Cleveland, OH –
Ok, I had to put at least one city on the list! I would love to see every major city in the U.S., and with as many places as we’ve been to, we aren’t even close to completing that goal! Cleveland isn’t far from us either and it would be a fun weekend trip. Maybe stay in a little apartment with Airbnb or a bed and breakfast. Visit the many museums and breweries and see the nightlife… Cleveland has a lot of potential for a fun couples weekend.
- The Jell-O Museum, Le Roy, NY –
Before we moved here, we had never heard of such a thing, a Jell-O Museum. Little did we know, Le Roy, NY is where Jell-O was born. In honor of us becoming New Yorkers, we feel the need to go to this museum!
- New York City via Amtrak –
We are really close to the Amtrak and I think we should take advantage of it. So, we’ve decided we would love to take a train ride to New York City and have an overnight. Find a small apartment to stay in on Airbnb and take in the sights of Manhattan and Times Square. I’ve never seen the Statue of Liberty, so that is definitely on my bucket list, too!
- Balloons Over Letchworth –
Another one for the bucket list, a hot air balloon ride. I’ve always wanted to do it, but have never gotten the opportunity. We found out at Letchworth State Park, they do hot air balloon rides over the falls. It is also rated one of the top 10 hot air balloon sightseeing tours on www.fodors.com, see the article here. It’s a little pricey, about $250 per person, but we can dream!
Stay tuned as I’m going to keep updating this list. When we actually start to plan a little road trip, I will put our itinerary for you to view. Later, of course we will write a separate post about our experiences! As always, thank you for reading. Comment below if you have any budget friendly North East, US places you’d like to see us visit.