TheCarryOnQueen Blog

This post may contain affiliate links. You can do a lot during one day in Shenandoah National Park, but you need to plan your day wisely. When time is limited, sample what the park has to offer by driving part of the 105 mile Skyline Drive, view some of the scenic overlooks, and then do a couple short hikes representing the best of what the park has to offer: summits and waterfalls. I visited and hiked Shenandoah National Park in June 2026.

This post may contain affiliate links. Is Monticello worth visiting? Absolutely yes! Whether you’re an American or international visitor as I was, Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop plantation, located just out of Charlottesville, Virginia, offers interesting insight into American history. The property is deeply significant to the United States, plus it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This post may contain affiliate links. The Clifton in Charlottesville is one of those properties that is hard to compare to alternatives in the area. That is because it was built in 1799 by Thomas Mann Randolf and his wife, Martha Jefferson, the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson. In case you’re not familiar with US history, Thomas Jefferson is the fellow who authored the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 to found the United States of America.

This post may contain affiliate links. The cold dip in Howe Sound may have taken my breath away, but it also might have been the view. Distant snow-capped mountains, a fjord teaming with life, seals beached on a rock nearby, and an orca gliding the turquoise waters earlier that morning, set the scene. Remote, yet only a 20 minute boat ride from Squamish, the single private floating sauna, offered by InFlow Adventures, is a unique experience.

This post may contain affiliate links. Move over golfing, lake lounging and wine sampling. You’ve dominated the Okanagan narrative for years. Cycling has arrived, courtesy of the rail trails, and it brought a new kind of adventure tourism with it. One that makes riding through Ponderosa Pine forests, over wooden trestles, through blasted rock tunnels, and along the turquoise waters of Kalamalka Lake possible for almost all.

This post may contain affiliate links. Can you surf in Halifax? Yes, surfing Lawrencetown Beach, just thirty minutes from downtown Halifax, is close by. In any other city thirty minutes would scarcely be time to change buses, but in Halifax thirty minutes gets you well out of the city to Lawrencetown Beach by car, a puck shot away from Cole Harbour, the Nova Scotia coastal town where hockey great Sidney Crosby was born and raised. Surfing Lawrencetown Beach year round is possible.

This post may contain affiliate links. There are a lot of active things to do in La Ventana for both wind sport enthusiasts, and those who may be joining them.

This post may contain affiliate links. Kayaking Espiritu Santo Island, plus camping & hiking Baja Mexico is the ultimate women’s adventure get-away. Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez “the world’s aquarium.” UNESCO made Espiritu Santo Island a World Heritage Site.

This post contains affiliate links. If your time in Costa Rica is limited, and you want to check off several experiences in one visit, La Paz Waterfall Gardens is the perfect half day trip from San Jose. It’s also a great introduction to Costa Rica’s wildlife and natural habitat if you plan to explore further on your own. La Paz Waterfall Gardens, located on the eastern slopes of Volcan Paos, is Costa Rica’s best wildlife sanctuary of rescued animal wildlife.

This post contains affiliate links. In a country better known for its cold weather sports like hockey and skiing, Canada is not top of mind as a surf location. Yet it should be, given the miles of sandy surf-able beaches and world class waves found on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Surfing Tofino is world class. Situated within Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach, just south of Tofino, borders old growth forest, and stretches over 16 kilometers.