Coming at you late this week after a trip to Durham, a progressive little pocket of the purple state N.C.. Durham ranks No. 6 in technology innovation and that entrepreneur energy reminds me of Manhattan (without the adrenal gland failure).
On the flight home, I kept thinking about all the beautiful places we’ve traveled and since Spring is here (mostly, bless y’all in Colorado and Minnesota) and Summer is coming, a travel edition of monthly recs felt timely.
I’m inspired by my friend, Tiffany, who keeps a spreadsheet of cities and food spots, so I’m doing better about tracking the things we love in the cities we visit. We didn’t always travel like this but I thank God on a regular for the people we’ve met and places we’ve been. My heart is all over this country (and a few spots globally, too)!
Road trips are a great option because you can do a lot in a few days to get out of your element if flights are not possible for you right now. (Especially if you’re a family of five because are you kidding me with these flight prices?!) Our two-week road trip across the country (NY to LA) is still one of my all-time favorite trips with kids. When we’re on our dime, and not on a work trip, we’ve learned to budget well and stay local. We love hotels like Hyatt Place when we know we just need a bed to sleep in at night but we get bougie when we want to rest and lounge by somebody’s pool!
OKAY LET’S GET INTO IT:
First, Travel Goods
Light Flight Laptop Backpack (Always in my travel bag: hand sanitizer and lotion, travel size clorox wipes, wrinkle releaser, stain remover pen, thin notebook, too many lipsticks, ink pens, and books)
Extra Large Pill Organizer (day and night sorter, yes please!)
Second, Places:
Sunny SoCal
The burbs of northern Los Angeles is our home but there’s just no shortage of cities and neighborhoods to love! Nothing is cheap here, not even Air B&B’s, so make your peace. If you need a respite and are considering Southern California, here’s four recs (none of them anywhere near Hollywood or Disney, sorry, not sorry):
We got married here and if you want to lounge by gorgeous pools, drink delicious lattes, walk easy paths, and get an overpriced but worth it massage, THIS IS YOUR SPOT. You’ll be hella far from everything but Malibu, so come rest, have a beach day, and live your best life. The locals love this spot, too, and the recently divorced ladies are mad cougars in the bar at nighttime. (You’ve been warned.) It’s like watching Housewives in real life. Cody said some new vows to me when we stayed here last year for our anniversary and it’s just dreamy.
Possibly my favorite hotel in America. How do they know to call me Mrs. Abercrombie when I pull up to the valet in our 2013 Armada? How? We rarely stay more than one night but one feels like four and the spa is to die for - take all my coins. Farmers Market breakfast is dreamy and the Center for Wellbeing offers cooking and yoga classes. A+++++++++++, Five Stars, 10/10 recommend.
Rick and Macy Grant, our mentors and friends, brought me here for the first time. Swoon! We’ve been many times for a restorative overnight. If you can’t afford to do a resort abroad for the week and flights to LA are affordable, try this for the weekend. It does not feel like Los Angeles - the cliffs, bluffs, views, paths, spas, food… no reason to leave the resort at all. A+++++++++++, Five Stars, 10/10 recommend.
Cody found this retro hotel for our anniversary - Ojai’s been on our bucket list for two decades and we finally made it! Plant lovers, prepare your heart for explosion. Eat at The Nest more than once and enjoy shopping at Fern’s general store, next door. Wineries galore (which we didn’t do but gorgeous), orchards, and some of the best thrifting. We walked everywhere from this hotel and they offer throwback cruiser bikes for free to ride around town.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Nola has my heart. There’s music everywhere - marching bands, jazz, singers, musicians - I’ll never get over it. I love, love, love this city. Fun fact: Before we moved back to Los Angeles, New Orleans was at the top of our list as a potential home for our family. The children’s museum is glorious (Charleston and Jersey City have our other two faves!) and we stay in the Garden District because it is walkable and beautiful. Here’s the Air B&B we love, with a wonderful host, to boot.
Extras: IF YOU DO NOT GO TO DISTRICT DONUTS ANGELS WILL CRY FOR YOU ARGENTINA. Their Vietnamese coffee is to die for! Classic beignets at Cafe du Monde. Eat everything at Willa Jean’s. Shop at Defend New Orleans. Commanders Palace is top notch - fancy pants, second fave restaurant in the US. (Ask to sit by the indoor tree or upstairs in the house.) If you prefer hotels, the downtown Omni is lovely. Ride the Steamboat Natchez, get some King Cake, and go the week before Mardi Gras so you can hear everyone rehearsing while avoiding all the crowds. (Yes, we do this every single time we go.)
Durham, N.C.
Our love affair with the Bull City started thanks to our dear friends, Ito and Leon. We were part of their wedding party and stayed at 21c Museum downtown and have returned several times. Art, culture, coffee, FOOD, diversity (all the many kinds), advocacy, and please do not get me started on the ministry of trees. (Bring Zyrtec cause Cody almost dies every time.) Please allow me to introduce you to one of my top five favorite restaurants in America, Krill. The glass noodles made me shed a thug tear and the adobo chicken will make you slap ya mama. Cocoa Cinnamon is our fave latte (and the park behind is perfect climbing spot for kids). Dame’s Chicken and Waffles is your belly’s best friend and Elmo’s is a classic diner.
DPAC hosts 200 shows a year and there are local poets, universities, and more. Beetlejuice was excellent at the theatre but CRUDE, so don’t take your kids (unless you want them to ask about things like orgies and libertarians). Try Letter’s bookshop downtown and wander the shops on the American Tobacco campus. Hyatt Place Southpoint is perfect if you’ll be on the go. Message me for a longer list of goodness from Ito! P.S. We spent a chunk of time in Chapel Hill on this trip - visit Marshall Goods to get some goods and meet a few Angelenos who relocated to this area as owners and founders. Finally, grab a cuppa en route to the airport at the cutest coffee shop in Raleigh, The Optimist. Plants lovers, you might take a million pics like me.
Toronto
Oh Canada, we love you! I’ve spent time in Vancouver and Toronto for speaking engagements in the before times and love them both. Toronto felt so refreshing to me with its city energy - high rises, traffic conundrums, and a convergence of beautiful communities of people. Did I take pics at places where Handmaid’s Tale was filmed? You betcha. I’m a super fan. Nil carborundum illegitimi.
Adored this Air B&B in Yorkville which is walkable for coffee, ice cream, restaurants, EXPENSIVE SHOPPING so don’t bother unless you can bother, and a Whole Foods. The group (Women’s Speakers Collective)I spent time with went ax throwing on the outskirts of the city so there was a beautiful blend of fun. Overall, I felt energized and connected in Toronto and made friends that I’m keeping for life! (Maybe they’ll sponsor me if America keeps descending into the 1950’s!!!!!!)
Third, Bonus Random Favorites
In no particular order:
Cartagena, Colombia Hyatt Regency is literally glorious. We are plotting our return. My dear friend Pricelis, founder of Full Collective, hosts retreats all over the world, and I got to attend one and speak on creativity. They sell out in 24 hours, so get on her list - she’s announcing a new one tomorrow! If you don’t want to travel alone and would enjoy a spiritual experience, I can’t recommend her trips more highly. A+++++++++++, Five Stars, 10/10 recommend.
Charleston Children’s Museum (I’m obsessed!) Enjoy a meal at Obstinate Daughter and many, many meals at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits. You will need to book a table at Husk 17 years in advance, so eat at the bar instead. Food scene is surprisingly snobby and surprisingly worth it.
Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Justice and Peace in Birmingham - one of the most impactful immersions I’ve experienced in my life. The interactive museum explores the connection between the history of racial inequality and mass incarceration. The memorial stands to remember every known person lynched in our country and dignifies their lives and stories. I wish this was part of the curriculum in high schools - perhaps we wouldn’t suffer so hard from amnesia, ignorance, and bigotry if we told the full story of racial injustice in America. Go and take everyone you know.
Mama’s Fish House in Maui. My top favorite restaurant in America! Cody literally cried when he ate his meal. It is a slice of heaven on Earth. My mama takes us on a family trip every three to five years here and the island is so special to us. We go to Bad Ass Coffee every morning (and most afternoons). Reader, we shall not spend big on much but we shall spend big on good coffee. Family Rules.
I never met a restaurant of cup of coffee I didn’t love in Tacoma, Washington, Seattle, or Portland, thanks to Tiffany. Special love for The Table for all the yummy food and the good they do in the community.
Marriott Marquis in the San Diego Marina. High rise hotel on the water with fabulous pools and all the good things close - perfect for families or friends. Padres stadium is unreal (highly recommend… puts the Dodgers stadium to shame, sorry to say. BUT GO DODGERS ANYWAY!
Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The best rice, beans, and meat of my LIFE. Could definitely eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Also, the best people - loving, kind, generous, hilarious.
This beach cover up, any bathing suit with ruffles, high waist palazzo pants, classic reeboks for walking, Hanes men’s tees, Kexi portable steamer, Mount Lai gua sha tool
FINALLY, VACATION BOOKS:
A disclaimer: I am such a fiction girl, admittedly, so that’s what this list is, with little exception. Time is precious so I can’t link these because I need to feed my kiddos dinner. Happy searching and reading!
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; The Guest List and The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley; Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King; Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin; Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner; The People We Keep by Allison Larkin; Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman; An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; Anxious People and A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman; The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave; Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt; Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin; [Third After Hours mention of] Finding Me by Viola Davis; The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser; Miracle Work by Jordan Seng
Beetlejuice’s orgies and libertarians 😹
For real tho, looking into the Aesop situation.
I want to second Pri’s ministry and the Hyatt Regency in Colombia. Heaven on earth!!!
Current fave city: Boston. The Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston unlocked something in me, brunch at the Contessa with the sweeping city views revives all who enter!
Thank you for mentioning my retreats sis 🤍 loved having you there! My favorite city in the world is Marrakech! Their lemon chicken tangine meal is a gift to the world and I’m not a tea girl but their mint tea is everything! Also go to jardín de majorelle while there (a gorgeous garden!)