Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 48

My Pandemic Road Trip Tips

Earlier this month, we went on a road trip. The first trip of any kind that I've taken since March 2020, and the first trip my husband has been on since September 2019. While we've been doing our best at home and doing many short staycations, it was nice to leave our house and get in new surroundings. We made sure we were as safe as possible - for us and others - to make sure we were following guidelines. So, now that I've taken this trip, let me give you some tips on how to safely take a road t...

How To Save On A Weekend In Cleveland, Ohio

Visiting cities and booking vacations or spontaneous weekends away may not be possible at the moment, but there’s nothing wrong with planning ahead and thinking about where you want to go once it’s safe to roam. Many of us are eager to book breaks, but enjoying getaways can be expensive. In this guide, we’ll look at ways to save on a weekend in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/cleveland-ohio-america-panorama-4100096/

Getting there on a budget

Depending on where y...

Celebrating Lunar New Year at Home

Gung Hay Fat Choy! That means Happy New Year! This year we celebrated Lunar (or Chinese) New Year. It's the Year of the Ox, which is the second animal in the Lunar calendar, because in the mythology, the Ox would have won the race of the animals if it hadn't been for him helping the rat, who then crossed the finish line first since he was carried the whole way. 

Those born in the year of the Ox are said to be hardworking and honest. I'm a Snake, who are said to be humorous and sophisticated, and ...

Road Trip Safer with TP Kits

If you've been following me on Instagram, you know that I went on my first trip since the pandemic began. I took a road trip up to the San Juan Islands in Washington with my mom, the dog, and Eric. We packed our own snacks, used hand sanitizer after any interaction with people or objects outside of our car, and wore our masks even when we were the only people in an area. This is a very unusual time and TP Kits helped make our public restroom trips much safer and easier. 
TP Kits are individually ...

10 Ways to Save on Travel Meals

Food isn’t like souvenirs. No one goes on vacation without buying it. You have to make room in your travel budget to eat, but there are many ways you can make that part of your expenses smaller. Just because you are trying to save money doesn’t mean that you have to eat fast food or sandwiches for every meal or can’t experience the best cuisine a place has to offer. Below is my top 10 list of ways to stretch your food funds.

Ask the locals where they eatOdds are, people who live where you’re trav...

Essential Norway Overview

Last week we "traveled" to Norway to view the fjords, eat some tasty seafood and other local delicacies, and generally immerse ourselves in the beauty of the country. I'm working on a longer post about what to do there, but I wanted to share a quick overview of a country that might not be on your radar. When I think of Scandinavia, I usually think of Sweden...and then Iceland. We were actually supposed to travel to Iceland this year, but it looks like it'll be put off for another year or so. 

pho...

Visiting The Norwegian Fjords at Home

In the middle of two very busy work weeks and prepping for our first road trip - our first trip period - since the pandemic started, we found time to have a quick Destination Date. This time we visited Norway. I was able to find a great Norwegian food truck, and I pretty much worked from there.

You may remember last year at this time we threw what we hoped would be the first of many destination potlucks. We had people come with Scandinavian dishes and we learned about Scandinavia as a group of co...

My Pandemic Coping Musts

We've just passed one year of the first case of Coronavirus in America (I know it's probably not the actual first, but it was the first official documented case here), and it has made me look back at this year and reflect on the things that made me happy, made my life easier, and generally got me through the bad things and feelings. I wanted to share in case you are still struggling for some sense of normalcy in all this. 

I'm an introvert, so being at home isn't a big deal to me. Yes, I love to ...

Tipping Around the World

In America, we are so used to tipping for everything, we don’t even think twice about it when we go to restaurants or have services performed, like getting a haircut. We just figure it into the bill. Tipping is not customary everywhere in the world and in some countries it’s even considered rude. Eventually we'll be back in the world and spending money and it might be hard to get back in the habit. So, where should you keep your money in your pocket and where should you tack on a few extra bucks...

5 of My Favorite Budget Travel Tips

There are lots of travel tips I tend to offer up over and over, but it's because they work and I use them myself. I travel on a budget as much as possible, and sometimes I cut costs in some ways in order to splurge somewhere else on my trips. By now you know I love food, and I will plan full days around where I want to eat. On the other hand, sometimes I know there are one or two really unaffordable things I want to do, and if there are ways I can make up that in savings elsewhere, I'll do that,...