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Travel Matters
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It’s Our 1-Year Vlogging Anniversary! And WE NEED YOUR HELP!

June 22, 2021
a man and woman stand in the glass cube on the 103rd floor of Chicago's Willis Tower, with a night view of the city lights below them. it's their 1-year vlogging anniversary

As we stood 103 floors above the city streets of Chicago, we realized our amazing Midwest road trip was coming to an end, as was the first year of our channel. Now we’re back home with the pups planning our next round of adventures, and WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

We are about to go out for nearly 2 months of straight travel. This trip will include road trips, car camping, OUR FIRST CRUISE!, and potentially our first vlog from a country other than the U.S. You can’t imagine how excited we are! Our first vlog went up on our channel exactly one year ago today, and we never imagined all the places it would take us and all the incredible things we would see and experience. And to think we’re just getting started is almost overwhelming. We are so grateful to be where we are, doing what we’re doing today. 

A quick recap: you’ve already seen us visit the Grand Canyon, camp for the first time ever (for Andie) in Joshua Tree, make stops along historic Route 66, fish for our own dinner (thank you, Stephen, for handling that one), stay in some pretty unique spots like a train car, get multiple doses of music history, and eat and street art our way through some amazing towns and cities. We’ve seen some pretty quirky and under-the-radar sights along the way. And we’re so excited to share the newest videos we have in the coming weeks! 

On our latest trip, we toured Hitsville, U.S.A. (Motown), went to the roller coaster capitol of the world where Stephen went upside-down in a coaster for the first time ever!, and we witnessed the birth of not one, but TWO, calves at a dairy farm in Indiana. We met the first of what we hope will be many new YouTube friends – hi Jenny and Kevin! And we got plenty of practice changing plans on the fly. It was a genuine adventure and a trip we won’t soon forget. Keep an eye on the channel for the videos, which start rolling out this Friday. 

And that brings us to the next trip and YOU! As we mentioned, we have a lot planned for this one. But plans are already changing. We had intended to go back to California, spending some time in Los Angeles before working our way up the coast with a visit to Yosemite. Can you believe we’ve never been??? However recent early-season heatwaves and the record-breaking drought has us concerned that fire season may thwart those plans. While we know travel will always require us to be flexible, we don’t want to put ourselves into a situation that we may not be able to work with. And in this case, we’ll have a set number of days to get ourselves up to Seattle, because we promised to dog-sit for my sister’s dogs, after which we’ll be BOARDING A CRUISE TO ALASKA! Shhhhhh… you’re among the first to know! So we don’t want to risk an extra-long re-route that could jeopardize our rendezvous with the ship.

That said, we are looking instead at taking a route right across the northernmost U.S. states to Washington. And we need your recommendations! What do we have to be sure not to miss in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Idaho? Keep in mind that most National Parks are fully booked, and the crowding at these places is at an all-time high this summer, so while we may go briefly to Yellowstone, Badlands, Glacier, etc, we’re also looking for that off-the-beaten-path location and locals’ secret spots to check out in these states. If you’ve got any for us, leave them in the comments! WHERE SHOULD WE GO???

We also want to know where we should go if we manage to work an international leg into the trip. Right now we’re eyeing Portugal and Costa Rica – we found INSANELY cheap flights to both in late July/early August! And there are a couple of other countries in consideration, as well. We’ll be putting polls in our Instagram Stories for our friends to vote on in the next couple of weeks, so please be sure to watch for those and vote for the option you’d be most interesting in seeing. Hopefully we can make it happen!

Thank you so much for your help in planning our next adventures, and especially for your support this last AMAZING, life changing year! We couldn’t have done all of this without you, and we know that with every mile we travel. THANK YOU, and here’s to an exciting year 2!!!

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⁠What do 80s music, the Caribbean, and our YouTu ⁠What do 80s music, the Caribbean, and our YouTube channel have in common? It's @The80sCruise! 🎶🛳 ⁠
Swipe 👉 for a RAD preview!⁠
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In our 🤘NEW VLOG🤘we take a totally radical voyage on @RoyalCaribbean Mariner of the Seas. ⁠14 concerts – including Stephen getting back to work drumming again! – theme parties & contests, spontaneous musician jams, and the complete 80s transformation of the ship transported us back in time for a whole week of retro fun! ⁠
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1) Most guests had full-on 80s costumes. We didn't, but we did pack a few "essentials," like Andie's classic MTV tee and some cheap neon colored shades.⁠
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2) How fun is this action figure packaging??? I had to hop in to channel teen-me's inner pro wrestling fan. This was one of the many 80s themed photo opps around the ship. ⁠
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3) Speaking of photo opps, Andie's totally rockin' this graffiti corner in the ship's promenade 😍, which was renamed "the 80s Block" for the week! She was like a kid in a candy store and I'm not sure if I've ever seen her have so much fun!⁠
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4) Who rocked harder – me or the ship? Duh – the ship! My gigs were during the first few days, when we had some pretty rough seas. Playing drums while literally rockin' & rollin' was a whole new (and fun!) experience.⁠
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#royalcaribbean #marineroftheseas #OnlyOnThe80sCruise #80scruise #the80scruise #caribbeancruise #80smusic #travelmatters #cruisetravel #cruiselife #drummerlife
We felt like kids again! 🧒⁠ It's been a minut We felt like kids again! 🧒⁠
It's been a minute since our last vlog, but we're back with a BANGER! We're spending a day at sea enjoying all the fun activities on our cruise ship, Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas: from the waterslide to the Flowrider, the Sky Pad to our favorite spot for drinks. ⁠
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This is the first in our Caribbean cruise series with a twist - it's 80s themed! Join us in the coming weeks to go back to the 80s, take a food tour of the cruise ship, and see what we get into in our stops in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. ⁠
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#RoyalCarribean #MarinerOfTheSeas #CaribbeanCruise #the80sCruise #cruisetravel #cruiselife
it’s National Puppy Day! This is from a couple o it’s National Puppy Day! This is from a couple of years ago, when we took a mini road trip to see the super bloom in Southern California. Unfortunately Luddy (the red dog) doesn’t travel well anymore, so we let them both chill at home when. we go out. But we really miss road trips with the fur-babies!
With you, even Las Vegas can be as romantic as Par With you, even Las Vegas can be as romantic as Paris. 😘
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#TravelMatters #valentinesday2022 #lasvegas #parislasvegas #travelvloggers
🎲 Viva Las VINTAGE Vegas! 🎲⁠ What do the S 🎲 Viva Las VINTAGE Vegas! 🎲⁠
What do the Strip’s oldest hotel, Vegas’ oldest bar, a boneyard of old neon signs, and “old blue eyes,” Frank Sinatra have in common? OUR NEW VLOG, that’s what!⁠
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In our last video we took you for a walk LIVE on the Vegas Strip. Today, we’re exploring Vintage Vegas, with a stay at The Flamingo – the oldest still-operating hotel and casino on The Las Vegas Strip – and visits to Las Vegas’ oldest freestanding bar, a museum dedicated to Sin City’s classic neon signs, and a very special dessert in one of Frank Sinatra’s favorite spots! ⁠
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At the hotel, we give you a taste of The Habitat – complete with a pelican and several flamingos – as well as a tour of our standard room with a fantastic Strip view. From our window we looked down at The Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, The Forum, The Linq Zipline platform, The Mirage, and even a snow-capped mountain just outside of the city! Then we wander north and off of the Strip to see some of Vegas’ history, ending the day with a fantastic dessert show, with our backsides seated right where The Chairman himself sat on several occasions! ⁠
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Thank you so much to this week’s coffee sponsor: @MagentaOtter Travels! Dara, this buzz is for you! ❤️

→ 🔗 IN BIO for all the action! 

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#lasvegas #vegas #travelvlog #lasvegasstrip #vintagevegas #youtubevideo
Ready to roar in 2022. 🐯 Wishing you health, pr Ready to roar in 2022. 🐯
Wishing you health, prosperity, and happiness in the Lunar New Year! 
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What’s better than a day at The Biltmore? One wh What’s better than a day at The Biltmore? One where you get to visit the estate AND see the Van Gogh Alive immersive show! 👨🏼‍🎨⁠
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In this week’s vlog, we spend the day exploring the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. We came for the Van Gogh Alive immersive experience, but first we got to tour the property – including the gardens and greenhouse – and take an audio tour of America’s Largest Home. If you’re looking for things to do and see in Asheville, The Biltmore is an experience you won’t soon forget. ⁠
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✦ PLACES VISITED IN THIS VLOG: ⁠
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Raise your hand in the comments if you've done gra Raise your hand in the comments if you've done graffiti/street art! 🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍♀️We had WAY too much fun with spray paint in Atlanta!⁠
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In this week’s video we spend the day exploring the eastern part of Atlanta, where we learn about (and get to try our hands at) graffiti and street art, eat soul food, get the perfect view of Atlanta’s skyline, stroll around Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park – including Ebenezer Baptist Church and MLK’s birth house – and explore Little Five Points, Inman Park, Krog Street Market, and part of the Atlanta Beltline.⁠
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Hit the 🔗 in bio to see our “masterpiece.” 🎨 😜⁠
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What was your funniest moment of 2021? It was such What was your funniest moment of 2021? It was such an unpredictable year, but we had a blast laughing at ourselves and experiencing some amazing “firsts.” They’re all in our latest vlog, along with even more of our favorite bloopers. 

🔗 in bio to check it out!

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#TravelTuesday #bestof2021 #2021yearinreview #travelvloggers
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