Lyd's Life Skills

I am such an East Coast Girlie!! I love being able to explore so much food, history, art and culture PACKED into the East Coast of the United States .  Check out my cost breakdown for hotels, transportation, and top attractions to help you budget for your next adventure!

This year I went to the St Pete Savor Food Fest! I love all of the different types of foods and drinks from restaurants and store products that you get to try and even take home at these events! 

We finally got to take our fall road trip!! Since moving from Pittsburgh, PA I have been craving a traditional fall season  of relaxing, doing some hiking and watching the leaves change colors. 

For my birthday we took a weekend road trip to Saint Augustine! I was looking for a low key road trip where we could take our dog Bear, so the 3-hour drive was perfect!  Map of Route About 1.5 hours from Tampa we hit Silver Springs State Park . This is a beautiful state park centered around the clear water springs, the park is packed with miles of walking and horseback riding trails PLUS you can kayak here too! This was the perfect pit stop for Bear to have a break from the car. It was $8 for us to enter, we walked the boardwalk trails for a bit and relaxed.  They have a small cafe and plenty of restrooms, making this a very worthy stop. We are even planning a day trip just to come back and use our paddle boards through the crystal-clear spring system.  Note: the boardwalks are beautiful to walk and watch people on their kayaks BUT BEWARE there are loose monkeys that can cause trouble. I've never seen them, even though I've been a few times but there are signs about it!...

Domestic flight costs have mostly decreased year over year.  Increased commercialization and budget airlines have brought down the average cost of flights.  What is your prediction for the average cost of a US flight for 2025? Source:  Annual U.S. Domestic Average Itinerary Fare in Current and Constant Dollars | Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Check out October's Airline Ratings before your Holiday Travels! How does your favorite airline stack up on these ratings?? Source -  October 2024 Air Travel Consumer Report | US Department of Transportation

As a Data Analyst for work I am starting to add more reporting data to my blog! Check out the 13X increase in US passports in circulation in the last 30 years!  Sources:  Passport Census Data  &  Passport Demographic Survey Let this be your reminder to get your passport like the 143 Million other Americans that have theirs! Here's my favorite tips and things to know when you get yours!  Read How to Get Your Passport Here

  I had an amazing time exploring the shops and villas of Lake Como in Bellagio Italy! In this post I share how I got there and my itinerary for a great trip!

Traveling starts with these items! Here are the First Purchases I made to start my travel journey and how they help you on your adventures!

This trip I visited my home city of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania! I moved to Florida in 2020 and I love squeezing in visits to catch up on my favorite treats and activities I've missed!