What brings you JOY?

In this blog I focus on being active, recipes, and workouts. Overall living a healthy lifestyle. I really want to bring more to you and it just hit me! I plan to be sharing more of my travel adventures. Travel is a big part of who I am. When I am traveling I enjoy taking in all the new places and experiences. I am in the present moment and most of the time unplugged yet recharging myself.  For me personally living a healthy lifestyle and enjoying this journey called LIFE. It is way more than recipes and workouts. It is really asking myself "What brings me joy?" That my friends is why I will be sharing many more actual moments! You may not enjoy traveling. Maybe you have a different passion, yet I hope we can connect on the agreement of the desire to live our dreams not just to dream them. 

When was the last time you asked yourself "What brings me JOY?"

Last week was my 15th Wedding Anniversary and I surprised my husband with a 5 day trip to Colorado. This is new for us. We typically travel to warm beach style destinations. However I have been wanting to take him to Colorado for a few years. I knew the fall time would be EPIC! 

When planning this trip I wanted to enjoy QUALITY time, being completely active, new foods and of course Wine!  Mission Accomplished. 

I have been traveling since high school but it was my honeymoon 15 years ago when I absolutely fell in love with going to new places. There is so much to see and enjoy. Most of my trips are warm tropical weather destinations.  Two of my top favorites are Negril Jamaica and the stunning island of St.Lucia. 

I had been to Colorado twice, once in high school and once in college. I have never forgotten the beauty of this state. I also knew there were so many more areas I have not enjoyed. 

With mountains everywhere hiking is a must. A great way to get a workout in, take in the views and enjoy some fresh air. 

 Mountain biking was TOP on our to do list. With no Mountains in Minnesota this is something we had never done. What a workout! You could really feel the elevation. There are many biking tours you can join with a group or you can do what we did and that was just renting bikes and letting the bike shop suggest where to bike.  This was out of my Comfort ZONE but in the end I had a blast. I thought going down the mountain was harder than up.

 We also rented a Jeep for a day and headed to Storm Mountain just outside Estes Park. Took a few stops to enjoy more hiking, a little rock climbing and a picnic at 10,000 feet above sea level. 

The Red Rock amphitheater is a fun place for concerts however we went for a hike and s stair workout. The views here were incredible. 

In our family we have a rule, we only eat at a restaurants where you cannot back home. We use a app. on our phones called YELP to help us find the most unique places. We found a little Indian restuarant off the beaten path in Estes Park. Locals and visitors were loving this place. I also just let the waiter pick my dinner. Worked in my favor, delish and fresh. We are still talking about this meal. 

Remember to take a moment and ask yourself "What brings me joy?"

www.destinationvacationtravel.com