Welcome! We are Eva and JP
We’re an age-gap couple exploring all the best hidden gems in the US one road trip and weekend getaway at a time.
We met while working at Disneyland together and after finishing up our time on the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge project team, we branched out to other areas of the tourism industry.
Though we’ve been taking weekend getaways throughout all of California since 2017, we began road tripping and camping throughout the US in 2020 and that’s when our travel blog was born.
In March of 2020, we set out on the road for a 3 week road trip visiting all of the natural wonders and historic sites throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.
This was just the beginning.
Our next road trip venture was a 52 day road trip from California, all the way across the Southern US to Savannah, Georgia, and then all the way up the East Coast to Boston, finally making our way back home along Route 66.
Why We Blog
Our mission is to make travel easy and accessible for everyone through education and sharing our expertise.
Our blog began as a way to document all of our travels, so we’d have a way to look back at everything we’ve accomplished together all in one place.
We want everyone to know that you don’t need a ton of money to travel and you don’t have to travel far to be “traveling”.
We want to show others how to travel more for less.
It’s way more affordable than you think!
Our goal is to visit all 50 states by road-tripping around the US as often as we can.
You can check out our road trips we’ve done so far, which include 40 states.
Meet Eva
First of all, thanks for checking out our blog and wanting to learn more about us!
I want to start with sharing a little bit about my background and how we ended up here.
I have been working in the Travel and Tourism industry for nearly 15 years in various capacities.
I’ve worked in everything from Theme Parks to Hotels, to Special Events, and to Guided Vacations.
But, there is nothing I enjoy more than planning a trip and seeing it come to fruition.
Since I was 12 years old, I’ve known that traveling would be a top priority for me.
Back then I would always say I just wanted a job where I could go to Disney World whenever I wanted.
To find out how to actually do that I pursued a Bachelor’s Degree from Saint Leo University in International Tourism and Hospitality Management, with a Minor in Leadership.
Then I earned a Master’s Degree from University of Central Florida in Hospitality and Tourism Management, with a Graduate Certificate in Destination Marketing & Management.
I focused my studies on the Tourism side.
My favorite classes were topics like World Destinations, Ecotourism, Heritage Tourism, and even a course called Traveling the World for Fun and Profit!
Once I graduated, my desire to travel led me to an internship in California where I met JP.
He was not into traveling very much when I met him.
But after he let me plan a few weekend getaways and we explored some nearby hidden gems, he changed his tune.
Now here we are, nearly 10 years later!
Meet JP
Thank you for visiting our blog.
I thought I would share how we came to the decision to make a food and travel blog.
You can say it was a mutual effort.
I first of all give credit to Eva for knowing what she likes and what she doesn’t like.
One of the things she DOESN’T like is eating at the same restaurant time and time again, regardless of how fantastic the meal is.
Because of this, she managed to wrangle me into her “world” of trying hidden gem restaurants we have never been to before.
It’s what really made me think to myself, “How fun would it be to post about our experiences at these food establishments, and post our own reviews?”
As far as how the Travel idea of our blog was conceived, let’s just say that I discovered that Eva is actually quite the travel planner.
I mean, WHO in their right mind would ever plan to knock out an overnight road trip up to Yosemite or a 48 hour road trip to Zion National Park, Utah from Orange County, California?!
Her itineraries got me to thinking, “Wow – People would actually pay for these types of detailed and efficient itineraries.
Making quick trips not only proved doable, but also fun!
Especially by a homebody like myself who had stopped traveling for nearly the past decade”.
I have always been entrepreneurial minded and voila!
We hope you enjoy joining us along some of our favorite Food and Travel “Hidden Gems” and our hope is that you will feel inspired to experience some of these great findings for yourselves.
We’re Visiting All 50 States
We decided early on that we wanted to have a goal with our travels.
Our first goal is to visit all 50 states together.
While we’ve collectively visited 45 states, we didn’t visit all of those together.
We’ve actually only visited 41 states together.
The last ones on our list to visit together are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
We’re Visiting Every National Park In The Continental US
So far, we’ve visited 28 National Parks together in the continental US (+ Haleakala in Maui).
In total, there are 63 US National Parks, but 12 of those are located in Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, and Samoa.
It can be difficult and expensive to visit the National Parks in those areas, so we’re first committing to just visiting the ones in the continental US, then we’ll see about the others!
So our list of parks to visit includes 51 national parks, meaning we’re almost half way there.
Here’s the list of the ones we still need to visit:
Hot Springs, Redwood, Pinnacles, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Rocky Mountain, Dry Tortugas, Mammoth Cave, Isle Royale, Voyageurs, Glacier, Theodore Roosevelt, Cuyahoga Valley, Crater Lake, Congaree, Big Bend, Arches, Canyonlands, Shenandoah, Mt Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic, Acadia
How Did We Create These Lists?
It all started with a conversation about bucket lists.
We talked about all the places we wanted to travel all over the world and found that we could see more places if we focused on US travel first and then branch out.
So we decided the best way to see the best of the US is to plan our road trips out where we would eventually visit all 50 states and all of their National Parks.
Follow Our Journey On Youtube
We’ve got a ton of videos from all of our travels, so be sure to check them out.
Subscribe to our channel to stay up-to-date with all the best hidden gems we find around the US.
Where We’ve Lived/Traveled
The past several years, we’ve spent a minimum 3-6 months on the road each year traveling around the US.
Our expertise are in the following destinations:
📍 California – Anaheim, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, California’s Great America, Presidential Libraries, Orange County, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Orange, Fullerton, Corona Del Mar, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Malibu, San Diego, Julian, Ramona, Temecula, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Avila Beach, Carmel, Monterey, Calaveras County, Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, Lassen Volcanic, Ventura, Big Bear Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga, and more.
*We lived in Anaheim, CA together for over 8 years, but JP was actually born and raised here. He has lived in several places throughout LA and Orange County his entire life, so he is the expert in all of our local things to do.
📍Florida – Disney World, Key West, Everglades, Biscayne National Park, Miami, Treasure Coast, Space Coast, Orlando, Tampa, St. Augustine, A1A, and more.
*Eva grew up vacationing at Disney World every summer, went to college and grad school in Florida, and interned at Disney World 3 times, each time at a different theme park. Much of her family currently lives in Florida and we visit for at least a couple weeks each year.
📍 Ohio – Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, and more.
*Eva is originally from Dayton, Ohio – born and raised. Much of her family still lives in the area and we actually moved here together in February 2024.
📍Arizona – Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tombstone, Elgin and Sonoita, Tucson
📍Colorado – Great Sand Dunes National Park, Red Rock Canyon & Garden of the Gods
📍Indiana – Indiana Dunes National Park, South Bend
📍 Massachusetts – Boston, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, Plymouth, Lexington, Concord, Salem
📍Maui – Haleakala, West Maui Coastline, Road to Hana Full Loop
📍Michigan – Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park, Frankenmuth, Holland
📍 Missouri – Branson, St. Louis, Gateway Arch National Park
📍Montana – Little Bighorn Battlefield
📍 Nevada – Las Vegas, Great Basin National Park, Reno, Virginia City
📍 New Mexico – Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Pecos, Santuario De Chimayo, Taos, The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, Chaco Culture, Aztec Ruins, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, Petroglyphs
📍 Pennsylvania – Poconos, Philadelphia, United Flight 93 Memorial Site, Gettysburg, Valley Forge
📍 South Dakota – Badlands, Wind Cave, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wall Drug, Mammoth Site, Needles Highway, Custer State Park, Iron Mountain Road
📍Tennessee – Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
📍 Texas – San Antonio, Houston, Guadalupe Mountains, El Paso Mission Trail
📍 Utah – Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Zion, Dinosaur National Monument, Golden Spike
📍 Virginia – Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Busch Gardens, Virginia Beach
📍Washington DC – Washington DC
📍West Virginia – New River Gorge National Park
📍 Wyoming – Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Devils Tower
📍 US National Parks – Badlands, Biscayne, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Channel Islands, Death Valley, Everglades, Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, Haleakala, Joshua Tree, Lassen Volcanic, Petrified Forest, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Saguaro, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion
📍 Other US Destinations: Wisconsin Dells, Mall of America, Pensacola (FL), Independence (MO), Glenwood Springs (CO), Colorado Ski Resorts, and more.
📍 International Destinations: Paris, Normandy, Rouen, Loire Valley, Nice (all France), Monaco, Edinburgh (Scotland), Dublin (Ireland), Quito (Ecuador), Arenal (Costa Rica), Nassau (Bahamas), Castaway Cay (Bahamas), and Canada
Where We’ve Been Featured
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Business Insider – I worked at Disney World and Disneyland. The wildest things always happened at Magic Kingdom – here’s what is was like.
Business Insider – I did the Disney College Program 4 times and had years of free access to the parks
Capital One – How To Plan A Trip In 8 Simple Steps
CNN – All the gear you’ll need to work remotely while traveling, according to experts
Forbes – 33% Of Gen Zers Trust Tiktok More Than Doctors, New Survey Shows
Northwestern Mutual – Still Need Summer Vacation Ideas? Here are 4 Popular Travel Trends Pros Recommend
Time.com – How to Make Money from Blogging in 5 Steps, According to 4 Experts Who’ve Done It
The Associated Press – Are you vaxxed? Some families face frought divide over jabs
The Guardian – ‘Not for employee use’: why are US retail workers being denied chairs?
USA Today – Frustrated travelers start recording customer service phone calls. But does it work?
Yahoo Finance – Are Gen Z and Millennials Destined to Live With Roommates Forever?
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GoodRx – What’s It Like To Take Omeprazole (Prilosec) for Heartburn?
TLC – Real Couples Share The #1 Wedding Gift They Actually Use – And Can’t Live Without
Maui Ku’ia Chocolate Estate – Press, Discovering Hidden Gems
Best Life Online – The 10 Most Underrated US National Parks
Best Life Online – 8 Most Thrilling Waterfalls in the US That Will Make Your Jaw Drop
Go Banking Rates – 10 Easy Ways To Save on Food While Traveling
First For Women – 8 Savvy Ways To Save On Your Next Road Trip
Waneru.com – Vacation Destinations, Solo Travel
WCIFly.com – Most Picturesque Destination For March
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Synergy Suite – What Brings Customers Back To Their Favorite Restaurant Chains?
Dive In – Tips On How To Plan A Romantic Getaway
Terre Maroc – Fall Activities For Couples
Passport-Photo Online – 2022’s Most Budget-Friendly US Cities [50 Biggest Destinations Ranked]
OwlGuru.com – Day in the Life of Attractions Trainer – Eva Keller
Her Money – How To Snag A Hotel Room Upgrade
Be-Safe.org – Electrical Safety Tips Before You Go On Vacation
Savoteur – From the Mid West to the Wild West, These Underrated Wine Regions Are Not Just for Oenophiles
Shweebe.com – Micro-Influencers First Sponsorship Deal
Bisvue.com – How To Use YouTube for Business in 2021 – Advice From Top Experts
GrowthHackers.com – 18 Best Social Media Plugins for WordPress
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BloggingExplained.com – 25+ Best Blogging Tools for Beginners (2021): Free and Paid
TheGirlfriend.com – 3 Ways to Make Money While You Sleep
ManyChat.com – Make Money on Instagram
BloggingExplained.com – From the Experts: 18 Blogging Resolutions for 2022
Prezly – How To Reach Influencers As A Brand Or Small Business To Promote Your Product
YB Digital – 150+ Best Expert Affiliate Marketing Tips
WinSavvy.com – 25 Ways To Get More Views and Engagement on Your Instagram Reels (Fast!)
InsideHook.com – The Real Problem With Male Birth Control
Wealthy Single Mommy – Into older men? Do’s and don’ts for dating an older man
SwiftFit.Net – What 24 Married Couples Say Makes A Good Marriage
ARedHairGirl.com – Meditation: Mental Health and Stress Strategy 2
TheStoryExchange.org – ‘It Seems Irresponsible to Bring More Humans Into This World’
MEL Magazine – Do Couples Who Trade Together, Stay Together?
OnlineU – How To Graduate College Early
CyberNews – Don’t feel guilty after binge-watching TV: people actually plan it
Awards
#10 on the 35 Best USA Travel Blogs and Websites – Feedspot