Welcome! I’m Samantha (Sam), passionate about travel, music festivals, adventures, (and basically everything outside in between) and I’m here to help you indulge more in your passion of travel and help you enjoy life through experiences. If you want to find the ultimate side quests in life, you’re in the right place!
Originally from the east coast, upon graduating from college, I served eight years in the Navy. After my first five years of sea duty on the east coast, I was in dire need to not only decompress, but to reset before my next chapter. Upon receiving orders for my final tour to the west coast, the perfect solution presented itself: a cross-country solo roadtrip!
I had travelled previously during family trips, port visits during our deployments, and nearby destinations to where I lived, but I had never done anything in the travel world as big as this roadtrip. It was exactly what I needed and more – I had never felt so refreshed, so exhilarated in my life as on this journey and by the end of it, I felt the recovery and reset that I needed before starting my last tour in sunny California. Having rarely travelled west of the Mississippi (with the exception of music festivals in Vegas and Dallas), it was such an eye-opening and amazing experience getting to make my way to the west coast on my own terms. And my real love for travel, adventure, and experiencing new places and new things was born.
Since that first roadtrip, my sister and I planned and took a similar roadtrip (but seeing new places of course!) when she moved from the east coast to the west coast and my boyfriend and I planned and took a roadtrip up the coast of California to snowboard in Bend, OR. Let me tell you, these trips have been some of the best, most memorable experiences of my life, not only to be able to see the wonders of the world, but for positive mental health and wellness. Similarly to my burnout feeling before moving to the west coast, upon completing my final tour in the Navy and before transitioning to the civilian world, I took a few months off to travel and backpack to various Central American locations (which I’ll go into depth in the below section!), meeting up with friends in different countries, and getting to experience traveling abroad without being tied to a deployment schedule. This trip had such a positive impact on my life – getting to see so many new places, experiencing new cultures, and knowing there’s still so much out there I haven’t seen yet – there is so much life to be lived and experienced through travel.
Another one of my biggest passions in life – music festivals! Whenever I get to plan trips around these, it’s like the ultimate dream come true to combine my passions for travel and festivals. My boyfriend and I planned our favorite trip to date in 2022 where we did our first Euro-trip on our journey to Tomorrowland Belgium (and are planning to do another for the 2026 edition!) While music is what brings us to festivals, there’s so much more that festivals have to offer including secret sets, activities, etc. – which is why “side-questing” is so fun. Whether you need a change of scenery, or you want to explore what else the festival has to offer, you could find something amazing or even your new favorite artist you’ve never heard of by taking that side quest. 😊 Which to me, is so relevant to travel in getting out and exploring what all this beautiful world has to offer.
I’m so excited to share all of our tips and trips for trips like this going forward and am so happy that you’re here. Happy Side Questing!
Where I’ve Lived/Travelled
I grew up in Jacksonville, FL, stationed in Norfolk, VA for five years while in the Navy, and have now lived in San Diego, CA for the past six years. As mentioned above, I’ve embarked on many travels including roadtrips, backpacking trips, family trips, etc. and would love to share my expertise with you. Please see below for a detailed view of my destinations:
🇺🇸 USA:
🎶 Music Festivals: EDC Vegas, Nocturnal Wonderland (SoCal), Beyond Wonderland (SoCal), Countdown (SoCal), Electric Forest (Rothbury, MI), Tomorrowland (Boom, Belgium), Lights All Night (Dallas, TX), Spring Awakening (Chicago, IL), Sunset Music Festival (Tampa, FL), Red Rocks (Morrison, CO), Stagecoach / Coachella (Indio, CA), LED Presents/CRSSD events (San Diego, CA), Hard Summer (SoCal), Escape (SoCal), Splash House (Palm Springs), III Points (Miami, FL), Buku (New Orleans, LA)
⛰️ National / State Parks: Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Anza Borrego State Park, Zion National Park, Shenandoah National Park
🏂 Snowboarding Destinations: Big Bear, Mammoth, Bend / Mt. Bachelor, Loveland, Steamboat Springs
🛣️ Roadtrips:
🌅 Moving to CA from VA: Norfolk → Jacksonville → Nashville → Denver → Breckenridge → Loveland → Steamboat Springs → San Francisco → San Diego
🌅 Sister moving to CA from VA: Jacksonville → Nashville → Austin → Sedona → Grand Canyon → Horseshoe Bend → Zion National Park → Las Vegas → San Diego
🏔️ Taking HWY 1 to snowboard in Bend, OR: San Diego → Santa Barbara → Solvang → Moro Rock → McWay Falls → Big Sur → Monterey → Santa Cruz → Bend
📍San Diego, CA
📍Los Angeles, CA
📍Malibu, CA
📍Temecula, CA
📍San Fransisco, CA
📍Jacksonville, FL
📍St. Augustine, FL
📍Orlando, FL
📍Miami, FL
📍Key West, FL
📍Tallahassee, FL
📍Norfolk, VA
📍Denver, CO
📍Morrison, CO
📍Steamboat Springs, CO
📍Breckenridge, CO
📍Oahu, HI
📍Phoenix, AZ
📍Flagstaff, AZ
📍Las Vegas, NV
📍Nashville, TN
📍Gatlinburg, TN
📍Grand Canyon, AZ
📍Sedona, AZ
📍Austin, TX
📍Dallas, TX
📍New York, NY
📍Newport, RI
📍Boston, MA
📍Bend, OR
📍New Orleans, LA
📍Detroit, MI
🇬🇹 CENTRAL AMERICA:
🎒Backpacking trip:
📍Costa Rica: San Jose → La Fortuna → Monteverde → Manuel Antonio → El Jaco
📍Guatemala: Flores → Lanquin/Semuc Champey → Panajachel → Lake Atitlan→ San Marcos → San Pedro → Antigua → Acatengo / Fuego Volcano → El Paredon
📍Mexico: Cabo → Tulum
📍Tijuana, Mexico
📍Rosarito, Mexico
🇧🇪 EUROPE:
🎆 Tomorrowland 2022 Backpacking trip:
📍Rome, Italy
📍Munich, Germany
📍Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
📍Amsterdam, Netherlands
📍Paris, France
📍Versailles, France
📍Boom, Belgium
📍Brussels, Belgium
📍Antwerp, Belgium
📍London, England
📍Rota, Spain
📍Valencia, Spain
📍Athens, Greece
🇧🇭 MIDDLE EAST:
📍Salala, Oman
📍Abu Dhabi, UAE
📍Manama, Bahrain
🇲🇦 AFRICA:
📍Agadir, Morocco
🇵🇪 SOUTH AMERICA:
📍Lima, Peru
Why I Blog:
Life is worth living and I honestly feel like I’ve felt more and more alive with every travel, roadtrip, and backpacking trip since that first solo trip moving cross-country. I’ve planned several awesome trips in detail for myself, friends, and family, as well as clients during my previous role and I want to share my passion, tips, and tricks for travel (and music festivals 😜) with others to help you experience more out of life.