DT Monthly Recap – January & February 2016

It’s the first Monthly Recap of the year! We apologize for skipping January… oops.

Planning, writing and planning some more is what we did the last two months. At the beginning of January we had nothing booked for 2016. So we decided we had to get our plans figured out. We are taking various short trips throughout the rest of the winter and into spring. Summer will unfold with a momentous trip to be announced once we have everything in order. All I can say now is that it is going to be legen (wait for it) dary!

Exciting News

Mid-January was DT’s six month anniversary! Time flies when you are having fun.

Another exciting occasion was being nominated for a Liebster Award, an accolade passed from blogger to blogger in order to recognize hard work and determination.

In honor of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, we teamed up with other bloggers to highlight some of our favorite destinations. It was fascinating to read and learn about some of the best places the U.S. has to offer. Discover America’s exceptional natural beauty with us here.

Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park

Our Travels

January was a slow month for us. We relaxed and had a few day trips close to the two places we call home. We spent time exploring more of St. Louis and Route 66 in Illinois.

We visited the Chain of Rocks Bridge which straddles Illinois and Missouri. In the early 1900’s it was used by Route 66 to cross over the Mississippi. Now it is a pedestrian and bike only path with nostalgic memorabilia. The bridge is quite unique in that it is not straight across, it has a 22-degree bend about halfway in.

Illinois Route 66
Chain of Rocks Bridge – Illinois / Missouri Border
Illinois Route 66
Pink Elephant Antique Mall on Route 66 in Livingston, IL

Every year we find new things to see and do in the St. Louis area. We uncovered a few new things: it has the world’s largest chess piece, the World Chess Hall of Fame, and Tennessee Williams and Dred Scott are buried there!

St. Louis, Missouri
World Chess Hall of Fame
St. Louis, Missouri
Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, MO

In February, we took a short road trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama to visit family. We explored the fort, checked out a new brewery, walked the beach, biked the state park, went to a museum and caught some glorious sunsets.

Monthly Recap - Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores, Alabama

The Blog

The last few months we have been sharing our thoughts and adventures of our two month road trip and Mediterranean cruise back in the fall.

The cruise had so many wonderful stops, but one of our favorites was to the lovely town of Kotor. We had an amazing day there which included a hike to unforgettable views, a boat ride the smallest island I’ve ever been on, exploring a fishing village and one of the most well-preserved medieval towns we’ve visited.

One of the most anticipated stops on our road trip was to Cumberland Island, America’s Unspoiled Jewel. I had read about it a few years ago and wanted to visit ever since. Accessible only by boat with almost no residents, the island is covered in dense forests and natural beauty. Wild horses roam free among trees that are dripping with Spanish moss. It was quite the adventure!

Cumberland Island Monthly Recap
The gorgeous trees of Cumberland Island

Fat Tuesday came and went which we spent on Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois. I wasn’t sure if the polish tradition of Paczki day reached that far south, but was pleasantly surprised when Dave brought some home from work.

We also had the opportunity to work with Jess, an avid traveler, on a guest post about How to Survive an Airport Layover. She included helpful tips on how to keep sane during a long stopover in any airport.

We spent the entire month of November in Florida. We had the opportunity to see and do many fascinating things. More to come on the blog in the next few weeks on that part of the trip.

One of the most interesting stops was to Coral Castle. The story behind this quirky masterpiece is intriguing to say the least.

The most thrilling thing we did in Florida was Buzzing Along on an Airboat through the Everglades. We saw and were able to hold alligators!! The glades were absolutely beautiful which we did not expect at all.

Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park

We had an amazing time on our two month road trip so we put together 18 Quotes and Pictures to Inspire You to Get Off Your Ass and Enjoy the World. We hope it provoked some feelings of adventure and wanderlust.

Social Media

We are just whizzing along when it comes to most social media platforms. At the end of December, we had 3,000 followers on Twitter and we now have over 6,100. Instagram was at 1,000 and we are slowly closing in on 2,000 and our Pinterest account is up 500 followers.

Most Popular Photo on Instagram

Our most liked photo of January is from Kotor, Montenegro. We spent half of our day climbing up a steep mountainside to get the view.

 

February’s favorite was a sunset from Gulf Shores. It wasn’t hot enough for swimming, but we walked the beach most days and made our way out for the sunset every evening.

Made it to Alabama. Out of the snow into the ocean..we’ll take it!

A photo posted by @dangtravelers on

March Plans

We are heading to the Big Easy mid-March and we are READY! We’ve been to New Orleans a few times before and every time we leave, we say we cannot wait to get back and do all the things we missed. I have a long list of things to do, food to eat and places to see so we are really looking forward to the trip.

Do you have any spring plans? Let us know. We would love to hear about them!

5 Responses

  1. Chris Travels

    Spring plans, you ask? A resounding “YES” is my answer! I have an epic 400 mile walking/hiking journey planned along the coast of northern Spain. I leave in exactly 48 days…can you tell I’m excited?

  2. Kelly Blick

    Found your blog by some strange Twitter coincidence and I’m super happy I did! I’m from St. Louis, and your photo of Central West End makes me dreaming to head back to that side of the world! I’ve wasted many an hour exploring the Pink Elephant antique mall/school house. Can’t wait to hear about your other adventures!

    • Dang Travelers

      Yay, love when we connect with people from our area! Where are you now?

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