I’m so grateful for this wonderful trip. Arizona’s sunshine, cherished family moments, soul-soothing music, shared laughter, Porch fetch sessions, beach-in-the-desert magic, and every quiet joy along the way

Temperatures in Arizona reached eighty degrees while it snowed and snowed back home in Wisconsin. This made for a wonderful December! We spent the following evening playing with the dogs and enjoying the sunset on Dad and Paula’s patio.

This backstory brings me to my travel story. In October of 2022, Mom was stationed in Asheville, North Carolina. I decided to follow my heart and visit her there. We absolutely loved it! I felt so blessed to be able to do this, to spend time with my Mom, and to see the Blue Ridge Mountains. This was before the hurricane Helene tragedy—a devastating tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic rainfall, leading to flooding in North Carolina and Tennessee.