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All In Travel Vacation, Edmond, OK (2026)

10/24/2026

31 hours of travel and I still wasn't at my resort just yet.

We finally touched down in Malé, tired but happy, and there was one more step before paradise.

Our resort, Atmosphere Kanifushi, sits on its own island, so the last leg is a seaplane.

The good news is that Trans Maldivian Airways has a lounge where you can relax while you wait for your transfer.

Sandwiches, snacks, cold pop and coffee. I kicked back with some coffee and felt the 31 hours start to melt off.

Pro tip: seaplanes only fly during the day. If your flight gets delayed and you land after dark, you'll spend the night in Malé. The resort will help you coordinate a place to stay, but the cost is on you. So build in a buffer, and look at your arrival time before you book anything else.

That's the thing about the Maldives. The journey is part of the trip, and this slow last stretch is what gets you ready to unplug.

Would you rather walk off the plane straight to your resort, or take a seaplane to your own island?

Tell me which one below.

I'll be sharing what the island life is really like all week, so you can decide if it's your kind of trip.

10/24/2026

8 hours in Istanbul on the way to the Maldives.

I know…long layover. It was the best option with the fewest connections.

Fewer stops means fewer chances for a missed flight or lost luggage.

The trade-off is a long wait, and that's where thank goodness for the airport lounge comes in.

You guys know me and lounges. A clean bathroom, a glass of w**e (okay, two), a place to recharge my phone before the next flight.

The Turkish Airlines business class lounge is huge.

The food stations are scattered all through it.

Hot meals, fruit, salads, desserts, and every Turkish treat you can think of. And yes two chocolate fountains.

It's one of the better international lounges I've been to.

Here's what most people don't know.

You can't buy your way in, and a Priority Pass won't get you through the door.

It comes with a business class ticket on Turkish or a Star Alliance airline, and it's open 24/7.

This long layover turns into a reset instead of a wait.

Would you take the long layover with fewer connections,

or the shortest travel time possible with more connections?

Tell me in the comment below.

10/23/2026

Twelve hours in the air felt short.

We finally made it happen. We are currently on our three weeks trip.

The Maldives first, after a long layover in Istanbul.

Then Dubai.

Then on November 4 we board MSC Lirica in Venice for five countries in ten days: Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Croatia.

Getting to the Maldives from Oklahoma City is about 31 hours of travel time.

Three flights, a 2-hour layover in Dallas and 8 hours in Istanbul. Is it worth it? Ask me again when my toes are in the sand.

The first big leg, Dallas to Istanbul, was my first time in business class with Turkish Airlines.

The service was exceptional. The drink list was solid.

And here's the part that changed everything: it's a lay-flat seat. Not a recline. It goes all the way down like a bed, so I actually lay down and slept.

That's why the time flew. When you're rested, twelve hours goes by fast.

If you're curious what they served, i have posted the menu photos. The food was tasty and they provide you with real silverware.

So if you're planning something like this and you can swing it, spend the money on business class for the long flights.

You land ready and rested for day one instead of just surviving it.

Follow along, because I'll be sharing every stop from the Maldives to Split, the good, the funny and the "nobody warned me about that."

10/23/2026

3 countries in 14 days, and the one stop I'd change is the one everybody dreams about.

Here's the whole route from my travel last year.

You can save and share it.

It started in Oklahoma City, then LAX, then a long haul to Sydney. Pack a neck pillow, a jacket, earbuds and Liquid IV, because nobody drinks enough water at 35,000 feet.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

1. Visit Taronga Zoo: pay for the tram to the top and walk down.

2. Try the Epicurean Buffet at Crown Sydney: oysters, lobster, king crab, roasted duck, then a chocolate fountain. It does sell out and you only get 2 hours, so reserve before you land and go hungry.

3. Visit Chinatown: Sydney's Asian food scene is big, so come hungry.

4. Take Hunter Valley w**e tour, about 2.5 hours out: Oakvale, Bimbadgen, McCaffrey's, Hunter W**e Lab, then a gin distillery. A small group tour means you sip and someone else drives. I came home with a few bottles of crisp Verdelho.

From Sydney, we flew north to the quietest place of the trip.

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA (3 days)

5. Take a Daintree Rainforest day trip tour: UNESCO-listed and the oldest rainforest in the world. You may see the living dinosaur, the cassowary.

6. Visit The Cairns lagoon and Cairns Central: if your tour gets cancelled due to rough seas, visit the lagoon and an air-conditioned mall became the plan. Always keep a backup day in Cairns.

7. Visit Cairns Night Markets: the food stalls are endless, and the exchange rate makes it cheaper and better.

After 3 days, we flew to New Zealand.

AUCKLAND AND ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND

8. Auckland, all free places to visits: Viaduct Harbour, Mount Eden, Auckland Domain, Wynyard Quarter, Albert Park.

9. Take a Weta Workshop Unleashed tour: this is for the hot-day or rainy-day plan. It is nice and cool inside.

10. Visit Spellbound Glowworm cave tour on your way to Rotorua: a dark cave, then a ceiling full of tiny blue lights.

11. In Rotorua: find you a house by the lake for your stay instead of a hotel.

12. Visit Whakarewarewa Forest (the Redwoods): the Treewalk is a paid extra, so keep that in mind.

13. Definitely the Hobbiton Behind-the-Scenes tour: lunch and drinks are included, and you can walk inside a hobbit home.

Then Fiji, where I finally slowed down.

NADI, FIJI

14. We flew from Auckland to Nadi and landed to a big "Bula!" Fijian welcome. Take a day trip to Malamala Beach Club. It's about 20 minutes by boat, with snorkeling, and infinity pool. Kayaks and paddle boards are included.

WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY

For Fiji. We landed in Nadi. We stayed around the area. Next time I will do more research and compare other places to stay for crystal clear water and white sandy beaches. Like the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands for beachfront water, or the Coral Coast for a quieter stretch on the main island.

Save this for your own South Pacific trip and send it to your travel buddy.

Follow for more travel adventures.

10/22/2026

Disappointed!! Our Fiji beach was brown. Not charming brown. Actually brown.

We checked into the Hilton on Denarau, near Nadi, ran straight for the water, and found dark sand and cloudy water.

Not the postcard I'd been dreaming about for months.

Here's what I wish I'd known.

Nadi and Denarau aren't the Fiji you see on billboards and TV.

Denarau is built on mangrove mud, which is why the sand is dark and the water is murky.

The Mamanucas and Yasawas are where the postcard water is.

So we pivoted. We booked a day tour online to Malamala Beach Club, a private island in the Mamanucas that's one big beach club.

It's about 30 minutes by boat from Port Denarau, and hotel pickup was included.

What it cost: about $83 USD per person for the day pass.

We also got a poolside day bed for two people. It was under $30 USD more. Food and drinks were extra.

The second we stepped off the boat, the water went from murky to see-your-toes clear.

We snorkeled over coral sandbars with fish bumping into us like we owed them money.

Snorkel gear, life vests, kayaks, and paddleboards were all included.

After that, I floated in the infinity pool while our own server brought food and cocktails to our day bed.

Reserve your day bed early, because poolside spots fill up on busy days.

Day bed with a server, or kayak all day?

Which one are you?

Save this for your Fiji trip,

share it with someone who needs a beach day,

and follow for more tips.

10/21/2026

Can’t wait for OKC airport expansion.

10/21/2026

"Bula!" That is the first thing you will hear from the Fijians.

We continued with our trip from New Zealand to Fiji.

We stepped off the plane in Nadi and heard it from everyone.

Say it "bull-ar." It means way more than hello.

It's a wish that you'll enjoy their island, and no, it's not a tourist act.

Say it back to everyone you meet and you'll get a beaming smile.

Then there's the meke. It's the traditional performance, with a men's spear dance and a women's fan dance, and the whole thing tells a story from Fijian history.

A history lesson with rhythm. If you get the chance to watch one, take it.

Fiji also runs on what locals call Fiji time.

Family and friends come first, and the clock comes second.

If you visit a village, keep your voice down, since loud voices are considered disrespectful there.

That's why I tell people to end a New Zealand trip here.

Auckland to Nadi is about 1,350 miles, a three-hour nonstop, and you go from high energy activities to calm mornings to finally slowing down.

Planning New Zealand? Save this and add Fiji to the end.

Fiji time or packed itinerary: which one are you? Comment below.

10/20/2026

Wait. California redwoods… in New Zealand?

Yes. And the story behind them is better than the trees.

In 1901, foresters in Rotorua planted them as a timber experiment.

The plan was to grow fast and cut them down.

The trees grew fast, but the wood turned out too soft to be worth much. So nobody cut them.

Over a century later, they tower over 200 feet, and you can walk right through them. This is Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua.

I stood at the bottom of one and just tipped my head back.

Cool air, damp earth, ferns taller than me.

Here's the part people miss: walking the forest floor is free.

But there's also a suspended walkway, the Redwoods Treewalk, that takes you up into the canopy on bridges strung between the trees.

That one is a paid ticket, so plan for it. At night they light it with lanterns, so it's a totally different trip after dark.

Protip: most itineraries squeeze Rotorua into one night and skip this. Give the forest a morning. It's about 10 minutes from town, and you'll want to spend 1 to 3 hours.

They also light the suspended walkways with lanterns at night, so it's a totally different trip after dark.

Save this for your New Zealand list.

Share with your outdoor friends.

And tell me: would you walk it in the morning light, or under lanterns at night?

10/19/2026

Welcome to The Shire. And yes, it's even more magical in real life than on screen.

I thought a movie set would be a quick photo stop. We ended up staying the whole day.

We did a day trip to Hobbiton from Rotorua, about an hour's drive.

It's where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed, and it's still a working sheep and beef farm.

The Alexander family owns 1,250 acres outside Matamata, and they still run it.

We went all out and added the Behind-the-Scenes Tour.

It starts with a short bus ride across the farm, with the Kaimai Ranges sitting in the distance.

Then you get off and walk right past a field of sheep. Baby ones too. They were so cute.

Then the real magic starts. Your guide walks you through the gardens and past the hobbit holes, and you get to step inside one.

I felt about three feet tall. The guide shared how the whole village was built to look real on camera, and suddenly I wasn't looking at a set anymore.

I was hunting for tiny details like a nerdy detective.

Before lunch, we had a drink, just like the hobbits would.

Hobbits take their meals seriously, and now I understand why. After all, it is a second breakfast.

At the end of the tour, they served us fresh fruit and cheese. Slow, simple, perfect.

Here's what stuck with me: the places you think you've already seen are the ones that surprise you most.

Pro Tip: book your tour time way in advance as they will sell out. Hobbiton fits easily into a day trip from Rotorua, and the tour is worth upgrading.

Are you a Hobbit Fan? Tell me in the comments.

Share this with your favorite Hobbit fan, save it for your New Zealand trip, and follow along for more travel tips. 🌿

10/18/2026

The ground steam like a kettle.

That's Rotorua, on the North Island, about 3 hours south of Auckland.

The whole town sits on a volcano crater, so steam rises from the ground, mud bubbles, and the lake outside our window was calm as glass.

We stayed in a 3-bedroom lake house on Lake Rotorua.

Some mornings the water was so still it copied the hills perfectly.

If you're planning a New Zealand trip, here's what I'd do, in order:

1. Stop at the glowworm caves first. Spellbound Glowworm Tours, near Waitomo, is on the way from Auckland. You float through the dark under thousands of tiny blue lights. It felt like looking at the night sky from inside a cave.

2. Walk the Redwoods (Whakarewarewa) Forest. These California redwoods were planted over 100 years ago as a test. Now they're huge, and you feel tiny under them.

3. Pick a geothermal park. You have two choices. Te Puia is right in town. Wai-O-Tapu is about 30 minutes south. Both have steaming vents, bubbling mud, and colors in the ground that look like a rainbow.

4. Ride the Skyline Rotorua gondola. Great views over the lake and the hills.

5. Do Hobbiton Movie Set Tours in Matamata. It's about an hour from Rotorua. You walk through hobbit holes on a real sheep farm and finish with a drink at the Green Dragon Inn. You don't need to love Lord of the Rings. I promise.

6. Try the ZORB at the Agrodome. Yes, you roll down a hill inside a giant ball. It was invented right here. I watched people do it, and I'm still deciding if I'm brave enough.

7. Eat well. Mexican, Vietnamese, even a really good pizza. Not bad for a small town of about 58,000.

Here's the part most people get wrong.

They treat Rotorua like a quick stop and miss half of it.

Plan Auckland, then Waitomo, then Rotorua.

Give it two nights, three if you want Hobbiton. And book Hobbiton early, because it fills up.

The best moments on this trip weren't the famous stops. They were the quiet ones, like that lake at sunrise.

So which are you picking, redwoods or Hobbiton? Tell me below.

Then save this post for your New Zealand list, share it with someone you'd take along, and follow me. Fiji is next.

All In Travel Vacation

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