OCTOBER 2025

Adventures With Carli

A monthly round of tips, travels, adventures and what's next

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Hello adventurers!

It's crazy but we've already made it to the holiday season.

Halloween of course!

Halloween is my absolute #1 favorite holiday. There's a little bit of everything. Fun fall activities like pumpkin patches and apple picking, spooky vibes, and of course a chance to get creative with your costume.

I recently ranked my halloween costumes - worst to best for the last 6 years and naturally, the winner was Weird Barbie.

Where in the world is Carli San Diego?

After I returned from Jordan to ther US (via Minnesota) I popped down to Wichita for TBEX, a travel blogger's conference.

This is a great way to network with other creators, meet with brands that can help support your website, and learn about different tourism boards. The conference is a lot of fun activities sandwiched between excellent learning sessions.

When I first heard that this conference was going to be in Wichita I was a little skeptical.

The last time I had been to Kansas was when I was 11 and I've never been west of Kansas City and Lawrence. But Wichita really surprised me, in the best way.

Did you know: Wichita is the largest city in Kansas? Me neither.

Compared to big cities in other states, it's still fairly small which is one of the best things about it. Being from the midwest, I expected it to feel kind of like a giant suburb with lost of franchises. To my surprise, it is HUGE on supporting local. You'll find funky shops like a plant store that doubles as a bar, various fun and interactive museums and local favorite, Nifty Nut House, a giant candy and nut store.

Highlights from Wichita:

• Cocoa Dolce - A local boutique chocolatier that can't be missed. There are 3 locations in Wichita, but the Old Town one is where they have their factory. The don't offer public tours, but you can see them working from the cafe. They also ship nationwide if you can't get to Wichita or Las Vegas any time soon.

• Mark Arts - This is a museum and community space all in one. There are rotating art galleries, and permanent sculpture garden and a variety of art and cooking classes available to take.
• Exploration Place - This museum is fun for kids of all ages (including adults). They have an incredible (and massive) brand new play place that will be open soon. And the building is beautiful, located right on the Arkansas River.

• Museum of Treasures - To say this place is quirky is a bit of an understatement. The museum started a a private collection from a local doctor who had a penchant for collecting historical items and oddities. It's got everything from WWI & II memorabilia to mummies and a full size T-Rex in the main lobby.
• Sedgwick Park Zoo - Oddly enough there are two zoos around Wichita. This is more of your typical zoo. But right now they have 4 baby elephants all close in age. Super adorable! And from mid October through December they host their Wild Lights, which is is a special light show throughout the park and was truly breathtaking.

• Tanganyika Wildlife Park - This place is giving "I'm not a normal zoo, I'm a cool zoo" vibes. This immersive wildlife park has all sorts of animal encounters included in the price like feeding lemurs, hippos, larakeets etc. But, you can also pay for the upgraded feeding experiences where you get to be up close with the animals and spend more time with them, like my hungry queen Pinto the Capybara.

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• The Cones!!! - I can't end my Wichita highlights without talking about the cones. These were a fun surprise on our walk to the opening party and again with a dance party at the end of the closing party. Do I know why they are cones? No. Do I love it? YES! 🧡⚠️

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Where to stay in Wichita?

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. This recently renovated hotel sits right along the river and a short distance from downtown and Old Town. If you're into baseball, the stadium is just across the river.

Hyatt is also my favorite hotel for using points because they require significantly less points than Marriott or Hilton, and you can earn them from my favorite travel card. I booked 4 nights for free.99 by using 21,000 points. This would have cost over $700 for my stay if I paid in cash. If I transfered my points to cash back, I would only get back $210. So I saved myself $700, and 50,000 in points.

Travel Lessons Learned

Breaking tradition... this is a lesson that maybe hasn't been learned yet because it worked out in my favor.

I *almost* (but not really) missed my flight.

My flight back to Seattle from Wichita wasn't until 2:30 in the afternoon, and I REALLY wanted to see all the animals at the Tanganyika Wildlife Park. But the park is out of the city, past the airport.

Getting an Uber/Lyft from the hotel was easy, but they don't have any just hanging around to get back. I didn't order my car until 1pm, which is well under the 2 hour recommendation (I usually only recommend 90 for domestic flights). AND I was checking a bag. I managed to arrive just at the hour mark, but I still had my bag which was... overweight, so I had to reorganize on the spot, at the airport.

Thankfully the airport is tiny (like 10 gates) and TSA was a breeze (even if you don't have pre-check). The locals even told me after the fact they usually show up 45 min before their flights 😳

Lesson: The 2 hour rule does not apply to all airports, sometimes an hour is more than enough time, even when checking a bag.

Need help with planning a trip?

Starting to think about travel for the holidays? Or maybe even planning ahead for Spring Break next year? Reach out for assistance with planning and booking your future travels.

I can book everything from hotels and cruises to private airport transportation and in between.

Fill out my intake form here

Blog Posts

Catch up on some of my blog posts below:

How to have the best day trip to Bainbridge Island A day trip to Bainbridge island is a favorite for tourists and locals alike, because of its accessibility and small town charm. In less than an hour you can go from city life to island life. Read Article

For the Best Meal of Your Trip, Take a Marrakech Cooking Class One of the best ways to enjoy local cuisine while traveling is to learn how to cook the food. For an unforgettable meal, take a Marrakech cooking class. Read Article

6 Excellent Fortitude Valley Bars to visit in Brisbane For a fun night out in Brisbane, add these six Fortitude Valley bars to your list to enjoy great drinks and atmosphere. ​ Read Article

Travel Must Haves

AirPods If you're in the market for new AirPods the new Pro3 last longer AND have a language translation. But if you just want basic headphones, you can get the Pro2 a lot cheaper. Tech items will be discounted during Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales. Shop Here

Travel Resources

Get help planning your next trip

​Where to book all things travel

My must have travel items​

​The best travel credit card for beginners

Manage your credit cards, benefits and card offers with this helpful app

Thanks for following along! Carli