MAY 2026

Adventures With Carli

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

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Hello adventurers!

We're rapidly approaching summer. I have a surprisingly busy June travel month ahead, but then I plan to stay stationary awhile to enjoy the best place to be in the summer (the Pacific Northwest).

In just the next ten days I'll be in Tennessee, Minnesota, and San Francisco 😅 all before heading to Virginia at the end of the month.

In a personal win, I *finally* finished posting all video and photo posts for my 5 week Euro trip from this winter. ICYMI you can find all the videos on my YouTube page below.

Watch the playlists here

Where in the world is Carli San Diego?

I'm currently in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Women in Travel Summit (WITS). This is a conference for female travel content creators to network and learn from each other. We also have the benefit of experiencing the city with the support of the local tourism office. Thanks Visit Chattanooga for the hospitality!

I still have another 36 hours to explore more of the city and area now that the conference is over. But here's what I've enjoyed to date:

Caves!

Did you know Tennessee has around 10,000 caves? Up until last week, neither did I. Chattanooga (and the surrounding area) has a large number of those caves. The most famous in the area is Ruby Falls, which is “the tallest underground waterfall open to the public in the US". I have a tour scheduled there for tomorrow evening.

Another popular site is Raccoon Mountain Caverns. Here they have 30ish miles of underground caves. They have your basic guided cave tours, but for the more adventurous folks, you can do a "Canyon Crawl" where you crawl through the cave into the smaller "rooms" and caverns. If you guessed that I was on the basic tour, you would be correct.

Chattanooga Market

Chattanooga has a lively Sunday market just southwest of the downtown area. The market runs weekly from the end of April through Thanksgiving, and is open Sundays from 11-4.

Upon entering, you'll see rows of food trucks lined up leading to the main portion of the market. The market is a mix of a farmers's market and artisan market. Here, you can find great local produce just as easily as you can homemade soaps. Also, the market is located in a covered building, which is perfect if any rain rolls through.

Be sure to stop by herb'd by Chef Izin for an incredible olive oil infused with herbs & spices. The free sample was so good I had to buy a jar. Not heading to Chatt anytime soon? You can also purchase online.

Food & drinks in Chattanooga

Chattanooga is definitely an up and coming city, and has some great local restaurants and bars to visit.

BONUS: If you have a premium AMEX card with monthly Resy credits, Chattanooga has a good number of Resy* restaurants in and around downtown. I've made it to 2 so far with zero complaints.

• Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint - the perfect tavern burger
• Amada* - Wine and tapas restaurant. Order the bacon wrapped dates
• Puckett's - a local institution for comfort food. If you like pickles, do not skip the fried pickles
• 2nd* - Great ambiance, incredible service, and a perfectly cooked beer chicken
• The Playlist - Not a signer? Instead of karaoke, you can lipsync for your life
• Iris - Upscale rooftop bar with great sunset views
• The Vault - Small speakeasy style cocktail bar in an old bank vault
• Chattanooga Choo Choo - This historic railway station has a number of bars and restaurants that you can easy hop between while enjoying the unique setting

Free transportation

I absolutely love a city with easy public transportation, and even better FREE transportation. In downtown Chatt, the city provides free bus services along the main downtown corridor from The Choo Choo (south) up to the Tennessee Aquarium (north). This will get you pretty much everywhere you need to be in town.

Travel Lessons Learned

Timezones don't always make logical sense. For example, Nashville and Louisville are very nearly aligned North/South, but Louisville is on Eastern time whereas Nashville is on central time.

For this trip I flew into Nashville to meet up with my friend Jen, who then drove us the 2 hours to Chattanooga. She was trying to get in on one of the free tours available with our conference, but forgot to account for the time change. She thought we were getting in around 6pm, when really, we got in just after 7pm because Chattanooga is on Eastern time.

Australia also has the wonkiest time zones on earth. While staying in Brisbane, I decided to take a day trip down to Byron Bay. Despite the fact that they are both on the east coast of Australia, they are in different states, which happen to have different time zones. Don't even get me started on the time zones in Australia that run 30 min before or after the surrounding states.

Lesson:

If you're traveling between cities or states double check their time zones if you have somewhere you need to be at a specific time.

Need help with planning a trip?

Thinking about summer travel, or a future milestone trip? Reach out for assistance with planning and booking your future travels.

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Blog Posts

Catch up on some of my blog posts below:

The Best Things to do in Fairbanks for any Season Whether you’re visiting Fairbanks in the winter or summer there’s plenty to do year round. I’m sharing some of the best things to do in Fairbanks no matter the season. Read Article

Alyeska Nordic Spa: Experience Complete Relaxation at this Thermal Spa Just an hour outside of Anchorage, the Alyeska Nordic Spa is a must visit for any wellness lover looking for relaxation and tranquility. Read Article

How to travel from Heathrow to London Need to figure out how to get from Heathrow to London? The short answer is, the train is your best option. This will break down the different travel options to help find which is right for you. Read Article

Travel Must Haves

Waterproof Phone Pouch This phone pouch is 100% waterproof. Perfect for the summer to take to the beach, on a paddleboard, or going river floating. I used mine snorkeling in the Red Sea and got some really cool underwater photos 🤿 Shop Here

Travel Resources

​Shop my Amazon Storefront​

​Get help planning your next trip​

​​Where to book all things travel ​

​The best travel credit card for beginners​

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

Thanks for following along! Carli