Category: Travel

Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

So my Mom and I were originally going to do a retirement victory lap around the world to celebrate my retirement in 2020. Obviously that didn’t happen 🙂 . But the main point of that trip was to go to Australia for the first time specifically to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef – a bucket list item for both of us.

Well after the pandemic calmed down, we finally made that trip in September 2023! However, because it’s us and we have not had the best travel luck, there was a fly in the ointment. A few days before we were set to go snorkeling on the reef, we heard from our contact that it might not happen because there were high winds as well as the king tides and visibility would be low so basically, even if we went to that spot, we might not be able to see anything. BUMMER! Continue reading “Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure” →

The Month Of Costa Rica: February 2024 Recap

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Early Retirement Updates, Film, Finance, Fitness, Food, Hobbies, Investing, Keto, Net Worth Update, Spending, Travel

What even is time 🙂 ? I feel like I just updated y’all about 2023 and here we are in the 3rd month of 2024. I keep waiting for time to make sense, but I think I’ve been having too much fun so it keeps flying by. I remember when months would drag on and feel like 100 years when I was working.

I guess I should just count my blessings instead of always being baffled by time passing so quickly these days. Lessons learned 🙂 . So let’s see what I got up to in February!

Continue reading “The Month Of Costa Rica: February 2024 Recap” →

Review: Virgin Australia Business Class

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

I’m always curious about airlines I’ve never flown before. So in my typical neurotic fashion, I always Google around to find reviews of new airlines before I fly them. And in the interest of helping anyone else that’s like me out there, this is my experience flying Virgin Australia for the first time.

However, I have flown Virgin Atlantic before. I flew Business Class to London for a weekend before I discovered travel hacking (unfortunately you read that right). Continue reading “Review: Virgin Australia Business Class” →

Review: Dashing Diva Gloss Nail Stickers – A Nomad Beauty Revelation

by A Purple Life, posted in Hobbies, Reviews, Travel

So I love having my nails painted. I feel fancy for some reason and I like it as an option for self-expression. However, the fact that I’m a full-time nomad and move every month, has made it challenging to always travel with the accouterment I need to do my own nails. Continue reading “Review: Dashing Diva Gloss Nail Stickers – A Nomad Beauty Revelation” →

The Month Of Family: January 2024 Recap

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Early Retirement Updates, Film, Finance, Fitness, Food, Hobbies, Keto, Net Worth Update, Spending, Taxes, Travel

Welcome to another monthly recap of what I’ve been up to during my 4th year of early retirement 🙂 . I’m currently writing this while sitting in the sun in our Costa Rica Airbnb staring at the lush green mountains that surround San José. But for the sake of accuracy, let’s turn back the clock to see what I was up to during most of January, which overall involved freezing my ass off in the northeast US 🙂 . Let’s get into it!

Continue reading “The Month Of Family: January 2024 Recap” →

The Month Of Warmth: December 2023 Recap

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Budget Check-In, Early Retirement, Early Retirement Updates, Film, Finance, Fitness, Food, Hobbies, Investing, Keto, Net Worth Update, Spending, Travel

December’s theme of “warmth” had two meanings 🙂 . First was the fact that I spent half of the month soaking up the sun in Puerto Vallarta, México where it was literally warm (75F), and the second was that I spent the rest of the month in Upstate NY with family that makes my heart warm…in an emotional way, not a concerning medical condition way 🙂 . Continue reading “The Month Of Warmth: December 2023 Recap” →

The Year Of Reading: 2023 Goals & Accomplishments

by A Purple Life, posted in Annual Accomplishments, Blogging, Early Retirement, Early Retirement Updates, Film, Fitness, Food, Hobbies, Keto, Musings, Reviews, Travel

Guess what 🙂 ? This is the 500th post on this blog!!! That number is completely wild to me, but I guess that’s what happens when I do something for almost a decade. Ridiculous. Anyway, thank you for being here 🙂 . Now let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Throughout the year, I like to write down new things I’ve learned, read, watched and experienced to try and remember what each year entailed and how they differ. I then summarize all of that in my annual goals and accomplishments posts. The goal of these posts is not just to curate what I’ve been up to, but also to document how I have changed from one year to the next and how I’ve grown as a person. Continue reading “The Year Of Reading: 2023 Goals & Accomplishments” →

Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

I first visited Puerto Vallarta, México in 2019 and from our house I could see Los Arcos National Park, which is composed of a group of islands off the coast of PVR. Someone told me that I had to visit because there was awesome snorkeling and wildlife over there.

However, I didn’t get a chance to go during that quick trip. I was too busy sipping margs, laughing in the pool and eating so much delicious food I could burst 😉 , I but promised myself that the next time we visited, I would go to that national park! Continue reading “Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México” →