When I leave the Nest, Where have I been?

The last week, my husband and I have been talking about our honeymoon/ one year anniversary trip we're going to take next summer. After we got married this summer, we didn't take a honeymoon. Nick's family flew in from Washington state, so we wanted to spend time with them instead. I mean, they did fly all the way across the nation, I wasn't about to say thanks for seeing us get married, now we're leaving lol. Plus it gave me time to get to know my new in-laws. We went to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN for a week, rented a cabin and had a BLAST! It was awesome. When they left, they took the kiddo with them, so he could visit other family in Washington for a bit and Nick and I thought we'd have a few days to our selves to settle into married life. Some personal things happened in my family and that didn't happen...

So we've decided in 2017 for our One Year Anniversary we're going to take a much belated Honeymoon.

Where are we going? We're still talking about and deciding... I'm really leaning into the Caribbean. I've never been! I know, Shocker! Nick has talked about Hawaii. We've also talked about Europe, Montana, a cruise, an all-inclusive resort idea.... Remember, my sister went to Sandals for her wedding in August and loved it.... I'm open to ideas so please, send some my way!

Today, I'm leaning towards the US Virgin Islands. Anyone ever been there? Tips, suggestions?

I thought as I'm talking about anniversary trip ideas, I'd also share with you my world travel map today. I thought it would help to see the places I have been as I sit here sharing my knowledge and asking for suggestions and tips back lol.

Ashley's World Travel Map

As you can see from my map, I've traveled quite a bit. Now, most has been stateside, but I have been to Europe. That's one of the reasons I've vetoing Europe on our trip is because I've already been... but on the other hand, I'd love to show Nick around... oh the dilemma! 

Just so everyone knows, I don't count places I never left the airport

I've been to 2 continents: North America and Europe.

I've been to 6 countries: USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and Vatican City. 

I've been to 26 states.

I've swam in 2 of the 5 Great Lakes.

I've seen Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. 

I've been to Yellowstone National Park.

I've been on top of the Space Needle, the Willis Tower, and the CN Tower.

I've been to numerous castles.

I've cruised down the Mississippi River.

I've walked across the Ohio River to get from Kentucky to Ohio.

I've been on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
I've been to Washington D.C., 2x.
I've been to Disney World, 3x.
I've swam in botht the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

I've seen the Jolly Green Giant Statue.

and out of everywhere I've ever been.... I still love coming back to horse country Kentucky.

Happy Travels,
Ashley

Autumn

Hey Y'all!

Can you believe it is the end of September already? It's going by so quickly! I can't believe it's already Autumn. On the bright side, fall is my favorite season :)

I love the smells, the colors, the fall festivals, the tastes, (although I'm not a crazy Pumpkin Spice fan, cue the gasps haha), that comes with this season. The weather is always perfect too, just the right temperature... jeans and a hoodie! My husband has a motorcycle and I'm looking forward to bundling up and taking an autumn cruise when the leaves are really starting to change. It'll be nice to get away from the noise of town and into the country for a bit.

Speaking of country drives, some of favorites are driving through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee when the leaves are changing. There's nothing more beautiful than seeing the reds, yellows, and oranges and the smoke- like clouds coming off those mountains. It's just breath-taking. Actually, since Nick and I have been together, we keep saying we're going to go to Gatlinburg in the Fall but we still haven't been... Maybe this year for Fall Break we'll take the kiddo down to Dollywood and rent a cabin! Look, y'all got me planning a trip already- and we know Nick would love it, being from Washington, the Evergreen State, he's not use to seeing the leaves change (at least not on the eastern side of Washington) like we are and he's still mesmerized by it. He'd love it, y'all!

You know, another good autumn vacation I've took this time of year is actually to the beach... Now I know what y'all are thinking... That sounds nuts. Now hear me out! One year in October, I went to Hilton Head Island with some friends during fall break when we were in college. The weather... you guys, the weather was PERFECT! Hilton Head Island is in South Carolina, so the water was still warm and the temperature was that perfect 70 degrees. Not too hot, not dying of humidity, and still nice enough to lay out and enjoy the sun! It was one of the best beach vacations I've ever took. I highly recommend going to the beach in October! Maybe we should do that instead... haha.

On my bucket list, which I still need to post, I have it listed to one day take a trip to New England in the fall. I'd love to stay at a bed and breakfast in Vermont and just relax. Enjoy the colors.

What is your favorite place to visit in the fall? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Travels,
Ashley :)

Google Flights

Hey Y'all!

So I know I've been away for a few weeks... I had some personal family issues that kept me away. Maybe I'll share that with you guys later but for right now, I'm back!

How was everyone's summer? Did you guys take any exciting vacations? How about stay-cations? Anyone?

My sister recently got married! In Jamaica! It was her and her new husband's first time leaving the country... and their first time flying!

That's right... you read that correctly. My sister and her new husband had never flown before! I'm just as shocked as you guys lol. I mean here she is with a sister who has flown more times than I can count and she's just now getting her wings!

Now I'm just messing with them and teasing because I know there is plenty of people, even some of you that have never flown before. Some of you probably have only flown once. Maybe the only times you've ever flown were scheduled by a travel agent? The first time I ever flew was in a group so my flight was scheduled for me. I didn't have to learn how to plan a flight until I had a couple of flights under my belt.

Today, with the influence of my sister and new brother-in-law, I hope to share some flight wisdom. Specifically my new favorite site. Google Flights.


What is Google Flights?

Google Flights is a website operated and owned by, you guessed it, Google, with the intent to help travelers, like you and me to

"...find the best deals and routes for air travel." *

 Now you're probably asking, why not use Expedia or one of the other well known sites travelers use to booking flights? Don't they promise the best deals too? Yes, they do. I love Expedia, I use it every time I book a hotel, but I prefer Google Flights when I book a flight.

Why Google Flights though? Because you ACTUALLY know you're getting the best deal. Not because Expedia or Travelocity told you so. You can see it with your own eyes ya'll!

You see, Google Flights does show you the best deals! After you select your departing airport and arriving airport, Google Flights will show you on a calendar the cheapest flights of every day in green. This is especially great when you have wiggle room for selecting departure dates!

Let me show you how it works.

Google Flights Home Screen

 Okay, this is what Google Flights home screen looks like. You'll see it's pretty simple. Pretty easy to navigate (another reason to love it). Everything you need to know is there at the very top. That's it.

At the top it has the options of Round trip, One way, or Multi-City to choose from. Just to be clear for first time travelers here:

Round trip: a ticket that allows a person to travel to one place and then return back to the place he or she left *

One way: a ticket that allows a person to travel to one place *

Multi-City: a ticket that allows a person to travel to more than two places

 You can also choose between economy and first class seating, how many adults, children, or infants are flying in the top right hand side. We'll come back to economy and first class seating later.

Let's work an example of how AWESOME Google Flights is with a One Way Ticket. Let's say I'm flying from Washington D.C. to Orlando, FL... in September. I'm looking for the best deal remember? Google Flights is going to show me the best deal on flights and show me the best day to fly. (This is great if my day to fly is flexible, but not everybody is that lucky.

What I'm going to do is open Google Flights, you can type google flights into your address bar up top or www.google.com/flights. I'll take a screen shot of what I selected from there to make it easier but I'm going to select One way at the top once the website opens. Then I'm going to select Washington D.C. as the departing city and Orlando, FL as the arriving city. Next, I'm going to click on the calendar to choose my date to fly out. Since I want to fly out in September, I'll choose the month of September. Now, here's the best part. The calendar on Google Flights is going to show me the cheapest flight price of every day. The days lit up in green are the cheapest days of the month and the recommended flight days.

Selecting Your Dates

Still with me? Everyone up to speed? Great! What happens now? Well when you pick your date, Google Flights gives you a list of every flight flying out of your departing city into your arriving city (or if you were specific, departing airport and arriving airport. For this example, I choose September 12th. Let's see what airlines where flying. Not only does it show you the airlines but the times of the flights as well, just in case a certain flight doesn't work with your schedule.

Flights Available September 12

Google Flights is that easy! And Round trip is just as easy as One Way! You just select your departing date and arriving date on the calendar and viola! Same thing! Just make sure to pick your departing date first before it will load the accurate flight prices when picking your return trip.  The price you see on the calendar will be your round trip airfare price (not the price of a ticket there and ticket back, no worries.)

Round Trip Selection

In the above screenshot, I selected a round trip ticket from Washington D.C. to Orlando and it was just as easy. It showed me that departing and returning in September was cheaper than returning in October would be.

How do you book your flight?

Booking your flight through Google Flights is a piece of cake. After you select your dates and you are looking at the list of available flights to choose from, click on the flight that you want to take! When taking a round trip flight, you'll actually select two flights, one for departing flight and one for return flight.

And here is the SECOND reason I love Google Flights... when the booking page opens, it actually compares Google Flights with Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Orbitz, CheapOair! And guess what, if you had booked through any of those other sites, you'd of paid more!

Google Flights does find the best deals and routes for air travel!

THANK YOU, GOOGLE FLIGHTS!


I hope this helped y'all with your own future flight planning and made it much easier!

Happy Travels,

The Bultena Family

* "Get Started with Google Flights." Google Flights Help. Google, 2016. Web. 21 August 2016.

* "Definition of Round-trip Ticket." round-trip ticket. Merriam-Webster, 2015. Web. 21 August 2016.

 * "Definition of a One-way Ticket." one-way ticket. Merriam-Webster, 2015. Web. 21 August 2016.

Where in the World do I go from here? Part 2

Yesterday my goal was to jump right in and write this AMAZING new blog post. I had these big plans for a post that was super helpful and informative and full of enlightenment. We see how well that turned out haha.

Instead I realized I can't just jump in with 2 feet into this blogging world! That's ridiculous! Well let me rephrase that. I can't jump in 2 feet into this AMAZING post full of eye opening tips and tricks of traveling advice. Y'all don't even know me yet! So why would you trust any recommendation that I give? I wouldn't... especially after one blog post that was just an introduction about myself.

So today I thought I'd write a part deux of my original blog post... What my real intentions are for this blog (I hope it doesn't turn into those boring lists of dos and do not's), and some fun family adventures too.


My Hopes, Dreams, and Intentions for the Bultena Family Travels Blog

Okay, y'all already can tell I love to travel! It's one of my biggest passions in life. Next to traveling, I have a passion for photography (expect lots of photos of the voyages we take along the way), and I'm OCD when it comes to planning.... Yes! You read correctly, me! That's one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to get everything that builds up in my head, that I learn when I spend weeks planning a vacation, out and into the world to hopefully benefit someone else :D

Things I hope to talk about:

* Where we, as a family, have been on vacation! I hope to share not just boring, stressed out, planning part with you guys but the fun part of the vacation too. The laughter, the food, the photos, the adventures, the sights, the lodging. Anything and everything that might spark an interest for someone out there!

* Photographs! I know I said this in the bullet above but, I love photos! (Did I mention that?) Besides, photos have always helped me in planning and this blog is about our travels, not just planning! 

* Websites that have helped me: When planning a vacation you don't just point to a map and say "Yep, this is where I'm going and I already know everything there is to know about this place." If someone does, please tell me your secrets! It would save me weeks of time (well I kinda do like the planning part) but my family would definitely find some type of prize for you- I drive them nuts planning haha. Anyways, I'm getting off track... you usually pick a place and then look at different websites for information. I'll include a list of my favorite websites I access when I'm planning a trip.

*Personal Bucket List! This is just a list of places I'd love to go in the US, for fun and I hope to get some feedback from y'all! Tell me about your experiences in these places, do you recommend them or should I pass over one for something better?

*Places I've been: Here I'll tell you about places I've been, that I won't go into detail about trip planning. Just a fun way of me keeping track of where I have already been and if you have questions about somewhere I have been, maybe you're interested in going, feel free to ask away!

*Other Travel Tips I've Learned Along the Way: I'm sure I'll think of other things to talk about that I've not bulleted and you may have questions for me that I've not thought of!

Thanks so much and I'm ready to get started! 

Happy Travels,
Ashley :)

Where in the World do I go from here?

Hello! Hola! Bonjour!

How are all of you? So this is the world of blogging, eh? This just seems INSANE! I never thought in a million years that I would start a blog. Me, a small town wife, working customer service all day would ever be tempted to started a blog.

WELL HERE I AM! haha

I'm Ashley. I currently just married the love of my life in a beautiful ceremony 2 weeks ago in my hometown in Central Kentucky. In marriage, I gained a handsome 15 year old step-son, and I love him just like he's my own. We live in a small town in Kentucky that has absolutely nothing to do but the good news is a large city is only about 20 minutes away.

A little about me: other than traveling (which we'll get to, ha), I love crafting! I'm not good at it, I swear, but I do enjoy it. Currently I'm addicted to quilting. Well let me rephrase that I'm addicted to buying fabric and then pretending that I'm going to quilt :) I'm about 4/5 the way through the quilt I'm currently working on now. I took a hiatus to wedding plan... I should finish that I guess....

Let's see what else... I have a BA in History. Yes, I'm a history nerd! BEWARE! JK but THANKFULLY so is my new son, one of the many reasons we get along so well. In college, I spent a summer studying abroad in Europe, specifically in Prague, Czech Republic learning about Art History and European Government. While I was there I also visited Krakow, Poland: Auschwitz: Rome, Italy: Vatican City: and Gaeta, Italy. It was the most amazing summer of my life. I HIGHLY recommend studying abroad at least once for all you college peeps out there! My poor husband, Nick. He stares at me and the kiddo like we're nuts (for being history lovers) but I think we're growing on him. I promise not to make this blog full of boring History travels though... except our First Real Family Vacation was to Washington D.C. ... more on that later!


My husband, Nick, and I both work customer service all day and dream of traveling all night lol. I grew up in Kentucky with a grandmother who's passion in life is traveling. Thankfully she has passed that gene on down to me. When I was little she would take my siblings, myself, and my cousin on different trips from Chicago to New Orleans! Nick and our son grew up in Washington State. Nick's family did traveling on the opposite coast, traveling down into California.

How did Nick end up 2,000 miles from home? Nick moved half way across the country for a job. For a few years our Kiddo flew back and forth from KY and WA a couple times a year. Needless to say, we all have a bit of travel experience in us.

Nick's plan for our future is to eventually find a job in Ireland and move us across the giant pond to the motherland, lol. For now, I'm satisfied in living life here in Kentucky and crossing items of my Traveling Bucket List, which I'll post later for all of you to view! My goal is to visit all 50 United States (as of 7/9/16 I'm at 25 states)!

The three of us together have big plans of seeing the world. Together, we hope to share our journeys with you, along with the planning and tips that we learned to help you in your own travels.

Happy Travels,
Ashley :)