Our reading road trip has ventured to all four corners of the United States, featuring reading selections and travel experiences from each region of the country. You can explore this blog series in its entirety here, and use this list for reference as you read through all fifty states. The Reading List Alabama: The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson Alaska: The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah Arizona: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Arkansas: True Grit by Charles Portis California: East of Eden by John Steinbeck Colorado: Plainsong by Kent Haruf Connecticut: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates Delaware: The Book…
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Interactive Bucket List Planner
The team at Encompass the World Travel and Westlake Travel wants you to dream big dreams about your future vacations and contact us to help you with your bucket list. Using our interactive planner as a guide, consider the experiences you’d like to have and the destinations you’d like to visit. Our team can assist with budget, best time of year to travel, and how to make your travel dreams happen! We will continue to celebrate bucket list travel planning all winter long, so subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media so you don’t miss a post!
Christmas Traditions Around the World
Participating in another country’s Christmas traditions while traveling the world is a special experience we highly recommend. European Christmas Market river cruises, for example, are extremely popular, and passengers must make their reservations when itineraries are released. Spending time exploring Italian cities, or even the Greek Isles would be an enjoyable way to celebrate the holidays, as would a cruise to Caribbean ports featuring Christmas decorations against blue skies and white sand. The gift of travel is the best gift, because it comes with learning about cultures around the world, which is just one reason why we love traveling so…
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Fiction of the Pacific States
From the scenic coastal highways of California to the lush evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific States are beautiful and varying in their landscapes. Sun-soaked deserts, rolling surf, sprawling vineyards, Redwood forests, and snow-capped mountain peaks provide the backdrop for both incredible travel and reading experiences. Let’s explore fiction of the Pacific States: California East of Eden by John Steinbeck Arguably Steinbeck’s most powerful and ambitious novel, East of Eden follows the generations of the Trask and Hamilton families as a retelling of the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. At just over 600 pages,…
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Fiction of the Southwest
The American Southwest stretches across arid deserts, void of signs of human life. It is scenic canyons that cut through red rocks, natural showstoppers in some of our county’s most breathtaking parks. The diversity of the region’s people and fascinating history continue to evolve today, and the fiction selections of this region highlight the merging of past and present while telling the stories of its people. Oklahoma The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck A Pulitzer Prize-winning American classic, The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family and their migration to California from the Dust Bowl during…
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