I am so excited to introduce you to a fellow Texas blogger today! You've probably seen Christina, the voice behind Route Bliss, somewhere before. She has established herself as a photographer, blogger, and serial homeland traveler. Her travel post inspire me to look into unique and untouched spots in the United States. From National Parks to small town museums, Christina has been exploring her own backyard for years and giving you tips and tricks on traveling the United States through Route Bliss. Recently, I asked Christina some questions to get to know her and her blog a little better.
1. Tell us about Route Bliss.
Route Bliss is where I share about things and topics I'm fairly passionate about -- right now that's primarily travel, photography, and budgeting, although I've also blogged about healthy living and fitness over the last couple of years. Route Bliss has an alternate meaning in why I chose the domain name -- finding the path to a blissful life. Hopefully with time and life changes, that'll happen as well -- and I'll expand to talk more about that when the time comes.
2. What is your hometown in Texas like?
I've spent over half my life living in/near Athens, which is about 75 miles southeast of Dallas and on the edge of the Piney Woods of East Texas. It's what many would dub a small town (approx 12,000 people), although it is the largest town in & the county seat of Henderson County. Athens is the home of the hamburger ("Unlce Flecth" Davis created & sold it on the town square before taking it to the World's Fair in 1904), the Black-Eyed Pea Capital, and the local juco, TVCC, has a number of national titles to it's name thanks to its women's basketball and football teams as well as the cheerleading team. The town is pretty much made up of college students, families, and retirees.
3. You travel around the United States quite a bit. What is the biggest lesson you have learned about exploring your home country?
We take our natural treasures for granted -- so many people overlook visiting national parks when we should make that a priority over amusement park. Glacier National Park won't have glaciers much longer, but most of my friends would rather spend several days at Sea World or Six Flags than to take their children to see something that may be gone before they reach adulthood.
4. What is one of your favorite destinations that you think deserves more credit?
The state of Oklahoma as a whole. Most knock it as a "flyover" state, but the Sooner State has a variety of treasures worth exploring, from the mountains in the southeast and central portions of the state, Route 66 -- Oklahoma is the only state that has preserved as much of the original Mother Road as possible, plus cultural sites in both Tulsa and OKC and the parries of western Oklahoma where one can see for miles and miles. My favorite place in the entire state -- and one I have only spent a limited amount of time at -- is Turner Falls (http://www.turnerfallaspark.com/). On my one visit (in the rain sadly), I snapped a photo that many people for years afterward thought was a waterfall in Hawaii! No one believes something that beautiful is in central Oklahoma!
5. If you could pick one holiday destination to do over again (good or bad), what would it be?
I want to go back and spend more time in Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. I only spent a day apiece at GT and Yellowstone and two days at Glacier. I was to take my time with a second visit, get off the beaten (tourist), and see what may not be there to enjoy in another 20-40 years.
FIND CHRISTINA
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Happy Monday!
xoxo
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