What do Scarves, Italy and an Oregonian Hedgehog Have In Common?.

Wow, I can’t be believe we are already on the brink of May! It seems like only yesterday we were putting together our huge December giveaway and our last Pin-Up Lives of 2013.

How are you guys? I know it’s been a little since we talked travel, but no worries, that’s about to change! First, though, I wanted to fill you in on what’s been going on in our lives.

As we sipped prosseco in our pajamas while Carson Daly said goodbye to 2013, we had no idea that when the ball dropped on the New Year, it also ignited a fuse that burned somewhat quietly until our Florida family vacation in late-January, when BuzzFeed sparked the powder keg by naming our hidden-pocket travel scarves as one of the 21 Things Every Traveler Wishes They Owned.

And as the saying goes, when it rains it pours…

That mention came just as we working on a project with iAmbassador and our good friend Nick Montemaggi, of Emilia Romagna Tourism, in which Beth designed a digital travel guide to the art cities of Emilia Romagna in Northern Italy. The e-book features stories from the award-winning Blogville campaign and is a must read for anyone interested in traveling to Emilia Romagna. You can download your own copy of the free e-book here: The Art Cities of Emilia Romagna.

In the midst of all of this, I stepped up my freelancing game and I’m now a regular contributor to Flight Network, Expedia UK and Hostel Rocket. In the coming weeks and months, I plan to share some of those stories here, updated with extra travel tips, tricks and recommendations just for our readers. Additionally, we created three digital travel guides for Buggl, an online travel guide creation platform and market place, and just signed on to do six more guides for the Boston startup in the coming months.

Thanks Joey Lawrence, I couldn’t have said it better myself! It’s been a wild couple of months and there’s no signs of it slowing anytime soon but, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So  now that you’re up to speed with what’s been happening here at Beers and Beans, it’s time to get to the good stuff: TRAVEL! This week, we’re packing our bags and Chachy’s too and heading to southern Oregon to explore the Crater Lake region, one of  the Seven Wonders of Oregon.  Neither Beth nor I have been to the state before, in fact, this will be our first visit to the Pacific Northwest.

With the help of the Oregon Tourism Board, we’ve lined up an array of delicious and adventurous activities for the journey, including craft-beer tastings and zooming over Crater Lake in a World War II fighter plane, and will be meeting Oregon’s biggest little star, Biddy The Hedgehog, but we really want to hear your tips and recommendations!

We are psyched about the trip, especially because this will be Chachy’s first big journey with us. Beth and I have wanted to include him in our travels since the beginning, so it is exciting that when we step out the door on Tuesday, our favorite 10-pound hound will be by our side. Beth and I will be using #traveoregon to share our tales and you can follow along live on all the usual social channels.

Got a tip for southern Oregon? Let us know about it in the comments!

Feature photo credit: Instagram: @biddythehedgehog