About

I am a Florida native, born and raised in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. I am definitely blessed growing up less than 2 miles from the beach. My parents were sure to bring me outside and taught me to enjoy the ocean, the sand, the sun, to appreciate making a drip sand castle, and chasing the sandpipers on the beach as a toddler. Actually, my nickname, Piper, came from my mom because I would always chase the sandpipers on the beach! This beach-y lifestyle not only taught me a lot about appreciating the little things, but also stuck with me as I have gotten older! If there's a beach nearby, you can bet I'm going to try and find a way to sit and enjoy the warm sand, the sound of the ocean waves on the shore, and the marine life that surrounds it! I am very thankful to have grown up near the water, as it has taught me not to be afraid of the ocean and has become something that I love. A lot of my travels have been near (or on) the ocean, and I know many people aren't always super comfortable with the great big blue. 

When I first started Tea N' Sea, it was just to write about my experiences of moving away from Florida to South Carolina to Clemson University. It was an easy way that I could keep family and friends up to date with what was going on in my life without sending them each a lengthy message. Since I was creating an outlet to share my thoughts and a blog, I needed to come up with a name for it. I spent weeks on end trying to brainstorm, until I started losing hope about doing this. One day, after the thought had been out of my mind for a long time, the name hit me like a brick wall. Tea N' Sea. It was perfect. If you say Tea N' Sea out loud, it sounds like the letters TNC - which are my initials. It also signified my move from the sea (Florida) to what I deemed the "land of sweet tea." For those of you that don't know, South Carolina is said to be in the "Deep South," and anyone that is from or has visited this area can tell you that the iced tea served here is so sweet, typically containing upwards of a cup of sugar. The name was perfect. So I created the blog, which was just explaining my life at the time. As I continued on with my college career, my wanderlust never left. I took every chance that I could to go on a weekend trip, a new hike, a new town, a new restaurant - anything I could get my hands on. With these weekend trips, I found out that I loved writing about my travels and sharing places that I experienced, more than just the everyday, "lifestyle," and college type posts. 

Once I graduated from Clemson University, I was given the amazing opportunity of moving to Grenada in the Caribbean. I was moving away from everything that I had ever known, a completely new culture, new way of life, over 2000 miles away. It was scary, but I am so glad that I took the leap. Here, I was given so many experiences and travel opportunities that would not have been present if I had not taken the leap. I called Grenada my home base for about a year and a half, and in that past year and a half have been blessed with so many opportunities to see the world. I have grown this blog, with your help, love, and support, and cannot wait for the rest of our journey together! I have started checking things off of my bucket list, faced fears, and traveled across the world. My love of travel is only growing, and I can't wait to continue to share all these amazing experiences with you all!