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Explore With Cassie

Lifestyle & travel blog finding the unusual out of the ordinary.

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  • Destinations,  Education,  Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News,  Lifestyle

    Places to Eat in Santa Fe, New Mexico from Frugal to Fancy

    May 4, 2026 /

    Story, photos and videos by Cassie Hepler I love food. Period. It doesn’t matter if it’s from a food truck, my neighbor, a street vendor or a fancy restaurant because I don’t have any food allergies thankfully. This whole hierarchy of travel tracking for only luxury food locations is just gross. Travel is travel. If you are out of your hometown, you are traveling. I don’t care if you’re staying at La Quinta Inn Santa Fe or The Inn of Five Graces, you’re still exploring another culture and this shaming people for traveling on different budgets is just so icky. When I was in my 20s, I was doing a…

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    Cassie Hepler

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    September 5, 2023
  • Day Trips,  Education,  Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News,  Lifestyle

    Hondo Rodeo Fest Debuts in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona

    January 27, 2025 /

    By Sylvia Lenore, submitted photos Yee-haw! The inaugural Hondo Rodeo Fest made its debut in Phoenix in November bringing a mix of Western rodeo and country music to Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix. Yes, you read that right … they brought a rodeo arena inside the baseball stadium, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. (Don’t forget the stadium’s bag policies for a stress-free experience). The three-day event running from Thursday to Saturday was a first of its kind indeed. The Hondo also took over the streets outside the stadium for the general public to experience their Stillery Street Festival. It’s a family-friendly market showcasing Western-themed wears and jewelry, food trucks, a…

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    Cassie Hepler

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  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News,  Lifestyle

    Cider Sparkles at Fairmount Park’s 3rd Annual CiderFest in Philadelphia, PA

    December 4, 2019 /

    Event signage hangs from fence posts at Cedar Grove. Photos, story by Sharon Kozden “It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it.” – Diana Gabaldon It really was a day such as described in the above quote … uncannily so if you happened to be attending the third annual CiderFest at the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park. Having written about and photographed the inaugural event in 2017, I had missed 2018’s iteration but was glad to be back spending my Saturday afternoon between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. surrounded by folks ranging in interest level…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    March 20, 2019

    Pretty in Pink at Philadelphia’s Morris Arboretum’s Cherry Blossom Festival

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    December 13, 2017
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    CiderFest Rules Fairmount Park’s Historic Houses in Philadelphia

    November 20, 2017 /

    Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “The older I get, the more I become an apple pie, sparkling cider kind of guy.”  – Scott Foley What was Fairmount Park Conservancy thinking on the perfect autumnal afternoon in late September when introducing CiderFest, featuring cider samples from over 20 Pennsylvania cideries, self-guided tours of the six historic houses at Fairmount Park, free house-to-house transportation, live music and pay-as-you-go food trucks? I’d say they had their thinking caps spot-on with the aforementioned perfect confab of fall delights. Proceeds from the event benefitted the “ongoing stewardship, maintenance and promotion of the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park.” That alone was more than enough for this itsy bitsy spider to drink from the…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    Explore Affordable Luxury on the Italian Riviera at Europa Hotel in Sanremo, Italy

    May 11, 2026

    DesignPhiladelphia Festival Celebrates 15 Years, Hosts Kickoff Party at Cherry Street Pier

    January 29, 2020

    Behind the Scenes Interview at Atlantic City Boardwalk Con with Founder Mike D’Alessio and Mayor Don Guardian

    May 16, 2015
  • Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    An Apple a Day Doesn’t Keep the Judges Away: Best In Pomme at Manayunk’s StrEAT Food Festival

    November 9, 2017 /

    Chowing in the StrEAT (sorry, not sorry to Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street”). Kicking off Restaurant Week is the Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.” – Henry David Thoreau Autumn and apples “pear” well together. What can I say about this pun but that I’m fruity? Separating fall from those crisp, pomaceous and antioxidant-laden fruits would be akin to depriving myself of post-meal desserts. So when I was pegged (along with Explore-Philly team member Dana Prophet and Dana’s friend Amy) to spend two hours judging the best apple-themed desserts at Manayunk’s StrEAT Food Festival on the evening of September 14th, I was all in. Arriving at a…

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    Sharon Kozden

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