A few years ago, we were two people with a dream to travel, and no experience or know how on how to actually make that happen.  Today, we are two people who balance work, life, hobbies, and school, and still manage to travel to some absolutely amazing places.  

Who We Are

Our names are Nathan Foust and Ally Foust.  We are a pair of siblings who decided to take their love of travel and adventure and turn it into a website.  We grew up in La Crosse Wisconsin, and both attended/attend UW-Madison. 

Neither of us traveled independently until we were out of high school, and we didn’t have parents interested in adventure travel.  While we did take trips to Disney, and spent time boating and camping, the type of travel we enjoy is something we grew into and developed on our own; we didn’t grow up doing it.

Why We Are Blogging

We started this blog for a couple of reasons.  First, we wanted a platform to share our experiences.  People always ask what we did over the summer, or what we are up to next.  While we have shared many photos on Facebook, we wanted a platform that would better allow us to share our travels. 

Second, we get asked a lot about hiking recommendations, the best places we have been, and our coolest experiences.  We felt like that might be information people want.  Seems to reason that if a few people are asking, there are probably more people who would like to know that information.

What We Are Blogging About

Our blog will be focused on our travels and the best places that we think you should go.  We will write about hikes we go on, stories we have, wineries we visit, and all the cool adventures that we go on. 

We will also write about some ideas that may inspire you to travel, our favorite national parks, the best towns to visit and stay in, and ways to spend a weekend in one of many destinations near and far.  

Why Is Our Blog Called Top Down Lifestyle?

As most people who know me are aware of, I drive a yellow convertible.  Specifically, it is a 2003 Honda S2000.  I love my car, and I’ve converted to convertibles (see what I did there?). 

Top Down Lifestyle is a phrase I coined when trying to explain some of the seemingly dumb things that I do.  Driving with the top down in 35 degree weather?  Top Down Lifestyle.  Taking a road trip?  Top Down Lifestyle.  

Top Down Lifestyle is a phrase that you can apply to pretty much anything.  It means going out there, getting outside your comfort zone, trying something new, going somewhere different, taking it easy for awhile, or finding new adventures. 

In one sense it doesn’t mean anything.  In another sense, it perfectly describes what we like to do (it’s a made up phrase so it means whatever we want when we want it to, pretty convenient).  

Who Are We Writing For

Our audience is anyone who wants to know what we are up to, wants to find inspiration for their next trip, or is looking for a fun weekend away.  We are from Wisconsin, and our focus will be on readers from the midwest. 

We were midwest kids with dreams of traveling the US and beyond, and we suspect there are lots of midwesterners who feel that same way.  

Reasons You Should Read Our Blog:

• You want to learn more about great travel destinations around the US and beyond
• You want to learn more about destinations around the midwest
• You want to keep up with what we are doing
• You want to see pretty pictures and landscapes
• You want to learn more about cool and unique adventures
• You want to travel but don’t know where to start
• You’re bored and need something to do for the next 5 minutes

If any of those bullets apply to you, we think you will find something of value on our site!

How You Can Support Us

If you think we do good work and write cool stuff, there are a few ways you can support us and what we do.

1. Visit our site!  If you think we have a decent website, come visit!  The number one way we know if you like what we do is whether or not you come to our website.  
2. Like and follow us on social media!  We are on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.  Follow our page like and share our posts, and leave a comment if you liked what you saw, or if you hated it!
3. Subscribe to our email list for monthly updates on what we are up to, and get alerts on what has been posted on the site.
4. Reach out to us!  Contact us at [email protected] or leave a comment on any of our posts and articles. 

Our Goals

• Create a usable and effective platform for sharing our adventures.  We want people to be able to see what we do because we want others to learn about our adventures.
• Inspire others to travel.  Whether you have traveled extensively or not, want to go international or stay at home, stick to the midwest, or see the west, we want to give you ideas and inspire you to get out and go!  
• Turn travel into a lifestyle.  We hope to leverage this site into a way to increase the amount we are able to travel.  We hope you will help us achieve that by being frequent readers and visitors to our site!

This is new to us, so as we learn more and gain more experience, our vision and goals will probably change!  We hope that you will be a part of that evolution, and we hope your feedback informs our choices! 

Hopefully in a few years once we are world famous and have traveled the world we can return to this post and reflect on where we have been and the growth we have experienced.  We hope you stick with us through the process!