Here you will find an archived weblog of my food, travel, and creative pursuits which I kept from 2010-2016. Please note both that the travel information contained here may outdated and that these logs were created on a prior version of this website and may not yet be optimized for the current version. If you’re looking for specific content, use the search field below! <3
One of the reasons I was so keen on the move to Washington State was living in close proximity to the mountains and especially the snow. So it's a little sad that over the course of this past winter my first visit to the snow came just a little over a week ago in May. Our mountains were all quite snowy still, so I spent a while looking at trip reports on Washington Trails Association for hikes that would at least be considered passable without any special equipment.
Read MoreIt's probably one of the most recommended activities for travelers headed to New Zealand's south island and it sure doesn't disappoint. A cruise on Milford Sound is an absolute must on any visit to Fiordland. With the gorgeous blue water, the peaks surrounding the sound, and the possibility of seeing penguins - it just doesn't get much better.
Read MoreBeginning from the car park at Puerto de Izpegi, which sits right on the border between France and Spain, the Frontier Views Walk outlined in Lonely Planet's Hiking in Spain book certainly lives up to its name. This 10.5 km hike wanders between open fern covered hillsides, beech forests, and high up to wind swept ridges - all the while crossing back and forth between the two countries.
Read MoreOften overlooked by it's more famous neighbors, there are oodles of beautiful things to see and do in Kootenay National Park - just the drive down Highway 93 alone is absolutely breathtaking. The short hike to the paint pots is an easy trail to give your legs a stretch, take in beautiful views, and explore some of the area's history. It's about 1.5 km to the actual Paint Pots and the first 1km out to the ochre beds is wheelchair friendly.
During my first trip to New Zealand, I took the short ferry ride from Auckland to Devonport rather a lot. Each time I would walk the coastline to North Head Historic Reserve to take in amazing views of the surrounding islands, explore bits of history, and just enjoy the beautiful space.
Read MoreLocated in Parque Natural de Gorbeia, the Itxina massif is full of features to ignite your imagination. With over 500 caves, jagged limestone cliffs and labyrinths, beech forests, and stone huts - it's hard not to create stories of some mysterious world high in the mountains of Basque Country. In fact, one of the caves inside this limestone world is said to be one of the regular homes of the Basque goddess, Mari.
Read MoreWhen someone tells me they're traveling to Spain and looking for recommendations; San Sebastian (Donostia, in Basque) is my first thought for city destinations in the northern part of the country. It's charming, beautiful, and steeped with history.
Read MoreWhile it's one of the most popular hikes in Banff National Park it's also one of the most beautiful places I've been - the scenes are simply striking.
Read MoreYou've probably seen images of the Blue Lagoon all over Pinterest and in travel ads - in Seattle you'll see Iceland Air advertisements on the sides of buses and on big billboards. Those ads are why we scheduled our 20 hour layover adventure in Iceland and planned the Blue Lagoon as our final stop.
Read MoreSo when I mentioned that I was going to Iceland on the way to my longer adventure in Europe - I don't think I included it would be a whirlwind stop of about only 20 hours!
It was an amazing adventure and quite possibly one of my favorite days (certainly the longest one!) of our entire trip.
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