Easing East

After Nashville, the east coast was calling us back, so we packed up Gillie and hit the road to North Carolina. I was ready to put my National Park annual pass to work once more before its April expiration date, but we found out that the Great Smoky Mountain is free because this. Our visions of long hikes and stretching the legs were cut short by rainy snow, and we only left the car for a few moments to do dog things and snap some photos.

I imagine things were looking very pretty underneath all those clouds. Maybe I didn't pick the ideal time of year for my visit since the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed, too, but that only gives me another reason to go back.

Thank you to the friendly people who took our family portrait. Thank you to the National Park Service for having $80 annual passes. Thank you to Lainie and Warren for wearing my handmade hats.

Next stop, Asheville!

Southeastern Spring

Spring Break happened last week, and as a person who has not had a spring break in some time, I can tell you that it was a miraculous feeling. Spending your hours with 4-8 year olds can be a ton of fun, but I was pretty excited to only interact with humans in my age range for 7 straight days. Not needing to set an alarm was pretty great, too.

The first stop was Nashville, which I knew would be a marvelous place since everyone I've ever met from Tennessee has been of the friendliest and most down-to-earth nature imaginable. Lainie (you already know her) met me at the airport, and her amazing friend Lindsay let us stay in her amazing apartment for the whole weekend.

It was cold[er than Austin], yet sunny, which turned out to be the perfect weather for walking around and snacking on scotcheroos (link warning: very, very addictive), hot chicken, and the most incredible donuts you'll taste in your lifetime.

Anyway, we two-stepped a bit, too, so it must have all evened out.

There's No Place Like...

Thankfully in my summer planning, I saved the most coveted and anticipated destination for last...

New Jersey!

I spent a lovely week beaching, yog-ing, shopping, and eating with my mom, then clicked these heels all the way home to NY to watch my friends get married on top of a mountain. The day was perfect, the ceremony was beautiful, and later on there were sparklers and a bonfire. What (s')more can a girl wish for? Congratulations Cait & Jon!

Thanks to Mom, friends, and my favorite date for an unbeatable week!

7 Parks in 7 Days

On the last two days of our trip, we managed to visit three more National Parks, bringing our total to seven in seven days. What better way to celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service?

Plan your own route here.

Nurtured by Nature

Sometimes when you’re lucky enough to find yourself on a long vacation, you notice that similar things keep happening to you over and over again and, because of them, your vacation tends to take on a certain theme. On our latest road trip adventure, that theme turned out to be the power of Nature to make or break our plans.

We discovered that when we drove along, flying by the seats of our pants, without forcing or timing anything, we would end up seeing unexpected, mesmerizing stuff like this:

Lake Powell, AZ

Beginnings of the Grand Canyon

And whenever we planned, plotted, and Yelped our way into a city, Nature would remind us of her right to step in and throw us a different agenda. We realized this when we were forced to sprint through the second half of our Sedona vortex hike as threatening storm clouds rolled in. And when the list of hip bars and restaurants to visit in Phoenix was cut short when we stepped out the door into the dust storm/thunder/lightning filled night. The next day, flash flooding on the interstate interrupted our quest for the best sopapillas in Albuquerque and kept us pulled over until after the restaurant had closed. And I already told y’all about the forest fires.

Storms in Sedona

During our time in the campgrounds, our bodies learned to adjust to the schedule of the sun. We woke up early, stayed outside all day, started our fire as the sun dipped down, and went to sleep once the cinders settled into ash. We didn’t need much more than the excitement of the changing flames to keep us entertained until bedtime. When we traveled to the bigger cities, we tried to fight this newfound rhythm and go against the flow of things, but Nature had different plans for us. However, she had already let us graciously cool off in our campsite river after a 102 degree day in Zion and given us so many other lovely gifts on the trip, so we weren’t too upset about our updated schedules. Plus we still ate other sopapillas in Albuquerque and our trip to Phoenix was saved by a bomb-a** breakfast at Matt's Big Breakfast. Thanks Matt! (Asterisks because I'm pretty sure my mom and her friends make up 90% of the readers of this blog).

Sunrise outside Albuquerque

So, Nature, we dedicate our trip to You. We are feeling more grateful than ever for the constant reminders of your power and our own efforts to bow to you as we sit back and appreciate the way things are meant to be.

Utah, Part III

Summertime camping at popular national parks means the excitement waking up well before you want to, sometimes driving to multiple campgrounds, circling loops of tents, and asking around to find out who is leaving and when. Arriving at the right place at the right time means you'll be able to secure your spot for the night. Luckily most campers are friendly and they'll let you stake your claim to their site while they pack up, or they are park rangers and will let you know which sites have already opened or are about to. We felt very fortunate to be able to camp where we wanted every night without having to wait in huge lines or battle anyone for a section.

We followed B's family's recommendation to enter Zion from the East, which turned out to be excellent advice since you drive from not-Zion into a tunnel, and when you pop out, you're in Zion. It looks a lot like this:

We seemed to be having even more "right place, right time" success because we soon saw a man pulled over taking pictures of bighorn sheep. B had recovered from my moose/branch and bear/deer confusion in Yellowstone, so he agreed to pull over too. I'd finally found the animal that I'd waited the whole trip to see:

We saw another one about 2 minutes later, but it was so still and so close to the road that I thought it was a statue and didn't take any pictures. Note that if you see a very life-like animal in a national park, it's probably not a statue!

Zion was also the first place that I've ever been afraid of heights. Like paralyzed with fear, turn around, I'm not going levels of afraid. We had decided on a hike to Angel's Landing since we found it in a book of the most beautiful hikes in the world. On the way, there were signs reminding us to bring a lot of water and telling people who are afraid of heights that they should reconsider. It was 102 degrees and we are not afraid of heights, so we were more worried about death from dehydration than any height-related nervousness.

No problem. The majority of the hike was like this:

And B was wearing his "Vacation Dad" outfit so I felt very secure.

We got to what we thought was the last segment and it seemed a little scary, mostly because there were a lot of people on the trail headed in opposite directions, but we didn't think at all of turning around or not going to the top. We even took this photo saying, "Ha! Too bad for all those people who are afraid of heights. They don't know what they're missing."

Thennn we got over that hump and saw the real Angel's Landing summit, which features a 2-foot wide ridge trail with 1,000+ foot drop offs on both sides and looks like this:

So I made us turn around and go back down! (Sorry B!) I don't regret it now since we later read that Angel's Landing is one of the deadliest hikes in the world and fit, reasonable people die there just from stumbling or missing a step. Maybe I'm getting old, but when we hiked another of the deadliest hikes (Huayna Picchu), it did not give me the same feelings of terror that this one did. I only took this one photo of the view in my frenzied fearful state:

We descended, avoiding the feisty rock squirrels, to do some more tourism, and I felt ok about it. But if you are a normal, athletic, confident person who wants to do it, Angel's Landing does look pretty cool and you should do it! Otherwise, Zion is a breathtaking place where you can find many other ways to entertain yourself. 

Utah, Part II

Utah's national parks are a world of dreams and magic.

We hiked the Fairyland Loop trail in Bryce Canyon to get a view of the canyons from all angles, and I can't recommend it highly enough. We spent the whole day in a constant state of amazement, and when I walked out of the tent at night to head to the bathroom (squat down at the edge of our campsite), I saw the biggest shooting star of my life. Thank you Utah for your incredible skies and scenery!

Utah, Part I

I didn't have many expectations about visiting Salt Lake City for the first time since I hadn't heard much about it, but the name implied that there would be a lake... probably a salty one, bordering or surrounded by a city. When I dreamt of going there, I imagined taking walks near the lake, watching the sunset over the lake, or maybe even doing a few lake-related activities besides swimming because the stinging of the Dead Sea taught me better than that.

Silly me. We had an Iceland situation on our hands. 

From our pre-trip research, which tended to occur in the last hour of driving before reaching any of our destinations, we learned that the lake is 30-60 minutes outside the city and that people don't go there. Allegedly it's hot, smelly, and full of flies. So we changed our plans and instead climbed up to fancy Park City to eat delicious sandwiches, take pictures with animal statues, and watch the sky turn pink.

Then we went back down to take pictures of LDS buildings and sleep, since a city full of Mormons doesn't offer much in the way of nightlife. On to the next!

WOW-oming!

Phase 3 of the trip brought us to a new state for me and a new phenomenon for both of us: forest fires!

As we crossed into Wyoming, we began to notice a lot of smoke in the air and started to hear gas station gossip about nearby towns being evacuated due to wildfires in the area. We had a "wouldn't it be cool if...?" moment* and, about 10 minutes later, the universe provided. 

*"Wouldn't it be cool if we could see a wildfire up close while we're conveniently protected by our car and far enough away that it won't impact our lives or our travel plans so we can go to Idaho and eat square-shaped ice cream in peace?" It was pretty sobering to see rows of homes about to be eaten by the flames and the firefighters who were in the air spraying water from helicopters or on the ground trying to push the fire back from the road. We felt guilty taking pictures while so many people's lives were being uprooted, but once-in-a-lifetime experiences sometimes call for photos and so we summoned the war photographers in us and proceeded.

While we were busy looking back at that (^), we didn't notice that these were slowly sneaking up on our right:

The Tetons!

The Tetons gave us shelter and an unbelievable view for the night while we entertained ourselves with long hikes in inappropriate footwear. B showed off his fire-building mastery and I cooked dinner on my brand new Coleman 2-burner camp stove, which I would regrettably end up breaking on the second night of camping, but which would be fine since I'm afraid of gas explosions anyway.

Next, we went to Yellowstone and decided to do everything in one day, a decision that was exhausting but one that we still stand by. The stones were really yellow, Old Faithful erupted while we were in the parking lot, and I learned that branches often look like moose antlers and your driving partner can get upset if you call out too many animal photo opps that are actually not.

The Earth was full of hot springs and gurgling pools and was feeling very alive! WOW-oming certainly lived up to B's nickname for it since I don't think we said any words other than amazing, incredible, beautiful, awesome, and long breathless wowww's for most of this phase of the trip. We would have loved some more time to explore, but Utah (and showers) beckoned.

Colors of Colorado

In case you haven't been paying attention, Colorado has been busy making all the other states jealous by having just about EVERYTHING to offer. The whole time we were there, it felt like nature was performing a personal show for us, and she was certainly pulling out all the stops. Making up for all the hours of flatness and windmills of the Northwest Texas drive, we crossed the NM-CO border during this sunset: 

And made our way to Denver to spend a few days with B's sister, Kelsey, who should sign up for AirBnB a.s.a.p. because she is an incredible hostess who makes us feel better than at home every time we visit. Thank you Kelsey! She took us all over the city, and of course, to Red Rocks, the concert venue of all concert venues.

Red Rocks provides enough entertainment in itself that I would see anyone play there, but lucky for us one of the most musical geniuses of all musical geniuses, Sufjan Stevens, came through to knock our socks right off.

Among the red rocks, Father Sky and Mother Earth continued their dazzling dance by giving us this (these) rainbow(s):

After our short stay in the Mile-High City, we headed over to the Higher-Than-Mile City to find out what summer in a ski town is like. I'm sorry to break it to Killington, Mount Snow, Smuggler's Notch, and all of the other East Coast resorts of my youth, but Steamboat Springs is the real deal. Much like the rest of the Colorado, I can really only describe it using superlatives! It was the first time in my life that I wished for summer to immediately turn to winter.

We spent the rest of the week hiking, tubing, eating, and shopping our way around town while enjoying some uninterrupted family time and our 2,000 sq. ft. porch! There were so many more sunsets, more rainbows, and more unforgettable views that we sometimes had to laugh in disbelief.

If you're still not convinced about Colorado's beauty, here is what the backyard of a regular old Chipotle restaurant looks like there:

We were sad to leave on Sunday (and even sadder that our alarms were set for 5 a.m.), but we packed up the car and rolled onwards to see what the rest of the Wild West had waiting for us.

A Wandering Whirlwind

We made it through Colorful Colorado, Wild Wyoming, I-Don't-Know Idaho, Utopic Utah, Astounding Arizona, Not-so-bad New Mexico, and now we're back in TOO BIG Texas! I had my first square ice cream and we learned that dust storms are a real thing to watch out for.

I imagined The Road having a lot more internet than it actually did, so I've got a backlog of adventures to tell you about. To start off, here are some signs from some states:

Hope your Monday was even half as good as an unemployed yogi's spent buried in loads of laundry, grocery goods, and car crumbs!

Namaste.

Happily Home

I've been back in my Austin home for a whole week and it's easy to see why I missed it. Before I pack up and leave again, it's been nice to take the time to appreciate some stillness.

Right now, home means...

This place:

This gardenin' gal:

This musical man:

These life-changing tools:

This ol' thang:

And a whole heck of a lotta these:

We leave tomorrow morning for Colorado, and I can't write you a post about packing since I've barely done that yet! At least my backpack didn't have time to gather any dust. See you soon!

Travel, Behind the Scenes

As glamorous and thrilling as it appears in social media posts, at times in real life, worldwide travel can look a little different. It's not all laughing and playing and feeling #blessed as the pictures would lead you to believe. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's exhausting, scary, or emotional. Even taking a small step outside your comfort zone can leave you feeling a bit raw.

Sometimes "travel", a word we've come to associate with adventure and luxury, means swallowing your pride and sleeping on the floor of the airport for ten hours! Sometimes it means wearing the same pair of socks until you can smell them from outside your shoes! Sometimes it means getting homesick, even though you feel silly since you're only gone for a month and the home you're missing didn't even exist until a few years ago! But it's a feeling and you're having it. It can even mean eating grilled cheese for the 25th day in a row because your host mom is respecting your vegetarianism and you are thankful, but would like a little variety! 

Sometimes it means carrying all your stuff on your back... and your front!

In reality, there are train cancellations, miscommunication, lost suitcases, and layovers. For all the good it brings, travel can also be uncomfortable, confusing, and exasperating. And then, of course, we remember the new places, friendships, and cultures it leads us to, and somehow it all works itself out. Travel can mean so many different things to us, but in my brief 28 years of experience, it has always-- and I mean the every-single-time type of always-- been worth it.

A Taste of Tel Aviv

I fell hard for Tel Aviv and was dragged almost kicking and screaming away after a way-too-short introduction. 

This city is full of life and energy, with restaurants and bars packed with young people spilling out into the streets until the middle of the night, every night. It's quite the opposite of all my mom's fears about the dreaded Middle East.

We stopped to look up directions one day only to have 3 different people and a police officer offer to show us the way. Theirs is an innocent friendliness, too, not the kind that comes with a price or a stalker like in some foreign cities. The Israelis seem genuinely incapable of seeing you unhappy. 

We had planned to have dinner one night with my dad's former colleagues who now live in Tel Aviv. In typical Israeli fashion of going above and beyond, they picked us up from the airport, gave us a guided tour of our neighborhood, introduced us to three different flavors of halva, and ordered five desserts off the menu so we wouldn't have to choose. They even tried using their local charm (and hebrew) to talk our hotel receptionist into giving us a room with a seaside view.

Halva, a traditional sweet made from tahini or nut butters

And we confirmed it wasn't just the people we knew who were like this-- bartenders talked to us through dinner and delivered complimentary shots, a local man in the ocean talked to us for an hour sharing facts about his country and asking about the U.S., breakfast waiters served up mimosas and delicious homemade bread with smiles-- everyone seemed like they were constantly paying it forward without expecting anything in return. Their enthusiasm was practically bubbling over-- about Israel, Tel Aviv, and life in general-- and it was contagious.

So all I can say is, if you can, get here as soon as possible! And for goodness' sake give yourself more than two days! Plus a gigantic thank you to the Steins for showing us such wonderful hospitality and introducing us to so much of Tel Aviv!

Our Big Fat Greek Vacation

Crete is an awe-inspiring land of contrasts-- a conflicting mix of old and new. It's hot, but relief comes in lightly on the sea breeze. It's rocky, but those rocks run right down to the soft sandy coast. It's dry as you head inland, yet its edges are surrounded by unforgettable water colored 10+ different shades of blue. It's got local families with naked babies bumped close up against suntanned couples on their romantic getaways. It's a place to relax, and a place to come to life, with nightly rounds of Ouzo and dancers jumping, yelling "Opa!"

It's baklava, and then more baklava... Oh wait, that's not a conflict at all. We barely managed to pull ourselves away from the temptations of our all-inclusive resort to explore nearby Heraklion, but here's what we found, plus a beachy sunset for good measure:

Magic the Dog

When traveling in Europe, Americans often cite the dining out experience as a major difference in cultures. European servers take their time, and allow you to as well. Since most of them don't work for tips to the level that American servers do, they won't hurry to turn your table or even bring the bill until you request it. For westerners this can be, at best, relaxing, and, at worst, anxiety-inducing.

My mom and many of my girlfriends can attest that, by U.S. standards, I'm one who likes to linger. I've left checks unturned and had water glasses refilled long past my welcome. But last week, at a cafe in Luxembourg, when my uncle's friend Mike lights his second post-meal smoke, I feel an impatient tapping in my knee as my hands start to fidget in my lap. Thirty minutes later, as he considers a third, my American eyes roll skyward in disbelief. But grey clouds roll in across the sky threatening sudden rain, so we stay.

I sit under the cafe's tarp, the traces of our shared crepe long gone, and I'm forced to come to terms with my culture. I become frantically aware of my heart beating and my fingers purposelessly grasping at each other under the table. My mind dances in circles away from the conversation, fooling itself into thinking there is somewhere else I need to be.

But in the middle of the third cigar, something changes. A couple settles into the table next to ours with their brand new puppy in tow. His playful confusion and naive curiosity manage to distract me, and most other diners, from my plight. I forget how long we all crowd around, smiling and sharing the spark that only a baby animal can bring. When we leave the cafe, I ask his owner for the dog's name, and she translates for me, "In English it's... Magic". I smile and thank her. As I pet him and say goodbye, I wonder what other magic I've missed in my haste.

If you’re interested in travel around Luxembourg or other European destinations, consider Trainline, Europe’s biggest train and coach app.

Castles, Ranked

I've started to figure out a possible reason why more people don't visit Luxembourg as they hop and skip across Western Europe: It's rainy! It's rained almost every one of the last 30 days. But usually only a little at a time. And let's not forget that Austin has done that to me too (looking at you, May 2015).

So we got a little bit wet as we ventured out for our castle tour, but we found that Luxembourg has many more palaces than we could squeeze into our 3-day trip. Some of them now hold hotels, youth hostels, and restaurants so you might end up near one without trying, and, in an 80 km country, the next one won't be too far away.

4. Château de Mersch

I don't think we would've even visited this very un-castle-like castle had it not been less than a mile down the road from Mike's apartment. It's currently being occupied by administrative offices, doesn't give off many castle vibes, and could easily be driven past if you were out searching for any distinguishing features that castles normally supply. I would have given it a 1 out of 10, but it was saved by the cool dragon statue out front. 2/10

Uncle Rick slaying le Dragon de Mersch

3. Château de Clervaux

We skipped going inside this one, due to cold rain and afternoon sleepiness, but it was indeed very castle-y as it stood out on the hill above town. Its classy white walls in contrast with the lush greenery of the Ardennes forest region were enough to raise my spirits after spending a day in the rain wearing absorbent canvas shoes. As we visited the church next door, we were lucky to take in our first Luxembourgish wedding and hear "Lean on Me" performed in English by the choir. 7/10

2. Palais Grand-Ducal

Our first castle of the trip is home to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the guest of honor for Luxembourg's National Holiday/birthday party, which was happening the day we arrived in the city. For us, that meant kebab, crepe, and beer trucks in the main square and a free concert by the Queen Symphony Orchestra (an orchestra that plays songs by Queen, not songs for the royal family). This is a very castle-like castle, and the only one we saw that is fully functioning today. We walked by as guests were leaving the Grand Duke's party, and I am taking off 2 points for us not being invited. 8/10

1. Château de Vianden

Vianden is the type of castle that sneaks up out of the hills and takes your breath away before you wind down hairpin turns into the town below. We were able to go inside and tour the reconstructed bedrooms, ballrooms, and dining areas. There was also an unexpected and slightly out-of-place art exhibit featuring paintings of Albert Einstein, Superman, and other iconic figures in neon blacklight paint. If you can't find what you're looking for in a castle at Vianden, you may want to end your search.  10/10

If you’re interested in travel around Luxembourg or other European destinations, consider Trainline, Europe’s biggest train and coach app.

Lovely Lux

Luxembourg is quite charming. We've nearly drunk and eaten our gracious host, Mike, out of wine and cheese. If the euro declines any further in value, I think we'll buy a castle and stay!

If you’re interested in travel around Luxembourg or other European destinations, consider Trainline, Europe’s biggest train and coach app.

Brexit!

In spite of all the newsworthy excitement going on in the UK right now, our overnight stay in London Gatwick was pretty uneventful. So we Brexited out of there yesterday afternoon and made our way to Luxembourg to enjoy the fromage and bretzels!

The joke was on us though. Had we stayed a few more hours we could be buying Harrod's out of tea and biscuits for 73 cents on the dollar.

Dubrovnik's Walls

It seems to me that Dubrovnik is a city that sucks us into its lengthy history, no matter how hard we try to resist and taint the past with our iPhones, kitschy souvenirs, and loud foreign banter. Maps will do you little good in Old Town, where unexpected winding stairwells sweep you from your predetermined path and lift you up to breathtaking panoramic viewpoints, however opposite they may be from your intended destination.

You’ll be thankful for the towering city walls letting you know that, while you’re not so certain where exactly the “You Are Here” circle might be placed on your map, you’re still well inside of Old Town, and once you find a church or a bell tower you will be on your way.

You can get comfortably lost here, as you search for a wifi hotspot or an air-conditioned bar. Instead you’ll find yourself in someone else’s garden patio or tucked away on a basketball court overlooking the rocky beach. There’s no need to worry—the ocean’s salty breezes will be there to reassure you that this city has withstood much more than teeming crowds of tourists and hungry merchants pushing their wares. The friendly faces and upward-looking awe of everyone around you remind us visitors that it’s not all buying, selling, photographing, or hunting for the right glass-bottom boat to take you to the next offshore island.

It’s Dubrovnik’s subtle charm—the ladders on the sides of shoreline rocks, perfectly placed for an impromptu swim; the climbing staircases and dead-end paths that lead to abandoned archways or hidden coves, seemingly designed for lovers sneaking away from the watchful eyes of passersby; the sneaky cats that sulk in shade and graze the smaller side streets—that we’ve really come to see.

And in every darkened corner or concealed space, you’ll find that there’s an extra place for you in the Old Town’s extensive history of protection. Centuries have passed, and this ornate fortress is still here to offer you respite from whatever present invaders you might find sailing up to your shores.