Lago Di Braies

It’s been a little more than a year since I’ve written a travel story, but right before the start of 2018, I told myself I should start sharing these stories with you guys again. It’s one of those things that, when I blogged regularly, made me really happy, so why wait till January 1st to start over?!

This year has been one full of travels and adventures.

Road to Hana (Maui, Hawaii)

Late July, for the first time in months, I found myself in a place where I had some free time. It was probably the first time since my 3 year stay in the U.S. that I had no one expect me to be back at work at a certain time. I was free to do whatever and it felt great! I decided to take advantage of my friend’s stand-by plane tickets and to just go somewhere I’ve always wanted to go to. I decided Oahu, in Hawaii, would be a great spot to explore. 

Yellowstone Lower Falls

In June, I went on a family road trip from Salt Lake City to Jordan (Montana), with stops in the most beautiful places. Among those was Yellowstone National Park, which is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to.

Please don’t make me put on chains!

How many of you are girls and have (just like me) no clue how to put chains on the wheels of your car when it’s snowing heavily? It had been hot the whole month of December in California, so the last thing I thought I’d have to do is to drive in the snow. Of course, two days before my road trip a snow storm passed through Sequoia and there I was, stressing out about having to put those chains on my rental car. I never had to actually put them on, thank God, but it gave me a good amount of stress. 

Sequoia National Park

About 2 weeks before Strider was born, I was on my winter break and decided to take little trip to Yosemite and Sequoia. I had been wanting to see those national parks for a while now, but I never seemed to find the time. I planned the trip very last minute, rented a car 2 days before I left and I must say, it was one of the coolest trips I’ve made to date. 

Drive through San Francisco

During last month’s road trip we made a very quick stop in San Francisco as it was on our way to Slaiden’s grandparents. We basically drove through and saw the iconic bridge, Lombard Street and some view points. After having taken a couple of pictures like that, we parked the car and walked by the water. I loved seeing all the sea lions by Pier 39, but I couldn’t believe the amount of tourists I saw (I believe we were there on a Wednesday!). 

Little guy, big trees

Have you ever been watching something that made you think how amazing nature is? I was watching Slaiden run in between all these trees that were 10 or 20 times taller than he is and it just amazed me. Those trees are probably hundreds of years old and have many more years to live, while this is all so new still for Slaiden. In the 19 months of his life he has been to lots of places and he has seen many things, but he hasn’t been climbing in lots of trees yet. Getting the chance to do this in Moss City was amazing. 

James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

A couple of days into our road trip of a couple of weeks ago, we stayed in Half Moon Bay for a 2 days. We stayed with Stacy’s godparents and it was the best. They took us to a couple of places and I could also use their bike to go explore and take pictures by myself whenever I felt like. It was nice to just be around people as kind as they were.

Cookies & elephant seals

When on a road trip it’s important to not only focus on the monuments and places you have to see, but to also make time for little stops along the way that are a little less touristy. A couple of months (or years?) ago, Stacy and Paul read about this Brown Butter Cookie Company in Sunset magazine. They made a quick pit stop there to pick up some cookies last year, and since Stacy was crazy about those cookies we decided to drive by on our road trip too! There were samples of all the different flavors they offered and I must say, they tasted amazing! If you’re ever driving by Cayucos (CA) and you’re a cookie lover, just like me, make sure to pay the Brown Butter Cookie Company a visit!

Airstream

The most unique experience during the California road trip was definitely the night we slept in an airstream. When Paul first told me that he had booked a night for us in an airstream that was parked on someone’s driveway, I was immediately very excited. Most of the people I know have had at least one camping vacation with their family, but I never did that, so you can probably imagine how excited I was to ‘camp’ in this airstream.