Travelling Lore

Up until this point in our travels we had luckily not experienced any, so to speak, travel "failures."  We always have an itinerary before we leave and we usually more or less stick to it.  The exceptions that arise are usually due to tired feet or, somewhat jokingly, church sightseeing fatigue.  (Europe has a lot of churches, ok?) Crater Lake National Park in Oregon was a place we were both particularly looking forward to seeing with our own eyes.  It was one of our longest days of driving (4.5 hours roundtrip) on our entire honeymoon because we opted for a day trip from Dunsmuir, California (read here ) rather than spending a night any farther north. The closer we drove to Crater Lake NP the less ideal the weather became on our route.  It rained, it drizzled, it was foggy.  By the time we finally drove into the park there were forecasts of several inches of snow within the park...in July!  Fun fact: Crater Lake National Park sees an even hi...

A short drive away from the Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir, CA is Castle Crags State Park .  The Castle Crags rock formation is nothing short of majestic and you can easily see it from the resort if you're overnight-ing there.  These mountains are over 6,000 feet high at the summit of the tallest crag, and are more than 170 million years old.  To give a short geology lesson, these crags intruded the area and were exposed when glaciation eroded the softer rock surrounding the formation.  Pretty cool that glaciers were able to expose something so amazing for us to explore in our lifetime (which is only a speck in geologic time). Though there are 28 miles of hiking trails in the state park and many sites to camp, but we were very limited on time.  We opted to stick to the main Vista Point parking area and take a short hike to spectacular views of Castle Crags (pictured) and Mount Shasta (not pictured, about a quarter turn to the right).  Mount Sha...

If you're someone who loves staying in unique hotels, so to speak, then add the Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir, California to your list.  My husband loves seeking out unique places in which to overnight; his ultimate goal is to one day find us a tree house hotel (that isn't insanely expensive!). At first glance from the road it looks like an old railroad museum, but you can actually overnight in one of these old, decommissioned train cars.  We opted for the caboose.  I honestly had no idea what to expect, but it was surprisingly spacious in the caboose--we even had room to do some laundry courtesy of our bath tub and some camping rope (strung across the caboose ceiling). Unique sleeping experience aside, I also loved that the resort had turned a couple of old railroad cars into dining cars.  So while you have the option of exploring around town for a bite to eat, you can also walk over to the on-site restaurant.  The ambiance is turn of the cent...

Everyone has their own travel style.  My husband and I are the type of travelers who prefer to create and follow an itinerary.  We believe that this is the best way for us to see as much as possible in a given amount of vacation time; it allows us to prioritize our "must do" list.  However, that doesn't mean we always follow our original itinerary 100% to the tee.  Situations arise or moods or interests change and so we accommodate for these moving pieces when necessary. One of the things we almost never plan are where to eat or what shops or cafes to pop in to.  When we were in California for our honeymoon we drove around a lot.  Those who have been to California know what I mean: it's a big state!  We happened to be at a point in our trip where we had one of our long driving days.  And long driving days mean pit stops.  In the U.S. many people pull over at designated state rest stops, some more interesting than others.  We were...

One of my favorite types of establishments to visit while traveling are breweries and Boston is no exception.  Having toured the Samuel Adams Brewery , we decided to make the walk through the Seaport District to Harpoon Brewery's Beer Hall .  Coming from Northern Virginia where all of the breweries around me are small and locally owned (and make great beer!), stepping into Harpoon's Beer Hall was nothing short of awesome. I absolutely loved the decor of the place: wooden furnishings; modern but medieval-inspired chandeliers; long beer tables that reminded me of a German Oktoberfest (bucket list item!).  To say it was crowded was an understatement, but we managed to squeeze our way into a small section of table and enjoy a few flights.  I'm not a big fan of their UFO White that a lot of bars carry.  However, I was quite pleased to see that there was so much more to choose from once inside Harpoon's mothership.  Oddly enough, I found myself enjoy...

After our scenic drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway, we finally made it to Asheville, NC and checked into our roadside hotel for the night.  Hotels are pretty expensive during leaf peeping season, so definitely plan in advance if you want to save a few dollars by booking your hotel early.  Asheville is a city in western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains that, aside from the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway drive, boasts the Biltmore Mansion, music heritage, and a great food and beer scene. As an early Christmas present from my fiance's parents, we were able to visit Biltmore Estate .  The Châteauesque Biltmore House was built between 1889 and 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt II and is currently owned by a Vanderbilt descendant.  The entrance fee is pretty steep, but I thought it was pretty interesting to walk through a house that was more or less advance for its time, such as installing a 70,000-gallon heated swimming pool and one of the nation's first...

A couple of years ago back when my fiance and I were still a relatively new item we decided to take a weekend to go explore Asheville, North Carolina.  In order to get there you can drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway , which is known for having overlooks and pull offs to small hikes so that you can explore and find spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The drive is extremely popular during autumn when the leaves are changing colors. There are a ton of overlooks between Virginia and North Carolina.  Since it was a 7-hour drive from northern Virginia to Asheville, in the interest of time we opted to stop at Rough Ridge Overlook , one of the most well-known trails along the parkway. The hike isn't very long, but some parts are steep and you have to navigate over some small boulders, which can be slick depending on recent weather.  There's also a boardwalk to climb, which was built to keep hikers from destroying the ecosystem.  Once you get to t...

Last month I had the opportunity to visit Jackson, Wyoming (also known as Jackson Hole) for work.  We had long hours and minimal time for exploring, but I was able to capture a few moments on my camera phone.  Jackson Hole is known as a popular vacation destination for those visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks as well as for those looking to visit the nearby ski resorts. Dinner and flights at Snake River Brewing after flying into town. Mural outside of Snake River Brewing. Found a fossil on our first day of work. Snapshot of the Grand Tetons. Double rainbow after a downpour on the way to dinner. Piglets in the farm animal petting zoo before entering the rodeo. Opening of the rodeo, my first time attending one ever! With our work finally complete, we took some time to enjoy Kelly Warm Springs .

Switching gears for a hot second away from my Adriatic Adventure vacation round up (don't worry, I'll resume the recap soon!), I wanted to share my mini vacation to Acadia National Park from Independence Day weekend.  I first got inspired to see Acadia National Park from the U.S. Interior's Instagram , which posts tons of beautiful photos from across the U.S.  Let me just say that what I saw of Acadia NP in such a short time was gorgeous and I can't wait to go back one day!  New England has some really picturesque spots, let me tell you. We arrived the Wednesday leading up to the Fourth of July weekend.  After checking into Hanscom's Cottages , we took the free local bus to Bar Harbor, the main tourist town by Acadia NP.  There we had a delicious lunch at Galyn's .  I had the most amazing crab cakes (caught in Maine!) ever!  And we loved that the owner collected art and displayed it through out the restaurant. Our first day there (more lik...