Travelling Lore

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...

At the top of my California honeymoon list, aside from Napa, was a stop to see the redwoods.  I'd seen them in photos and heard about them from friends, so it was high time to cross them off my bucket list.  When in Rome California, right? Redwood National Park was a bit out of the way for us since we were on a mission to keep to our itinerary and see as much of California as possible in two weeks.  However, Humboldt Redwoods State Park was within a reasonable driving distance from our big California loop.  The redwoods are simply stunning in person and it is nearly impossible to get a representative photo of them.   Even though we visited in July, a high tourist month, we often found ourselves alone on the sunlight-dappled trails.  The awesomeness of the trees and the calm of the forest make it easy to pause and reflect on the breathtaking beauty nature.  It is amazing to be able to become aware of and visit different land...

Happy New Year, everyone!  I never realize how quickly the days and months go by until I've faced the end of yet another year.  Looking back, 2016 was an incredibly busy and eventful year for me.  I found myself traveling frequently for work, though always on a tight schedule, which unfortunately left little to no room for exploring the new cities in which I visited.  Fortunately, though, I was lucky enough to travel on my personal time in addition to my professional responsibilities.  I also reflected a bit on what I accomplished as a travel blogger and what it means to me to be a travel blogger in the foreseeable future. ADVENTURES My husband and I started off 2016 by booking our first trip to Charlottesville to explore some lovely Virginia wineries ( Barboursville and Horton ) and breweries ( C’Ville-ian , Blue Mountain and South Street ).  In March we took our annual family trip to Captiva, Florida, which is always a welcome retreat in the...

Previously I had mentioned that Mendocino, California has a wonderful restaurant, MacCallum House, for fine dining.  However, if you're an East Coast-er or not a foodie like me, you might never have heard of the coastal California town of Mendocino.  Mendocino is about a 3.5 hour drive north of San Francisco.  Along the way you'll pass dozens of wineries.  I wish we had been able to stop in to one or two of them, along with Anderson Valley Brewing, but alas, we were on a time schedule so that we could get to our dinner reservation in time (we drove up from the Russian River Valley area). Mendocino, located about 9.5 miles south of Fort Bragg, gets its town name from "Cape Mendocino" as it was named by early Spanish navigators in honor of Antonio de Mendoza, who was the Viceroy of New Spain .  Mendocino's population may be on the smaller side, but it's actually on the National Register of Historic Places in Mendocino County.  The town has also been ...

When you're on your honeymoon, you have to treat yourselves to at least one fine dining experience.  We're not typically ones to spend exorbitant amounts of money on food (read: we're not big foodies, though we appreciate a good meal), but given the occasion we gave ourselves the green light. Driving north from Napa, we headed up Route 1 to Mendocino, a romantic coastal town in which time seems to have stalled.  With a population under 1,000 people, this town is built around one main street with local shops branching off the side.  We stayed in the Hill House Inn , which boasts traditional Victorian style rooms and is situated in Victorian gardens and native vegetation.  I absolutely loved this hotel and really wished we had more than one night there; I would recommend it to anyone interested in visiting the historic village of Mendocino. Mendocino is a cooler and more breezy than Napa due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.  So we bundled up and w...