Tag: weekend getaways

President’s Day weekend in Charleston, South Carolina

President’s Day weekend in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina, one of the best cities in the south brimming with American history, charming boutiques, and tasty restaurants. President’s Day Weekend in Charleston is a terrific time of the year to visit. Background I have been fortunate enough to spend President’s Day Weekend in 

Phoenix, Arizona Weekend Winter Fun

Phoenix, Arizona Weekend Winter Fun

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was heading to Arizona to celebrate my birthday. I love traveling to Arizona during the winter months. Even when the temperatures drop below what the locals prefer (as they did on my trip), they are far 

Birthdays: Treat Yourself to Travel

Birthdays: Treat Yourself to Travel

Yeah for your birthday! I do not know very many people who enjoy getting older (besides kids that is). Regardless of whether you embrace getting older, pretend it isn’t happening or actively work to prevent it, those birthdays roll around once a year no matter what. I do not necessarily embrace getting older, but I figure you might as well enjoy your birthday. It is the only day you get to be selfish and no one minds. Official holidays are great, but you share them with everyone else in the state, country or planet. Since you may only know a couple of people who share your birthday (if that), it makes the day of your birth unique and special. (I am sorry if your birthday falls on a holiday.)

Celebrate your birthday with a trip

I suggest you take the time to make your birthday all about you. Naturally, I suggest you take a trip to celebrate. Since my birthday falls in February, I like to head somewhere a lot warmer than Idaho. This year, I am headed to Arizona to spend the big day (and weekend) with my girlfriends. Technically, I could visit them any old weekend (and I have). But it makes my birthday so much more fun if I plan a trip around it. I end up looking forward to it instead of dreading it. Growing up, I looked forward to snow days on my birthday. Now I look forward to a new adventure.

Birthday horseback riding in Hawaii.

Be creative in your planning

I like having a February birthday because travel is very affordable. Whether I go to another cold climate or head south, it is not too hard to find a decent price on a plane ticket. The crowds are thinner as well. R’s birthday falls in the middle of March. Unfortunately, that is the middle of spring break season and it can be difficult to find decent prices on flights, hotels and rental cars. Even if you want to go to places that are not considered spring break destinations, it just costs more to travel in March (same with summer and the holidays). If your birthday happens to fall during a peak travel time, start planning early. Also, you may have to think outside the box a bit. R had a great idea for her birthday this year, but flight prices would not cooperate. After a couple of weeks of research and brainstorming, she came up with a new, great idea: road trip to the other side of our beautiful state, rent a cabin and get spa treatments in Jackson Hole. The right adventure for your birthday is out there, you just have to find it.

Our friend C’s birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s. If we could convince her to leave home for the holidays, she could go on an epic birthday trip each year. But alas, she is not quite ready to give up her family traditions. And that is okay. It is her birthday so she gets to do what she wants.

Acadia National Park in February
Acadia National Park in February. Sure, it’s cold. But it is beautiful and the crowds are nonexistent.

Milestone birthdays are great excuses for big trips

I have been known to go a little crazy on milestone birthdays. After I turned 29, I figured I might as well start planning something epic for 30. I was not even sure I minded turning 30, but I wanted to make sure I had fun plans just in case. The morning I turned the big 3-0, I woke up, put on ski boots and hit the slopes of Zermatt, Switzerland. It was sunny and warm and I will never forget the views of those blues skies and snow-covered mountains. The next year, our travel buddy S turned 30. She remembered our time in Switzerland and decided to make big plans herself. The morning she turned 30, we went scuba diving in Bali. (Side note: even without the skiing-in-Switzerland thing, I was A-Okay turning 30. However, when my little brother reached that particular milestone, I had a much harder time coping.)

Scuba diving in Bali
Happy 30th birthday to S!

Planning and saving are crucial

That is the interesting thing about birthdays (milestone or not), you know they are coming. There are plenty of big events in life (e.g. promotions, kids, marriage, etc.) that you never see coming. But a birthday has a definite countdown. That makes it really easy to plan for. Last year’s birthday was 35. It was not a major milestone, but I was at a point in my career and my personal life where I could celebrate it in a major way—and I took full advantage. I spent the entire month of February traveling around Australia. On the actual birthday, I did a reefsleep on the Great Barrier Reef. It was an experience of a lifetime and I am so grateful I used my birthday as an excuse to sign up. It took me two years save and plan for that month-long trip, but it was worth every penny saved and every extra hour worked. You can bet I am already thinking about 40 and what I want to do for that. Do I want to turn 40? Hell no. But I am going to regardless, so I might as well plan something fun.

Birthday selfie out on the Great Barrier Reef reefsleep.

Seize the moment

My coworker just celebrated his 50th birthday. He mentioned, probably around his 47th or 48th birthday, that he wanted to do something big for 50. Hawaii was brought up several times. I whole-heartedly agreed and encouraged him to make plans. It was actually frustrating to see the big day coming closer and closer without him committing to anything. (Side note: I know this coworker well enough to know that there were no financial, personal or professional reasons for his lack of commitment.) He did finally decide to take a trip to Texas to celebrate. He did not take the trip on his actual birthday, but he still called it his 50th birthday trip and he was happy with his choice, which is all that matters I guess. His experience taught me an important lesson though: if you do not seize the moment and make plans, birthdays, even the milestones, come and go just like any other day.

snow skiing in Zermatt
Seizing the (birth)day in Zermatt, Switzerland!

Non-travel fun can still be had

I realize that it is not feasible for everyone to go on a trip, big or small, for their birthday. If funds are holding you back, I would like to point out that even the smallest travel fund grows over time and if it takes you five years to save up a for a special birthday trip, I think it will be worth it. However, you may be dealing with unavoidable life circumstances that make travel unrealistic. If that is the case, then there are plenty of ways to make your day special. At the very least, one should take the day off work (in my opinion). I even know of a company that gives its employees a holiday on their birthday. It is a day to do what you want to do. Sleep in, get a massage, throw a party, treat yourself to a fancy dinner, get a manicure…or do nothing at all. It is your day to do what you want.

Conclusion

Your birthday is your special day. And whether you like it or not, that special day comes around once a year. I suggest you plan something fun. If you can swing it, I suggest you plan a trip. It will give you something to look forward to and is the perfect excuse to get out of town.

Five Things To Do in Salt Lake City

Five Things To Do in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is not the most exotic location on the planet. However, there are plenty of fun things to do and see there. It is an especially good location to begin a trip out west. Due to its proximity to Idaho, it makes an 

What to do in Boston Depending on Your Length of Stay

What to do in Boston Depending on Your Length of Stay

Recently, R and I spent a day in Boston, Massachusetts. Now one day may not sound like much, but even a short amount of time in Bean Town is better than no time at all and I am going to share with you some tips 

Top Five Things to See in St. Louis, Missouri

Top Five Things to See in St. Louis, Missouri

Last July, B and I ventured to St. Louis, Missouri, to attend the Antiques Roadshow. While there, we were pleasantly surprised by several attractions and left with a very positive view of this city, which, to be honest, we weren’t expecting much out of. This post will discuss five St. Louis things we saw and did so next time you find yourself randomly in St. Louis, you’ll have as nice of a time as we had. (To be fair, I’ll leave the highlight of the trip, the Roadshow, off this list because it isn’t a permanent fixture.)

5. Delmar Loop

From our downtown hotel, we hopped on the St. Louis Metro Red Line and headed to the Delmar Loop. This is a hip, groovy part of town that is chock full of restaurants, entertainment and funky shops. We walked up and down Delmar Boulevard and enjoyed looking at the different stars in the St. Louis Hall of Fame (kind of like in Hollywood, only these are St. Louis people). I was especially pumped when I found Nelly’s Star. To be perfectly honest, I was singing Country Grammar all weekend.

Sign for the Loop in St. Louis
Joining the hipsters at the Loop

In Delmar Loop, we did one of our favorite trip rituals of wandering around a local grocery market. This particular one had a very robust section of Asian goods…not sure why. We also saw our first example of a quick, cheap place to eat in St. Louis that we did a few more times. At several grocery stores, there is an excellent selection of prepared foods. Not the gross kind like a Tornado at a gas station, but good quality. Instead of a sit down restaurant where you have to wait and pay a tip, you can pick what you want and get sushi, barbeque, sandwiches, etc.

We also found a few cool shops and enjoyed spending our money on interesting local items before the heat and humidity finally did us in and we had to catch the train back downtown. Sadly, last month Delmar Loop was the site of vandalism after a what-had-been peaceful protest. Several of the shops that we had visited in July had their windows broken. Hopefully, by the time you visit, the Loop will have been restored to how it should be.   

4. Barbecue

It seems like most regions of the south are known for their barbeque. To be honest, I don’t have a refined enough bbq palate to be able to distinguish what city does it best. I can say, though, that barbeque down south just tastes better than it does in Idaho. After we finished up at the Roadshow, we walked down the road from the convention center and B found a highly recommended place on her phone called Sugarfire. So we decided to stop in. It was around 3:00 in the afternoon, so we walked right into the establishment, ordered our bbq and took a seat. It was quite delicious, so much so that I was in no mood for dinner later that night.

If you are going to hit up Sugarfire, you might want to get there during in a non-peak hour. We had no idea we had lucked out the first time with no line; whenever we walked past this place around meal time, the line was out the door.  

St. Louis BBQ
Which sauce to choose (I tried most)

3. The Arch

The St. Louis Arch is iconic, and all other times I have been to St. Louis I have made a point to go to the visitor center and get a stamp in my passport and one time, I even took the elevator to the top. However, when B and I visited St. Louis, I got a new appreciation for the Arch. Instead of being a destination, we enjoyed it more as part of the landscape. We took a walk around the park that begins at the Arch and runs along the Mississippi River. Then we sat at the base of it and watched the tour helicopters take tourists on quick flights around the city while eating pizza in the plaza in front of it. Most magically, we watched the sunset set it on fire from the roof of our hotel.

The Arch was built in 1965 and was dedicated to the American people. I hadn’t fully appreciated how cool the Arch was until I looked at it as something other than as a structure–this trip helped me think of it more symbolically, as a representation of ingenuity and ambition.

Sunset on the St. Louis Arch
Just chillin’ in front of a St. Louis sunset

2. The Cardinals

I have seen the New York Mets play baseball at 90% of the major league games I’ve attended. I’ve seen them in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C. and even interleague in Baltimore. So it came as no surprise to me that when we decided to see a St. Louis Cardinals game, they would of course be playing the Mets. (This would all be cool if the Mets were my team..they aren’t.) ANYWAY, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make a game so we didn’t buy tickets beforehand. This made our experience at the stadium even more magical. Here’s how it went: we showed up and bypassed the ticket office line by purchasing tickets at an electronic kiosk. The machine spit out our tickets, receipt and coupons for free hotdogs and drinks (Miracle #1).

We then walked through the gates and a ticket checker handed us our commemorative St. Louis Cardinals baseball caps so we could support the hometeam (Miracle #2). We then found our way up, up, up to our cheap seats. You’d think we’d be sad about our nosebleed seats. However, because our seats were so high, we were in the shade. Yes, instead of roasting in the heat and humidity, we were the first row of shaded seats (Miracle #3). We didn’t anticipate we would last long at the game because of the heat, but we ended up watching the whole game. The Cards won and we were fed and clothed for a very inexpensive ticket.

St. Louis Cards Stadium
Cards v Mets, of course

1. Cahokia

A few months before I found out I had been selected to get tickets to the St. Louis Roadshow, I came across an article about an ancient culture in the southeastern United States. I was astounded. How is it that I have a degree in American History and have dragged B halfway around the world multiple times to see ancient structures and I had never heard of this in my own backyard? So embarrassing! I resolved to visit at my earliest convenience. Fortunately for me, I did get tickets to St. Louis so I knew I’d be adding this piece to the Roadshow trip.

The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is located a short 15 minute uber ride across the Mississippi River into Illinois. The grounds are about 3.5 miles and look like a very well manicured lawn, with some hills every now and then. I had purchased a Groupon to the site, so B and I each got our own ipods and could learn the history of the place as we climbed the hills. The Site is very well managed and we learned so much about the people that lived here a thousand years ago who had decided to carry bucket upon bucket of dirt to create hundreds of these mounds. If you visit St. Louis, the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is an absolute must. I’m quite surprised that this park is only a National Historic Landmark and not a full-fledged National Park.

Cahokia State Mounds
Cahokia State Mounds

Honorable mention: Insomnia Cookies

I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention the fine establishments in St. Louis called Insomnia Cookies. One day we weren’t quite hungry enough for a proper dinner so we popped into an Insomnia Cookie and had a delicious ice cream cookie sandwich–which we did manage to eat most of before it melted in the sweltering heat of a Missouri summer. This bakery delivers cookies ’til 3:00 a.m. Guaranteed the students at local universities make good use of this place.

Conclusion

St. Louis has a pretty bad reputation. Yes, we did see some rough areas and wouldn’t have felt comfortable in a lot of places after dark. That being said, B and I were pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable a time we had there during a long weekend. There’s always good places mixed in with bad. So if you find yourself in St. Louis, don’t stay locked up in your hotel room. Explore!

All 50 States Club Part 3 (of 3)

All 50 States Club Part 3 (of 3)

Welcome to the all fifty states club part 3! Parts 1 and 2 got us most of the way through the all fifty states club of America. This last post will pick up where we left off in North Carolina and highlight interesting/fun things I 

What to do and see in KC

What to do and see in KC

Work brought me to Kansas City twice in the course of one month. Lucky for me, I have a good friend (we will call her AA) who lives in and loves KC. She provided me with helpful hints and suggestions about what to see and 

All Fifty States Club Part 2 (of 3)

All Fifty States Club Part 2 (of 3)

The all fifty states club part 2 picks up where we left off in the first part of this series. This series explores interesting things to see and do in all fifty of the United States of America. (You can also go here to read part three.) We will now pick up with the middle. Incidentally, have you ever noticed how many of the states in the U.S. begin with the letters ‘M’ and ‘N?’ Except for Louisiana, this post will focus solely on states that begin with these two letters. Weird.

Louisiana: Swampland

Everybody needs to go to New Orleans at some point. When I am traveling I usually lump together big cities as basically all the same in my head. Well, this generalization doesn’t work for NoLa. It is one of a kind. I have been here two times in the last few years and I can recommend a lot of things: cemeteries, ghost tours, WW2 museum, French Quarter, American Quarter, jazz festivals, the list can go on and on. But what I want to highlight here is the swamp tour B and I took.

We arrived at the swamp after about an hour driving from downtown New Orleans. We piled on a boat and for the next few hours, our tour guide powered us around swamps, pointing out gators, homemade fishing bobbers made of milk cartons and empty plastic bottles, and the interesting plants and birds native to this habitat. My favorite part of the experience was listening to this guy; I had no idea that Adam Sandler was spoofing people by the way he talked in Water Boy. But sure enough, our guide sounded exactly like that. Classic.

Holding a baby gator in LA
Gators and Swamps

Maine: Snow

A few years ago, B’s and my work trips to the East Coast fortuitously occurred around the same time. Like we’ve said in previous posts, when work takes you places you really should make good use and take the opportunity to explore somewhere new. We did this and took a trip around the Northeast. Maybe not so fortuitously, it was the middle of February and the Northeast was experiencing a crazy snow season. I’ve never seen snow that high! It was as higher than I am tall. When we got to Acadia National Park, it was gorgeous, albeit a frozen tundra. This state was really cool and I definitely want to visit again in different conditions.

Snow in Acadia National Park, a fun part of the all fifty states club part 2 journey
So. Much. Snow.

Maryland: Assateague Island Ponies

On an different work trip to Washington D.C., I rented a car and drove along the mid-Atlantic seaboard. I had watched a program on PBS about the wild horses found on this skinny island that stretches for 37 miles off Virginia and Maryland and wanted to see these guys in person. After driving around for awhile, I turned a corner and there they were. I was on the Maryland side of the island at this point, so the horses are managed by the National Park Service. Their population is kept in check by contraception; on the TV show I was watched someone shot a dart into the bum of a female horse so she wouldn’t get pregnant that year. Talk about crazy jobs! On the Virginia side of the island, cowboy types round up some of the horses once a year and auction them off.

Assateague Horses, seen during the all fifty states club part 2 journey
Assateague Horses

Massachusetts: Martha’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard is an island off of Cape Cod, the part of Massachusetts that juts out into the ocean. Like a lot of Cape Cod, it is known for swanky houses, democrats and people who wear sweaters tied around their shoulders. I spent a week visiting my dad in Cape Cod and took advantage of the handy ferry schedule that takes you the seven miles or so to and from the island. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to be that impressed since I assumed it would be uber pretentious, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I rented a bike and cruised around a few of the towns. My favorite part was the Victorian cottages in the town of Oak Bluffs. These adorable and very well preserved houses look like colorful gingerbread houses. They are small and intricate and frilly, if houses can be frilly. Definitely worth the trip over from the mainland.

Michigan: The Henry Ford Museum

When I was getting close to finishing up all 50 states, I realized I couldn’t come up with a memory of Michigan. This seemed improbable because I had driven from Massachusetts to Idaho and it is on the way. But to be true to my 50 state list, I decided to make a special trip to this state. My experience of choice was the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn. I figured this museum would be all about cars and while it did have a lot of that, it had so much more. I saw JFK’s limo, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from the Ford Theater, and unrelated to assassinated presidents, the bus on which Rosa Parks was riding when she opted to change American history.

Minnesota: Minnesota State Fair

I really like fairs and try to go to the Western Idaho Fair every year. I mistakenly assumed other state fairs would be on the scale of Idaho’s. Definitely not the case in Minnesota. I’m pretty sure this fair is one of the signature events of the year in this northern state. And why wouldn’t it be? I ate fried cookie dough, saw two lumberjacks race each other to cut down a tree using chainsaws, and listened to Sturgill Simpson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard (may he rest in peace) sing. It was, all in all, a magical evening.

Mississippi: High Cotton

As B and I drove through the southern states we noticed a crop we weren’t familiar with. We decided to pull over and check out what the fluffy white stuff was and discovered to our delight we were looking at rows and rows of cotton. We (of course) took pictures and were (rightfully) embarrassed when a nice southern gentleman stopped his car to make sure we were okay and our vehicle hadn’t broken down. No sir, we’re fine, just some yankees who hadn’t seen cotton before.

Missouri: Antiques Roadshow

Okay, truth be told, I had already been to Missouri before we went to the Antiques Roadshow in St. Louis. But it is just one of my favorite memories, so I am going to put it down as my favorite experience in the state of Missouri. You can read all about it in this post, but suffice it to say I had a great time at the Roadshow and was impressed with the host city of St. Louis to boot. I hadn’t expected much beyond an Arch, but we really had a good time exploring this city.

Montana: Glacier National Park

When my brother and his wife decided to get hitched at Glacier National Park, it seemed very fitting. Also fitting is the fact that in Montana anybody can perform a marriage ceremony. Ha! And so it was that a small group of us hiked down a trail and my dad presided as they became a spousal unit. BTW, Glacier is gorgeous. I highly recommend visiting this special park, especially because the glaciers that the park is named for are supposed to melt in the next few decades.

Many Glacier, MT as part of the all fifty states club part 2
Many Glacier, MT

Nebraska: Scotts Bluff

For anyone driving through Nebraska, you should know it takes a loooong time to get from one side to the other. I drove through from east to west and close to the border I stopped in at Scotts Bluff National Monument. It was at this point that I stopped feeling sorry for myself and how long it was taking to get across Nebraska; you see, Scott’s Bluff is on the trail that a hundred and fifty years ago people walked or rode in wagons to get across as they were slowly making their way to Oregon, Utah and California.

Nevada: Boomtown

Nevada: The town of Reno, Nevada, is in between Boise and Northern California. As such, I have driven ol’ I-80 more times than I can remember. We would always pass through Reno and before we started climbing up towards Donner’s Summit we would turn off and visit Boomtown. When we were younger, we would play in the robust kid’s area. But when I reached 18, I started hitting the slots. Early on I hit big and won $250. I probably have lost almost that over the years, but I still like to pop in while I’m driving through.  

New Hampshire: Live Free or Die

New Hampshire’s license plate reads, ‘Live Free or Die.’ We had only been in New Hampshire for a few minutes when we understood why New Hampshirans picked this motto. We were driving up to a red light when we saw multiple cars treat the read light like a stop sign, stopping and then proceeding through the red light. It was clear from oncoming traffic, and even though the law said stop, New Hampshirans made up their own minds and went. Respect.

NH Flag and motto
Live Free of Die

New Jersey: Living in the ‘burbs

Many moon’s ago, my friend and I visited New York City for about a week. Instead of staying in Manhattan, we stayed with her family in New Jersey and caught the train into town (along with all the other big whigs who work in the Big Apple). For several days we explored the hustle and bustle of the big city and at night settled into a comfortable suburban home. At the end of the week, I could kind of get why people would spend two hours commuting instead of living in smaller houses closer to the big city. Kind of.

New Mexico: White Sand

In South Central New Mexico, there is a strange desert whose sand is white instead of the normal tan color. This is because the sand in this area is made of gypsum; in fact, this is the largest gypsum sand dune in the world. If you visit you should go on a hike, but make sure you don’t get lost and wind up next door on the military’s White Sands Missile Range.

White Sands National Monument as part of the all fifty states club part 2
White Sands National Monument

New York: The Mets

On the aforementioned trip I took to New Jersey/New York, I saw and did lots of great things. It’s hard to narrow down to my favorite, but I think it would have to be splurging at a New York Mets baseball game. My friend’s uncle was very generous and took us to see the Mets. He went all out and we ended up with seats just above the Mets dugout. I got to see Mike Piazza up close and personal as I chowed down on a doctored up hot dog. That was my first experience with major league baseball and even though I have yet to get as good of seats, I always make sure to eat a big league hot dog at every game I go to.  

Dugout at the Mets Game
Sweet suits at the Mets

Conclusion

The states in the middle of the alphabet were a pleasure to visit. Have you been to or is one of these your home state? What has been you favorite experience visiting the Middles? Stay tuned for the final segment in this series to hear about U.S. states. Quick–what is the last state of the 50 states alphabetically?…Wyoming.

Bringing new life to old adventures

Bringing new life to old adventures

I have been thinking about bringing new life to old adventures lately. I do not enjoy doing the same things over and over again. That is why I always choose to go somewhere new instead of to the same vacation spot year after year. I