Last week I covered the first part of our whirlwind Arizona trip – which included wedding festivities, eating, and hiking. With one more day on the trip, and left to our own devices, Ryan and I set out for a little road trip to see as much as possible. Thanks to the advice of our friend’s husband, a Phoenix local, we left Sunday brunch armed with loads of suggestions. Three hundred miles later, I was a little bit in love. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Vacation
Long Weekend: Arizona
In late March, I had the opportunity to travel to Arizona for a friend’s wedding. I must admit, Arizona has never been a “must see” on my list – aside from the Grand Canyon, which, if we’re being honest, I only had a vague notion of being “out west” somewhere. With beautiful wedding festivities dotting the long weekend, there was still plenty of time to sightsee. In addition to a rehearsal dinner, wedding, and brunch; we managed to hike, eat, drink, and road trip our way through Scottsdale and greater Sedona in a little over three days. Our adventure covered just enough to know I want to go back. As with any great trip, the pictures don’t do it justice. Here’s part one of our adventure. Continue reading
Adventure Flashback: Seattle
My recent posts have all been very lengthy, so I thought I’d switch it up with something a little more visually appealing. Not that I don’t love the human aspect of posting a picture of an exploded spaghetti squash inside my microwave. But whatever. We don’t really live a Pinterest-worthy life over here, folks. How about a little change of pace with some travel photos?
Last October Ryan and I spent some time in the Pacific Northwest – we flew into Portland and spent a week with my family, and then headed north for a long weekend in Seattle. We’d never been to Seattle, and it seemed silly to go all that way yet again and miss out. The first leg, gallivanting around Portland and the Oregon coast, was by far the highlight of the trip. But it was nice to wind down the last few days with just the two of us wandering around Seattle without any agenda except to eat, drink, and see. Continue reading
Travel Flashback: Mackinac Island
(And no, sadly the title of this post doesn’t rhyme. It’s pronounced “mack-in-aw”.) Last summer, I wrote about my trip to Mackinac Island, up in Northern Michigan. I hadn’t been there in about twenty years, and instantly fell in love. It almost pains me to say that, since it’s considered by some to be a tourist attraction here in Michigan, but oh well. It’s for a good reason. The island is charming to pieces, the views are spectacular, the dining is fun, there’s interesting history, I could go on. But instead, I’ll just relish in the trip again with a little flashback…
To get to the island, you have to take a ferry or plane. There are no cars on the island, only horses and bikes. So as you approach the ferry docks, you get an incredible view of hotels, cottages, and the marina. Continue reading
Manistee National Forest
A few weekends ago my family convened on the west side of the state for a little mid-summer camp trip. The weekend was filled with a lot of laughs, and even more mosquitos. Here in Michigan people have been talking about how this was going to be a banner year for mosquitos because of all the rain and melted snow – and they’re not joking around. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Yikes. The beach was the only respite. But the weather was gorgeous, complete with exciting thunderstorms at night. We ate like kings, and were re-introduced to the magic of pie irons. Oh, the possibilities! I felt like Bubba Gump listing out all the ideas for what to concoct in the pie iron over the fire. (Forrest Gump? Not a timely reference, I know.) It was fun to camp with my brother and his family, something we’d never done before. Lake Michigan never disappoints, that’s for sure. It’s always a little different, which is always good in my book.
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