Instead of heading out-of-state for Memorial Day we planned a week-long return (2021, 2022) to the NC mountains. As the title of this post indicates, it simply wasn't meant to be... On 11am Friday...
Blog posts from mountains
NC Mountains, October 2020: Smoky Mountain National Park
We have planned trips to Smoky Mountain National Park multiple times over the years, and each time something has caused us to cancel the trip - sick dog, bad weather, etc. This time we did finally...
Patagonia: Petrohué Waterfalls + Osorno Volcano
Our early morning flight out of Punta Arenas meant we had plenty of daylight to explore after checking into our B&B and grabbing some lunch in Puerto Varas. We decided to start with the Petrohué...
Patagonia: TDP, Day 2: Salto Chico, Mirador Cuernos
On our second day in Torres del Paine we took the southwestern route back into park. This road was quite bumpy with some construction and a lot of potholes, but of course, the views were amazing....
Patagonia: TDP, Day 1: Laguna Azul, Amarga, Sarmiento, Nordenskjöld, Salto Grande
Since we were starting from and returning to Puerto Natales all in one day, our first day in Torres del Paine involved the most driving. In the morning we entered via the Amarga gate on the...
Spain 2018: drive through Andalusia
Our transit day between Seville and Costa del Sol didn't quite live up to my hopes and plans, in large part due to the rainy, dreary weather. Hopefully we can see Zahara de la Sierra and some of the...
Scotland 2018: Glen Coe, Hidden Valley, Glen Etive
Needing a break, our friends took Wednesday off from hiking, so Leandra and I set off on our own to explore Glen Coe. On an earlier trip we had driven through and loved the views, so for this trip...
Memorial Day Weekend: NC waterfalls, day 2
Waterfalls We only got to see one waterfall on Sunday due to unpredictable weather and simple bad luck. Elk Falls was closed due to an accidental drowning and several other falls were inaccessible...
Memorial Day Weekend: NC waterfalls, day 1
Where We Stayed I decided on Morganton as a base for our waterfall weekend and found an Airbnb rental within a ten minute walk of restaurants and breweries downtown. We had our own en suite bathroom...
UK 2015: Glencoe and Ben Nevis
Heading north out of Callander we stopped briefly at the Trossachs Mills for a few shots of Hamish and Honey, the wooly highland cows. A few miles down the road, and though my car registered the...
Summer Euro 2013: Lanzarote sights, days II & III
On our second day on Lanzarote we headed along the west coast to El Golfo. First we stopped in town to find an ATM... then continued along the side highway LZ-701 through the barren landscape......
Summer Euro 2013: Lanzarote sights, day I
The landscape of Lanzarote is stark and dramatic, with volcanic rocks of all colors surrounding small pockets green vegetation. We were based in Playa Blanca so we mostly explored the southern and...
cog railway to Pikes Peak
My dad insisted on all of us taking the trip up to the top of Pikes Peak and because the roads were closed, that left the cog railway. When we picked up our tickets they let us know that the track...
waterfalls and Rocky Mountain National Park
After acquiring our rental car (Hertz takes forever, so I only use them when we get quadruple credit on Southwest), we headed west to Boulder and our first stop of the trip—Boulder Falls. The sun...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)