TravelBlog » Stephanie and Andras

Stephanie and Andras - Stephanie and Andras

Thanks for following our trip! We've finally arrived in Seattle and although we are no longer living on the road, we are continuing to blog about our travels throughout the great Pacific Northwest and the country, so stay tuned! Sometimes we get a bit behind on our blogs when the "real world" beckons, but bare with us and we promise to get the updates/photos out as soon as we can.

Back-Logged Blogs: San Francisco, Willamette Valley Oregon, Cascade Loop Scenic Drive

Trips In the Works: Saving for our round-the-world adventure, estimated departure 2012

Click on the trip tabs below to read about our former travels, or click below on "First Entry" to read all our blogs. If you like what you read, feel free to subscribe to receive email alerts and recommend us to other travel-bloggers using the button below.

When not travel-blogging, Stephanie also writes a regular travel column on North American Travel for a Seattle online news-feed. We're also members of Couchsurfing - if you're coming through the Seattle area, check our CS Profile. We're happy to serve as your Seattle ambassadors!

International Health-Service in Ecuador
May 12th 2007 -» May 19th 2007 Cross-Country Summer Road Trip
May 26th 2007 -» August 27th 2007 Exploring the Pacific Northwest
August 11th 2008 -» ongoing

Private Message Subscribe 250 Forum Posts Top Photos Blog Map Private Blogs

Trips Guestbook Search Blogs Favorites First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: April 9th 2007
Last Login: October 28th 2009

Blog Entries: 46
Photos: 636
Recommended by 10, Recommends 9

TB Code: [blogger=35953]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Stephanie and Andras, order by Date newest first.

By Stephanie and Andras
April 26th 2009

Tip-Toeing Through the Tulips North America » United States » Washington » Mount Vernon

Odd Man Out
One yellow tulip stands above a sea of red petals during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

Did you ever watch the Wizard of Oz and in that scene where Dorothy et al are running through the endless red poppy fields trying to reach the Emerald City think "I wish I could do that!" Same here! Well we finally made it to the tulip festival (fittingly, a few hours north of Seattle, our own "Emerald City"). I've been wanting to visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival with Andras for years. Not only does the area transform into a photographers dream, but acres upon acres of wildly colored flower fields cannot manifest any feelings other than happiness. Last year [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
December 22nd 2008

Dreaming of a White Christmas North America » United States » Washington » Seattle

Happy Holidays from Seattle!
A decorated tree, snowman and the Space Needle greet us during our sunrise walk through Seattle Center.

We've been hunkered down riding out the extremely uncharacteristic winter weather for the past week or so, and it finally looks like it's going to let up this weekend. Who would have thought Seattleites would actually be looking forward to a forecast of 40F and rain. One of the news reporters this morning commented that we'd be waving the white flag of surrender to Mother Nature but it would just blend into the background. After a series of snowstorms have hit the area, we're waiting out the longest stretch of snow this area has seen in several decades! I'm not complaining. [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
October 10th 2008

Sipping and Savoring the Local Flavor North America » United States » Washington » Prosser

Vines on Red Mountain
It looks bright and sunny, but it's really cold and windy. These are growing in the sandy soil of Red Mountain AVA.

There is something so inherently classy and romantic about the great wine regions of the world. The quaint reserve of Riems, the misty mornings in Napa Valley, the feed store in Prosser with the heavy-set lady pushing an equally hefty child in a stroller out front....okay that last one doesn't exactly fit the idyllic image you get when you think of wine country, but then again this area is young. Up and coming. It hasn't yet traded it's rustic, agricultural charm for formulaic tourist facade, although that transformation is on the horizon. It's that very principle that makes the Yakim [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
September 30th 2008

Opportunities of Solitude - Into the Rain Forest North America » United States » Washington » Olympic National Park

Ferns Covered with Morning Dew
Yes, those are dew drops, not rain drops. The morning fog carries lots of moisture.

From the driest area in the state to the wettest in a little over two hours, we rounded the east side of the Olympic Peninsula heading towards the Hoh rain forest. I must say, for being one of the few temperate rain forests worldwide, it was remarkably dry on the days we were there. Not that I am complaining, it's just that you don't expect an area that receives over 12 ft (3.6 m) of rain a year to be so....well, sunny. Had I done my research I would have learned that unlike tropical rain forests, temperate rain forests receive most [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
September 29th 2008

Getting There is Half the Fun, Usually North America » United States » Washington » Sequim

Off the Sequim-Dungeness Coast
We happened upon this sight just as the sun was beginning to set.

This trip has been forever in the making. I'm honestly surprised to be writing of it as I thought it would never happen. We had originally planned to go last March. Yes, I realize it's almost October, but we had a week off and our brains swam with visions of rainforest camping and montane hikes. And then a huge storm blew through and flooded the campsites while mudslides completely demolished the roads. The trip was post-poned until summer. Summer came and went. The weather was good but the scheldule was not. If I wasn't working Andras was. On my days off [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
September 11th 2008

Learning What Counts Downtown Seattle North America » United States » Washington » Seattle

Totem Pole in Pioneer Square
A 60ft Tlingit totem pole brought to Seattle in 1899 and still standing in the historic part of town.

Slowly over the summer I've began to knock some things off the long list of to-do's and have been getting out and exploring the little town we know call home. I thought it would be difficult to start seeing the city with new eyes, passing by the same side-streets and details that in a foreign place would snatch my attention away for hours but that here, being so quick to move on, they barely register in my mental memory, but in all fairness it didn't take much but a different commute. That's right, I said it. I had the most mesmerizing [View Full Entry]

Strands of Peppers are Pike Place Market

By Stephanie and Andras
August 11th 2008

For something greener, try something "Rain-ier" North America » United States » Washington » Mt Rainier

View from Golden Gate Trail
Avalanche Lilies with Pinnacle Peak in the background

It's been nearly one year to the day since we arrived in the Seattle area and we still hadn't made the time to go visit the mountain. The mountain I look at nearly every day, the mountain that symbolizes the northwest, the same mountain I used to reminisce about when I was away....yes, that mountain. At 14,410ft Mount Rainier dominates the Seattle sky-scape and when the weather is clear and the haze is low it appears suddenly on the horizon, so close you feel as though you can almost touch it. Still it has eluded out grasp, just beyond our reach, [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
December 19th 2007

Getting the full "Monte" North America » United States » Nevada » Las Vegas

Vegas Strip at Night
Even though the sun is down it's technically still early by Vegas standards -- only about 9 o'clock or so.

Tucked out of sight in the middle of no-where is a city dedicated to the seven sins. Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Envy, Pride --all alive and well out in the Nevada desert. More remarkable than a city built upon the hedonistic desires of man, young and old, is the recent desire to market the resorts as family destinations. If you wipe the lipstick off a prostitute and dress her up in a habit does it really make her a nun? My feeling is that it really just adds deception to the list of ills. Vegas is a place where consumerism [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
August 4th 2007

The Long Journey Home North America » United States » Washington

Crater Lake, OR
We hardly spent any time here, which was a shame, but we were able to stop long enough to have a picnic from the rim and enjoy the crystal clear cerulean blue waters.

How do you wrap up the last three months of your life? With reflection on the past or wistful thoughts of the future? I suppose all that will come with time, but right now more than anything we feel like slapping each other five and toasting with a little self-congratulation, because we did it! We completed the journey we planned in the manner we envisioned with the budget we hoped. In fact we did more than just survive the last ten or so weeks on the road, we enjoyed it immensely. I remember when we left there wasn't much support being [View Full Entry]

By Stephanie and Andras
July 30th 2007

Walking amongst the Giants North America » United States » California » Redwood National Park

Rising into the Mist
Coastal Redwoods towering above us near the Tall Trees Grove, home of the tallest trees on earth.

Driving up US 101 the landscape changes back from the warm fields of southern California and one dominated by tall, shady evergreens, a prelude to the drops in temperature and increased precipitation we can expect the further we head up the Pacific coast. It's a welcome sight to be sure, certainly one familiar to a Northwest native, but also a clear indication that our trip is quickly coming to a close. There's just enough left for a last hurrah before we turn the engine key one last time and gun it towards our final destination. On Friday we stopped in Leggett, [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Stephanie and Andras

Stephanie and Andras | Stephanie and Andras | Travel Blog

Stephanie and Andras - Stephanie and Andras

Blogs & Travel Journals