Geo: 37.7792, -122.42So far this has been somewhat of a laid back trip by our standards. I am writing my blogs in the morning which allows Alex time to get some additional sleep. Don't get me wrong, I still run the boy around quite a bit, but he has been hanging in strong. Yesterday we woke in our host Victor's place, gathered our things, then headed out with San Francisco on our radar. About a 45 minute drive, we entered the city. I kept seeing the Golden Gate bridge off in the distance while Alex screamed that is not it, the Golden Gate bridge is RED!!! Well that's kind of dumb, maybe the gates will at least be Golden. We navigated the city in what seemed like a giant circle due to all the one way ... read more

Geo: 37.1852, -122.23I didn't know what to expect using Airbnb for the first timeand was a little apprehensive. However, that was short-lived as Alex and I werevery pleased by our accommodations. While we shared a bathroom with otherrooms, it was very clean and quiet. There was a common area as well as akitchen. Complimentary coffee and fruit was provided by the owner Vienna. It was very much like an adult style hostel.Alex awoke and we were soon off to have a nice breakfast before heading out toour first vacation destination, Big Basin Redwoods State Park. We drove througha quaint historic town following breakfast and headed out of San Fran. My planwas to get close to our camp then go shopping at a nearby Walmart or comparablediscount grocer. Surprisingly, we quickly left the city scene and were ... read more

Geo: 42.3585, -71.0596One of the perks that Allstate provided on Saturday was a city tour and a tour of Fenway Park. Fenway Park is the oldest baseball stadium in the United States that still hosts professional baseball games. It is the home of the Boston Red Sox. We got up early walked around the area where the hotel is, and had some breakfast. Around 10 a.m. they loaded us on some buses and took us over to Fenway Park it was an amazing backstage look at the historic Stadium. Following the tour we were treated to all of the baseball food available at the stadium along with beer and sodas. Annrmarie and I dtuffed ourselves with hamburgers hot dogs and french fries. We were able to walk up to a bar and restaurant that overlooks the ... read more

Geo: 12.43, -86.89Our ambitions for this trip were much greater than our actual ability to see everything we intended. Annemarie and I both have a great love for waterfalls and were really looking forward to visiting a popular one on the other side of the island. In order to make this happen, we were going to have to plan things down to the minute because we wanted to be in the city of Leon by 6 in the evening to book our grand finale activity. The particular outfit we wanted to go with would not take online reservations and closed at 6. Unfortunately, in a Central American country, or any Latin country I have visited for that matter, you really can't have both the layed back culture, and the ability to plan down to the minute. ... read more

Geo: 12.8654, -85.2072Imagine waking up to the orchestra of nature featuring howler monkeys singing in the distance, birds whistling in the trees, parrots chirping as they fly over, and, Annemarie says not to forget, the rooster that apparently had no idea it was only supposed to be crowing in the morning. Then try to picture, your eyes slowly opening to the lite glow of the sun at the foot of your bed, as it rises over the lake. That is how we awoke on our 3rd day. Quick out of bed and still too early for coffee, I usher Annemarie out the door in search of the monkeys we heard in the distance. Lucky for us, we spotted then having breakfast in the fruit trees. A baby hung on tight to its moma as she climbed ... read more