We didn't have far to go to get to this wondrous place. Amy's mom Sharon came along for the trip. Yay! It was an easy 1 and a half hour drive from our house, if even that. Just one turn off the highway, down a two lane windy road and we were there! On the way there we didn't pass any cars. It was almost as though we were the only ones on the road that day! We neared the park entrance and though it was beautiful, it didn't seem anything like what we were anticipating; nothing like in the pictures online (we were pleasantly surprised later). The lady at the entrance was super cheery and answered all of our questions. Such a nice woman. She seemed to really love her job. So we started our ... read more

We drove up to Mt Lemmon to escape the triple digits of Tucson weather. Granted, it's not that much cooler of a climate. But seeing as though it is more than 6000 feet above the city it definitely drops a few degrees. Instead of feeling as though you've stuck your head in an oven, you get a nice, gentle, cool breeze. The Catalina Highway (really a 2 lane road) slowly winds up the mountain for a little less than 30 miles, climbing over 6000 miles and traversing such biodiversity that it's been likened to driving from the Sonoran desert to Canadian plush forests in a super short distance. It really is a breathtaking place and by the time you've reached far above, the city is only reminiscent of speckles of rocks. We went there a couple ... read more

Our first trip to Arkansas. And boy were we pleasantly surprised at how great this place is! We went with my mom to visit her brother & my cousin. Or my uncle and her nephew if you'd like to think of it that way too! We spent a few days wandering through the winding streets of the quaint town of Eureka Springs, caught a few local acts, toured a haunted hotel and just spent quality time with family. ... read more

Our original plan was to go with my mom to Disneyland but those plans fell through. Determined to still do something fun, and out of town, we decided on a trip to San Diego to breathe in the fresh sea salt filled air, and go the the ginormous zoo. We stayed in a hostel in the gaslight district. Mom had never stayed in one and her first experience was definitely one to write about! The first night the three of us had a private room, but the second night jeff had to be in an all male room and mom & I were in a co-ed room with about 5 other people. As is the norm at hostels, people were friendly, noone messed with our stuff, but the perils of sleeping in the same room as ... read more

After a day to drive back home, repack, get a little sleep and recoupe from our boarding trip to Granada we were on the road again. This time, in the opposite direction to Lisbon, Portugal. It was about a 4 1/2hour drive. We arrived in the early evening, checked in to our hotel and then wandered toward Bairro Alto to check out the nightlife. The hills were SUPER steep to get up there, and we knew about the trams that could take us to the top, but didn't see any running. We passed by one, as our legs were ablaze, but it looked as though it was retired for the night. Or perhaps it hadn't started service yet. After all, we were out "early". Early being before 1-2am. Most of the clubs & bars are dead ... read more