New Year, New Post, New Hampshire

Welcome back everyone (and myself)! I've really let things slide around here. I could give you some excuses, but really it boils down to my lack of motivation. I've had more time on my hands in the past 6 months than I have in the past 3 years. Somewhere along the way I decided no one really cared what I put out on this blog, but to my surprise a few of you have expressed that you actually miss it! So I thought I'd get back at it.

For now, let's catch up!

Way back when, over Christmas break, we spent some time at home with family and got to see a few friends as well. We then headed to New Hampshire to visit Mike, Kelsey, and Addy at their new home. Even (Brother) Mike was also there for a few days!  Since we've gained quite the reputation for long road trips, I will clarify that we flew this time.  :)

I did not plan a single thing for this trip. Not one. My only goal was to soak up quality time with these friends. I was giddy with excitement just to be in the same place for an entire week. This excitement even held us through a plane delay, midnight flight, and arrival time of 3:00 am.

We did lots of things Northerners do, while there. Two days in, we received their first snow fall of the year, which greatly enhanced the experience.

Addy was excited to go out into the snow. Not to play, but to eat a "snow clump." She did want to follow this up by drinking hot cocoa. (Told you she was smart.)

Mike plowed the driveway, like Northern gentlemen do.

We ventured out on the roads- all plowed. And I admired, as all the people went about their daily lives. I thought about rolling down the window and yelling, "It's snowing! Go home!" But, alas, schools and businesses still run, people still go to work. It's hocus pocus up their. (Insert non-so-faint memories of Birmingham's Snowpocalypse 2014.)

I took my first toboggan ride. Exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. Thankfully two local kids tested it out first to make sure we wouldn't die in the brush at the bottom.

We drove to Newburyport and ate true New England clam chowder, and were also introduced to maple candies. Jesse went snow-shoeing, and we played a game of candle-pin bowling (which is like normal bowling except with tall skinny pins, and you don't have to wait for the pins to be reset; however New England people think this is normal bowling.)

We flew out of Boston, so we spent our last day exploring there. Boston is a beautiful place that holds so much history, and you can tell the friendly people are proud of their city. We took a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour, which was a great way to see the highlights. Our tour guide had the ultimate Boston accent, which made the tour extra exciting! The Old State House was built in 1713, and in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Massachusetts from the front balcony. Today it is towered by skyscrapers. The upper levels can be toured, and the basement is now a city subway entrance.

We toured Paul Revere's home.

And the Old North Church where Paul Revere hung the lanterns and began his journey to warn that the British were coming. 

We ended our tour at the Boston Harbor, then warmed up with a cup of tea.

And in case you were wondering....while in Boston we had more clam chowder, a lobster roll, and a lobster tail pastry and cannoli. (The best cannoli of my life.)

New Orleans

Last month I headed down to NOLA for the first time ever. The annual American Academy of Optometry meeting was held there this year, and I had a great time meeting up with some of my classmates and attending many hours of continued education - most of which were enjoyable and beneficial to my ever-increasing ocular wisdom! And we got to play with new diagnostic equipment (that's my retina below).

Thankfully this meeting coincided with fall break, so Erika and I decided to make an extended trip out of it. The girls and I enjoyed a few nights in the part of town we could access by foot near the convention center. Then, on Saturday afternoon Jesse and Brian drove down to meet Erika and me. We had a cute home rented for the weekend through AirBnB. As soon as we settled in, we were ready to explore.

We had lunch at Mother's where we all scarfed down po'boys. But first, you must wait in line outside until you're called, about 10 customers at a time. Then you're allowed in and instructed to stand single file along the counter until your turn to order. And they weren't kidding. The kitchen crew is running about delivering plates of food to customers and to the front counter, so it's best to stay out of their way. But we quickly forgot the brash attitude as we ate our po'boys, which are topped with "debris," This is a scoop of the tiny, tender fibers of meat left in the bottom of the pan. Delicious.

You can't go to NOLA without walking around Jackson Square. The adjacent streets are lined with artists, musicians, and street performers. And if you're lucky (as were we) you might even walk right into a wedding (or three)! This is the heart of the French Quarter, and rightfully so with a backdrop as beautiful as the St. Louis Cathedral.

Just across the street is the famous Cafe du Monde. It's on every list of "must-do/must-eat." I've heard about these beignets for years, and couldn't wait to taste them! We took the impatient route and chose the "to-go" line, where we (somewhat) quickly had our beignets and coffee in hand. If you're not familiar, they are also known for their chikory root coffee. Y'all, the beignets were incredible. They are served in orders of 3. They're so simple - fried dough fritters covered in powdered sugar, but they know just how to do them at Cafe du Monde.

We strolled the streets and admired the French-inspired architecture.

Then we had to experience Bourbon Street at least a little. As you can imagine, it's not my preferred scene, but it was quite the place to people watch! Where else might you see an 80 year old lady in a red tutu have a crowd dancing with her in the street?  You have to walk around a while to absorb it all, except the smell - try not to absorb that (although inevitable). Also worth noting was the number of babies and strollers on Bourbon Street, as evidenced by the photo.....

For brunch the next morning we took some local recommendations and ate at the Ruby Slipper. Our wait time was an hour and a half (!!), so we grumbled and walked with growling bellies all the way to the Super Dome and back. It was chilling to think that people made that same trek to "safety" during Katrina.

The Ruby Slipper's specialty is their take on eggs benedict, which they call "bennies." I had the Smoked Salmon and Eggs Blackstone bennies. Everything on the table was delicious and worth the wait!

We spent the afternoon at the WWII Museum. I will be the first to tell you that history is not my forte, so I enjoy going through museums like this and learning along the way. The museum is stretched out over three buildings and is rather new and impressive. Their display of various aircraft is really neat.

On our way out of New Orleans we stopped for a swamp tour near Lake Pontchartrain. This was my favorite part of the trip. It was a perfectly beautiful day outside, and the boat ride was relaxing. The swamp is not like anything I've experienced before. Our guide would bribe alligators toward our boat with marshmallows, even getting them to jump up out of the water!

I'm really glad we went to New Orleans, and I'm happy to have experienced it with friends!

Seattle and Olympic National Park

Jesse and I have made a point to travel as much as possible before we both have "real" jobs and before kids come along one day.  So, this summer we knew we would take a trip, and we quickly decided on Seattle. The previous summer we met the beautiful West Coast while in California. This was also the beginning of our National Park quest, and with Seattle came Olympic National Park. Plus, we have high school friend Chase and college friends Hannah and Adam to visit while there! It was a win, win decision.

Between summer and fall semesters we took 9 days to peruse Washington, and in like-fashion of our other trips we packed it full! We landed in Seattle on a Saturday around noon, and after a slight mishap with public transportation that gave us an unexpected tour of Tacoma, we arrived at Chase's doorstep ready to see the sites! (There were so many photos I wanted to share I had to make collages out of them. Click to view them larger, if needed!)

First up was Pike Place Market, which is busting with freshly caught seafood and fresh produce, local artists, bouquets of flowers, restaurants, and more. My heart sings for this kind of stuff. Across the cobblestone street is the original Starbucks, of which I took a picture like the good tourist that I am, but didn't care for any of their coffee. Seattle is home to too many local coffee shops to bother with Starbucks, in my opinion. We ate breakfast at Le Panier French Bakery and Cafe where they create the most decadent croissants I've ever encountered! I had to get another before we left Seattle. We were still in Pike Place for lunch, so we ate at Lowell's for seafood with a waterfront view. (Travel tip: move along and avoid the long wait to eat here. I'm sure you can find seafood just as good in the area.)

Jesse and I had the afternoon to explore alone, so we took a walk to see the Space Needle and visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. These are right next to each other, and I highly recommend the glass museum. We didn't have it on our list of "must-see" places, but it was worth the entrance fee to see his amazing works of art! (Travel tip: you can purchase combo tickets at the glass museum to go up in the Space Needle. We had to pass on this due to time, but it saves a good bit if you're doing both!) The weather was perfect while we were in Seattle- even unexpectedly warm. According to locals, Seattle is not the dreary water-logged city you might think!

We took an Underground Tour of the city, which was really ineresting to learn the history of Seattle as you walk through what was the original business district, beneath its new iconic streets and buildings.

The next day we road the ferry over to Bainbridge Island to get to Olympic. This gives one of the best views of the city!

 Olympic is the most versatile NP we have been to. It covers a good bit of land and consists of beaches, a temperate area similar to a rain forest, to the mountain range. It's really amazing to experience so much just within one park! We camped our first night at Kalaloch, between Beach 2 and 3, all of which are covered with driftwood. We made it here just in time to pitch our tents and watch the sunset!

The next day we woke up early to investigate the tide pools. The amount of shore that is exposed at low tide is incredible. The tide can change by 10 feet, revealing barnacle covered rocks surrounded by puddles of sea life! The rest of the day was spent hiking within the Hoh Rainforest. We chose two short trails - the Hall of Moses and Sol Duc Falls trail. Sol Duc Falls is one of the iconic waterfalls of Olympic. With recent drought conditions, the fall wasn't gushing with water, but it was still a beautiful view. We prefer to get a little off the beaten track to enjoy the surrounding nature while forgetting about all of the people. That's when we found one of our favorite spots of the trip, which crosses a bit downstream of the main Sol Duc Falls.

Our second campsite was pretty awesome as well - underneath a huge Sitka spruce tree and next to the Hoh River. We hiked another trail in the rain forest, engulfed in nature's beauty! National Parks are some of the best get-aways because you are fairly off the grid - making do with what food you brought with you and very limited cell service. While you're hiking, the trees really put you in your place as they loom overhead. It's so refreshing to pull out of our everyday lives and strip down to the basics. Even during a busy vacation, hiking in a protected and historic forest helps us slow down and unwind.

We relocated our campsite for the upcoming night (to Mora campground), then hiked yet again! This time 1 1/2 miles down Rialto Beach to Hole in the Wall, an arch that has been carved out of the rock which is only accessible at low tide.

On our last day in Olympic, we woke up early to enjoy the coast one last time. We took a short drive and hike down to Second Beach. This was one of the best mornings of the trip. We had the beach all to ourselves. After rounding a huge rock wall near the water's edge, we came up on a group of sea otters. If you look closely at the bottom right photo, you can see them sitting on the rock!

We stopped at Hurricane Ridge on our way out, and did a short hike near the Visitor's Center there to Sunrise Point. The mountain range is absolutely glorious!

For our final leg of the trip, we headed to Yakima, WA to visit friends Hannah and Adam. We have been friends with them since our Auburn days, and they moved cross-country for Hannah's job as a physician's assistant! They live in the cutest cabin-like home on the hillside of Yakima, surrounded by apple orchards. Plus they live within short driving distance to many outdoor activities. I always love seeing what adventures they are taking on next! They took us to Mt. Rainier NP and we pleaded with the clouds/fog all day to part so that we could see the mountain in all its glory. It held out and only decided to show a few glimpses here and there, with the most visible at the very end of our hike. It was still totally worth going, and we had a wonderful visit with the Wilsons!

(I promise Mt Rainier is right behind us!)

(The top middle photo shows the glaciers on Mt Rainier. Middle bottom is a groundhog/marmot.)

(The best we got!)

We loved everything about this trip (well, except for the detour to Tacoma)! Seattle was such an enjoyable city. We could go back again and again and do completely new things both in the city and in Olympic. And, of course, eat a few more of those croissants!