Where We Stayed Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort Because we arrived at the New Year, we chose to stay outside of the strip, at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort. The resort is adjacent to a shopping and dining center which was largely deserted, outside of the fireworks show on NYE. We did have a… Continue reading Kid-friendly Las Vegas, Nevada
How to see (and not see) the Grand Canyon El Tovar Lodge, Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona 2022 Since our visit was during the busy winter holiday season, we were happy to find a detailed "Know Before You Go" on the Grand Canyon National Park website. We wished we had looked at it… Continue reading Winter in Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona-Sonora Desert MuseumSaguaro National Park WestThe Gym @ El Conquistador ResortKing Canyon TrailheadSignal Hill RoadRed Hills Visitor CenterMission San Xavier del Bac Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum The Desert Museum has elements of a zoo, botanical garden, and natural history museum, and was open on Christmas day and was an excellent introduction to the Sonoran Desert. Because… Continue reading Tucson, Arizona: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park & San Xavier del Bac Mission
Pea Island Visitor CenterFirst Colony InnCorolla BeachDuckKitty Hawk BeachAvonLighthouse RoadHatteras-Ocracoke Ferry: Ocracoke TerminalLifeguard Beach In 2021 I committed myself to a new goal; walk the entire beach stretch of the Outer Banks of North Carolina over one year. I've heard that other people are much more dedicated than me have done it all at once.… Continue reading Walking OBX 2021
Our 2-week winter holiday started in the Colorado Rockies and ended in sunny San Diego. Learn more about each destination by clicking on the links in the timeline. The Amtrak California Zephyr took us from Denver to San Francisco. A series of road trips allowed us to see the California Coast and to Joshua Tree… Continue reading Winter Vacation 2021- Denver & Reno on The Amtrak Zephyr & The California Coast
San Diego Museum of Nature & Science Our last full day in California included brunch with friends, followed by a visit to Balboa Park. With more time, we would have spent a day at the San Diego Zoo. But on a busy Saturday on a holiday weekend, we opted for the Natural History Museum instead.… Continue reading San Diego, California Christmas 2021
To visit Rocky Mountain National Park we booked a tour with Aspire Tours, and started at 9am at Denver Union Station. After most of our party arrived (one additional party of two in Denver and a family of four that we would pick up in Boulder), we boarded our Transit-style van and headed east toward… Continue reading Colorado Rockies National Park Tour
Winter Holidays 2021 Day 11- Los Angeles to Joshua Tree National Park, California After staying with friends in Los Angeles, we drove 2 ½ hours to Yucca Valley, where we grabbed a to-go lunch from Yucca Tree Eatery. There are no dining options once you enter Joshua Tree National Park, but there were many other… Continue reading Joshua Tree National Park, California Christmas 2021
North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island North Carolina Aquariums have three campuses; Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores, and Fort Fisher. The Roanoke Island museum features indoor exhibits and a large outdoor nature trail. The museum hosts the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center, with each rescued turtle's information displayed. In the next space, children learn… Continue reading Roanoke Island, North Carolina
All off the National Memorials are free to visit (the only place on this blog that requires a fee to tour is the Washington National Cathedral), and most are easy to see in less than a full day. The circulator bus is $1/person/ride and provides easy access to all of the monuments around the Tidal… Continue reading Washington DC- Memorials & places For Remembrance and reflection
Geothermic Activity With home base as Grand Teton National Park, we tackled Yellowstone National Park as a Day Trip. Old Faithful was an hour and a half drive from our Lodge. We arrived just after breakfast, caught the required famous geyser eruption (short volcano, unscientifically speaking), then had a cafeteria lunch in the Old Faithful… Continue reading Yellowstone National Park, September 2013
The Salt Box Cafe, Colington in Kill Devil Hills Salt Box Cafe & Dessert Salt Box Cafe, hidden in the Colington section of Kill Devil Hills has been our take-out option for the last year. This trip we dined in person. The restaurant is small, so reservations fill quickly, but the screened in patio takes… Continue reading OBX, May 2021
Hatteras Village- Frisco Our jumping off point for Hatteras has always been Hatteras Landing by Kees Vacations. The small "resort" is a series of small condos, each individually owned and decorated. Our most recent accommodation was completely updated. The resort is a quick walk across the road to a public access beach. If you have… Continue reading Walking OBX, April 2021
Portsmouth Village Portsmouth Village has been abandoned since 1971, and the remaining buildings are managed by the National Park Service. There were no volunteers or staff during our visit, but many of the the structures have been turned into museums and were open to tour. The Theodore and Annie Salter House and Visitor Center features… Continue reading Portsmouth Island, North Carolina
Spring Creek Ranch In my Salt Lake City blog I outlined the story behind why we went to Grand Teton National Park with only one day's prior planning. Our drive from SLC took us through Idaho and on our first night in Wyoming we stayed just south of the Park, at the Spring Creek Ranch.… Continue reading Grand Teton National Park & Jackson, Wyoming, 2013
airbnb Prior to 2020, we stayed almost exclusively in hotels and at resorts. With social distancing we began using AirBNB. This weekend, severe storms thwarted our trip to OBX, so we decided to look elsewhere. Phenix, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge foothills, would never have been on our travel list if it weren’t for AirBNB.… Continue reading Appalachian Foothills, Virginia- March, 2021
Salt Lake City was never on our short list of travel destinations. Originally we were flying into San Francisco for a Yosemite National Park vacation. Unfortunately the park closed due to wildfires, so on the day of our departure we switched our National Park trip to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Salt Lake City was… Continue reading Utah, 2013
Our family has visited Acadia National Park (almost) every summer since 2014. Acadia National Park is on Mount Desert Island, which consists mostly of the Park and the town of Bar Harbor. It was originally home to the Wabanaki people before the large-scale arrival of Europeans in the 1600s. Sand Beach You haven't tested your resilience… Continue reading Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
