USA

While I liked the feel of Fairbanks, a small town, I wasn’t loving the food. I am sure there are wonderful places and menu items places, just not really what I happened to order. Bahn Thai – We heard that Fairbanks had a lot of Thai restaurants, its a common cuisine...

Lat65 – Our first day in Fairbanks we decided to walk to Lat65 to get some fresh air and the lay of the land. Lat65 had lots of seating, a good selection of beer, and BBQ. It looked like the area was either expanding or being remodeled. I ordered the Pilsner sunrise and...

Justin’s 50th State! Woo-hoo. Our 33rd state together. While we started to look into and plan Alaska for last year, it was Justin’s work travel that solidified making this state happen. We were fortunate that the first few days were paid for (lodging, his flight,...

We enjoy eating out when we travel. We tried to utilize the hotel free breakfast for 60% of the time since food in Alaska tended to cost more. These are the places we went and what we thought — of course your experience my vary. Alaska Chopped and Chowdered – Justin...

We made it to five breweries while in town. Onsite Brewery Company – We walked from our hotel to this mid-town climbing themed brewery. While it had both indoor and outdoor seating, it was a nice day and we took advantage of sitting outside on a picnic table. Denise ordered...

Denali National Park & Preserve, home to North America’s tallest peak, is a monumental landscape that beckons adventurers from around the globe. Yet, on our recent Alaskan trip, my enthusiasm for National Parks somehow didn’t translate into prioritizing a long...

When you’re in the Denali area, conventional tours are great, but sometimes, you crave something a little… more. That’s precisely what led us to Denali Fat Truck Tours, and their incredible SHERP excursion. This off-road ride helped us dive into the Alaskan...

Endless Day, Endless Road The allure of the Arctic Circle – that invisible line encircling the globe where the sun doesn’t set for a full day in summer and doesn’t rise for a full day in winter – has always held a certain mystique. As I was looking at tours out of...

Whittier, Alaska, a town nestled at the head of Passage Canal and surrounded by towering mountains, serves as a gateway to the Alaska Marine Highway System, and a port for cruise ships and day sightsee cruises. The reason we ended up in Whittier is because we booked the 5 1/4...

Seward, Alaska, is a charming coastal town that serves as a gateway to some of the state’s most spectacular natural wonders. Among them, Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, stands out as an incredibly accessible and awe-inspiring example of a glacier in flux. Having...

When you think Alaska, you think glaciers, mountains, wildlife. When I was doing research into what to do when Justin was at work, I saw about a dozen tours to the Matanuska Glacier. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t do it without Justin. My first glacier was supposed to...

When exploring Alaska’s vast landscapes, it’s easy to get caught up in the grandeur of glaciers and mountains. But on a recent day trip out of Anchorage, I opted for a different kind of wildlife encounter, heading to Palmer to visit the Musk Ox Farm and the Reindeer...

Anchorage, Alaska, is a city where urban comforts meet rugged wilderness, and nowhere is this more evident than on the stunning Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. This 11-mile paved pathway offers breathtaking views of Cook Inlet, the Alaska Range, and the Anchorage skyline. On day...

On my recent solo work trip to San Francisco I started noticing something new cruising amongst the regular traffic: sleek cars topped with a distinctive, boxy apparatus. Initially, they were a bit of a mystery, these autonomous vehicles gliding along with an almost eerie smoothness....

I was in San Francisco for work without Justin, when that happens, I tend to eat foods I know he doesn’t enjoy as much as me (such as Ethiopian (which I also had in SF, Indian, and Thai). I’m not really a fast food gal, but there are times when that is what is available,...

San Francisco’s culinary landscape is a melting pot of global flavors, and Oren’s Hummus has carved out a delicious niche with its authentic and vibrant Middle Eastern cuisine. On a recent visit with a friend, we decided to immerse ourselves in their offerings by...

Savannah, Georgia, with its moss-draped oaks, elegant squares, and palpable Southern charm, practically begs to be explored at a leisurely pace. So, on a recent sunny day, we opted for a Savannah Bike Tour, and it turned out to be the perfect way to soak in the city’s unique...

We visited the Kennedy Space Center in 2022 and was fascinated by the exhibits, wouldn’t it be neat to watch a launch? When it turned out that a rocket launch would be happening when we were in the general area, I knew that we had to go to watch. It was the SpaceX Falcon...

San Antonio is undeniably famous for its vibrant Riverwalk, a lively artery pulsing with culture and entertainment. But on our recent long weekend getaway, while we certainly enjoyed a stroll along its banks, we were determined to delve deeper into the city’s rich and pivotal...

Our recent trip to La Junta, Colorado, was intended for one specific reason: the legendary Tarantula Festival! For those who don’t know, La Junta celebrates the annual migration of thousands of tarantulas through the area. That is a little misleading – the tarantulas...

Fort Ticonderoga, perched on the shores of Lake Champlain in upstate New York, isn’t just a historical site; it’s a living, breathing portal to the past. Our recent visit was a captivating immersion into the pivotal events of the French and Indian War and the American...

Our travels took us to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and tucked away on the University of New Mexico campus, we stumbled upon another spot claiming to be the Center of the Universe, but with a very different vibe. This “Center of the Universe” is a concrete structure with...

The date had been circled on our calendar for what felt like an eternity: April 8, 2024. The Great North American Eclipse. And our chosen vantage point? Dallas, Texas, firmly within the path of totality. We’d envisioned a celestial spectacle, the midday sun swallowed whole...

We went to Dallas for the eclipse, but had an extra 2 days to fill. After a little research, I found the perfect day trip for us at about 90 minutes south west. Texas, known for its vast landscapes and rich history, holds a secret from millions of years ago: the tangible remnants...

The whisper started months before: an annular solar eclipse was gracing North America in October 2023, and the path of annularity – that magical zone where the “ring of fire” would be visible – was calling. For us the allure of this celestial event was irresistible,...