We are getting ready for our year trip and for this trip my husband and I decided to use a new blogging site, which might help get more traffic and exposure. I am still learning how to use it but for now you can check out the new site here: http://www.yeartrip.net
This is the site we will chronicle all of our adventures, mishaps and tips that we feel important to share. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
kg
I have been fortunate enough to attend the Cannon Beach Yoga Festival for the last two years. This was my take away from last year and while it is short and sweet, it is still very important and spot on. Our breath is the most important tool that we have and it is what keeps us grounded and keeps us alive. This is something that I continue to try and remember on a daily basis, even though our breath is always with us it is sometimes difficult to use it as a tool and actually stop and take a breath before acting. But when we do, we can be even more present and mindful in whatever it is we are doing. What I learned this year and what I will continue to explore when I am back in the “real world” is what to do and how to act – after taking that clarifying breath. What is it that lights me up? What is it that I am most passionate about? I have touched on this before and I am still working towards my goals, but what about in my day-to-day life? What about those short moments of time, how do I fill that space meaningfully? This is the burning question. I am like a lot of other moms (and dads) that spend my day taking care of the others in my life. Which is something I love. I love my family and I love taking care of them, but there is a lot of extra time that they do not need caring for, but sometimes that time is choppy and disconnected, so how do I fill my time? I am sure you can guess: Facebook, organizing and replying to emails, surfing the internet, checking out Pinterest, picking up the house and so on and so forth. Not really meaningful time. Just time being used up. The goal now is to use this extra time that I have in a meaningful way. Yes, there will still be work to get done and emails to respond to, but if I don’t over think it I can usually get that work done pretty quickly and then I can make time for meaningful activities like: Writing (hey here I am – pat on the back!), reading, painting, meditating, calling a friend or relative that needs support or compassion, taking a walk, being in nature, cooking an amazing meal (if your kitchen is available to do that) and the list can go on and on, if I take the time to think about what makes me happy and lights me up, not just falling into my usual habits of looking at a screen.
I am so grateful to have had this weekend away to really help me on my path to find my 
passion. I learned so many great techniques from my Twists and Hips workshops with Brad Waites and I am looking forward to diving deeper into Sarahjoy Marsh’s new book that I bought over the weekend, Hope, Hunger & Healing. I am always so enlightened after attending a yoga retreat or festival and the real work that my good friend Jen and I always discuss on the last day of these types of events is “How do we keep this energy and spark going at home?” – and as I mention above, my goal is to stop and take a deep breath and really think about what is meaningful and what will bring me joy in the moment. Now, don’t get me wrong, I will still find time to browse Facebook & Pinterest, but my hope is that I can make more time for the more fulfilling activities as well.
Thanks for reading, until next time!
KG
One of the highlights of 2014 was our hot air balloon ride in New Mexico
Happy New Year! I know this post is a little delayed, but the sentiment is still true. I am so happy to be starting a new year. 2014 was not the best year for our family, between cancer news, car accidents, impromptu kitchen repairs and a number of other bumps in the road, I am happy to say goodbye to 2014 and ask the powers greater than me that 2015 bring us more blessings, health and happiness. I know that life will always bring struggles and challenges, and how you deal with those issues is what makes you stronger and more resilient. I also know that we are still very fortunate for all that we have and things could always be a lot worse. But when you have stress – no matter what it is, that stress is equal to any other stress and needs to be managed in a healthy way.
My hope is that 2015 is a year of healing, planning, purging and getting ready for our next adventure. In my last post I said I would report weekly about how the planning for the trip was going – that was a lofty goal, considering that we had a lot going on over the last few months and although we are constantly planning and thinking about the trip, the main steps we are taking to get ready are mainly purging our house of things we no longer need and getting the camper ready for the trip ahead. The next few months will be really about getting our house ready for renters. The first step is replacing the floor that was removed for water damage throughout the kitchen. Removing everything from the kitchen definitely brings an element of chaos to the house, but it is also a great opportunity to get rid of the stuff we don’t use and practice eating and making dinners in the camper. Life is not always easy, and I know there will plenty more challenges along the way, but the way we handle them is what will keep your sanity.
Until next time, friends, thanks for reading!
This is a question my daughters ask me from time to time, and my first answer is always – ALIVE! I am just happy to be here and every day is a blessing, but what am I passionate about and what do I want to do when I am here and alive on the planet, well that is a very good question!
Lunch at the edge of nowhere.
What I really, truly want to do is explore and share my experiences with people. I want to write about travel. Technically that is what I am doing, but I don’t do it enough, and I don’t get paid for it – that would be a nice little perk. But I also want to spend time with my family and watch my girls grow and learn and explore as well and really enjoy life while we can. Not just go along with the rat race that ends up being our daily lives – day in and day out, doing the same thing over and over again.
And because of that, Andrew and I are working on our “Year on the Road” plan. Also known as: The Gap Year. The Sabbatical. The “I need to take this trip or I need to move out of the country” trip. (We are still working out names). I believe it is important for everyone to leave the city that they grew up in for a little while, see new things, find some adventures and take some risks. My big trip was traveling through Europe after college graduation (that was a long time ago), this was one of the best and most memorable trips of my entire life – maybe that is because I met my husband, my soul mate, my best friend, and the person I love more than anything, on that trip! And he also loves to travel and explore and can use a little break from reality for a bit.
That’s the selfish part, we have Wanderlust and we want to see the world – or our entire country to start. We have talked about taking big trips like this a few times in our lives, but one thing or another keeps getting in our way, so this time, we are going for it! We also want to connect with our kids and give them an experience of a lifetime, we are not getting any younger and this world is going crazy, everyone is on devices all the time, connected to a screen, we have ADD, we are always trying to multi-tasking – it is craziness! We need to slow down and stop to breathe. We want to see the trees, hear the birds, smell the flowers, get out and SEE OUR WORLD. I know this will be an amazing, educational experience for our kids, we will learn so much while we are out there – more than they learn in the classroom. We will be learning in all aspects of our life on the road. And this will be something that they will always remember – and possibly the theme of their college essays or conversations with their future therapists. Either way, it will be time together as a family.
We understand that this trip is entirely possible and at the same time understand that there will be some challenges. We know that a lot of people think we are crazy (which is part of the reason we want to do it). We know there will be bumps along the road, but this is our goal: Our family of four will take 9-12 months, starting the summer of 2015 (exact dates TBD), living out of our truck camper traveling around the US & Canada, we would love to travel and explore with family and friends all over the country. We invite anyone to come and travel with us, maybe we will come and camp in your driveway – Danny, Debbie, Houser Cousins. We would love to travel with you on your breaks – Skiing over Spring Break anyone? Let’s plan it. We are going to start mapping out our plan and we would love for Family and Friends to be part of that plan!
This is our goal and we are working towards it. This is my way of becoming a travel journalist. Starting in my 40th year (or 41st – however you look at it) I am going to start writing about it. Please follow my blog, and keep us accountable. I will do my best to post at least once a week about what type of progress we are making towards our goal of living on the road.
Thank You Friends! I have had a wonderful birthday weekend and I am looking forward to many more amazing days ahead!
Lots of love!
Until Next Time, kg
I never thought that I would say this, but I do think I am a little bit country. My family and I recently went to a Zac Brown Band concert at the Gorge Amphitheater. In my opinion, The Gorge is by far the best place to see a concert. We tried to see a concert there last year (on the exact same weekend) and it was cancelled due to weather. This year we got lucky. We saw The Zac Brown Band and they played a super fun and amazing show. I never really considered myself a country music fan until recently. Almost two years ago, we got a truck and a camper and have been spending a lot of time on the road. My husband introduced me to Zac Brown and with the amount of hours we have spent in the truck, you really get time to truly listen to the music and the words. The song Quiet Your Mind is one that really hits home for me. In this one song, it talks about everything I need to remember, every single day of my life. Here are the lyrics, take a look and you will understand what I am talking about. These are the lines that hit me:
At the end of the water
A red sun is risin’
And the stars are all goin’ away
And if you’re too busy talkin’
You’re not busy listenin’
To hear what the land has to say
Quiet your mind
I hear the waves
Sun beatin’ down on my shoulders
It’s a near-perfect day
Wishin’ I wouldn’t get any older
They say that it’s gone ‘fore you know it and
Soak it all in
It’s a game you can’t win
Enjoy the ride
The lyrics are simple, but they are right on – the idea that this is the only life we have and we need to enjoy every single day we have. We need to take care of ourselves so that we get more of these amazing days, but we also need to sit back and relax and enjoy the ride.
With that in mind, the other song I love by Zac Brown is this one, Free. It makes me think of my husband and I, and our dream of just living and traveling around the country with our family and enjoying every single second together and not worrying about anything else – because all we need is love. 
Thanks for reading – Until next time!
kg
Over the past few months, our family has been talking about our summer trip – which ended up being named “The 3-Week Trip”, Andrew and I had a lot of planning to do, what to bring, where exactly we would be going, what we needed for the camper, etc. Whenever we talked about it we called it “The 3-Week Trip”. After months of talking about it, the time finally came that we got to pull out of our drive way and set out on “The 3-Week Trip”! Our first stop was Bend, Oregon to visit our good friends Tom & Lisa and their dog Ruby. We parked Wolf Creek in the driveway and took the bikes off the front of the truck and got busy in Bend. We rode our bikes everywhere, to dinner, to the park, to the river and all the spots in between. We had a great time paddling and floating down the Deschutes River in the sunshine. It should be noted, this is not a simple ride down the river, you do need to have a little skill and be aware of what is going on around you, at one point on the river you need to exit at the Colorado Ave bridge, if you are not watching the signs you could get into serious trouble and head into the portage. Andrew found this out the hard way, from his paddle board, he skillfully helped a family from disaster and helped them get to safety. We also enjoyed some lovely meals in Bend. While Tom & Lisa were kind enough to make lots of snacks, dinner and breakfast for us, one night we went out and rode to an awesome food truck pavilion called The Lot.This place was great, it had something for everyone, there are about 8-10 food trucks surrounding a covered patio with a bar in the middle! Perfection! We all got what we wanted, didn’t spend too much money, it was lovely.
Walking Ruby
Camping in Bend
After 2 nights in Bend we were off to our next stop. We headed to South Lake Tahoe to a place called Camp Richardson, on the California side of the Lake Tahoe. One thing we did realize on this trip is that driving time in the camper is a lot different than driving times provided by Google Maps. We found out that when Google says it will take 7 hours to get somewhere it will really take us about 9-10 hours, as the trip went on we made the adjustments and determined that on our next long road trip driving times will be much shorter and staying times will be longer. When we finally got into Camp Richardson after about 9 hours on the road, we were greeted by a huge thunderstorm (which made getting the paddle board on the roof a little tricky), but we couldn’t let it keep us in, we needed dinner so we set off in our ponchos to the restaurant and had dinner in the historic Beacon Bar & Grill. The next day the sun came out, in the morning we rode our bikes into town to get groceries for dinner and in the afternoon we were able to play on the water. Andrew and the girls rented a jet ski, while I paddled around the lake. We enjoyed dinner at the campsite that night and the girls made friends with the other kids on their bikes. It was a great sight watching the kids bike around with other girls from Nevada & California, they had fun checking out other kids campers, making plans to meet up and exchanging addresses to be pen pals. One great thing about being away from home for awhile is that the kids learn to break out of their comfort zone and explore new things and meet new people.
Fun on Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe Bike Gang
We spent 2 nights at Lake Tahoe and then we were off to the Grand Canyon, another super long drive — seeing a trend yet? After this long trip, we learned no more driving at night. Setting up at night, even in a camper is tricky, but we made it to the North Rim without hitting any wildlife (thank God and super driver Andrew!) and rested up for a great day at the Canyon. In the morning we got up and headed to Point Imperial, the highest point on the North Rim at 8,803 feet (2,683 meters), overlooking the Painted Desert and the eastern end of Grand Canyon. We hiked one of the rim trails for a couple hours and then had lunch in the camper, overlooking the Canyon. For me, this was one of the highlights of the trip and one of the things I love about having our camper. Being able to have all your stuff right there is so convenient and made lunch a great experience. After lunch we explored the North Rim lodge and listened to some great Ranger Talks. The next day we took a tougher hike down into the canyon. We started at the North Kaibab Trail, headed down past the Supai Tunnel into the Roaring Springs Canyon. We turned around at the bridge that was recently built and headed back up, overall we hiked about 6.5 miles – we were super proud of the girls. It took about 2 hours to get down and only 2 hours and 15 minutes to get back up. They were super hikers! After the long day of hiking we had lunch at the North Rim Lodge and then decided to get on the road so that we could break up our 10 hour drive to the cabin in New Mexico into two days of driving – instead of one long day…see we’re learning! We did a little cheat here and ended up in a hotel in Farmington, NM. We were going to find a place to camp but with the camper packed with the paddle board, bikes, a bbq and much more, we couldn’t really boondock it with all our gear. We enjoyed clean sheets, fresh showers and a free breakfast! And were able to get on the road early and were able to see family in Eagle Nest in the early afternoon.
Beautiful Grand Canyon
The view from the camper for our lunch stop at Point Imperial
Relaxing at the North Rim lodge.
Super hikers made it to the bridge!
We stayed in Eagle Nest for five days, this was a great time to visit with our family, do some laundry, sleep in real beds and spread out a bit. The first night we headed into Red River with cousins Jon & Monica and watched the two-steppers at the Motherlode Saloon. Andrew and I learned that we are not two-steppers and probably shouldn’t try again until we take some lessons. We spent a lot of time in Red River and Taos. The highlight of this trip was by far our hot air balloon ride with Eske’s Paradise Balloons. We started the morning by taking off in a hot air balloon at sunrise, touching down into the Rio Grande Canyon and then enjoying a champagne breakfast on the river. Absolutely amazing and breathtaking views. I love hot air balloons and in our past trips to New Mexico we have watched the balloon rallies, and always talked about going up in one, but thought the girls were too young. This trip they were old enough and it was AWESOME!
Girls in the balloon basket.
Our balloon almost in the Rio Grande
We had a great week at the cabin but had more of the Western US to see, on this trip we ended up going through all of the Western US states (except for Texas). The next stop was Dinosaur National Monument. This ended up to be the favorite spot for both the girls on the trip. The campground near Green River was great, we were close to the river, there was huge hill for the girls to climb and run down, we played in the water, hiked and explored all the amazing fossils, dinosaur bones and Petroglyphs. The Quarry Exhibit Hall was extraordinary, it was fascinating to see all that has been discovered in this part of the country and it was fun to imagine what it must have been like millions of years ago.
Touching real dinosaur bones!
Playing in Green River
As we started on our second half of the trip, we headed North. Our next destination was Henry’s Lake in Idaho, near the western entrance of Yellowstone. On the way there we stopped in Jackson Hole at one of our favorite spots, Snakeriver Brewery – now you know why it takes us so long to get to each spot. In addition to driving slow (or at least the speed limit) we do like to stop for lunch and try to get out stretch our legs and have something other than gas station snacks and fast food. When we got to Henry’s Lake it was super windy and cold. Which we were very sad about, it was a beautiful campground and an awesome lake, but way too chilly to paddle board. Instead of spending the day on the lake we decided to explore Yellowstone, which was great. We had camped there a few years ago but really didn’t see all the park. This trip we saw geysers, boiling mud pots, tons of bison, elk and the girls finished their third Jr. Ranger program of the trip (they also got Jr. Ranger badges in Grand Canyon & Dinosaur). At a few points we got a little too close to the wildlife. A giant bison ended up galloping in front of us while we were exploring the mud pots.This was a bit frightening as it is a
Bison ready to charge across the boardwalk we were on!
huge animal and it was moving very fast. Andrew was not pleased that our family was not all together when the bison was moving, but in my defense, I did not want to get in front of it, so I stayed put (but I may have been taking a few too many photos prior to the running of the bison). Another learning moment. From the bison experience we knew it is safest to stay together, so when we were crowded by tons of elk in Mammoth Hot Springs, we stayed together as a family and let the Park Rangers tell us where to go and how to stay out of their way. And we still got some great photos!
Elk wondering in Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone
We left Yellowstone late in the day and headed out for a short drive to Bozeman, MT, where we planned to stay a couple nights with my brother Dan. Since he was working that night we planned on eating at Dave’s Sushi, where he is one the sushi chefs. We sat at the bar and had Dan whip up whatever he felt like for us, with a few requests from the girls. The mango cucumber roll was a favorite! The next day we headed out to the Hyalite Reservoir. This little gem is only a few miles outside of Bozeman and college kids and families come to picnic, hike and play on the water. We had super fun day paddling with Uncle Dan and hanging out on the water. We really wish we had more time to hang out in Montana, but our trip was coming to an end and we had a few more stops on the way home. After a home cooked dinner with Dan and his friends, we hit the road again the next morning.
Girls paddling with Uncle Dan.
The last leg of our road trip ended in our home state of Washington. We drove most the day and ended up at Alta Lake State Park. This one of the many areas that was devastated by the wild fires at the beginning of the summer and had been closed down for awhile. As a result, a lot of the area was burnt down, houses, camp grounds and tons of trees were all gone. It was very sad to see all the devastation that the fire caused, and also amazing to see how much in such close proximity survived. Luckily the fires have been over for awhile and the park was reopened, and we were able to enjoy it with a few less crowds.The weather was the
Fun playing at Alta Lake
hottest at Alta Lake than it was anywhere else on our trip, the day we spent on the lake it was almost 90 degrees! Which made it great to sit on the beach, paddle, play in the water and slowly prepare for re-entry. Our last stop on the trip was Lake Chelan. We took a family vote and decided that we wanted to see another new town and park, so we took a gamble and checked to see if anyone may have checked out early at the Lake Chelan’s Lakeshore RV Park – we got lucky!
Signs of the fire in Alta Lake State Park
Although you generally need to book it 9 months in advance, when people go home early, we got a spot! We spent our day in Chelan biking to lunch at Campbell’s Resort and then on to Slide Waters water park – this was the girls choice and we figured they had been such super campers over the whole trip, they got to have their choice of activities that day.
The next day we got up and had to head home, we decided to make one more fun stop in the town of Leavenworth. We had a yummy lunch at Icicle Brewing Company, bought fudge, nuts and fancy olive oil to take home and then we made the super short drive (just 2.5 hours) home. Coming home was bittersweet, we had tons of laundry and gear to put away, but it was great to get back to familiar faces, sleeping in our own rooms and falling back into a normal routine.
The girls are back at school now, which is the only way I would be able to get all these thoughts down in one day. And now its on to thinking about the next big trip. I just bought my wall map of the US & Canada so we can plot out where we will go next!
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed our adventures. We certainly have!
Until Next Time!
kg
This year for Spring Break, Andrew and I took separate vacations. He has been dying to do an alpine touring trip through France and Switzerland with his brother for years, so I got over my fear of him going to Europe without me and gave him the go ahead. But with one caveat, I was not going to stay at home alone with my girls during spring break. We decided that we would take our airline miles and see the Big Apple. Nadia has been enamored by the city because all the shows she watches on Disney are set in NYC, so why not. My sister, who lives in Virginia was able to take time off from work and take the train up with her daughter. We also got to hang out with other friends visiting the city too. It was great seeing familiar faces in the big city, it could have been a long, tiring trip without some other adult support.
We got in to town on a Sunday evening, instead of a hotel room, my sister and I decided we would be more comfortable with our daughters in an apartment (not to mention the prices of hotels are ridiculous and they would not take more than 4 people). We rented an adorable apartment on the Upper West Side through AirBnB. It was perfect, plenty of space for all of us to spread out, bathroom and laundry and a kitchen so we could have tea and breakfast in the morning before heading out. Most mornings our first stop was the Juice Press across the street, where we filled up on smoothies to get us started on our day.
Cake Boss Cafe
Fire Station at Ground Zero
On our first full day we did an awesome Hop On/Hop off Bus tour through the city. Our first stop we got off at was the 9/11 memorial. We did not go into the Memorial because it was packed and we didn’t have passes. Also, the large sign before heading in reminds visitors to be quiet and respectful. This seemed like it would be challenging for our group of 8 (3 adults, 5 kids). It was still a very surreal experience. Seeing how many people were down there, and going by the fire stations that were most likely the first responders was very intense. I was not ready to go in with my kids and try and process everything that happen, while also trying to tell a 7 year old why a plane would fly into a building. From here we toured around Battery Park and got our tickets to see Lady Liberty for the next day. After Battery Park we got back on the bus and headed uptown, we went by the United Nations, and saw were tons of celebrities lived and where tons of movies and TV shows were filmed. It was fun seeing all these cool places in real life! We finally got off the bus at Rockefeller Center and spent some time in the amazing Lego Store. After our shopping, we decided to have an early dinner so we could make our Night Time Tour of the City and Brooklyn. We ate a quiet little restaurant called Nino’s 46. I imagine it was quiet because most New Yorkers don’t eat dinner at 5:30, but it worked perfect for our crew. We were even able to stop by the Cake Boss Café after dinner for some cupcakes to bring on our tour.
NYC Skyline from Brooklyn
Empire State Building at night
NYC Library
The night tour was awesome despite the wind and my amateur photography skills, it is pretty hard taking photos at night on a moving bus, but I tried and got a couple good ones.
Lady Liberty
The next day we took our bus tour back downtown and visited the Statue of Liberty. The boat trip and touring the grounds were beautiful. There is so much history here it is truly amazing. I was sad we didn’t make reservations to get into the pedestal or to do Ellis Island, we will have to do that on our next trip. But just seeing the outside of the statue and taking the audio tour, you learn a lot about what went in to erecting the statue and how powerful of a symbol it is and was to people coming to the United States for the first time. We heard this poem on the audio tour, it’s called “The New Colossus” and was written in 1883 by poet Emma Lazarus, who was born in New York City. The poem lines appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel – second designer of the internal structural elements of the Statue of Liberty
After our visit to the Statue of Liberty we had to get back quickly to our apartment so that we could change and get ready for our night on Broadway. Before the show we had dinner at Sardi’s, which has been the toast of Broadway for 90 years. The dinner was excellent and the service was great, we were in and out with plenty of time to get to our show (without feeling rushed). We ended up seeing Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theater. The show was awesome, we had great seats so it was perfect for the girls. Plus it was funny and the music was great. Side note: the guy that played Jafar also did the voice for Jafar in the Disney animated movie, so that was exciting! That night it also snowed! Lots of crazy weather for our week. Sun, rain and snow – all in the first 3 days. The next day the girls, my sister and I, had an impromptu “spa treatment”. This was not our favorite part of the trip, but we are dealing with it. This might be a topic of an upcoming blog, once we are completely over it. I won’t go into the details. After we were done at the spa, the girls got rewarded for being such troopers, so by their request, our next stops were M&M World and American Girl Doll.
Horse Drawn Carriage in the park
Friends Fountain
Promenade in the park
After this crazy day we headed back to our apartment and chilled out for a bit and ended up eating at little place that was around the corner called Pomodoro Rosso and were in bed early. For our last day in the city we decided we were done shopping and fighting the crowds so we spent the day in Central Park. We took a horse drawn carriage tour around the park and saw more sights of movies and shows like, Sex in the City, Elf, Home Alone, Enchanted and Ghost Busters. This was a fun way to see the park and it was a beautiful day too. After lunch, we had to say goodbye to my sister and niece since they had to get to Penn Station to catch their train to DC. We thought we might check out the Museum of Natural History since it was just around the corner from our apartment, great idea – except, everyone else on spring break had that idea and once we walked in apparently all the ticket terminals went down. There was a huge line of people waiting and we were not 100% certain we would get in if we waited in the line. Instead of waiting in line we decided to make our way to the other side of the park to check out the Central Park Zoo. Although it wasn’t exactly like the zoo in Madagascar (high expectations) we did have fun checking out the cool birds, snow leopards and seals. After the zoo we made our way back to our apartment, by way of a super cool playground (one of the 21 playgrounds in Central Park) and Strawberry Fields, where we visited the John Lennon Memorial. We had our last meal in the city at little sushi place called Raku – It’s Japanese 2! (that really is the actual name) and went to bed early to get ready for our 6am car that would take us to the airport.
Strawberry Fields – John Lennon Memorial
Overall it was great trip! We had a lot of fun seeing the sites, shopping and fighting the crowds. We ate some great food and the girls loved eating giant pretzels and hot dogs from the street vendors (one of Daddy’s favorites from the city too!). It really was comical how many people were packed into the city. But on the flip side, when we hung out in Central Park or in our neighborhood on the Upper West Side, it didn’t feel too crowded. I think it will be a few more years before we go back, maybe when the girls are a little older and can appreciate the museums a bit more and their taste in shopping becomes a little more in line with mine.
Until Next Time, thank for reading.
A short little poem about our winter camping weekends…
We come to the snow to get away from the busy city. We relax in our cozy cabin on wheels. Love is all around, it is peaceful, serene and fun, all at the same time.
Ski lessons, tailgate lunch, skiing down the mountain, learning to skin up the mountain, spaghetti feed, meeting new friends and chatting on a chilly evening. We come to the mountain, to the snow, to winter, to really be part of the world we are in.
Amazing view of the coast of Maui
It’s been awhile since I have written for my blog, maybe that’s because we haven’t been traveling as much. Our last trip to Fort Worden was back in October and since then we have stayed put for the most part, our Fall tends to be very busy with holidays and birthdays scattered throughout most of November and December. But this year for Christmas we were blessed with an AMAZING family trip! I have written about the wonderful family vacations with my side of the family, this year we got to go on vacation with Andrew’s side of the family. We all boarded Hawaiian Airlines after Christmas and spent the second week of Winter Break in Maui. It was a wonderful way to finish off the year and decompress from all the holiday craziness.
Waterfalls
We stayed in a lovely, private home in Kaanapali that we rented through Hawaiian Beach Rentals, our house was Hawaiian Dreams and it was just that, a dream! The 5 bedroom house was big enough for our group of 10, we had a pool and a view overlooking the water. This was both Andrew and my first trip to Hawaii in over 20 years so we were ready to see the island.
The Gorohoff helicopter crew with our pilot.
The first full day in Maui we took the girls and Andrew’s parents on a helicopter trip to see the entire island with Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours. Even though it was bit cloudy we still got some amazing views and photos. I was a little nervous, but our pilot was calm and cool, as were our girls. It makes it hard to be nervous and paranoid when your 10 year old and 7 year old are the ones telling YOU that everything will be okay. Although we didn’t get to see Oprah’s private ranch, we did see the road she built (or had built) for herself, we saw some humpback whales and babies, and tons
Humpback whales. One male, an escort male and a baby.
of waterfalls and rainbows. And this was just our first day!
During the trip we also took a surf lesson, our instructor from Zack Howard Surf, was great! Although we have all surfed before it was nice to have an instructor to give us some tips for surfing in Hawaii, like staying off the bottom of the ocean. There are tons of
Gorohoff surfers and our instructor.
coral and sea urchin, so unlike some of the beaches in Washington, we had to paddle all the way out to the big waves. He was also super helpful with our girls, helping them get up on the boards (although Nadia had no trouble with that) and teaching them how to paddle out and get out to the waves.
Nadia riding the wave!
The highlight of the entire surfing experience was NO WET SUIT!! The water was so warm, it was hard to get out. Our lesson was only an hour and a half, and we had other things to do that day, but if I had been on my own, I think I might have surfed the entire trip!
One thing we made sure to do everyday (a few times each day) was eat! We ate some great food. The fresh fish and fruit in Hawaii is amazing! We ate at all the different restaurants in Whalers Village, since that was just a short walk from our house, plus it was a good place to start, then head to the beach. We also hired an amazing chef to cook for us a couple nights so no one had to deal with groceries, dinner or clean up! Ann-Marie from Maui Fresh Chef was wonderful! We had lovely appetizers, main courses and desserts with plenty for leftovers to enjoy the next day. This was especially a treat for New Year’s Eve since finding a reservation for 10 on NYE is always tricky, but with 3 kids, its not as relaxing as it could be. Eating at our own home, shoes off, with our beautiful view was a perfect way to ring in the New Year.
Sunrise on Haleakala
We barely made it to the Seattle New Year since Andrew, Anna and I started our day at 3am to take sunrise photos at the top of Haleakala, The House of the Sun. We started early to beat the crowds and get some star photos. This was a great plan, and lots of other people agreed, we didn’t really beat any crowds, but luckily there was enough sunrise to go around! And the stars were amazing from up on top of the mountain. Although I didn’t get any great star photos, Anna and Andrew did. *Note to new camera owners: When you get a camera for Christmas, figure out the settings before you are standing in the dark on the top of the mountain. Overall, it was well worth the 3am wake up call.
And as you need to do in Hawaii, we carved out some quality down time. We made sure to have a few days of just relaxing on the beach or next to the pool. We snorkeled at Black Rock which was super fun. The girls enjoyed jumping off the rocks and watching the other crazy people jump from even higher.
Road to Hana
We also took a crazy day trip and drive on The Road to Hana (which Andrew really enjoyed driving) to another part of Haleakala National Park. We hiked on the Pipiwai Trail & to the Waimoku Falls. We didn’t make it to the Pools of ‘Ohe’o (aka Seven Sacred Pools) because after our 4 mile hike and swim in the falls we were all pretty pooped.
The girls and daddy playing in the waterfall (before the boulder fell)
The falls were amazing and we realized their power when a giant boulder came crashing off the rock wall, falling near a man that was posing for a photo under the falls (just steps away from where we were playing earlier – note to anyone heading there, read the signs and follow the rules, they are there for a reason). After that heart pounding experience, we were ready to get back on the windy Road to Hana and head into Lahaina for our dinner at Aloha Mixed Plate – a quick change of clothes on the side of the road and we were ready to go!
The last night of our trip was my father-in-law’s 80th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a luau at the Old Lahaina Luau. Everything about the Luau was wonderful, we walked in and were greeted with mai tais and fruity drinks. There was plenty of entertainment, games, photographers and pig digging up to enjoy before dinner started. Dinner was traditional Hawaiian food like Poi (which I was not a fan of), Ahi Poke, Kalua Puaʻa, Laulau and much more. After the main course, Ken got his own birthday platter of treats and a birthday song. Then we enjoyed the dancing and music of the luau. It was a perfect way to end a perfect trip.
Old Lahaina Luau
Hang Loose!
Hawaii is an amazing place with beautiful areas to explore. Eighty degree weather every day, beach and surf all around you, I completely understand why people want to call it home. I will definitely be back and hopefully sooner than another 20 years, there is much more exploring, surfing and relaxing to do there! Until next time Hawaii, Aloha & Mahalo for the great trip!
If you are into camping, biking, hiking, the beach, history and the great outdoors, you should check out Fort Worden State Park. It is just a short drive and ferry trip away from Seattle and worth a visit! This was our destination for our very first camper trip and we had such a great time we went back almost exactly one year later. Fort Worden has tons of trails for biking and hiking, there are houses and cabins for those that don’t want to camp and lots of community rooms and activities, they even have a yoga studio on the grounds.
We have some great friends that live in Port Townsend, so when we are there we get to visit them too, which makes the trip even more fun. This past weekend, we were able to host dinner one night at our camper and the second night we got to go indoors for dinner at their house.
Saturday was a full day, while my friend and I popped into a yoga class in Port Townsend, Andrew and the girls biked down to the beach. Then we all made a visit to an awesome pumpkin patch in Sequim, we got some great pumpkins, ate some yummy kettle corn and the kids got to get lost in the corn maze. Sunday morning we took our time heading out and took another long bike ride to see all the forts on the hill and then back down to the beach again. Lots of fun, enjoying the rare October sun and the beautiful outdoors, before we had to head back to reality.
Everyone always asks if we ever stay home? My answer: Not if we can help it! Too much responsibility all week long, the weekends are for fun and we are on a mission to find it where ever we can!
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Real Life. Real Stories from a woman/mom/runner/writer.
Real Life. Real Stories from a woman/mom/runner/writer.
Real Life. Real Stories from a woman/mom/runner/writer.
Until Next Time 