Birds chirping at 5 in the morning that wake you up. The evergreen trees swaying in the wind. Clear blue lakes and rivers. Mountains beyond mountains. The sound of laughter nearby. It looked like I could have been home in Seattle, or just outside of Seattle. But, in fact, I was more than 300 miles… Continue reading Not too far, but far enough
One of the nice things about Seattle is that there are so many options for quick day trips or weekend getaways that make you feel like you are hundreds of miles away from the city. Exhibit A: Taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island. My BFF had planned an outing to Bainbridge Island as a belated… Continue reading An island jaunt
Birthdays are kind of weird as an adult. People always ask what I'm going to do for my birthday during the weeks leading up to it. If my birthday is on a weekday, well, surprise, surprise, I'll be working! This year, however, my birthday fell on a Saturday. This meant a birthday race. "You're different,"… Continue reading So, what are you doing for your birthday?
Saying that our New Zealand honeymoon was fantastic is an understatement. We drove around both islands. We met a lot of nice people. We saw a lot of wildlife. We went on some great hikes. We explored varying landscapes. We ate some great food. We did a lot. When we returned home and friends and… Continue reading The two honeymoon mishaps
I'm a born and raised Seattleite. This means I am not used to, nor will I ever get accustomed to, running in heat and humidity. But, for some reason, I suggested to my cousin that we run a half marathon together in Hawaii. This was back in October. We did the race nearly two weeks… Continue reading A whirlwind Hawaiian weekend
It was only my second time kayaking and I was super excited. Bryce and I were in Kaikoura, a small beach town on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. I got suckered into wanting to go on a seal kayak tour after Bryce brought me back a flyer from the lodge we were… Continue reading Kayaking in Kaikoura: A surprise encounter
As you know, and can infer from the name of this blog, I love otters. I have another favorite animal after my New Zealand trip: Valais Blacknose sheep! There are 5.6 sheep per person in New Zealand. Yes, more sheep than humans! But, Valais Blacknose are different from the "typical" New Zealand sheep. They aren't… Continue reading Meeting the cutest sheep in the world
I was in Colombia for the first time last Christmas. Bryce and I were visiting his grandma and aunt for the holidays in Calí. Going into the trip, I knew I wouldn't have abundant food options as a vegetarian. After all, at the Colombian restaurant back home in Seattle, my only viable option is to… Continue reading Food in Colombia as a vegetarian: the avocado diet
It was getting dark and we hadn't come across any small towns in quite a while. I was regretting my question earlier that day when we were eating a late lunch at 4 pm: Is this going to be our last meal of the day? Our longest drive of our New Zealand trip would be… Continue reading The longest drive
As we boarded the ferry, I couldn't believe how gigantic it was. We drove our rental car onto the boat and just kept driving, and driving and driving! Up a ramp we went as we followed the cars in front of us. Finally we arrived at a point where a ferry worker was guiding cars… Continue reading The New Zealand ferry experience
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