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London With A Baby: Part One
In March 2022, when our daughter was just four months old, Matt and I took her on her first international trip. We had two British Airways vouchers direct to London (remnants of a canceled Covid trip) and I was still basking in the freedom of maternity leave. Day 1\ We left the United States with a few things in tow:…
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Oahu, Hawai’i
Oahu was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure for our babymoon.
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Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
" . . . . the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings." - John Muir
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How to Plan a Babymoon
Matt and I are expecting our first baby in October 2021. To celebrate, we took a "babymoon" to Hawaii in June.
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Olympic National Park, Washington
Olympic National Park is the only U.S. park system I’ve explored that has so many distinct ecosystems in one central location. Situated in northwestern Washington State, hugging the rugged Pacific coastline, the park has rainforests, beaches, and alpine mountains. We visited in August 2020 on a road trip through Washington State. Eight Olympic Peninsula tribes, including the Quileute, Klallam, and…
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North Cascades National Park, Washington
On a summer road trip across Washington State, we decided it was time to explore one of America's least-visited national parks: the North Cascades.
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Weta Cave, Wellington, New Zealand
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The Highline Trail, Glacier National Park
On our second day at Glacier National Park, Matt and I woke at 4am, pulled on our warmest hiking gear, grabbed breakfast, and drove into the park right at dawn. Our plan was to hike half of the Highline Trail that morning. Due to its popularity, we knew we had to get an early start to get a parking spot.…
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Glacier National Park, Montana
Wander here a whole summer, if you can. Thousands of God’s wild blessings will search you and soak you as if your were a sponge, and the big days will go uncounted . . . in a few minutes you will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care-killing scenery on the…
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Grey Glacier, Patagonia
The Grey Glacier (Glaciar Grey, en español), fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, flows southward into a lake by the same name: Lago Grey. The glacier occupies 100 square miles and runs 17 miles long. We visited the Grey Glacier as the first of our three excursions from EcoCamp, our retreat in Torres del Paine National Park.
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EcoCamp, Patagonia
For the first time since we'd been traveling together, we'd had a trip that wasn't fully about the beautiful places we'd seen, although Patagonia has more to offer than the whole world combined. But it really was about the community we had formed there during those five days--the friendships, the language barriers, the communal meals, the hard treks up difficult…
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Valle de la Luna, Chile
It was our first day in the Atacama Desert. We had driven an hour’s dusty road from sleepy Cálama to sleepier San Pedro, eaten lunch, and dropped our bags at our hotel. After stopping at the only gas station in 200 miles (truly) and filling up on diesel* and Gatorade, we headed to one of the region’s most famous sites:…
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The Salt Flats of the Atacama Desert
The vastness of the sky, the clarity of the air and the flat, endless horizon are disorienting. It's hard to tell which direction you came from or where you're going. Everywhere you look, the earth is a rough, grainy field of rust-colored salt deposits.
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Santiago, Chile
"Night, snow and sand compose the form of my slender homeland . . . ."
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Magellenic Penguins, Isla Magdalena, Chile
Off the coast of the southern tip of South America is a tiny island called Isla Magdalena. It sits in the frigid Antarctic waters of the Strait of Magellan, a curvy, navigable sea route separating South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The channel’s major port city is Punta Arenas, where we stayed while we…
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Hiking Torres del Paine, Patagonia
In Patagonia a storm clears and the alpine monoliths stand like teeth set in a dragon’s jaw . . . The message broadcast from the peaks is as jarring as the scream of a train whistle. ‘Show yourself,’ they say.
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Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques, Chile
We were thrilled to see some of its natural residents make an appearance on the day we visited: flamingos, horned coot (a big, black bird that nests in the shorelines), rheas (a huge flightless bird that's a distant relative of the ostrich), and vicuñas.
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San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
The Atacama Desert stretches 600 miles from the Pacific coast of Chile to the western Andes mountains. Three countries lay claim to its territories: Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, although most of the desert is located in the Antofagasta region of Northern Chile.
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Briksdalsbreen Glacier, Norway
Visiting a glacier during the 21st century is a privilege. As is clear from the pattern of expansion and recession, the Briksdal glacier changes every year as the climate warms or cools.
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Hjelle, Norway
If you're looking for absolute serenity, unparalleled natural beauty, and warm hospitality, look no further than Hjelle.
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Oslo, Norway
Oslo is Norway's expensive and beautiful capital city, a center of the Scandinavian world, a hub of trade, banking, and maritime shipping that consistently ranks in one of the top spots for best quality of life.
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Why You Must Add Loen to Your Norway Itinerary
It's clear that the view from the top of the Skylift is unspeakably beautiful. From the top, you can see Lake Lovatnet, Mount Skåla, Jostedalsbreen Glacier, Olden, and the Nordfjord.
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Geirangerfjord
Geirangerfjord is the most famous fjord in Norway: countless travel guides have called it one of the most beautiful places in the entire world.
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Driving Trollstigen, Norway’s “Troll Road”
Norway: the land of trolls and their wild, winding roads. The wildest and windiest of these roads is, famously, Trollstigen, or the "Troll's Road." We drove it on our summer trip to Norway this June.
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Hiking Rampestreken, Norway
Then he told him about Åndalsnes, a tiny settlement up in Romsdalen valley, surrounded by high mountains which were so beautiful that his mother had always said that that was where God had started when he was creating the world, and that He had spent so long on Romsdalen that the rest of the world had to be done posthaste…
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Ålesund, Norway
Every city has a scent: Granada is honeysuckle and jasmine; Squamish is fir trees; Bergen is baked goods; and Alesund is a wood-burning fireplace.
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Exploring Toronto’s Casa Loma
In the early 1900s, Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, a Canadian soldier and financier who accumulated an immense wealth from the founding of the Toronto Electric Light Company in 1883 and brought electricity to the city, decided to invest his $17 million into a private chateau in Toronto.
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Top Things to Do in Toronto, Canada
Famous for being one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world and home to 2.7 million people (5.7 million if you consider the greater Toronto area), Toronto has it all.
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Off-the-Beaten-Path: Tønsberg, Norway
Maybe you've already seen the big port cities flanking the coasts of Norway; maybe you've already taken a fjord cruise and driven the Troll's Road; maybe you've already wandered to the northern cities and seen the midnight sun--so where do you go when you feel like you've already "done Norway"?
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Runde Bird Island, Norway
Runde makes you feel like you're at the very edge of the world, with the deep blue ocean clamoring at your feet. You can almost imagine what it must have felt like to be an explorer discovering a new land. Come for the birds, come for the adventure, come for the surprises, and come for the views.
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Bergen, Norway
Bergen is a fairytale city. And it absolutely is--but it's also a fishy city, a rainy city, a historic city, and a colorful city.
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Bryggen i Bergen, Norway
Poised at the convergence of Norway's majestic western fjords and the wild, blue Atlantic ocean, Bergen, Norway's "second city," is straight out of a fairytale.
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Cherry Blossoms and Chimney Cakes at Niagara-on-the-Lake
The Hungarian chimney cakes, or kürtőskalács in Hungarian, from Budapest Bake Shop, are one of my favorite things I've ever eaten. A chimney cake is a pastry made from raised dough which is then wrapped around a spit and baked. The cakes can have any fillings, from sweet to savory. We devoured the cinnamon and walnut chimney cakes. The owners…
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Hiking the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park
When I was young, I oftentimes imagined what it would be like to live in Rivendell, the sanctuary of the Elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a refuge in times of trouble, an outpost of aid and friendship, and a bounty of history and folklore. Blessed by magic and peace, Rivendell is a place…
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Red Rocks, Colorado
Ten miles west of Denver and six thousand feet above sea level, an open-air amphitheater sits cradled between several slabs of bright red rocks. The aptly-named concert venue, Red Rocks, has space enough to hold over 9,000 people. It is known internationally as the only naturally-occurring, acoustically-perfect concert venue in the world.
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Garden of the Gods, Colorado
Has there ever been a place more deserving of its name than Garden of the Gods? Situated in the shadow of Pikes Peak, one of the tallest peaks in the Rocky Mountains at 14,115 feet, the rocky red sandstone formations of the Gardens rise tall. It is an ancient place.
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An Earth Day Celebration of the Most Beautiful Places to Travel
In honor of Earth Day (April 22, 2019), I’ve decided to compile a list of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Making this list was tough because I wanted to include every single amazing place I’ve ever seen! In no particular order, below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the indescribable natural wonders I’ve been privileged enough…
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The Grand Hotel at Point Clear, Alabama
The Grand Hotel, built in 1847, is over 170 years old. The resort is its own world, full of history and hospitality, surrounded by the warm, inviting waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
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A Tribute to Notre Dame
Notre Dame is Paris. It is epic, medieval, graceful, heavy, lofty, and mystical. It stands for every beautiful dream of humanity–of religious devotion, of architectural genius, of culture and community. My heart collapses as it does.
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A Weekend in Nice, France
Nice's place in the world is a blessed one. On one end, the azure waters of the Mediterranean sea lap at its shores; at the other end, the French Alps rise in the distance.
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Èze, France
Èze is a place for wandering and getting lost. We spent our whole day peeking through narrow stone arches, popping into artisan shops, perfumeries, and galleries, eating banana splits on a terrace, and wandering around the gardens.
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A Weekend Guide to Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is the relaxing, trendy desert oasis to its much louder, much more overwhelming SoCal neighbor, Los Angeles. Where the car-laden megalopolis of L.A. offers excitement, Hollywood, and shopping, Palm Springs provides a more regenerative, low-key pace. From the white-washed walls of the mid-century modern home you’re renting for the weekend, gaze up at a lofty palm tree casting…
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The Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
In the late 1880s, twenty-five-year-old George Vanderbilt, the grandson of industrialist Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, went horseback riding through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina. As he crested the top of a hill and gazed out over the peaks and valleys of the land below him, he made a decision: on this piece of earth, he was going to…
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Asheville, North Carolina
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever visited? Truthfully, Asheville isn’t exactly the weirdest place I’ve ever been, but lately they’ve leaned into the motto Stay Weird to describe the funky, hipster, outdoorsy vibes that define this little city in western North Carolina. I went to college in Knoxville, in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee. Just an hour and…
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A Nashville Wedding
One of the most poetic things I like to say about my marriage is that it has been blessed by green and growing things. In July 2016, my husband, Matt, proposed to me at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris and in August 2017, he married me in a greenhouse in Nashville, Tennessee. Matt and I both grew up in Tennessee–him…
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Versailles, France
Once home to the kings and queens of France, the Chateau de Versailles is an opulent, extravagant, gold-flecked experience that should be part of every Parisian itinerary!
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San Diego, California
San Diego has always had my heart. It’s vibrant, colorful, and close to the ocean. Its proximity to Mexico means that it has a rich Mexican culture and history.
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Montmartre, Paris
I currently have cathedrals on the brain, largely due to the fact that I just finished reading Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. And while I fully understand and intend for this to be a travel blog, I can’t help but use my Internet platform to tell my readers to read this book. Its 900+ pages detail the story of…
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The Luxembourg Gardens, Paris
The Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France will always hold an incredibly special place in my heart. In 2016, Matt and I traveled to Paris on our first international trip together, and if you’re a friend or family member, you’ll be familiar with the story I’m about to tell. Matt and I first met during our freshman year at The University…
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Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
It’s a pretty cool thing when your mom and mother-in-law are friends. It’s even cooler when you get to take trips together! The weekend before Thanksgiving 2018, my mom decided to rent a cabin in Sevierville, Tennessee, and invite all of us to come up and celebrate the holiday together. Matt and I both completed our undergraduate degrees at The…
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Crossing the Cook Straight with Sounds Air: New Zealand
Kia ora, friends, and let me tell you a little about the Cook Strait! The Cook Strait is the body of water separating the North and South islands of New Zealand. It is well known for many things, but two particular facts stick out in my mind: it’s one of the most beautiful ferry crossings in the world, but it’s…
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Arizona Architecture: Taliesin West
Every great architect is – necessarily – a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.” Frank Lloyd Wright There are a lot of attractions in Phoenix, Arizona that vie for your time and attention—meandering through the Desert Botanic Gardens, shopping in Old Town Scottsdale, hiking around Camelback Mountain. If you’re taking…
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Grand Canyon: South Rim
What makes you come alive? What satisfies you at the same time that it urges you to do more, feel more, be more? If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I am driven by a lust for adventure, always chasing after those sterling, shining moments of beauty that you hold in your heart for…
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Galway, Connemara, and Cong: Ireland’s West Coast
We arrived in Galway around midnight, after a whirlwind trip to Spain and a three-hour bus ride from Dublin. The sound of our suitcases rattling against the cobblestone streets sounded like gunshots in the quiet neighborhood where the bus station was, but as we passed into the main square towards our hotel, the noise from the bars began to drown…
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Granada, Spain
Granada—It is a city that has inspired songs, poems, dances, theatre, food, and art. It is home to the Alhambra, a copper-colored fortress rising against the backdrop of the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains, and the subject of its own blog post. It is the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited. From afar, I grow fonder of it by the hour.
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Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish sits at the northern end of the Sea to Sky Highway, the north-south stretch of road connecting all of British Columbia, from Vancouver to Lillooet. Isn’t Sea to Sky a beautiful name for an expressway?
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Queenstown and Glenorchy, New Zealand
Our horseback ride took us out into “high country,” along the banks of the beautiful blue Rees River, to the base of the mountains, and into green, purple, pink, and white fields of lupins so high they touched my calves.
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Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
The glacier is constantly moving, so each day, the Glacier Guides have to carve, pick, and navigate new paths through the terrain.
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Stars Above the Water: Waitomo Caves, New Zealand
They were the titiwai, or “stars above the waters,” as the Maori call them. Seeing the titiwai felt like lying on the grass on a pitch-black night in the middle of nowhere, staring up at the stars above.
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Hobbiton Movie Set, New Zealand
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien So goes the famous first line of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the prequel to his famous Lord of the Rings trilogy that has touched so many of our lives. On the seventh day of our December 2017 honeymoon, Matt and I woke up after a pretty restless night…
