Category Archives: travel

adventures in the midwest.

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we recently got back from a week long trip visiting some of reis’ family in illinois.  we had such a good time visiting with everyone and spending sweet time with his precious grandma.  rural illinois is so different from anywhere i’ve ever lived and i really enjoy seeing different parts of the united states.  we ate lots of fried food, drank lots of milkshakes (ya steak ‘n shake!), went to the turkey festival, shopped for antiques, wandered through fields, spent an evening at the winery, and enjoyed a night on the lake.  now that we’re home, it’s time to detox and get back on a serious exercise program!  i wish we were able to see his family more often, but it’s always fun to spend a week in the midwest doing midwest things.  until next year!

kauai photo diary.

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a few days after reis’ graduation, i surprised him with a quick trip to kauai for his graduation present.  we had also been wanting to visit an outer island before we moved so the timing worked out really well.  i was there a few years ago to run the marathon but was wayyyy too tired to do much of anything besides lay by the pool once it was over.  we crammed A TON of stuff into our 2 day visit but had the best time and still relaxed quite a bit!  we made lots of touristy stops, but they were well worth it.  the first day we explored the west side of the island and the second day we adventured to the east and north side of the island.  we stayed at the sheraton resort in poipu on the south shore and enjoyed living the resort life for one night (we even got complimentary mai tais!).  kauai is breathtaking…it’s so lush and green and beautiful!  out of all of the places on the island, hanalei bay is hands down my favorite…to be honest, it is probably one of my most favorite places on this planet.  we have dreams of renting a house on the bay for a summer vacation once we have a little family of our own!

it was the perfect getaway.  i can’t wait to go back one day!

CINEMA | big sur road trip.

remember when we took a little road trip up to big sur back in december? well i finally had time to go through the footage from my camera and my brother’s gopro and edit a short little recap video. one thing is for sure:  if you go on a vacation with any member of my immediate family, it will not go undocumented! since we were kids, we’ve always loved taking photos and making videos; that’s why our cameras are attached to our hands. click HERE to watch our adventures!

san francisco.

sf41sf36sf46sf40sf51sf28 sf1sf50sf33sf52sf20sf13our last hurrah in california was a quick trip to san francisco.  we’ve both been a few times before, but never together…and it’s always more fun exploring places with him!  reis had some school stuff to take care of and we figured we would make another road trip/weekend getaway out of it.  even though it was pretty dang freezing when we were there, i really love northern california!  (i didn’t take my peacoat or my snood off the entire time.  major shoutout to the talented-knit-master janelle for knitting me my snood!)  it’s so different from southern california and the city is such a neat place with so much culture and diversity AND amazing food!  we stayed at hotel union square (and although parking in union square is a big pain), it was a fun hotel and it was great to be able to walk around at night right outside of our hotel.  thanks to my friend lauren, she gave us some good recommendations for where we should go/eat (thanks lo!).  here’s a few places that we really enjoyed if you are planning a trip in the near future!

walking around the ferry building
coffee at dolores park cafe
ice cream at bi-rite creamery
pizza at pizzeria delfina
dinner at zazie
dessert at the ice cream bar
breakfast + coffee at tartine bakery
dog/people watching in dolores park

we had the best time exploring and eating our way through san francisco, navigating BART (man, i really like public transportation – it’s so efficient!), seeing a few good friends from college, and just being with each other!  more travels soon, please.

wine tasting in santa ynez.

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for my brother-in-law’s birthday, our whole family took a little trip up to santa ynez (a little ways above santa barbara) to go wine tasting!  we got a late start so we only went to one winery, but it was a good one.  we had a tasting at sunstone and the property is so gorgeous…it kinda feels like you are in tuscany.  i am the farthest thing from a wino (i was hoping italy would have refined me in that area), but per the fam’s reviews and multiple bottles that were purchased, i think the wine was pretty good.  on the way home, we got dinner in montecito at my favorite santa barbara italian restaurant via vai trattoria!  thin crust margherita pizza.  do it do it do it.  such a fun day with my favorite people in my favorite state!

road trip to big sur | part II.

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we rented a cabin for a good deal on flipkey and [besides us not knowing where the heater was and almost freezing that night] it was so fun to stay all together in a private cabin!  we had a deck with a view, a fireplace, and a hot tub.  the only downside of our stay was having to get out of the hot tub to make the four foot sprint to the house in 20* weather.  we ate at cafe kevah for breakfast and i highly, highly recommend this place!!  gorgeous, insane views, delicious food, and the BEST MOCHA ONE WILL EVER DRINK.  it only has outdoor seating so it can be a bit frigid, but just layer up and you should be justtt fine.  my brother brought along his go-pro camera for the trip so i’m hoping to make a little video of our adventures.  one day.  after i finish that whole branding thing i’m working on for my biz.

on our drive back down to southern california, reis and i stopped at sand dollar beach and hiked along the bluffs down to the ocean.  yet ANOTHER ridiculously beautiful place!  minimal amounts of people around, firing waves, and just being in awe of God’s creation made for an amazing end to our short trip.  we had the best time exploring the coast with my brother and sis-in-law and are really hoping to make this trip an annual thing.