Tag: summer 2015 U.S. road trip

Posted on

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Fourteen (Hershey to New York City) — HALFWAY TO 50 STATES!

North to South U.S. road trip recap week fourteen

North to South U.S. road trip recap week fourteen

At week fourteen, we officially reached the halfway mark of our 50-state quest. We departed Pittsburgh and set out for New York City, with a one-day stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania in between.

Being my first time in NYC, we played the tourist game and saw all the popular sites — most of which were easy to see for free! Read on to find out more about our week in The Big Apple, plus our “sweet” stop in the Chocolate Capital of the U.S.

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers August 9-15.  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Fourteen (Hershey to New York City) — HALFWAY TO 50 STATES!”

Posted on

Big Island Diving with Kona Diving Company (Kona, Hawaii, USA)

Diving on Hawaii's Big Island with Kona Diving Company

Diving on Hawaii's Big Island with Kona Diving Company

If you’re a diver or if you’ve ever looked into getting certified, then you’re well aware that diving is an expensive hobby.

And since we’d been on a strict budget for a year after quitting our jobs to travel, we hadn’t been diving in two whole years! This being my first visit to Hawaii’s Big Island, I was absolutely dying to do the manta ray night dive. But first, it was time for a refresher.  Continue reading “Big Island Diving with Kona Diving Company (Kona, Hawaii, USA)”

Posted on

Snorkeling at “Two Steps” in Honaunau Bay (Big Island, Hawaii, USA)

Snorkeling at 'Two Steps' in Honaunau Bay, Hawaii's Big Island

Snorkeling at 'Two Steps' in Honaunau Bay, Hawaii's Big Island

Fancy a snorkel in one of the Hawaii’s best snorkeling locales? If you’re staying on the Big Island, you don’t want to miss “Two Steps.” It’s a laid-back beach snorkel destination with abundant sea life less than 40 minutes south of Kailua-Kona. And it’s free!

Continue reading for more info on snorkeling at Two Steps, plus a video from our visit.
Continue reading “Snorkeling at “Two Steps” in Honaunau Bay (Big Island, Hawaii, USA)”

Posted on

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Thirteen (Chicago to Pittsburgh)

North to South U.S. road trip recap week thirteen

North to South U.S. road trip recap week thirteen

After our much needed road trip break in Chicago, we set our sights on exploring the Northeast. Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were all checked off this week of our road trip, as we made our way to New England. And we saw a good amount of ultra-green midwestern farmland along our route. Take a look at our journey from Chicago to Pittsburgh on week thirteen of our trip!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers August 2-8.  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Thirteen (Chicago to Pittsburgh)”

Posted on

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Weeks Nine, Ten, Eleven & Twelve (Chicago & Oshkosh)

North to South U.S. road trip recap weeks nine, ten, eleven and twelve

North to South U.S. road trip recap weeks nine, ten, eleven and twelve

Two months of nearly non-stop road-tripping exhausted us, so we decided to take a break.

We wanted some time to relax, regroup, and work on our blogs, and to do that, we needed to stay still. Luckily, we were traveling around the midwest at the time, and my twin brother had a room available for rent in his Chicago apartment. So we settled down for a full month and used the time to explore Chicago more, set new goals for our projects, dabble in some artistic hobbies, and even launch a new business. See what else we accomplished during our month-long road trip break in Chicago below!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers July 5 – August 1.  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Weeks Nine, Ten, Eleven & Twelve (Chicago & Oshkosh)”

Posted on

The Magical Landscape of White Sands National Monument: A Photo Journal (New Mexico, USA)

The Magical Landscape of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA

The Magical Landscape of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA

This year Ian and I checked a HUGE item off our bucket list. We can both now officially say we’ve visited all 50 U.S. states. (Hooray!)

We’ve explored a LOT of the U.S. this year — even amplifying our goals to include visiting all 50 states in one year’s time — and every time I tell people about our epic quest, I always get asked some version of the same question: Which place was your favorite?

Well, if you limit me to a certain number, I’ll have trouble answering, but White Sands National Monument is absolutely 100% somewhere on my list of favorites. (Funny, because our visit there was completely unplanned.) And while I could go on and on about how amazingly surreal and magical the scenery is there, I think the photos will give you a better idea. So I’ll let the scenic photos do most of the talking… Continue reading “The Magical Landscape of White Sands National Monument: A Photo Journal (New Mexico, USA)”

Posted on

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Eight (North Dakota back to Chicago)

North to South U.S. road trip recap week eight

North to South U.S. road trip recap week eight

Rounding out our second month on the road, we started week eight by finishing off our northern U.S. 5-park circle. After visiting Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks the previous week, we found that Theodore Roosevelt National Park — a park we’d never heard of until we spotted it on the map — was an unexpected gem of wildlife large and small.

Once we’d had our fill of bison and prairie dogs, we headed back toward the Windy City, paying a brief visit to one of my oldest friends along the way, and returned to Chicago just in time to celebrate the 4th of July with a totally unique fireworks viewing experience from the Chicago river.

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers June 28 – July 5.  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Eight (North Dakota back to Chicago)”

Posted on

Things to Do Year-Round in and Around Anchorage (Alaska, USA)

Things to Do Year-Round in Anchorage, Alaska on NorthToSouth.us

Things to Do Year-Round in Anchorage, Alaska on NorthToSouth.us

Alaska is a BEAUTIFUL state. In fact, it’s one of my absolute favorite states from our entire 2015 50-state quest. And there are a lot of things to do, even if you’re visiting outside of the summer “tourist” season.

The most popular tourist season in Alaska is summer, with a secondary season in winter, but the time in between — the “shoulder” seasons — can seem pretty dead. That 28-glacier cruise only runs May through September. Dog-sledding tours near Anchorage don’t run in fall or spring. And even the expensive polar bear excursions up north shut down post-summer. There’s a lack of demand, so yes, the big tour companies that rely on big numbers shut down when the crowd thins, but there is still PLENTY to do in this awesome state outside the major tour company offerings.

We’re currently in the midst of a two-week “offseason” trip to Anchorage — the last week of October and first of November — and we haven’t run out of things to do yet. Here’s a list of our favorites so far:  Continue reading “Things to Do Year-Round in and Around Anchorage (Alaska, USA)”

Posted on

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Seven (Wyoming to Alberta)

North to South U.S. road trip recap week seven

North to South U.S. road trip recap week seven

Week seven was by far one of the most memorable weeks on our road trip. I can’t believe how much we saw in one week! Oodles of wildlife, gorgeous sunrises, and even the Northern Lights — all the way down in Yellowstone National Park (they’re not usually visible so far south).

Somehow we managed to visit FOUR national parks all in one week. And despite late night Milky Way photo sessions, we managed to wake up before dawn TWICE to witness the gorgeous sunrises Yellowstone has to offer. If you’ve never seen Yellowstone yourself, add it to your bucket list NOW. And in the meantime, you can drool a bit over these photos!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers June 20-27.

Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Seven (Wyoming to Alberta)”

Posted on

The Best and Worst Rides and Attractions at Universal Studios Florida

Best Rides and Attractions at Universal Studios Florida

Best Rides and Attractions at Universal Studios Florida

Universal, Disney, Six Flags… growing up I visited ALL the theme parks. I was the kid who re-rode the Ninja (a relatively intense Six Flags St. Louis coaster) as many times as I could.

As an adult, I still enjoy an annual dose of theme park but am now far less concerned with the number of rides I can rack up in one visit. These days I’m more intrigued by the overall atmosphere and experience. So, being a diehard Harry Potter fan AND a long-time theme park goer, Universal Studios was on our to-do list when our U.S. road trip took us to Florida earlier this month.

Below are our top ten rides and attractions from our 2-day park-to-park Universal adventure. Continue reading “The Best and Worst Rides and Attractions at Universal Studios Florida”