East Coast US
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A whirlwind weekend in Philadelphia (part II) – touring Eastern State Penitentiary
Our final Philadelphia destination (if you missed it, you can read part I of this series here) was the one that actually ended up being my favorite: Eastern State Penitentiary. I learned about this place from Lyssy in the City, and I’m so glad I did because it was fascinating! Eastern State Penitentiary was built… Continue reading
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A whirlwind weekend in Philadelphia (part I) – Independence Hall & the Liberty Bell
Philadelphia is a city steeped in history. Founded in 1682, it was not only the largest city in the US for a time, but also the most diverse. It was initially just a port city, but became an important meeting point for the colonial government prior to the Revolutionary War and later served as the… Continue reading
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A winter encampment – Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania
Despite our best efforts, we moved away from the east coast with quite a few things left on our east coast to-do list. We just ran out of time to see everything. But we usually head back at least once a year for one reason or another. This year, it was for a wedding. As… Continue reading
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On Top of: Tennessee & North Carolina
During the course of our two days in the Smoky Mountains – in addition to all the hikes I talked about in last week’s post – I managed to check two more state high points off my list. Admittedly, not in the “proper” way. After all, to be a high pointer don’t you have to… Continue reading
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Appalachian Adventures, part II: Great Smoky Mountains National Park & the Blue Ridge Parkway
After returning from our three days on the AT, we headed off for the final couple days of our trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was actually a last-minute addition… as my uncle explained in last week’s post, our original plan was for a longer backpacking trip, but that went up in flames… Continue reading
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Appalachian Adventures, part I: backpacking the Standing Indian Loop in North Carolina
I’ve never been much of a backpacker. I went a few times as a kid but they weren’t great experiences, so I’d come to the conclusion that backpacking wasn’t for me. Part of growing up, though, is to come to terms with your past and not allow it to dictate your future. I may not… Continue reading
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Ten Hours in Miami, Florida
You’d think after so many years together, my boyfriend would know better than to leave me unsupervised with vacation planning. Apparently, he still hasn’t learned that lesson. Or maybe he secretly enjoys when I book things at 10:30pm and then he finds out about it the next morning. This was one of those things. One… Continue reading
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Labor Day Weekend at Cape Cod National Seashore
I’d been wanting to make it out to Cape Cod since the day I moved to New England, but for some reason it never happened. I did make it part way out once, to approximately the “elbow,” for a bachelorette party. (Ask anyone from New England where something is located on Cape Cod and they’ll… Continue reading
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Flume Gorge & the Old Man of the Mountain… sort of – Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire
Ask anyone in New England what the most iconic image of New Hampshire is, and they’ll probably say the Old Man of the Mountain. I imagine most of my US readers know what I’m talking about: the giant cliff face that looks like the profile of an old man. This was actually somewhat of an… Continue reading
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Exploring the White Mountains
My mom always enjoys telling the story of how this White Mountains trip came to fruition. The short version is this: a couple days after making the campground reservation, I FaceTimed her to discuss a gift I wanted for my birthday. The camping and our plan to climb Mount Washington came up in conversation and,… Continue reading
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On Top of New England: Mount Washington, New Hampshire
In my quest to summit all the state high points of the northeast, Mount Washington long seemed so out of reach. It was too long a drive for a day trip. It was even really too long for a normal weekend trip, considering it takes a whole day to summit the mountain. Plus, weekends there… Continue reading
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An Homage to American Art – Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, New Hampshire & Weir Farm National Historic Site, Connecticut
There are only two National Park Service sites in the US that are devoted to art – one celebrates a famous sculptor, and the other a famous painter. Without really doing any research, my mom and I coincidentally ended up visiting both of them in the same week. In late June, my mom, boyfriend, and… Continue reading
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That time I climbed a frozen waterfall!
Almost everyone I talked to thought I was crazy for wanting to ice climb. It’s cold, they’d say. And isn’t it dangerous? What if the ice breaks? And what about all the sharp objects involved? They might’ve had a point on that last one. I came home with torn pants and a bruise on my… Continue reading
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A Taste of Vermont
When I say ‘food’ and ‘Vermont’ in the same sentence, I’m guessing the first thing that comes to mind for many of you is maple syrup. It’s probably what Vermont is most known for, food wise. But I actually don’t like maple syrup – which, by the way, is pronounced “SEER-up” in New England –… Continue reading
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On Top of Vermont: Mount Mansfield
Labor Day weekend was finally upon us, and we had an exciting goal to accomplish: summiting the highest point in Vermont. The weather forecast was solid and we’d climbed the highest mountain in Massachusetts the weekend before in preparation. We were ready for this! Mount Mansfield rises to an elevation of 4393 feet (1339 m)… Continue reading
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On Top of Massachusetts: Mount Greylock
Today, we return to the “On Top of” series I began a while back as I recount our hike up the highest point in Massachusetts: Mount Greylock! With an elevation of 3491 feet (1064 m), Mount Greylock is much taller than either of the previous state high points we’d visited. It has a prominence of… Continue reading
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Things with Wings – Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Virginia
Of all the things we’d planned for our summer vacation, this was the one I was the most excited for. Why, you ask? Well, because the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center – AKA one of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museums – is home to the Space Shuttle Discovery! The real one. As in, the… Continue reading
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Exploring the State Parks of North Carolina
Following our lovely few days in South Carolina, we began making our way back north, stopping next in North Carolina to visit some more family. My uncle had recently gotten back into hiking after many years and was very excited to take us out on the trails with him! He chose Raven Rock State Park… Continue reading
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Historic Architecture, Torrential Rains, and Flooded Streets – Charleston, South Carolina
After loading up on tea and filling our brains with tea-related facts, we hopped back on the road and continued our drive to Charleston. On the way, we made a brief stop at the Angel Oak – a giant southern live oak tree that’s 66 feet (20 m) tall, 28 feet (8.5 m) around, and… Continue reading
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Everything you ever wanted to know about tea… and more! – Charleston Tea Plantation, South Carolina
Once we were in South Carolina, we left it to my aunt and uncle to plan things out. And they did a fabulous job! In a million years, I don’t think it would have occurred to me to visit a tea plantation. I didn’t even know there was one. We also all naively thought there… Continue reading