West Coast US
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Sisters weekend in Seattle
You may recall that I flew to California last year to visit my sister for her birthday. We had a great time together; nonetheless, this wasn’t meant to become an annual occurrence. But then, a few months back, she mentioned that her favorite band would be performing in Seattle around the time of her birthday.… Continue reading
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72 hours in Los Angeles, part II
Have you ever heard of the comedian Brian Regan? He’s my favorite because he takes everyday things that are super relatable and makes them hilarious. For example: feeling out of place in a conversation about art. As someone who isn’t knowledgeable about art, I can very much relate when he jokes about walking up to… Continue reading
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72 hours in Los Angeles, part I
Prior to this trip, I would have said there’s a zero percent chance I’ll ever move to southern California. It’s hot, crowded, noisy, expensive, the air quality is terrible (upon arrival, I invented a game; it’s called ‘Fog or Smog?’ and, as it turns out, it’s often difficult to determine the answer), and traffic is… Continue reading
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Springtime in Santa Barbara, part II
After a drizzly and wine-filled first day in Santa Barbara, my sister and I woke to clouds hanging low over the mountains – mountains we never actually saw the top of during this trip. But at least it had finally stopped raining. Our train didn’t depart until evening, so we had almost the entire day… Continue reading
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Springtime in Santa Barbara, part I
My sister moved to southern California years ago, but until recently I’d never visited her there. It’s not for any dramatic reason. It’s just that she shares a small place with a roommate and they both work from home, the roommate often on evenings and weekends, so having overnight guests isn’t super feasible. And until… Continue reading
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Where Desert Meets Ocean – San Diego, California (part II)
The next couple days in San Diego were mostly filled with conference-y stuff. But we did still manage to find some excellent restaurants. The Gaslamp Quarter is full of places to eat, so you’ll never go hungry. For breakfasts/brunches, we ate at Chocolat, Opera Caffe, and The Broken Yolk, all of which served a wide… Continue reading
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In which there were pandas – San Diego, California (part I)
One of the things I used to get to do each year was attend an annual conference. One year, it took place in Boston, and my colleagues and I traveled there by car in the middle of a snowstorm. The entire time it was cold and windy and rainy and generally miserable, which is unfortunate… Continue reading
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That time I willingly jumped into 55°F water – Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (part II)
Day 2 at Crater Lake dawned clear and calm, which was perfect because this was the day we’d been waiting for – boat tour day! We’d hemmed and hawed over this for quite a while because the cost didn’t really fit in with our MO of budget travel. But in the end, we made the… Continue reading
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Crystal Clear – Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (part I)
After leaving the Columbia River Gorge, we turned south at Hood River, OR and began the 4.5-hour journey to Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake was formed about 7,000 years ago when Mount Mazama erupted so violently that it collapsed. The top of the mountain was blown off and what remained formed a caldera that… Continue reading
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“Gorge”ous – Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Highway, Oregon
After four fabulous days exploring Mount Rainier National Park, we packed up our car and headed off. It was a bittersweet parting; I was sad to leave when so much of the park remained unexplored but also excited for our next destination: Crater Lake! After much cajoling on my part (and some whining – not… Continue reading
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A Day in Paradise – Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (part IV)
I’ve been a lot of cool places. The US map on my bedroom wall is covered in pins; I’m up to 43 states and 57 National Park Service sites, not to mention 7 Canadian provinces and numerous national and provincial parks there as well. So when I say that the Skyline Trail at Mount Rainier… Continue reading
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Feeling Small – Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (part III)
Day three at Mount Rainier was full of lakes and waterfalls. Once again, we were greeted by blue skies as we headed out of Ohanapecosh, traveling west down Stevens Canyon Road to Cougar Rock campground, which would be our home base for the remainder of our time here. We took the entire day, stopping along… Continue reading
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First Glimpse – Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (part II)
The next morning we woke to blue skies, the fog of the previous afternoon long gone. This was excellent news for us as we were headed up to the northeast section of the park to catch our first glimpses of the mountain. From Ohanapecosh, we drove north to the White River entrance. Five miles (8 km)… Continue reading
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At the Edge – Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (part I)
Mount Rainier is a giant, snow-capped peak located in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. It rises to 14,410 feet (4392 m) above sea level and, though not the tallest mountain in the continental US, is the most topographically prominent one. The summit of Mount Rainier is often above the clouds; on a typical day, you’re… Continue reading
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Beyond the Moonscape – Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho (part III)
Today is an exciting day for me on Handstands Around the World. Today features my very first guest post! The guest author: my mom. She’s been reading my posts since I started this blog and she’s always been there to help me remember the details of our trips, proofread, and remind me of my propensity… Continue reading
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Lava Tubes – Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho (part II)
One of my favorite adventure activities is exploring caves. I’ve never truly gone spelunking (it’s on my to-do list), but if we’re somewhere with a cave, we always sign up for the tours. As it happens, formation of caves in lava flows is fairly common, meaning there are a few caves at Craters of the Moon… Continue reading
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“I Walked on the Moon” – Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho (part I)
First things first: if you don’t understand the reference in the title of this post, drop everything and go look up Brian Regan on YouTube (well, okay, read the rest of the post first and then go look him up!). He’s my absolute favorite comedian for two reasons: (1) his humor is clean, and (2)… Continue reading
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Glimpses of the Sun – Olympic National Park, Washington (part IV)
The final leg of our trip led us back out to the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula on Highway 101. Just south of the Hoh Indian Reservation is Ruby Beach. It’s a 5-minute walk to the beach and many sea stacks, the most famous of which is Abbey Island. I’m still at a bit… Continue reading
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Onward, Hoh! – Olympic National Park, Washington (part III)
The next morning found us heading inland to the Hoh Rainforest, located at the end of Upper Hoh Road off Highway 101. The road follows the Hoh River and also passes a big Sitka spruce tree. Though not the largest, it’s one of many giant nearly 1000-year-old trees in the park! From the Hoh Visitor Center,… Continue reading
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Sand and Solitude – Olympic National Park, Washington (part II)
When we planned a vacation to Washington in June, we expected lots of rain and minimal sunshine, so we were fortunate to only have a couple gloomy days the entire vacation. The unfortunate part is that they fell on the days we were out at the beach. On the plus side, though, the drizzle scared… Continue reading