The last time I was in Yellowstone National Park was 15 years ago. On that trip, I had detailed lists of everything I wanted to see and do and what time of day to go to each location for the best lighting. By contrast, on this trip I have only a vague idea of which direction I want to head each day and am leaving the rest up to whatever I feel like doing at the time. Spontaneity isn’t usually my style, but I’m learning to embrace it!
Today I flew two-thirds of the way across the country, crossed the Continental Divide three times, admired deep turquoise and emerald geothermal pools, and watched a couple of small geysers erupt. Yes, it was a great start to the next week and a half in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks… but I am exhausted, so this first blog post will be short and sweet!
I’m always excited to fly, but this weekend’s trip to Annapolis, Maryland was extra special since it was my first time flying since February 2020. I took a road trip to Florida to visit my family in April, so this isn’t my first post-Covid travel experience, but Friday night was my first time stepping onto a plane in well over a year. It was a great feeling to take to the skies once again!
I know I don’t normally blog about short weekend trips in New England, but today was a perfect fall day and it feels blog-worthy. I’m in northern New Hampshire and Vermont this weekend, where the leaves are close to peak color, with a lot of yellows and oranges dotting the hillsides and a few reds sprinkled in here and there for good measure. Not the most vibrant foliage I’ve ever seen, but still pretty and worth the drive. We can dispense with the fact that I sat in traffic for (literally) hours last night to get here and quickly get on with the highlights of the day, of which there were many (and none of them involved being stuck in traffic).
Survivable. If there’s one take away from what I’ve seen over the last two days, it’s that people are capable of surviving seemingly impossible situations and coming out of it on the other side. I saw that in the survivors of Auschwitz and in Maddie Corman’s unbelievable story in Accidentally Brave yesterday. And I saw it again today.
The weather was uncooperative again today, but the sun managed to peek out for a few minutes this afternoon in between rain and thunderstorms. I think I will have a permanent indentation on my waist from tying my raincoat there every day. The highlight of today was definitely seeing Accidentally Brave tonight. Here are the rest of the day’s adventures:
I certainly didn’t plan for my summer excursion to New York City to coincide with a week of damp, cloudy weather. But such is life. After an early morning drive to New Haven and a train ride from there to Grand Central, I’m here to enjoy a couple of days of sights in the big city. Here are today’s highlights:
If you’re wondering where all of my blog posts are, there hasn’t been very much to tell and I’m very much ready to go home. I’ve eaten some lackluster meals, took a long, traffic-filled road trip up the Keys, and witnessed an altercation at the pool. Read on for more details…
I bookended my day with sunrise this morning at Smathers Beach and sunset tonight at Mallory Square. Because sunrise is my favorite time of day, and I made it my goal to be up and watching the sun rise every day of vacation, I figured I’d start the week at Smathers Beach. I thought I might be alone, but there was plenty of company between walkers, photographers, and other sunrise enthusiasts. Sunrise tonight was equally beautiful, though I was certainly not alone for that one!
First impressions: Key West is Charleston/Savannah meets the Caribbean. I’ve only been here for a few hours, but I can already tell that Key West has a personality all its own. It was 24 degrees when I left home at 3:30 this morning and a balmy 81 degrees when I landed in Key West a few hours later. Flying over the Caribbean blue-green waters and deplaning right onto the tarmac was reminiscent of my visits to Turks and Caicos, while the historic homes with rocking chairs on the front porch remind me of the deep south.
Traveling with Laura 