Tag Archives: hiking

Hiking in San Sebastian

by Wendy

San Sebastian/Donostia is one of Jack and my favorite places. I still can’t believe we almost skipped it. On this third visit, we planned to enjoy activities we had done before: going to the beach, an afternoon at La Perla, steak frites at Gandarias, and snacks and drinks at other spots we liked in the Ondarreta neighborhood near the fabulous NH Aranzazu Hotel. But I also wanted to add a hike. 

You may have noticed the Christ statue in photos I’ve included in previous posts about San Sebastian. Perpetually watching over the city from Monte Urgull, shining like a guardian day and night, my eyes are always drawn to it. On a Saturday morning, we postponed the beach and resolved to follow the path to the top. Continue reading

Get Back

by Wendy
Get back home. Get back to work. Get back to nature. Get back to the routine. Get back into a fitness routine. Get back to blogging. Get back to where you once belonged.

It can be hard to get back into the daily rhythm after a busy summer of travel. One way of easing the transition is to find something new to appreciate in your city. Jack and I recently visited the National Arboretum in DC for the first time, loved it, and went back a few weeks later. As you can see from Jack’s beautiful photography, this is a gorgeous place. Continue reading

O Canada, O Montana

by Joe
My wife and I anticipated a trip to the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park for several years. Seems like every time we got close, something else kicked our interest. We just completed this trip in September and were amazed at the beauty, the food, and the international appeal of the area surrounding Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. This was the end of the season for many of the lodges and great park hotels in Glacier and Banff. However, we had great cool weather to hike in and a little taste of snow in the upper elevations of the mountains. It just added to the beauty of the scenery.

The trip was twelve days and just about right for us. You could scale up or down the number of days to fit your taste but no matter how many days you spend you will not be disappointed. I would suggest you try to avoid the mid-summer months as we were told the crowds are quite large. At the major attractions in Banff we still saw buses loaded with tourists. Continue reading

The Scent of Glacier National Park

by Cindy
Do you smell that? You breathe in and you exhale with aaahh! The scent of Glacier National Park was amazing. All those pine trees smelled so wonderful.

That fragrant aroma of evergreen trees was so fresh and clean smelling. It brought back memories from my childhood, when Dad would bring home a fresh Christmas tree to decorate.

We bought souvenirs to bring home to remind us of our great trip, but that smell is something that can’t be put in a suitcase.

Will Hike for Dessert

by Cindy
My husband and I enjoy hiking. We even plan trips around it. Recently we went to Canada. It was our first time in that country and we planned to explore Banff National Park.

Now there are many trails in the park, but the first we chose to do was a famous one we had read about. It was located at Lake Louise. It was called the “Lake Agnes Tea House Trail”. I liked the sound of a tea house! Continue reading

Dover: A Delightful Day Trip from London

by Wendy
follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps

Interested in taking a day trip from London to another part of the country? Consider Dover. We had a brilliant time in this southeastern city on the coast of the English Channel. Continue reading

Diary of a Wimpy Hiker

by Wendy
Follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps

I am not exactly what you would call an outdoor enthusiast, but I’ve improved a lot.

As a kid I played in the yard but generally preferred sitting on the couch reading. Growing up, I favored sports like volleyball in an air conditioned gym, kickball on a freshly mowed neighborhood lawn or tennis on a nice crisp court. In other words, activities where you didn’t get too dirty and could even wear cute skirts. I never really wanted to go camping, fishing, kayaking, rock-climbing or mountain biking. Continue reading

There’s a New Mexico

by Joe
Homer Simpson once said while looking at a map of the US, Look Lisa, there’s a NEW Mexico! Well it isn’t new and it ain’t Mexico, but it truly is the Land of Enchantment. My wife and I just returned from an eleven day tour of the state and found it to be one of the most enchanting and geologically diverse states in the Union. The scenery is terrific, the food is fantastic, and the people are proud of their history and way of life. They are Native American, Hispanic and Wild West American all in one friendly, helpful, and gracious hosts.

We had considered going to New Mexico for several years because we had seen photographs and read info on their Balloon Fiesta held every year during the first couple of weeks in October. Which in itself is a great reason to stop in Albuquerque but by far is not the only draw that will float your boat (or balloon in this case). The more I planned for the trip the longer it became. We picked a great time of year as the temperatures are milder and more pleasant in the Fall. The north will see temps warm up in the day to the high 60s/low 70s with lows in the 40s. The south will still be very warm, typically high 80s during the day and the 60s in the evening. The sun shines everyday and the sky is so blue. Basically we spent five and a half days in the north and the same in the south. The half day was a transitional day as we drove from Santa Fe in the north to Las Cruces in the south which is about a five and a half hour drive. Continue reading

2015 Weekend Trips

by Wendy
Follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps

December is flying by. As the new year approaches I love to think back over the previous 12 months and remember the fun times. Over the course of 2015, I was lucky to have many weekends of travel. We took about 8 trips to see Jack’s family and 5 trips to see mine, plus had a ball hosting family visiting us in DC. We introduced my sister and nephew to one of our favorite local escapes from the city. We had wonderful trips to Spain, France, Utah, New York City and Hilton Head, which are captured in the blog. I love reading over these old posts – this was part of the reason for starting a blog in the first place. There were a few more weekend trips I wanted to call out for their specialness. Continue reading