There had been a lot of uncertainty surrounding travel while living in the UAE. Regulations were changing constantly, so we opted to travel separately for two full years. In 2021, we took a couple of trips to the U.S. to visit family. We both ended up visiting California (Nick additionally visited Oregon) during two such trips. The US west coast has so much natural beauty. Between the stately redwood forests, sublime coastlines, and colossal granite walls, it's the adventurer

We visited Upstate New York for Nick's cousin's wedding in the early summer. Most of Nick's extended family lives in the (general) Buffalo to Syracuse region, so he had frequented Niagara Falls but had only been to the Finger Lakes once as a kid. The Finger Lakes are north-south linear features that geographically resemble, well, fingers. They were carved out by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, resulting in the aesthetically gorgeous and lush landscapes. The area is

Nick's parent recently purchased a house in Naples, and we wanted to visit before we moved to Abu Dhabi. And, neither of us had visited the Everglades. So, visiting family and the park made for a well-balanced weekend trip. Shark Valley Visitor Center Bike Trail What We Did Big Cypress Shark Valley Visitor Center : It’s $30/vehicle just to enter, and we had to wait a little while to get in. It’s a one-car-in-one-car-out type of parking lot. So, get there early if you can. ​Bi

We may not have seen any celebrities during our visit, but the weather and company were top notch. Several friends from different times in our lives have ended up in Southern California. Nick had already visited the city as a kid and Channel Islands as an adult. So, we did a mixture of touristy things he had already seen, a few attractions he had not yet experienced, sprinkled with visits with friends. Now that I've seen the city, and the traffic (people really aren't exagger

We resolved to make 2019 the year we went somewhere new each month (or, as many months as possible). By the time the new year began, we had not yet chosen a place to visit in January. So, a quick search for cheap flights around the U.S. yielded a few good choices for a weekend getaway. Ultimately, we decided to fly into Phoenix and rent a car to visit Flagstaff/Sedona. This visit was also during the tail end of the longest government shutdown (to-date). In hindsight, we shou

For Nick’s birthday we decided to hit up one of the most famed concert venues in North America: Red Rocks Amphitheater. Not only were we able to see Rise Against!, one of his favorite bands, but we also got to hang out with some of our good friends from college. It was a short trip, but we managed to squeeze in the concert, an incredible hike at Rocky Mountain National Park, and some exploring of Denver. Sky Pond, Rocky Mountain National Park What We Did Rocky Mountain Nation

We've started to make a habit of traveling for our birthdays rather than buying each other material things. Like many other millennials (but not limited to), we prefer experiences over more "stuff." We only have a limited time on this planet, so we try to maximize our experiences and relationships. These are truly what stick with you over time. Trip planning began early in the year as I was perusing half-marathons around the U.S. I noticed that there was one being held around

We went full-tourist when we visited New York both in 2015 for a friend’s wedding and when we celebrated New Year’s 2017/2018 with our friends from Iceland. The northeastern United States has such an interesting and diverse history. There are still so many places we need to visit in the area. The trip in 2015 was during the spring, and the weather was gorgeous. The second trip, well, was cold. But, it was still such a great time seeing the sights, having a few drinks, and cat

Our friends coined them, "Quinceañera dobles." 2017 was a year of celebrating friends' 30th birthdays through travel. Nick had yet to see Mayan ruins, so to the Yucatan we went. Walking around Chichén Itzá was pretty surreal. Mayan history is marked by awe and sorrow. Once a thriving economic power with rich culture of astronomy and human sacrifice, the region was eventually overthrown and destroyed during the Spanish Conquest. Yes, it's one of the most tourist-rich areas in

Our hosts explicitly said, "Do NOT drink the water, or you will get sick." So, what did I do? I brushed my teeth with bottled water. What did the boys say? "You can brush your teeth with the water. You spit it out. It's fine." Guess who wasn't fine at the end of the trip? All three of us. Word of advice: avoid Cuban tap water like the plague. Jokes aside, I mean, we felt horribly at the end, but everything we experienced up until that point was amazing. The Cuban people are

We find unique memories in each place we visit or experience we have. But Costa Rica is a bit more special, because this is where Nick and I were married. We decided on a destination wedding to share our love for travel with those closest to us. To help us choose a location, and more importantly help with planning, we used DestinationWeddings.com . I had read some reviews about their services, most of them positive, so I gave them a call. Also, if you end up booking your wed

Nick and I went to Vegas a handful of times between 2014 and 2016 for bachelorette parties and birthdays. Here is what we did, that we remember anyway... Las Vegas Strip What We Did (Over several trips) Tropicana (lodging): Nick and I wanted to “do Vegas” on the cheaper side, and this place was more than adequate. It may not be in the middle of the strip, but it’s not too far of a walk from all the main attractions. MGM Grand (lodging): I stayed here for a bachelorette par

Our first venture to this gorgeous state happened when we were invited to a friends’ wedding in Gearhart. We decided to make a trip out of it by starting at Crater Lake National Park in the southern part of the state and driving north along the coast. We flew into Medford, but there weren’t really any Airbnbs near the park. So, we opted to stay at a hotel for once. From there, we routed through Eugene to make our way up the coast to where the wedding would be held. These type

This was the first year we decided to travel for our birthdays rather than buy gifts for each other. The gift is planning the respective trip for each other and focusing on time spent together rather than spending money on material things. Nick is somewhat of a history buff, so my thoughts went straight to D.C. or Boston. I chose D.C. this time, but Boston is definitely at the top of our list. For once, I was the one who had already seen many of the sights (on a high school t

Nick and his family are originally from the western NY area, so as a kid he visited Niagara Falls several times. As such, I had heard a lot about this wondrous place but greatly suffered from FOMO as I had never been. So when we had the opportunity during a visit for his cousin’s graduation party (also around my birthday), I was elated! Of course, Nick and his aggressive touristic ways wanted to give me the full Falls experience for my birthday. We managed to do Cave of the

We had heard from so many friends that the Pacific Northwest (PNW) has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country, so we decided to check it out over a long weekend. We still need to visit during the winter, but we’re fairly convinced we’ll make somewhere in Washington or Oregon “home” when we retire because it is absolutely breathtaking! For this trip we stayed in two places, Seattle and Port Angeles. From Seattle, we spent our first day at Mt. Rainier National Par

This trip is one more example of “aggressive tourism” that seems to dominate many trips we take. For the weekend prior to a Wyoming-based field training I had for work, Nick had the great idea to meet up with me in Montana to adventure somewhere we probably wouldn’t have seen until we were much older. It was a quick trip, and of course we will visit again, but the time spent here was not wasted! We visited at the end of September, and the weather was gorgeous. Only needing a

Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountain National parks are found just north of El Paso, Texas. This area of west Texas is an incredibly popular spot for carbonate geologists to visit. It is where the rock units containing most of the oil in the famed “West Texas Oil Patch” (aka Permian Basin) outcrop to the surface, making it a popular site to study them. In fact, the Permian Basin is where we derived this Blog’s namesake! Nick had already visited the area for work a couple

Nick's family invited us on a cruise, so we thought we'd give it a try! We had a lot of fun and got to visit a few really beautiful Caribbean islands. Aboard the Carnival Breeze Pre-Trip Notes Nick’s family had been on a few cruises prior to this trip, so they were our personal boat experts. We had a great time but decided that cruises aren’t our style. After the trip, Nick’s parents also expressed that Carnival was their least favorite cruise company. If we were to do anothe