Capilano - Face Your Fears

Have you ever done something because it just looked so amazing from pictures and then proceeded to hate your decision after you did it?
Oh.. yeah me neither..

Anyways, a couple weekends ago, I had some friends visiting from different states and while my itinerary list was very long with possibilities, I had my eye set on one thing in particular, after we decided that going up to Canada would be a fun day trip (they both had never been).
The Capilano suspension bridges, while seemingly nerve wracking, were something I had been wanting to go and see for awhile, to experience them.
With a 3 hour drive up from my hometown in WA, we would spend the whole day up in Vancouver, having fun, progressively getting lost on the way back, and finding something new to enjoy together, in a way.

All of us in our right minds, didn't necessarily know what to expect from the sight we'd only seen pictures of. A place for tourists from many areas waiting to cross the threshold from nervous to terrified in a matter of a few steps. Let's just say, I was a little bit more scared than I had initially thought I would be.
I am afraid of heights and while I knew, trust me I knew, we would be walking across a very high bridge stretched between two cliffs, I guess I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.
The entire walk of fright was spent halfheartedly trying to take pictures of myself, of my friends, of the scenery, with my hand grasping the side of the bridge for moral and physical support.



I'm a scaredy cat. I have no shame in admitting that, but I know while I threw a smile onto my face, every person I walked by could see the terrified look I had in my eyes, especially as everyone passing asked me if I was ok...
The bridge itself looked very stable and that was not the most terrifying part, it was the fact that it swayed under every step, children ran on it when they were not supposed to. It really made it all worse.
Not my finest moment, but definitely worth a laugh afterwards. My friends did fine, although one was for sure in the same boat as me.



We walked across twice, did the treetop adventure, took in all of the sights, saw the predatory birds for show, and walked on the cliff walk bridge as well (also scary).
We spent a good amount of time here and saw everything we could.
We spent the rest of our day driving through Vancouver and getting a late lunch before heading home, after going the wrong way and circling through the airport.

Despite the terror, visiting Vancouver with my friends was so much fun. It was a new experience I got to have with some great people. Driving through the city and just chatting about nonsense, that's what it's all about!

Cheers and safe travels everyone!

Seattle - The Emerald City

Seattle is not my hometown, nor is it somewhere I know a whole heck of a lot about, but I do love it.
This city has so much to offer in the ways of food, music, people, and scenery.

I grew up not too far from Seattle, but far enough to not very there very often. It was a place that seemed far away when I was young, but now that I'm in my 20's, I live about 20 minutes away and still don't go very often.

Seattle has it's perks, but let's start with its downfalls. Traffic and parking are top on my list for dysfunction in this picturesque city. Not only does it take awhile to get somewhere (during peak times) but if you CAN find a parking spot, it's going to cost you at least $5 (some places) unless you can find that lot that's free at off times.

             

This city is fascinating to me, not only because of the multitude of things to do, but because of the diversity of people who live and wander there.
There is always something going on to peak interest in someone.
I myself, love to enjoy good music in town, whether it's to see Hozier at the Paramount or Muse at the Key.

I also must confess while I love the city, I haven't tried too much of the food there. You really shouldn't judge though because there is entirely way too much to try! Every district has it's own billion (exaggeration) or so restaurants, cafes, pubs, etc.
I love Belltown for drinks, but Capitol Hill for the quirky places to try.



Pike Place also captures the essence of the city. Full of fish throwers, flowers and shops to entice even the most unenthusiastic of people (probably).
I love to buy pasta and tea and check out the comic book store, just for fun.

I also like to stay down there whenever possible. I like to stay at The Moore Hotel because the price is usually right and the rooms are perfect. I've stayed in their European style, two bed shared bathroom setups, which worked out fine and in one of their suites with a large bed and old fashioned tub.
It has the best coffee shop open in the morning, attached to it, Moore Coffee, which has cute foam pictures on almost every drink. Their hot chocolate tastes like toasted marshmallows.. it's the best!

Anyways, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, will always have my heart in a way no other place in the U.S. can. It's my home and I think that I will always come back to it.

Any questions?

Cheers everyone and safe travels!

The Wizarding World and More

Universal Studios was a last minute plan for us, but it was more than worth it to go.
We happen to be friends with an awesome lady who's boyfriend got us park hopper passes for FREE.
What? Yes free. I couldn't believe it either, but that was majorly appreciated.

The most important thing to us while we were there was walking through and seeing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, both places. Diagon Alley was darker, with all of the interesting shops.
We had a lot of fun going through Gringots and the ride was very fun!

Of course, butter beer was a must here and it was amazingly delicious! It was rainy and cold the day we went, but I still had the frozen kind, which I would definitely recommend. Supposedly better than the regular.  We then hopped on the train to the other park!



Hogsmeade Village was lovely as well. This is where we ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks and went on couple rides they had there. The dueling dragons ride was the best and craziest, I was dizzy when I got off of it, in a good way!

The Hogwarts ride was fun as well, but I left feeling a little sick (motion sickness sneaks up sometimes) because the ride was moving a lot and was basically all projection screen scenes. So beware!

This was my favorite part of the day and I wish we had just stayed there the whole time (although the rest was fun too)

We went on the MIB alien ride, which was another highlight! I would have won too, if I hadn't been with people who go there all the time (3rd place out of 5 isn't too bad either).

We went through Jurassic Park to the activity center.
We were all very tired already by this point, but we also went through the SuperHero area to ride on the Dr. Doom ride, which was as bad as I was expecting it to be.



We waited in line for a long time to go on the Rip Ride Rockit (the music coaster) which didn't end up working for us. And trust me when I say this, not having music playing on that ride makes it entirely more scary than it should be. I wouldn't go on that again.

We were just about to go, but we really wanted to go on the Mummy ride, which was a great way to end the day. Such a fun ride!

By the end of the day, it was getting darker and rainier and we were so tired from the day before, we were just done.
All in all though, definitely go!
It would be better on a nicer day, but I'm glad we got to have that experience.

Cheers and safe travels everyone!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Dare I disagree with this ever present statement about Disney? No, of course not, although it being crowded as hell is definitely -1 point, it's still definitely an amazingly happy place to be.

My trip to Florida over New Years was well worth the travel time, the planning, and leaving home. The sun definitely made up for the constant rain and cold during the winter back in Seattle.
When first arriving to DisneyWorld, the archway welcoming you to the parking area is enough to make you excited! I remember looking over to the car next to us to see a little boy rocking out and ready for all the fun. We only decided to go to the Magic Kingdom, because of costs, even though I would have loved to venture over to Animal Kingdom as well.

Although, the morning for us was a little cold and rainy, we didn't let it completely dampen our spirits because everything looked so magical. It was still decorated with festive Christmas wreaths and garlands, lights hanging everywhere and all of the workers, at least out in the shops and the streets, were very friendly and helpful (some people at the rides seemed very less enthused).

We started off the day at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a nice start to the day in FrontierLand and a great way to get us even more excited for the rest of the day.

*As a side note, I think we waited until after the ride to go look at our fast passes and we should have done that when we first walked through the gates...That was a major bummer to have to wait all day to use some of them (and some were all taken) even though it did work out well for us in the end.

We strode through AdventureLand next and went to meet Aladdin, which was my friends "need-to" item of the day.
Meeting the characters was a great extra I hadn't even really thought about before getting there, but it was definitely a great feeling to even be standing next to a character from your childhood.
Later in the day, we also met Ariel, Gaston, Beast, Anna and Elsa.

Mind you, we are the park from when it opened and we stayed till just before it closed, so we were there for a good 16 hours walking our butts off trying to see and do as much as we could.
More rides, circling through the whole park at least a couple times, before hitting the time of the day where the dominos were falling into place.
Being able to use one fast pass for The Haunted Mansion, running to see the fireworks and then trying to get out of the swarms of people to get to our dinner reservation.

The New Years fireworks display (although it was Jan 2nd) was amazing and for sure a highlight. The music from countless Disney movies playing, the flashes and sparks dancing and glowing along. There were two shows and we stayed for both.

We then, like I said, had to book it to our dinner reservation at Be Our Guest (Beast's castle) because we were already late. They were very nice there though and we got seated pretty quickly.
We only decided to get dessert there because the actual food was very pricey, so we got a couple lovely cupcakes and, of course, had to try some of the grey stuff! Which is delicious, by the way.
After we got to meet Beast, which was lovely.

Traipsing around the park again after the sugar, our favorite ride through the day was probably the Little Mermaid ride, sitting in a clamshell and singing the songs. We rode on this for the second time at this point.
We went to TomorrowLand to finish it out and wait for our last fast pass for Space Mountain. The Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear took up our time and then we headed over.
We decided to just wait in line because we were too early, but by the time we got through and on, we were able to scurry back and use our fast pass to get back on in 5 minutes, score!

That was the end to our magical day. Filled with much happiness and thankful hearts.
We would have stayed longer, but we did have to go to Universal in the morning, so sleep was a necessity.

Worth it? Oh yes. Recommend it? Highly.
They don't call it the happiest place on Earth for no reason.
More to come soon!

Cheers and safe travels everyone!

Travel Envy

It stems from the bottom of your soul, the feeling of wanting but not having, the gut wrenching turn when you see that next picture posted on Instagram...

Travel envy. It's rampant upon wanderlusters like you and me who, while we travel when we can (and love it!), we don't have the means to do it all the time.

It's not that we don't get a good stint when we're out and about on our own getaways, but when we're home, we're even wondering when and where we will go next.
Then cue the people who are continuously traveling, the dream of many, to their hearts desire. Posting picture after picture, maybe even a video, of the ultimate bucket list items you wish you could check off.

The green monster rears it's ugly head again and you can't help but bask in the raincloud you have hovering over your head. It makes you sad to not be able to be out there, in the work with so much to offer. Being stuck at a 9 to 5 that makes it possible only once a year to go where you want.

Jealously is an odd thing that when it's alive, it moves you, it pushes you further than you ever thought, it makes you think twice about what you're going to buy at the grocery store this week just so you can save some money for the next plane ticket..
It comes and goes. It's fleeting. We all have it, if we've ever desired something we can't have, only to have it dangled in front of us by someone else. Yes, that could mean so many things, but you know what I'm talking about here.

I love traveling. Sadly, my savings and checking account do not. It constantly pushes me to the boundaries of comfortable security, even if I know I am very lacking in that area of my life.
But, it's always worth it when that day comes where you get to hop on a plane to that next destination, even just for a short trip, nothing else feels better than to get away.

I am always envious of the people who seem to have it easy with the hand they've been dealt, but for what it's worth, the life I have is good too. Figuring out where I'll go next is half the fun, even though the ever impending stress and money make it hard.

Pictures, stories, and updates from the travelers going on in their worldly adventures are inspiring. While I am still very envious, it motivates me to plan and get going and I heartily appreciate that.
While my next major trip won't be for a little less than a year, I can only dream about the future, the inevitable.

Travel envy, travel motivation. They go hand in hand and I have both.
Do you?

Cheers and safe travels!

Weekend Trip to MSP

First thoughts when getting out of the airport were, "Wow, it is hot and incredibly humind."
Words I would be sure to say throughout the trip to numerous people and then thereafter to coworkers, family and friends.

From all of the things I've always heard about Minnesota is that it's cold. I never really expected the hot, sticky weather that I got when I arrived in September. By all means, it was nice to have a last hot weekend of summer before heading back to rainy Seattle for the fall, it just caught me by surprise.

This being my first trip out there, to visit a friend I had met when traveling to Europe in June, it was a needed trip. Getting a long weekend, away from work, full of fun and getting to know a friend a little better.

My experience there was short and only set in a couple places, but I still had a great time.
From the multiple sushi stops, to the fair, to the shopping till we dropped (almost literally).

First day was spent by myself, taking the precious Lady dog out for walks and trying not to die in the humidity, at least for the morning.

Once my friend got home however, we got ready to set out for the Minnesota State Fair!
Now, we do have our own state fair in Washington, but I know that we do not have multiple booths of food with something on a stick offered at it.
We ate so much incredibly terrible but delicious food while we were there. From pronto pups, to fries, cookies, and cheese curds, it was more and more difficult to walk with each bite.

We also went to the "Miracle of Birth" center to see the baby animals that were born. Lots of piglets, lambs and cows were there to see. Also checking out the Agriculture center to see the Seed Art that people had done, while stopping to get a frozen apple cider pop (YUM).

We ended our time trying to find the puppies, but we were too late. Which lead us to finding the best part of all, the Butterfly House! It was too cool to see all the butterflies flying around, landing on the walls and people. Being able to have them chill on your shirt and hold them on your fingers. Now, they are kind of creepy and it took me a few minutes to be ok with this winged crawly bugs on my hands and legs, but it was a blast!

The fair ended up being a really fun day. We were exhausted by the end, but it was for sure worth it.

The following day, we decided it would be a good idea to go to the Mall of America, which in all reality, turned into a major shopping spree that left us just as exhausted as the day before.
I didn't take many pictures here, but we had a fun time strolling around and shopping for a bit, stopping for a sushi lunch of course.

We ended the day by checking out the SeaLife Aquarium at the bottom of the MOA. We had a good time with that as well, petting stingrays, the tunnel of sharks and tons of jellyfish. Lots of fun was had at the mall.

On our way back (which we were there till it closed) we stopped to see a movie at the $3 theater and saw Spy with Melissa McCarthy. That movie is hilarious if you haven't seen it yet, you should.

All in all, the trip was great because I had a good friend to spend it with and while I didn't expect much from Minnesota in the beginning, it definitely surprised me with the awesome time.

To many more long weekends and travel days.
Cheers and safe travels!

Switzerland and Mt. Pilatus

Switzerland has to be one of my favorite places I've been so far. It's so gorgeous, green and full of fresh mountain air.
Sometimes I can't believe I've even been there!
On my most recent trip to Europe with EF College Break, I had the opportunity to travel to Lucerne (which was one of our major stops). We actually stayed in Engelberg (here), which is about a 40 minute drive from the city of Lucerne.

Engelberg itself was a sight! Beautifully stationed in a mountain valley, we were able to hike around to view points to see the whole town, which was lovely! It being the spring season, it was a bit rainy and not very many people were in town during this time, which actually made it more pleasant in my book.

We got to meet Swiss cows and we eventually got to have dinner, which we chose a nice place where we could apparently only order pizza (since we arrived so late). Of course, I still got wine and my pizza was very good.

The next day, we started off by driving to Kreins where we hopped on gondolas to hoist us up the mountain side, to where the end would be the top of Mt. Pilatus.
The gondolas, a bit different from what you may be thinking of from Venice, are a bit sketchy, especially trekking up the side of a foggy mountain.

At the halfway point up the mountain, we were able to hop off and enjoy a ropes course they had there, fit with obstacles and multiple zip lines! This was probably my favorite thing we did on the trip, because it was so awesome to be able to say I've gone zip lining on a mountain in Switzerland!
We took about an hour or so to do this and while it did cost almost 30 extra euros to do, it was so worth it!

Onwards and upwards! We finally made it to the top and after much anxiety over timing, we got to eat a lovely cafeteria style lunch and take pictures from a great viewpoint there. It did not fall short of amazing and being on top of a Swiss mountain is probably one of the best feelings I've come across.

From the top, we took a cog wheel train to the bottom.

A bit steep, but we made it down in one piece, getting a glimpse of a little mountain goat on our way down as well!
At the bottom, we made our way to the boat we would take next (yes quite a journey on this day) which would take us around the lake and to Lucerne.

Once we made it to the city, everyone was ready to go and explore. There were places to get swiss army knives, clocks and watches, we fancied venturing to a nearby Swiss chocolate shop, which was delicious!
We also got a short tour and wandered to see the sights on our own for a bit.

If you didn't know this about Lucerne or maybe Switzerland in general (not entirely sure), they seem to have a lot of swans there! Swimming and lazing around by the edges where people are.
(Pictured above) The kettle bridge was a nice place to go across and we got to see old architecture mixed in with the new.

More walking led us to our bus that took our tired group back to our hostel. We had wanted to try some famous traditional fondue, but apparently that is only a thing they do in the winter sadly, so we missed out. We did however eat at a really amazing restaurant (I got their special lamb and orzo pasta, yum! Here.) We also tried to head out to a bar that night where we thought they were having a festival celebration for summer solstice, but it wasn't entirely busy and we ended up leaving, although it was a good time while it lasted!

I wouldn't have traded this trip for the world. It was entirely different than what I expected, in so many ways, but it was also exactly what I needed.
I made new friends, made a lot of memories, and got to travel to some pretty cool places.
I'm always ready for my next adventure and I already have a few in mind!

More posts to come, just have to venture out to make more!
Cheer and safe travels everyone!