New York, New York

What a wonderful town! Travel-weary and homesick we nearly skipped over this gem of the east coast, but thankfully our friend and any other New Yorker we happened to meet laughed when they heard about our "day trip to New York". Needless to say we stayed a week, exploring mostly Brooklyn and Manhattan, without scratching the surface of this city of cities.





We could have spent days in the MOMA alone, staring at the countless beautiful paintings and video exhibitions. Another wonderful surprise was the ICP (International Center of Photography), which we did not get any pictures of, but is well-worth a visit if you are going on the museum circuit.

We left heavy-hearted, our heads filled with the sights and sounds of New York, a trip back across the country ahead of us and the promise to move there someday soon.

DC

It took us 37 days to get from Washington to Washington (D.C. that is). Our empty wallets smiled because, unlike the rest of the country, everything there is free! Allowing us to spend days wandering through museum after museum; monument after monument until we collapsed in a heap in Philadelphia.



What's more American than grilled cheese and burgers! After a bit of a trek we made it to Capitol City diner and enjoyed our meals (and amazing milkshakes) making us want to take a nap on the arboretum lawn.

We rested for awhile and made our way to The Museum of Natural History (The Best!) and squeezed our way through the crowds, gawking at their most famous pieces, and taking goofy pictures. Jay's favorite part was the giant ground sloth skeleton while I preferred the natural gemstone growths!

Atlanta

We arrived in Atlanta in the early morning which was perfect timing for tea! Luck seemed to be on our side during our trip as we always ended up finding the cutest little shops. Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party had excellent Darjeeling Tea, Vegan Spice Cupcakes and a wall of portraits. All of which gave us the energy to explore!





Luck wasn't the only thing we had. Rhiannon of Liebemarlene gave us an extensive list of recommendations including the very best pizza we have ever had (Sadly we were too busy stuffing our faces and the idea to take a picture came as an afterthought), an old southern plantation that wooed us, and a number of vintage shops.

New Orleans

After a delicious catfish lunch in Baton Rouge we drove across the Bayou, dotted with small houses on stilts and sparsely growing forests, slowly entering the storybook city of New Orleans. As Seattlites we were especially excited by the promise of roasted chicory iced coffee, which did not disappoint!







We could easily have spent hours walking the neighborhoods, gawking at intricate ironworks and fancy french trims present on nearly every house (Oh how I wish we could transport one of those houses to Seattle). After a while of wandering we ended up in the historical graveyards that sprawl throughout the city; never had we thought we would have wanted to roam a cemetery, but the old mausoleums were so beautiful!

Albuquerque

Sometimes we were in such awe of a place that we forgot to whip out the cameras; we truely did not see enough of New Mexico with it's amazing landscapes straight out of a western movie! What we did capture was charming in it's own right, outside of Albuquerque was a tiny little place called Tinker Town.

Once a man's hobby turned full time profession the little city is a woodworking wonderland. We witnessed pulley system circuses, jug bands, recycled bottle walls, old west saloons and even a boat someone lived on for ten years (and we thought living on the road for 2 months was hard)!

Las Vegas Pt. 2

Do yourself a favor if you ever travel to Las Vegas and head over to the red rocks for a bit of something real. Just a wee drive out of the city, this national park was one of the most gorgeous landscapes we saw (hundreds of pictures worth!).

We headed over to a friend of a friend's ranch outside city bounds and were treated to a tour of the loop and the tiny town of Blue Diamond where there were 'old west' tourist traps and wild burros ran free.

Las Vegas Pt.1

Lucky for us gambling has no allure (we like to keep our money, thanks!) so seeing a city made for it is rather bizarre! We saw Paris, New York, castles, and a pyramid but instead of brick or wood it was foam and covered in neon lights. Our stay on the strip was short but full of sweets, the almost hundred degree weather didn't get to us thanks to some much needed ice cream.

santa barbara

After staying in a tiny little hostel in a tiny little town we headed out at 6 am to drive further south landing in Santa Barbara. The early morning payed off with vast blue skies without a single cloud dotting the sky. A word to the wise though, despite it being a town in California with beaches it is definitely not a California beach town!

Three things we loved:
1. Blood orange & vanilla frozen yogurt
2. Empty sandy beaches
3. Taking off our sunglasses when the sun finally set!

Monterrey Aquarium

While in Monterrey we naturally had to visit the aquarium! As we weaved through the parents & children in maze like configurations (for a Monday morning it was packed!) we saw creatures of the deep, penguins, flamingos, and entire section devoted to jellyfish (amazing). The aquarium was so rich in sea life that we were completely exhausted by the end! Anyway there is not too much to say so enjoy the pictures after the cut!

Refugio Beach

If I had the skills and money I would build a tiny shack on refugio beach (there was a small patch of grass with a medium-sized lemon tree to shade our imaginary windows) it would be painted the same robin's egg blue as the abandoned life guard stands and our diet would consist of nothing but picnic fare.

We made our way down the previous mountain and to the shores again; spotting what I had been lusting longingly for so long, climbing rocks. My strongest memories of living in california at a young age were these giant rocks on sandy beaches (while wearing an over-sized sweater and neon leggings of course) so I was craving a visit to nostalgic times, thankfully they didn't disappoint. In addition to completing lost memories, we had the joy of friendly campers! I can't help but think they took a little pity on us (with our tiny little tent and sleeping bags compared to RVs and air mattresses) lending extra wood and an axe to hammer in our tent spikes, but thankfully their kindness & conversation created the most amazing camping experience yet.

laguna seca

After leaving Monterrey (we will post aquarium pictures shortly), we found a little camping site (by little, I mean one of many on top of a mountain) situated next to a formula 1 raceway. It probably doesn't sound ideal but was easily the most secluded nature friendly campsite we've come across so far! Not to mention the view was amazing to wake up to!

During the afternoon we climbed trees, hiked trails & ran away from bees, all the while listening to the distant zooms and zips of the drivers below. We finished the day as any great camping trip should: with marshmallows both flaming and toasted to a tasty golden brown. At night we cuddled up around our lamp, drifting off to sleep while the strong mountain winds ruffled our tiny tent.

-Jay

heart's desire beach

Since we've started this trip I've gathered a small bundle of landscape shots, but rather than flood the page I thought I'd share this particularly gorgeous scene we got to peek in on the early morning of northern California (extremely soothing after a rough night of camping). And after a bit more driving we were treated to a beachy oasis and a maze-like 8 mile hike to the top of a mountain; complete with climbing structures, tightrope wooden pathways, and endless ocean breezes.

Three things we loved:
1 a far-from-perfect-pathway that made us feel like we were in the Goonies
2 trader joe's dried mango
3 a beach that only we were on