We spent the fifth day of our trip exploring spots very near to our accommodation in Cloudcroft, nestled in the Lincoln National Forest. In fact, one of our destinations was even walkable from our B&B! You would think that our elevation in Cloudcroft - about 8,600 feet - was plenty high enough but no, we headed further up into the mountains, a far cry from the prior day’s visit to the low elevation of the desert!
Read MoreThe Guadalupe Mountains stand as a big, bulky mass rising out of the otherwise endlessly flat landscape of west Texas. They are startling and unexpected. The mountain range is also enormous, home to the highest peak in all of Texas, Guadalupe Peak, which measures 8,751 feet. For anyone who has ever been in a desert, grassland, or anywhere else that is very, very flat, you have likely experienced the inability to understand size and distance. Without any reference points, a mountain can appear close, and you can still spend an hour or more driving towards it. This was definitely our experience of these particular mountains!
Read MoreRoaring Run Furnace is the site of a former iron furnace that operated in and around the 1840s, and this site is the only spot within the massive George Washington and Jefferson National Forest’s jurisdiction that is registered as a historical place, making it unique and an interesting spot to visit!
Read MoreThe silver lining of this year of Covid is, for us, more incentive to explore our local area besides the standard, well-known spots. Because of the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Roanoke, Virginia, vicinity, there are a lot of very popular hiking spots, particularly during the shoulder seasons and especially for the fall colors. A few weeks ago, we headed to one such spot and ended up simply eating our picnic lunch in the car before heading home. Being on a crowded trail right now? No thank you!
Read MoreIf you’re looking for some outside time exploring a less populated part of Bermuda, we’d recommend you check out the small area that holds Blue Hole (a bright blue swimming hole), Tom Moore’s Jungle, and Walsingham Nature Reserve.
Read MoreFor the second morning in a row, on Saturday we returned to Dangelini's Cafe and Bakery along Front Street where I ordered a cappuccino and ham and swiss cheese croissant, and Dustin had a mocha with a turkey, egg, and cheese melt on an English muffin. For breakfast dessert, which is totally a thing, we split an apple turnover, which was delicious and not overly sweet, which is how breakfast desserts should be! We noticed that at least in the off-season, Dangelini’s wasn’t open on Sundays so made a mental note that we wouldn’t be able to return the following day.
Read MoreFor some reason, Bermuda has always piqued my interest. Maybe it goes back to my childhood and watching Bermuda’s Olympians marching in during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in their Bermuda shorts. Maybe it’s that an island isolated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles from any other land mass seems like such a different way to live.
Read MoreWhen we booked our trip to Malta, we did so on a whim after just about an hour doing online research. Why did we book this trip on a whim? Because we found an amazing flight deal, which is as good a reason as any, right?! But in that hour of research, what sold us that Malta was worth visiting were the number of historically and archaeologically important sites scattered around the island and the role the island itself had played in important events of history.
Read MoreWe fell in love with the little island of Gozo (it’s about 25 square miles). Gozo is the smaller of Malta’s two inhabitable islands (the third island can be visited but is not really inhabited) and is a great side trip to pair with a visit to the mainland. If you’re looking to do just that, check out our recommended 3-5 day Malta itinerary as well! In this blog we’ll cover some general information on Gozo, information on how to get there, and our recommendations for spots to visit to fill 2 (or more) days.
Read MoreLet me start by saying that Malta is a fascinating country with enough spots to visit, restaurants to try, hikes to take, and so much more that a visitor could easily spent a week or more touring Malta’s main island. We spent a week ourselves with the majority on Malta and a couple of days on Gozo and had a wonderful time. If you only have 3-5 days to spend, here is the Valletta-based itinerary we would recommend. The best part of this is that you can stay in one place the entire time with all the spots walkable by foot or accessible via ferry or a short cab ride.
Read More
