Go See Do Explore

Travel by Any Means Necessary

Category: Travel Page 34 of 56

2020 Travel Goals

By

On January 3, 2020

In Travel

Chris photographing the Grand Canyon

In 2019 we went on a cruise that we had initially booked back on our last cruise in 2015. I had literally been looking forward to that trip for 4 years. Before we took that trip, we booked our Maine trip. Shortly after that trip, we booked our winter Finger Lakes escape (more on that trip to come). Now, we are home with no travel plans for 2020 and with nothing planned, I go stir crazy.

Last year, our Phoenix trip really helped break up the cold, Michigan winter. So, on New Years Eve we began searching for flight deals in February. We found a ridiculous deal on a flight to Austin, Texas so we will be spending a few days there next month! I have never spent any time in Texas, unless you count our 3 hour layover in Dallas early last year. So, I’m excited to explore a new place and I hope it will be warm (unlike Phoenix). We will only be there for a couple of days, but if you have any Austin must-dos, please let me know!

We are also planning to visit Chris’ family in the Tampa area for Spring Break. I haven’t spent much time in that part of Florida. I’m hoping to spend some time on the beach, but to also see the sites. It looks like there are a few interesting museums over there as well as some natural sites to explore.

We don’t have any plans yet for a summer trip, but I’m kind of hoping for something epic. It has been 15 years since I’ve been to Europe and I would love to explore more places over there. But, honestly, I would be happy with more time to see the Upper Peninsula, especially the Western UP. Of course, we feel the pull to return to Maine as well. Who knows where we will end up, but I’m sure I will update you when we have something booked!

Of course, I’m also hoping to do some more Michigan camping trips this summer. Spending time in the Great Outdoors really helps to center me and give me perspective. I would love to revisit some of our favorite campground, whether it be Wilderness State Park, Straits, or D.H. Day. There is also talk of re-visiting the Finger Lakes area next fall, which I can’t get enough of that place so I am definitely up for it! You’ll have to come back here to find out where we end up!

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Wordless Wednesday: South Bubble Summit

By

On January 1, 2020

In Travel

2019: Year in Review

By

On December 23, 2019

In Travel

2019 was the best year for travel in my recent memory! Before this year, the last time I had been on an airplane was New Years Day, 2014. In 2019, we took three plane trips and visited more airports than seems reasonable. I finally spent some time west of the Mississippi and even got to break out the passports a few times. We took another amazing cruise and took my family to one of our favorite places.

Today, a memory popped on Facebook that we booked our flights to Phoenix one year ago. That trip was a super busy whirlwind, but it was an experience I will never forget. It was my first time visiting a desert, it was cold and rainy so I still haven’t really gotten a true desert experience. It is still fun to joke about Phoenix being a cold and rainy place. Of course, the highlight was spending a day at the Grand Canyon. Getting there right after they had reopened due to a blizzard was amazing! Crowds were low and the snow really added something special to all of our photos. I’ve printed the above photo and it is now hanging in my living room.

Just about a month after getting home, we hopped on another plane for our much anticipated cruise. We bought a voucher for this cruise on our last cruise back in 2015. We had booked and cancelled and rebooked so many times I was worried we were never actually going to take this trip, so it was a great relief to finally get back on a ship! All of the ports were visited were amazing and we took some great excursions. I can say that I accomplished everything on that trip that I had hoped to. Of course, we also got to experience New Orleans, but I don’t feel like one day was really enough time to take that city in.

After getting home from our cruise, we had just a few short months to prepare for our trip to Maine with my family. It was good to go back and spend more time in a place that has so much to see and do. It was great to share it with my family and watch them take in the beauty for the first time. Of course, we still weren’t able to do all that we wanted to do at Acadia so we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to make it back to Maine in 2020.

Of course, we took some day and weekend trips since June. We went camping at Sleeping Bear Dunes and spent a chilly weekend by the fire in Canada. After spending all that time in airports in the first half of the year, I really do miss getting farther away. Especially with the weather getting colder, I would love to escape somewhere warm for a little bit!  I have been obsessively checking for flight deals so we can jet off for another long weekend.

We do have another trip coming up before the end of the year. We are taking my mother-in-law this time and heading back to Corning, New York. Too bad we didn’t make it back to Boston, or we would’ve hit all of our stops on our 2018 road trip again this year. We’re heading out that way because the Corning Museum of Glass has an exhibit until the end of the year entitled “How Glass Got Us To The Moon” that we wanted to check out. So, be sure to stay tuned in the next few weeks for posts about that trip.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Pelee Marsh

By

On December 11, 2019

In Travel

Point Pelee National Park

By

On December 9, 2019

In Hiking, Travel

While visiting Canada a few weeks back, we decided to make the trip to Point Pelee National Park. Point Pelee is the southern most point on mainland Canada, not to be confused with the American Southernmost Point, in Florida. It was a chilly, windy day and the waves on Lake Erie were so big it was easy to forget you weren’t looking at the ocean. As the name implies, Point Pelee juts out into Lake Erie like a peninsula with water rushing towards it from both sides. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before (below). Despite the frigid temperatures and unrelenting wind, it was easy to imagine how popular this place is in the summer. The beach would be perfect for relaxing by the water and listening to the surf under the warm sun.

Point jutting out into Lake Erie

At 5 square miles, Point Pelee is smaller than the smallest American Park (Hot Springs National Park is 8.6 square miles), but is still full of things to do. From beachgoing, as I mentioned above to kayaking and hiking, Point Pelee has something to do in every season. The park also offers a unique camping experience called oTENik, which is kind of like a yurt or small cabin that houses groups up to six. I would like to return in the summer and stay in one of these tent-like structures. I don’t believe that traditional camping is offered within the park, although I’m sure you could find a place nearby.

Even though it is a small park and it was so cold, I enjoyed exploring Point Pelee National Park and hope to return in the future. For more information about the park, visit Parks Canada.  I am very glad that we took a weekend to discover nearby Canada. It was closer than many places in Michigan and the international hassle was not nearly what I expected it to be. I really do think, weekend and even day trips to Canada will become more of an occurrence for us now.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Portland Head Light

By

On December 4, 2019

In Travel

Weekend in Canada

By

On December 3, 2019

In Travel, Wine Travel

The view out the window at our AirBNB in Essex.

A few weeks ago we took a getaway for a weekend in Essex, Canada. Only half an hour from Detroit, Essex is on the shore of Lake Erie and is known as Ontario’s wine country. We rented an AirBNB right on the water. Even though it was too cold to spend time on the beach, it was nice to sit in front of the fireplace and hear the waves crashing out the window. It was a very relaxing winter weekend.

We chose Essex because of the location. It was closer than most of our favorite places on the water in Michigan. Houses in Essex were much cheaper than equivilant homes on Lake Michigan. Factor in the exchange rate that the American dollar currently gets you about $1.25 Canadian, a weekend in Canada can be a really good deal!

Windsor Sculpture Park makes for an interesting view of the Detroit skyline.

Of course, going into Canada, you have to worry about border crossings. We crossed the border so late we were the only car in line and it couldn’t have even taken 5 minutes. Coming home on Sunday was a little busier, but it was pretty quick too, maybe ten minutes. If you time it right, crossing the border isn’t too bad.

Probably the hardest thing about taking a weekend in a foreign country is having to worry about customs. Normally, when you’re on vacation its not a big deal to bring leftovers home, but crossing the border makes that tricky. We had to buy the smallest quantities of food to cook so we didn’t waste too much and tried not to have leftovers from restaurants because there are stringent rules about what you can and cannot bring across the border. I don’t know how strict they are about enforcing those rules, but I didn’t really want to find out. To find out more information about what can be brought back from Canada, visit Customs and Border Control.

Detroit Skyline from Windsor

This was the first time I had been to Canada since I was an adult. Even though it is only an hour away, the border crossing was something that intimidated me. Now that I have done it, it really wasn’t a big deal. We will probably go to Canada more frequently now that we’ve done it and realized how easy it is.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Camping Sleeping Bear: D. H. Day

By

On November 25, 2019

In Camping, Michigan, National Parks & Places

I have always heard people talking about the D. H. Day campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes, but it has always been first come first served. I have heard stories of people lining up for hours just waiting for someone to leave. So, when I heard that National Park Service announced that they were going to begin accepting reservations for this popular campground, I began checking weekly to see if the website was up. After several months of delays, the website was up and I was able to secure a campsite for a weekend in August.

D.H. Day is the rustic campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes. There is no electricity and there are outhouses instead of bathrooms (just as camping should be, in my opinion). Because of when I booked, all of the loops were full, except the generator loop, meaning campers are allowed to use generators in camp during the day. Since we don’t spend a lot of time at our campsite during the day, this wasn’t a problem for us, but I did notice this seemed to be the loop with the bigger rigs.

Our site at D.H. Day

After camping at D. H. Day, I totally understand the hype. It is a gorgeous campground, right in the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes. The sites are good sized and have a separated from each other. The campground also has a beautiful beach (top). My only complaint is that our site was very close to the outhouse (left) and it did not appear that way on the map, or I wouldn’t have booked it. If you are a camper, I highly recommend D.H. Day campground as a home base for exploring Sleeping Bear and all the Leelanau Peninsula has to offer! If you are thinking about camping at D.H. Day, I highly recommend booking in advance at recreation.gov because sites do fill up fast!

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Hiking Sleeping Bear: Alligator Hill

By

On November 19, 2019

In Hiking, Michigan, National Parks & Places

View from the lookout on the Alligator Hill Trail

This past summer, we took a weekend camping trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Located on Lake Michigan, just south of Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of the most beautiful places in the state! Usually, when we visit the dunes, we head for the Empire Bluff Trail, which ends in one of the best lookouts in the state. This time, we decided to try something different and hike the Alligator Hill Trail, one of the most popular trails in the park.

Although longer than the short Empire Bluff Trail, Alligator Hill was an easier hike. It was a gradual uphill for most of the 1.3 mile hike to the lookouts. By avoiding the intermediate and advanced trails and stopping at each of the lookouts, this hike is 4.1 miles round trip, but much less strenuous than climbing to the top of Empire Bluff. The view from the overlooks was nice, but it didn’t compare to the striking sand cliff at Empire Bluff.

After hiking Alligator Hill, I have some recommendations for hikers at Sleeping Bear Dunes. If you are looking for a fairly easy day hike, with some nice views, you can’t go wrong with Alligator Hill. If you’re up for something a little more strenuous with absolutely amazing views, hike Empire Bluff. I was glad we hiked the Alligator Hill trail, but the next time we’re at the dunes, we will go back to Empire Bluff instead!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back next week to read more about our weekend at Sleeping Bear Dunes! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

National Museum of the United States Air Force

By

On November 11, 2019

In Travel

Astronaut at the National Air Force Museum

This summer, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, we took a trip to Ohio to visit the Armstrong Air and Space Museum and The National Air Force Museum. The Air Force Museum is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The museum is absolutely huge and after starting our day in Wapakoneta and driving over an hour additional to Dayton, it didn’t leave us with much time to explore. At first, we didn’t realize how big the museum is and spent too much time in the Civil War to World War II exhibit. Yes, the museum has artifacts dating back to the Civil War! Before this visit, I had no idea air travel played a role in the 19th century (below)!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore the exhibits dedicated to the Korean War, Southeast Asia, or the Cold War as we made a mad dash to check out the space exhibit. We were there to celebrated the moon landing, after all. The space exhibit reminded me of visiting the Kennedy Space Center and exploring the missile garden. If you are looking to go in-depth in the space program, The Air Force Museum is not the place to do it. They do have a cool flying astronaut (top), but it is much more set up to tell the story of the Air Force, not NASA. If you are looking for that, definitely check out Armstrong Air & Space or head down to Florida and the Kennedy Space Center.

Early army pilots flying a blimp

I will have to plan another trip back to this area to see the parts that we missed! I really wish I could’ve explored the Presidental Air Craft and the uniform exhibits! I’m not in any way a military fanatic, but it was interesting to look into a very specific part of our history. We will probably pair a return visit with visit to the nearby Wright Brothers National Museum. If you are in the Dayton area, The National Museum of the United States Air Force is a huge museum and not to be missed! The museum is free to visit, although since you are entering an Air Force base, you do have to go through security.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Page 34 of 56

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén