Jen

July 23, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Taking the Shuttle to Shell Key Preserve

There is so much to do on the gulf coast of Florida. It’s hard to chose between sunset cruises, dolphin cruises, and all the different beaches. Finally we decided to take the shuttle over to Shell Key Preserve. The shuttle picks you up at Pass-a-Grille in St Pete Beach. We took the 10 am shuttle […]

July 4, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Emerald Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, US

We arrived at the Bear Lake trailhead about 4:00 pm and started off. We had tried two other times to hike up to Emerald Lake but never made it past Dream Lake because of snow. So we were really hoping to actually see Emerald Lake today, July 3. The trail is about 1.8 miles each […]

June 25, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Coyote Valley Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

The Coyote Valley Trail is one of the easy meadow trails in the Kawuneeche Valley. Kawuneeche is the Arapahoe word for coyote because there have historically been a lot of coyotes in the valley. There are pit restrooms at the trail head. The trail is fairly heavily trafficked and sometimes in summer the parking lot […]

June 23, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

We saw Old Faithful the evening before we hiked Upper Geyser Basin, just so we had plenty of time to hike around the other geysers and springs in Upper Geyser Basin. Old Faithful was cool to watch but crowded. The parking lot and visitor center is also really crowded but once you get away from […]

June 16, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Blue Spring State Park, Florida

Several years ago I discovered Blue Spring State Park in a Florida travel guide. I asked my friend Laurie, who was from Florida, if it was worth the drive. She immediately said “That’s the best part of Florida!” Although it took many Florida trips before I went and saw it I was really glad when […]

June 15, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

Colorado River Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

I have to say that this is my favorite hike in my favorite national park. It’s an easy walk that you can spend hours on in the mostly shady forest. There is usually a ton of wildlife on the trail if you’re quiet. And, for whatever reason, it’s not nearly as swamped as the the […]

June 15, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

A Quick Visit to Everglades National Park

We had an extra day in the Miami area, so what better to do than see the Everglades for the first time? It was a hot day in June. In Miami it was high 90’s and it was even hotter as we entered the park. After a brief one hour drive from Miami we reached […]

April 22, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

A Day Trip to Abalone Cove Shoreline Park

While visiting the Los Angeles area we really wanted to see some tide pools and maybe do a little hiking, so we discovered Abalone Cove Shoreline Park, located on the south side of Palos Verdes. It was easy to find and there was plenty of parking (free under 30 minutes, $6 up to 2 hours). […]

April 19, 2019 By Jen Leave a Comment

A Week in Venice Beach, CA

Venice Beach is definitely not one of the cheaper places you can visit. Even a lower end AirBnb is about $120/night, and that is for a very small studio apartment five blocks from the boardwalk. But surprisingly Venice beach itself is affordable and there is a ton of free stuff to do right there on […]

December 19, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Trout Lake Trail, Yellowstone National Park, WY, US

One morning we (me, my son and my daughter) got up reeeeaaaaly early to listen to the wolves howl in Lamar Valley. We were hoping to see them but we could only hear them howling to each other that morning. At about 6:30 am we drove to Trout Lake Trailhead for a hike. I had […]

December 13, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Four Hours in Versailles

I had planned to spend an entire day at Versailles but we had a few issues with the Metro breaking down. By the time we got to Versailles it was 1 pm. We were using our Paris Museum Pass which includes entrance to Versailles so it wasn’t like going in was wasting our money. Because […]

December 12, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

A Visit to the Tower of London

The Tower of London is one of those must-see places when you visit London. You can get tickets online at the official website. As we were waiting to get let in to the Tower I noticed this poor pigeon. He was about the 5th one I had noticed in London with a stump foot. I […]

December 11, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Four Days in Rocky Mountain National Park

Thursday, Arrival and Emerald Lake Trail As soon as the school year ended in May my daughter and I drove to Estes Park, Colorado. We stayed in a hotel that was walking distance to all the downtown festivities and about a 5 minute drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. Before checking in we had a […]

December 10, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Solo Trip to Disney and Universal Orlando Theme Parks

After many years of taking my kids to Orlando I finally decided to try a solo trip. Would the Orlando parks be as fun if I was by myself? I decided to take advantage of Universal’s buy 2 days get 2 days free ticket on Undercover Tourist. I also had one day left on a […]

July 30, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Old Faithful in Yellowstone NP

Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Old Faithful, and Hayden Valley There is so much to see at Yellowstone it’s hard to decide what to prioritize. I think Biscuit Basin is a must-see destination. I wanted to see Sapphire Pool really bad. We walked all around the boardwalk area and looked at all the geysers and springs. […]

July 19, 2018 By Jen Leave a Comment

Two Days in Grand Tetons National Park

Day 1, Sunday: Grand Tetons We drove to Lava Mountain Lodge in Dubois from Denver. It only takes about 6 1/2 hours so we were there by 4 pm. We checked in, ate some sandwiches, then decided to drive to Grand Tetons National Park for the evening. Our plan had been to spend all day […]