Weekend Trip to Kennedy Meadows
It was 7:58. A Friday night. The sun still just above the mountain ridge and already Alena and I had retreated to our tent for the night. Only a thin layer of netting separated us and our dinners from the countless vicious mosquitoes that were systematically probing our tent, looking for a way in to…
Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail Update
I wanted to give an update on my Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail project since my original post. Short Story I am a self proclaimed wine lover who has tasted at wineries in Southern Oregon, Northern California (Napa, Sonoma, Livermore and Monterey), as well as abroad (Argentina, France, Italy and Portugal). When I moved back…
Showing Off the Best of Santa Barbara for My Sister’s Weekend Visit
A few weekends ago my sister came to visit us in Santa Barbara. Like me, she is also a UCSB alumni. Also like me, she did not explore many of the fun things to do in down town Santa Barbara that I have only found living here as an “adult”. As such, we spent the…
The Ultimate Holiday Disneyland Trip
Alena and I just got back from a weekend in SoCal celebrating our 3rd anniversary of dating at the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland! Neither of us had been in many years and we were both excited to visit while the park was all decked out in decorations during the Holidays. We opted for only…
Food, Wine and Art From Umbria and Tuscany, Italy
After regrouping in Rome for a couple days after our trip south to Pompeii, we rented a car to road trip through central Italy for the final week of our travels. We were told by our hosts that doing a loop through the region of Umbria, a few hours North-East of Rome, then continuing North-West…
1 backpack, 2.5 continents and 3+ months – How will it all fit!?!
When we first started talking about our trip we both decided we wanted to pack light and only bring a carry-on each. This would allow us to travel more easily on short notice and is much cheaper for flights. It sounded like a great idea. After packing last night, I now question our sanity. I…