Baby Oranutan at the Phoenix Zoo
The Phoenix Zoo, which has been voted among the “Top Five Zoos for Kids”, once again hosts its annual Zoolights Christmas light display. From now until January 10th, from 6:00-10:00 p.m. nightly, patrons of [...]
Baby Oranutan at the Phoenix Zoo
The Phoenix Zoo, which has been voted among the “Top Five Zoos for Kids”, once again hosts its annual Zoolights Christmas light display. From now until January 10th, from 6:00-10:00 p.m. nightly, patrons of [...]
My husband and I have two local restaurant/bars that we regularly visit in our home town. We’re there so often that we’re known by name, and when they see us coming they plunk our preferred beverages, sitting all nice and frosty on the bar, before we can even plunk ourselves [...]
The Fairmont Resort in Scottsdale
There’s always stuff going on in Scottsdale, Arizona – which is why it’s such a popular vacation destination. Plus, the winter weather in this area of Arizona just can’t be beat – you can indulge outdoor dining [...]
A view from the Apache Trail.
The Apache Trail – officially designated as AZ Rt. 88 – is forty miles of steep, winding, and mostly unpaved roads that connect the Arizona towns of Apache Junction and Globe, through [...]
A ski lift up the mountain at Sunrise.
I recently posted about Arizona Snowbowl, the ski resort in Flagstaff, Arizona. However, Flagstaff is not the only Arizona town that boasts a great ski resort.
A lineup of cars to drool over.
This right here is a typical sight in the valet parking area of Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona (right in front of The Yardhouse). My husband and I were headed to [...]
Dress your dog in holiday festivewear for the 1.2k Santa Sled Run.
The 12K’s of Christmas celebrates the “health, fitness, and joy of Christmas.” This Christmas run is being held in the town of [...]
The Sam Adams tent at the Big Pour in 2008.
The Big Pour, a beer festival hosted by Draft Magazine, is this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. From the official site:
“The Big Pour is the ultimate beer [...]
A dragster at Firebird International Raceway.
My husband is a huge fan of the drags. I’d never attended a drag race myself, before I met him. As a matter of fact, on one of our first dates we attended a “Jets vs. [...]
Stylin' girls at the mall.
There are twenty-five days until Black Friday, my friends! Time to get your gameplan together!
Black Friday, that traditional chaotic Christmas shopping day that qualifies as a quasi-holiday all on its own, is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the [...]
Me and my husband at Lewis Falls - Yellowstone National Park, August 2009.
My husband and I visited Yellowstone National Park earlier this year. We tend to over-prepare for any vacation we partake of, [...]
The Renaissance Festival Grounds
Arizona’s annual Renaissance Festival kicks off on February 6th, 2010, and runs through the end of March. I’m giving you plenty of head’s up so you can plan your vacation to Arizona accordingly! Need to get out of [...]
The San Xavier del Bac Mission, located just south of Tucson, Arizona, was built from 1783 – 1797 by a pair of Franciscan Fathers. It has been in continuous operation as a functioning parish church of the Diocese of Tucson since its construction. The [...]
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I joined my husband last weekend up in Flagstaff, since he had to work a job up there and the hotel room was, therefore, free.
On Saturday night we went out on the town. We’re trying not to [...]
Tenure is a great thing, especially when it equates to four paid weeks of vacation per year. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t have as much vacation time as I do. Since mine is a “use it or lose it” kind of situation, there are a couple of weeks out of the [...]
I absolutely love Nova Scotia – Halifax is one of the prettiest coastal towns I’ve ever seen, and a destination that I have in mind for next summer (which I will be sure to tell you guys all about). Getting there takes a little [...]
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY, features “five museums under one roof”.
The Whitney Gallery of Western Art is a large gallery featuring paintings and artwork of historic [...]
WestWorld of Scottsdale is an equestrian center and special events facility in North Scottsdale, Arizona. It has an annual schedule packed with a wide variety of events. Don’t know what to do some weekend? Chances are there’s something going on at WestWorld that you’d be interested in.
Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain
The easternmost point on the continental US is West Quoddy Head, near the town of Lubec, Maine. If a person wanted the unique designation of seeing the sun rise in the United States before anyone else, that is [...]
I happen to be a huge fan of Canada. HUGE. I have never had a Canadian experience that was less than completely positive. I love Canada so much that next summer I’m planning on hitting at least one of several points along the northern border of the U.S. that are [...]
A shot of our truck from the side of the road in Grand Teton National Park.
ONE:Â Hotel patrons who arrive, unwashed and disheveled and barefoot and sometimes even in their PAJAMAS [...]
The 2009 Harley Street Glide that we rented, with the Grand Tetons in the background.
If you have yet to visit the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, I suggest that [...]
The Cody Nite Rodeo Arena
Of all the places we visited during our Epic Summer Road Trip, one of our favorite towns was Cody, Wyoming. Cody is located 53 miles from the East Entrance into Yellowstone National Park, making it an [...]
Well, we’re back. Ten days, 3026 miles, and 912 pictures later. I’d like to summarize my trip with some favorite pictures from each day and each stop along our route. Rest assured, you will all be regaled with details over the coming weeks!
7/30: A long-haul drive - Phoenix, AZ to [...]
The Old Faithful Inn, in Yellowstone National Park.
The Old Faithful Inn is everything that all of the documentaries, Travel Channel specials, magazines, and hundreds of publications say it is. It’s beautiful. Picturesque. Stunning. Historic.
It’s also a darned uncomfortable [...]
Hello, all! I’m writing this during our Epic Road Trip, from my hotel room in Teton Village, near Jackson, WY. We’re right on the doorstep of the Grand Teton National Park. My husband and I just returned from journeying the length of the park, so before [...]
Objects in mirror are dorkier than they appear.
My husband and I leave on our Epic Summer Road Trip (links to the five-part story of our planning process are at the end of this entry) in exactly 40 hours. We’ve [...]
There are still destinations on this planet which are fairly easy to access, but truly take you away from everything. One such destination is Moosehead Lake in Maine. Whatever your wish - a romantic getaway, a family adventure, an inexpensive weekend, or a week of pampered luxury - [...]
In my family, I am the designated picture-taker for all vacations. Partly because I happen to really love photography, partly because I have this neurotic NEED to capture EVERY SINGLE MOMENT of our trip, and partly because nobody else wants to do it. Then there’s the blogger in me that [...]
Jerome Arizona, pic by Open Sky Media
Jerome, Arizona, also known as “America’s Most Vertical City” and “Largest Ghost Town in America”, was founded in 1876. The town sits at an elevation of 5,200 feet, at the top of Cleopatra [...]
When our kids were small, there was no question about who paid for stuff. Air fare, entrance fees, food, lodging, and “Can I have it’s,” all subsidized by dear ol’ Mum and Dad. We made sure the budget accounted for that, so we tended to head toward less exotic destinations, [...]
Scottsdale Sunrise - photo by Dru
It’s full-tilt summertime here in Arizona, and everyone and everything - flora, fauna, and us poor mind-cooked inhabitants - are wilting… wilting. Like, envision the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz, except instead of a [...]
The scoreboard at Wrigley Field
Personally, I’m not an avid baseball fan. I like the game pretty well, but not well enough to follow any particular team, even my local Diamondbacks (though I sure was proud when they won the World Series several [...]
Berries at the Chesterton European Market
I visited my friend Heather over the 4th of July weekend. She advised me that flying Southwest Airlines from Phoenix to Chicago Midway would be easier, cheaper, and less crowded than flying into nearby Chicago O’Hare. [...]
Old Orchard Beach is located in Southern Maine and is one of the most popular destination for local “stay-cationers”. It’s also a great vacation destination for people visiting the Pine Tree State.
Old Orchard Beach, pic by jennratonmort
Miles of white [...]
It’s 106 in the Phoenix area today, which is causing me to cast my memory fondly back to last Saturday and Sunday.
(Hover over the pictures to see captions.)
Last weekend was equally as sweltering, which [...]
Sebago Lake, Maine - photo by dawnzy
Sebago Lake is the second-largest lake in Maine (the largest is Moosehead Lake). It is located in the south-western area of the state, about 20 miles away from Portland and the [...]
I’ve written four entries over the past couple of weeks that detailed the experience I had planning our Epic Summer Road Trip. During the course of my planning I learned some things that I’d like to [...]
Road Trip - photo by wili_hybrid
(Continued from Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.)
Back when my husband was about ten years old, his family took a road trip from Arizona to Wyoming to visit some family. Picture, if [...]
Yellowstone Hot Springs - photo by Tim
(Continued from Part One.)
Once my husband and I finally decided on Yellowstone National Park as our destination, we began to try to figure out how long of a road trip - in [...]
The Rand McNally Road Atlas
My husband and I started discussing in February what we wanted to do for our summer vacation this year. With limited vacation time, funds not to exceed $3500, and varying tastes in what each of us considered to be [...]
Fountain at the Arizona Grand Resort
The Arizona Grand Resort, located in Phoenix, Arizona, just completed a 52 million dollar renovation. This AAA Four Diamond Preferred all-suite hotel is offering the “Grand Opening Summer Splash”, from Thursday May 21st through Monday [...]
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