western US road trip

Posts tagged western US road trip

Hi Ho Silver! Adventures in Arizona + Utah

This trip is special to me in that it was the first real solo trip my then-boyfriend, now-husband, Dustin, and I took. At this point, we had been dating 6 1/2 years and had lived together almost 4 of those years, most of which were as impoverished, no-travel-funds college students biding our time until the student loans would come due :-/. Later in the year – on Christmas Day – we would get engaged. I’d traveled to many of Arizona’s key landmarks during elementary school, but Dustin hadn’t been before.

A California Honeymoon: 11 days in San Francisco, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, and Half Moon Bay

The eleven days of our trip were spent with a perfect variety of activities - hiking along the coast and picnicking on the beach at sunset, touring Napa and Sonoma valley wineries, exploring several Spanish Missions, visiting the Monterey Aquarium, and more. The best part was that feeling of familiarity that you only get in a place that reminds you of where you grew up - where the visage of the rocky coast and the smell and cushioned forest floor of pine needles on hikes just feel right.