I pray that I never forget this trip. And if I do, can someone please refer me to my own website so that I can remember?! Long story short, Taylor and I met as travel buddies back when we lived in New Zealand in 2011, even though, ironically, both of us had homes in opposite corners of Colorado. Our friendship was built on our passion for travel and adventure, a glass half full attitude, and laughing/crying about all the beautiful/sad/hard moments in between. Besides New Zealand, we had traveled together in Greece, Turkey, Guatemala, Mexico, the U.S., Germany, and now Hungary. Budapest to be exact! So during my visit to see her and her family in Berlin (where they lived for one year), we snuck away on cheap flights for 48 incredible hours in Budapest for our very own Girls’ Weekend! And like I said, I hope I never forget the sheer beauty of this trip.

Holy smokes, Sintra. Where have you been all my life? The travel blogs I had researched and the recollections from friends back home did not prepare me for this vibrant & magical city at the foothills of the densely forested Sintra Mountains of Portugal. The historic city center with its narrow, steep streets, mustard-colored buildings, and inviting cafes would be enough to draw crowds. But if you gaze up into the forested terrain, you’ll see there are even more jewels to explore. Palaces, villas, & castles fit for kings and queens await exploring. Prepare to be whisked away to this whimsical place called Sintra.

Rise and shine in Durango, Colorado! We were up by 4:30 am on Saturday morning throwing the last of our belongings into our carry-on bags and kissing Clover goodbye. We hopped in our neighbor's car thirty minutes later (thanks Bill!), drove through our toilet paper start line that we always make for each other at the commencement of a trip (thanks Gretch!), and were on our way to the Durango airport! First stop as we head to Portugal: 48 fast and furious hours in Washington DC.

Oh Paris, you have my damn heart, and I think you always will. Our France trip commenced six weeks ago in Paris, and from the moment we were swept east via train, I’ve been thinking about the 'city of love' ever since. All of France has been magic, but there is just something about Paris for me. So after looping around the country to Bordeaux, then the Basque Coast, inland to Carcassonne, then the Mediterranean Coast, we hopped on our final high-speed train of the trip and headed towards Paris for our final four days! And let me tell you, it was icing on an already delicious cake!

Saint Émilion is a delightful medieval city in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its red wine, charming scenery, and Romanesque religious architecture. Its history of winemaking dates as far back as the 2nd century Saint Émilion is a delightful medieval city in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its red wine, charming scenery, and Romanesque religious architecture. Its history of winemaking dates as far back as the 2nd century when the Romans planted grapes in the area. Today, the town and the surrounding vineyards are UNESCO world heritage sites and continue to produce world renowned wine. Ever since I took an intense Wines and Spirits course in college, I had wanted to visit this region of France. I couldn't believe almost 20 years later, here I was experiencing it in real life! Follow our (obviously very important) steps below to ensure an amazing visit to Saint Émilion.

On one of our last days with Chip's parents, we decided to sneak twenty minutes south of Biarritz, along the Basque Coast, to a charming fishing town called Saint Jean De Luz. With only one day here, we narrowed down the best of the best...an incredible restaurant called Pil Pil Enea, a unique underwater winery tour at EgiaTegia, a walk around the main town, and a nap (for me and Chip) and paddle ball at the Grande Plage (beach). Below is our photo dump of our day in St Jean De Luz!

It felt wild to be saying goodbye to our time in Biarritz. It was hard to put a finger on exactly what, but it was just one of those places. One that you could effortlessly slip right into and never look back on your previous life. But, ultimately we were excited to continue on and discover more of France. During this portion of the trip it would be just me and the boys. Chip’s 'month of pause' was up and he had to fly back to the U.S. to work. So on me and the boys traveled, our next stop being a visit to a fairytale city in the South of France: Carcassonne!

I actually just muttered to Chip out loud "how will I ever write about Biarritz?" As usual, summing up our time seemed like an impossible task. With a history as royalty’s summer resort destination and Europe's birthplace of surfing, Biarritz perfectly marries grandeur with laid back. In the three weeks that we spent here, we found ourselves slipping into sweet European beach life effortlessly. On several different occasions Chip and I would catch ourselves eyeing the real estate brochures in windowfronts and discussing what life might look like if we moved to Biarritz. Now looking back, it almost felt like we spent a whole year there with the amount we did and saw. Perhaps it was because my eyes, body, and mind hadn’t been in a place of such stark contrast to the U.S. in quite a few years. Flashbacks of silly moments with the boys as waves pummel our bodies, strolling through the cheerful Halles de Biarritz food market (almost daily), grandparent visits, sunset runs along the coastline, the colorful culture, people, and food all come flooding back like it was yesterday. I can’t quite put my finger on what was so special about Biarritz, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. As well as go and see for yourself.

So. This is love. Not a question. A statement. I was officially infatuated with a city. Paris had me at bonjour. For forty years (or something like that) I had been dreaming about visiting Paris. The books, movies (most recently, Emily in Paris!), real life stories from friends, and photos had this destination looking and sounding as dreamy as can be to me. The boys had learned all about Paris in first grade, and Bennett even wrote a book report (on his own accord!) about the city of love, and since then they had wanted to go too. Well, we had officially arrived and were so moved by Paris, that after circling around France for six weeks, we planned to come back and spend even more time here. I'm telling you, something about this place is pure magic.

Ah London! We had finally made it “over the pond” post-covid and it felt AMAZING! We have been waiting for this moment for three years, and London was the perfect city to explore on foot (and double decker bus, of course) while getting ourselves acclimated to traveling abroad again!

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today. Now that the tone is set (and you have the appropriate song in your head)...We were off! Our six week summer adventure had officially began. To contain our excitement would be impossible. We were beyond excited! A year of planning, researching, tweaking, purchasing, and dreaming. We were finally (thanks a lot, Covid) making our way to Europe! And there was only one city appropriate to kick start our trip: New York City!!!

My favorite kind of unforgettable moment is one that sneaks up on you when you least expect it and has you saying “holy smokes, did that actually just happen?” The day we hopped out of our taxi onto the dirt road of the small surf town of Troncones, we didn't know what was in store for us in this little village on the sea...

This was a “covid trip” that I wasn’t entirely sure would come to fruition. Delta cases were on the rise, the boys were in school five days a week which meant they were exposed to more germs, and talk of countries’ restrictions tightening were rumored. I started worrying again that we might get sick and not be able to go.

But the three weeks off had been requested for nearly a year and we had yet to decide on a place. We juggled different destinations for months. Spain, Iceland, Paris, Italy (Again. Our plan last year had failed thanks to covid). All these places seemed unattainable still. We couldn't agree on a place we really wanted to visit in the U.S. in the fall. So many variables. Too many variables. But our soul was craving something…different, semi-adventurous, somewhere with culture and language. Perhaps somewhere tropical?!

Nothing could have prepared for what lie ahead as we were cruising along highway BC 16 from Prince George towards Mt Robson, Jasper, and Icefields Parkway. In the moment, however, our minds were elsewhere. Our goal was to beat the rain that was projected to cover the whole area for several days. I was attempting to remain positive but my mind continued to weigh me down with negative thoughts. Was I going to see everything I wanted through the rain and cloud? Would we be stuck in the van all day miserable? My heart was conflicted and I wondered if we should skip the whole area and come back another year for fear of major disappointment. But, let me tell you, what was in store for us was so much better than I anticipated, even if we did have to suffer through a little rain (and other seasons!) along the way.

Whenever people ask what the highlight of our entire ten-week trip was, our answers point straight to our time in Bella Coola along with our full-day ferry ride leading up to it. While there were many incredible places and moments of the trip, it seems this one always pops into our mind first. Maybe it was because it was brand new territory for us, or a new means of transportation for Loaf and our family, or perhaps because it was an entirely new adventure in terms of wildlife and landscape. Likely a mix of all three, but whatever it was, we were astounded at what we discovered between the tip top of Vancouver Island, through the inside passage via ferry boat, and along the valley floor of Bella Coola.

We felt the pull to divert from the mainland of Vancouver Island. We had been talking prior to our trip about hopping over and exploring one of the many islands of British Columbia. This one happened to fall perfectly in our laps. Back when we were in Port Townsend, Washington spending time at a small, local public library we ran into a woman named Wendy. She had overheard we were visiting and casually asked us where we were from. One thing led to another and after sharing that we were on a 10-week road trip she quickly began offering ideas and must-sees (which we love to accept). She also happily put us in contact with a family (and another thing we love to accept!) that lives on the small island of Quadra, found along the famous Inside Passage. We immediately got in touch with the family to learn more about them and this island.

Vancouver Island was unchartered territory for us. It was perfect timing because our bodies were aching for a new sense of adventure. Our plan for this section was to ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to the capital of BC, Victoria. Then we would slowly work our way up to the tippy top to Port Hardy to catch our ferry through the inside passage to Bella Coola (more on that REMARKABLE trip in a later post). For the "Island," we had no real camping plans lined out other than Tofino since it is most popular this time of year. Tofino was a major highlight for us. The beaches are unlike any other I've stepped foot on, and it was here that the boys first tried surfing! But what was also a surprise to us was just how memorable Canada's provincial parks would be. While the cities were much more populated on the island than we anticipated, we managed to find some wild, rugged, and stunning spots.

After much preparation (and anticipation), we made it back on the road! We are feeling as good as ever and have settled in to our new van, Loaf, nicely. We quickly slipped back into the selves we remembered so well from being on the road for a year, and it feels familiar and like home. We are looking forward to this new chapter together and to get back to the core of what we miss most - quality family time, limited distractions, meeting old and new friends, simplified living, and of course, exploring corners of the world with eyes wide open. With a week under our belt, we have already blazed a solid trail starting at our home in Durango, Colorado then onto 600+ miles of the loneliest road in America through Utah, Nevada, and California. While this road was in fact fairly quiet (still in the off season), we ended up finding plenty of fun things to keep us busy! We think Loaf is having an equally good time during his first overseas trip. Just keep reading to see all the beautiful places he has taken us already!

Aloha! We had one incredible month in Hawaii and four videos to prove it! Each week we put together a fun video sharing what mischief we got into on Oahu. From beaches, to snorkeling with sea turtles and manta rays, to eating shave ice, to sailing with friends, to surfing North Shore. We managed squeezed it all in!

We made it! Well, almost. We are just days away from busting back into Durango, Colorado with sandal tans on our feet, smiles as wide as a crocodile, dirt under our fingernails, and countless stories and sights in the memory bank. Don’t get me wrong, while there were plenty of moments that tested our patience along the way, I think our family would agree that our ten weeks together and on the road was a huge success, especially since we all came back intact and in one piece (except for Chip's toe). With that, I've decided to mix it up on the blog and work my way counter clockwise. Our final region on our loop around the US and Canada happened to be one we had never been to but were thrilled to explore. Idaho!

One week in Mexico - Couples Trip!!!!!

Mismaloya, Sayulita, & Puerto Vallarta

We did it! We made a complete lap around Ireland in under two weeks and lived to tell the tales of our mother-daughter trip! I only had doubts because well, a rental car plus narrow roads plus driving on the opposite side plus foreign country (not to mention I had not driven at all in 10 months!) all could have equaled a number of different outcomes. But besides the minor bumps in the road, we came out victorious! The final two days we got to stow our car away and use public transpo in Dublin, the vibrant capital city of Ireland. We had a lot to squeeze in and as the title implies, a fair bit of it revolved around bars, beers, and books with visits to the famous Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, and Trinity College’s Book of Kells Exhibition & Old Library.But first, check out the ground we covered in the map below...