Going to see the Grand Canyon was one of those experiences I never really had on my “bucket list” of travel destinations. It seemed so… Americana generic? Something to do with my future family on a road trip?
I clearly had no idea. Continue reading “Zellers Go West: Grand Canyon”
You know when you see something and know immediately you’d never be able to un-see it? It’s just going to be burned into your brain forever, even if it fades a little or gets built up or changes in your memory over the years.
I knew the moment I saw the first giant redwood tree that this was something I could never un-see. I’ll always remember these trees, how they smelled and how they made me feel. It was unreal.
This June we traveled out to San Francisco to visit Nate, one of my oldest and most dear friends. Our first day out there, Nate had to work so we rented a car and drove out early to Muir Woods to check out the famous redwoods.
I was the driver this day, (she who holds the Zipcar membership, holds the power) and this was very hard to drive over for the first time! So much excitement and terror all at once.
To get to Muir Woods, you must do a lot of mountain-climbing. We spent a good bit of time taking winding roads up a mountain. It felt like our honeymoon when we were lost taking a shortcut off the highway to get to our apartment. Thankfully, at the top there is a nice pull-off to catch the view from the top.
Anyhoo, by suggestion of every single source about visiting Muir Woods, we arrived close to 7:30 AM., scored one of the (very few, maybe 40 total) parking spots near the entrance to the park and spent the first hour with just a handful of other people near us. OH and if you arrive that early, there is nobody at the entrance to charge you for going in (#earlybirdsgetthetrees)
We had quite the hike, and hope to get back at some point with appropriate hiking shoes and clothes for some more of this magical place.
Imagine this peaceful scene, just about 45 minutes later, packed with tourists. I can’t and glad I didn’t have to witness it – as we were leaving (~10:00 AM) busses were pulling up. Time to scram.
So, let’s start from where we left off in 2015: Leaving Paris, heading for sunny Copenhagen…
My oldest, most exotic, smartest and most favorite friend was getting married. No adjectives are enough to describe this lady! And, the man she was marrying is, most definitely, the coolest (he’s a creative musical genius AND a librarian), so if I was happier for her I likely could have exploded.
We stayed in an AirBNB near KØDBYEN – which was a perfect location, and a beautiful apartment for our five-day trip. The apartment was just a quick walk from the central station as well as many bus stops. You can’t tell from the photo below, but this place was the epitome of Danish design style; very natural, minimal and modern, and cosy.
Oh, and it was close to the one and only thing Kyle wanted to do: visit Warpigs Brewpub, a new collaboration brewpub from 3Floyds and Mikkeller that had just opened right before we arrived. It was right around the corner from the Mikkeller bar. #TOTALLYROCKINGUNTAPPED
Upon arrival to our Copenhagen apartment, I had approximately 1 hour to settle in, freshen up and get myself to Jana’s bachelorette party. That I planned (with loads of help, thank God). Jana is very creative so we had kicked it off with a glass blowing class – we all sipped bubbly while Jana worked on a matching set of glasses.
Due to plenty of help from the other ladies, we had our own party room at a taco bar. Thank goodness we had our own room since things got a little crazy (piñata crazy)! I can only share a final shot of the bride in her Carmen San Diego hat – a hint into the party theme.
zellerfest 