Tag: nature

Summer in the Sun

July in Arizona is some of our most intolerable weather. Until monsoon storms slowly roll in behind a wall of dust, we’re trapped in an oven, with daytime temperatures hovering around 110 degrees. It’s a sunny summer, where adding water is the only way to survive. Pools, water parks, splash pads. It’s why the population here decreases noticeably, as summer break makes way for out-of-state travel. We took advantage of the opportunity to get out just like everyone else.

Our first stop was Florida. No, not much of a difference when it came to the heat, but the water can’t be beat and when you’re used to 110, 80 even with humidity feels like a breeze! We started our summer in Orlando, enjoying the Disney parks for two days, meeting up with our friends and their three boys, and then we spent a day at Epic Universe, the new theme park that includes a land replicating all things How to Train Your Dragon. The boys could’ve spent the entire day in that one section of the park. At this age, they were up for all the rides, and we went on them two or three times! We played all of the games at Nintendo World, walked through Harry Potter land, and returned to the Isle of Burke to re-ride their favorites. I’m so glad we made the trip while they’re still the perfect ages to get immersed in their imaginations and discover excitement at every turn.

From Orlando, we drove to the place where it all started- the Gulf Coast, Panama City Beach where Drew and I met and got married. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at the same beach, watching our boys play in the water for six hours straight, until we finally dragged them out at dusk because we had to eat dinner. Both kids tried new things, Little Bro spent our life savings in platters of shrimp and scallops, and we soaked in the salt and sea.

From the beach to the mountains, we took a July trip to Denver where we saw a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, met up with old friends, and hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park. The boys added badges to their Junior Ranger collection, spotted bighorn sheep and elk, and Big B took a risky scramble up and down a waterfall that almost gave mom a heart attack, but he made it just fine without a second thought.

I love taking a break from the rigor of school and work and getting to check off another state, visiting friends and spending quality time with family. Summer is one of the hardest seasons in the desert, but there are still parts of it that I can appreciate. There’s a pride to not sweating 100-degree heat. There’s a serenity to watching evening storms roll in. There’s a nonchalance when chatting with neighbors we run into at the pool anytime we need to cool off while burning some energy for the kids.

School starts back next week, and I can’t believe another summer is already coming to an end. While I’m not ready for the homework, sports practices, and busy schedules, I am ready for the weather that comes with it.

35 Down, 15 to Go

I’m 35 states into my quest to visit all 50 states by the time I’m 50. Since I made this goal a few years ago, we’ve traveled to a few unexpected places, and I’ve researched countless more to strategize future trips. Recently, during trip to New York I realized something that I’ve learned along the way: I love an underrated city.

Maybe it’s because I’m closer to that “50” than I was before and tastes change with age, but I was walking through the streets of Manhattan after sipping a perfectly roasted espresso latte at a cafe, listening to the dogs barking and the traffic honking and the strangers ignoring one another while talking into their headphones on the street. An odor wafted my way as I crossed on a red light with a crowd of pedestrians, avoiding cyclists. Weed and pee. I stuck to the middle of the sidewalk, away from the piled up trash and mysterious puddles and strolled into Madison Square Park where the first greenery I found lay untouchable beyond fencing. “Keep off grass” posted in regular intervals ensuring every shrub, flower and blade of green remained just out of reach. The greatest city in the world. All of the sudden I thought of Boise Idaho.

I thought of the farm we visited where the boys got lost in a corn maze so vast we actually started to worry we’d never find our way out. The river that wound its way through the city, bending just a few blocks from our Airbnb rental where the kids made good use of the fishing poles we’d brought with us. The French fries that came in more than 5 different potato styles, salted to perfection.

I thought of Canon Beach Oregon, with its boulders stretching to the sky and the diverse array or sea life on display during low tide. The Tilanook factory tour we took that ended with ice cream cones.

I thought of the cabin in the tiny town of Kanab Utah, and the sunset views over red rocks a short drive to Zion and Bryce Canyon, or the smallest airport I’ve ever seen coming into Montana near the entrance to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The shrubs, the grass, the trees, the flowers, all untethered with no barrier to keep them off-limits. 

Don’t get me wrong, New York is a great city. But what I love about the challenge I’m trying to accomplish is finding out what all the other cities have to offer in their own way. The food, the scenery, the culture and the little gems you discover by accident while exploring. And in a country filled with landmarks and mountains, I guess now I prefer the mountains. I prefer to touch the grass.