Well, I've been away from the blogasphere for a while, but I'm trying to get back into it. Next on the agenda is a trip down to Disney for the Half Marathon this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Honeymoon Road Trip - The Idea
I met my wife Anke when she joined our running group at the local YMCA, and we've been running, biking and backpacking side-by-side ever since.
So it's no wonder that our honeymoon plans revolved around camping and backpacking across the US. We were both working long hours and Anke had limited vacation at her job, so we only had time for a 10-day cross country trip...not exactly the slow, leisurely trip we would have liked, but we thought if we planned it well, we would get to see a lot of major sites along the way. Over the next few post, I'll highlight our trip and hopefully leave some useful tips for readers who are planning similar adventures.
Stay tuned!
So it's no wonder that our honeymoon plans revolved around camping and backpacking across the US. We were both working long hours and Anke had limited vacation at her job, so we only had time for a 10-day cross country trip...not exactly the slow, leisurely trip we would have liked, but we thought if we planned it well, we would get to see a lot of major sites along the way. Over the next few post, I'll highlight our trip and hopefully leave some useful tips for readers who are planning similar adventures.
Stay tuned!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Honeymoon Road Trip Days 3 & 4- Camping in South Dakota
Welcome to Days 3 & 4 of our honeymoon, a 10-day roadtrip from Central Florida to Seattle. For those of you new to MeltingPotTravel.com, click here for the background informtion on our trip.
The drive to South Dakota was surprisingly interesting. Having never been this far west, we were amazed at the various terrains and landscapes. Even the stretches of endless crops along the highway were new and intriguing.
We arrived at our first campsite in Big Sioux Recreation Area near Sioux Falls and Brandon, SD. The recreation area lies on the Big Sioux River and has plenty of activites for adults and kids alike. There is a paved hiking & biking trail that winds through the entire park, but we opted for a short hike on one of the off road trails in the park. Hiking along the Big Sioux River was not only relaxing but it gave us an opportunity to test our water filteration system. We were using Katadyn Micro water bottles for this trip and they worked well for day hikes. I don't recommend them for backcountry camping, or multiday trips. They only carry 21 oz which goes fast if it's your only water supply. We have since upgraded to the Katadyn Hiker Pro Micro system and love it. (I will be writing reviews of various water filtration systems soon.)
The drive to South Dakota was surprisingly interesting. Having never been this far west, we were amazed at the various terrains and landscapes. Even the stretches of endless crops along the highway were new and intriguing. While in St. Louis the night before, we visited the Gateway Arch and saw displays and exhibits of Lewis and Clark's famous expedition. Over the two days of driving I-29, we periodically saw markers and signs detailing their adventure. It's amazing to imagine yourself standing at what was an alien wilderness 200 years before, with unknown challenges lying before you.
We arrived at our first campsite in Big Sioux Recreation Area near Sioux Falls and Brandon, SD. The recreation area lies on the Big Sioux River and has plenty of activites for adults and kids alike. There is a paved hiking & biking trail that winds through the entire park, but we opted for a short hike on one of the off road trails in the park. Hiking along the Big Sioux River was not only relaxing but it gave us an opportunity to test our water filteration system. We were using Katadyn Micro water bottles for this trip and they worked well for day hikes. I don't recommend them for backcountry camping, or multiday trips. They only carry 21 oz which goes fast if it's your only water supply. We have since upgraded to the Katadyn Hiker Pro Micro system and love it. (I will be writing reviews of various water filtration systems soon.)
The second day we drove to Mount Rushmore and camped at Horsethief Lake Campground, not to be confused with Horsethief Campground. The former, we found out, has no running water, i.e. showers or toilets. So as before, we were presented the opportunity to practice our outdoor skills in preparation for the backcountry of Yellowstone. The drive to Horsethief Lake offered a surprising view of Mount Rushmore. The drive took us right by the entrance, which was a very moving view in its self, but as we past to the west we had a awesome profile view of President Washington.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Honeymoon Road Trip - Days 1 & 2 - Travel days
Welcome to Days 1 and 2 of our honeymoon, a 10-day roadtrip from Central Florida to Seattle. For those of you new to MeltingPotTravel.com, click here for the background information on our trip.
Our first day was a delivery trip - taking the kids to grandma's house in NC. It was our last night in a familiar bed so we used the opportunity to rest up for a really, really long drive. I failed to mention that the night before we left, I pulled a hamstring playing softball. Not the brightest thing I've done, but luckily my doctor was able to call in a prescription for an anti-inflammatory into a pharmacy in NC. My wife was concerned about me backpacking with a bad leg but I was sure by Day 6 I would be ok for the backcountry of Yellowstone.
The highlight of the trip to NC was breakfast at Bojangles'. I think there must be some narcotic in the biscuits, because I crave it constantly. Bo's is hard to find south of SC, so it's a must-have when we visit anywhere north of Savannah. After a good night's sleep and an awesome breakfast, we hit I-40 West toward the NC/TN border. Before we even reached Asheville, we ran into a detour due to an overturned semi. This is when our Microsoft Streets and Trips software begin to pay for itself. We purchased the travel and map program with the GPS receiver included (we didn't have a portable GPS at the time) and had it connected to our laptop. The interstate was completely closed westbound and the detour route was jam-packed with travelers and other semis. My navigator-wife was able to reroute us on a secondary detour and cut at least 30 minutes off our detour. After this small victory, we were ready to conquer the Wild West and everything in between.
The highlight of the trip to NC was breakfast at Bojangles'. I think there must be some narcotic in the biscuits, because I crave it constantly. Bo's is hard to find south of SC, so it's a must-have when we visit anywhere north of Savannah. After a good night's sleep and an awesome breakfast, we hit I-40 West toward the NC/TN border. Before we even reached Asheville, we ran into a detour due to an overturned semi. This is when our Microsoft Streets and Trips software begin to pay for itself. We purchased the travel and map program with the GPS receiver included (we didn't have a portable GPS at the time) and had it connected to our laptop. The interstate was completely closed westbound and the detour route was jam-packed with travelers and other semis. My navigator-wife was able to reroute us on a secondary detour and cut at least 30 minutes off our detour. After this small victory, we were ready to conquer the Wild West and everything in between.
The relatively uneventful, but beautiful drive took us through Knoxville and Nashville, TN, briefly through Kentucky and Illinois, in roughly 11 hours. However as we arrived into St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi River with a breathtaking view of the Gateway Arch, we were rejuvenated and for the first of many times on this trip, awe inspired.
We barely arrived in time to take one of the last trams on the night to the top of the 630-foot Arch. Just a note of warning, if you are claustrophobic, you might want to skip the ride to the top. The photo to the left is my wife inside one of the tram capsules, which has seating for 5, but I have no idea how 5 adults could fit!
We barely arrived in time to take one of the last trams on the night to the top of the 630-foot Arch. Just a note of warning, if you are claustrophobic, you might want to skip the ride to the top. The photo to the left is my wife inside one of the tram capsules, which has seating for 5, but I have no idea how 5 adults could fit!
The nighttime view from the top made the long drive worth it and was a fitting end to the first day of our honeymoon. We crashed at a nearby Holiday Inn Express and enjoyed the last bed we would see for a week. Next stop, South Dakota...
-TJ
Monday, August 17, 2009
Honeymoon Road Trip - The Plan
As I said in my previous post we had decided on a cross-country honeymoon trip complete with hiking, camping, and sightseeing in the Great Outdoors. While my then-fiance planned the wedding, I was in charge of researching and planning the honeymoon.
We had 10 days to complete this trip with a few constraints. First, we had a "companion" ticket from Delta we decided to use for half of the round trip. We would only be driving one-way which us to plan more sightseeing. Second, our original route would highlight the Grand Canyon, thinking that since we were getting married in March, the weather would be nice and crisp. However, due to work schedules, we had to postpone our honeymoon until July, which made a southerly route through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona much less attractive. We live in Florida, but we're more of a cold-weather couple, so driving across the desert in 110-degree heat was a big deterrent. So we decided on Seattle, WA as our western turnaround point to take advantage of the cooler temperatures on a northen route.
That was the easy part of the planning process. When planning a long roadtrip, having a destination where you can relax after days of roughing-it is a great starting point. But the real fun comes from filling up the days along the way with interesting sites and activities.
AAA guidebooks are a good place to start brainstorming. (On a side note, I wholeheartedly believe every person over 16 should have a AAA card. Not only does it provide a measure of safety when traveling, but you also get free maps, free guidebooks, and travel discounts at 1000s of places.)
Another excellent resource is the US National Parks Service website and this is where we started making our list of sites to see. We absolutely had to backpack in Yellowstone, and since we were going to be in Seattle, we wanted to see Mt St Helens. So we did a couple triptiks on the AAA website and looked for national parks and interesting sites near the recommended routes.
We ended up with a aggressive but doable travel plan that allowed us to see the most sites feasible in the short time we had available.
Day 1 - Central FL to Hickory, NC to drop off the girls at grandma's house.
Day 2 - Hickory, NC to St Louis, MO - See the Arch
Day 3 - St. Louis to Sioux Falls, SD - First day of camping
Day 4 - Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD - See Mount Rushmore
Day 5 - Rapid City, SD to Yellowstone NP, WY - Camp at a standard campsite
Day 6 - Yellowstone NP - One day of backcountry camping
Day 7 - Yellowstone NP, WY to Spokane, WA - Standard campsite, rest
Day 8 - Spokane, WA to Mt St Helens - Climb a volcano
Day 9 - Mt St Helens to Seattle, WA - Rest up for the flight back
Day 10 - Fly Home
Like I said, aggressive, but I love to drive and with just the two of us, we're very efficient travelers. I would not recommend such a tight schedule with children, but for us, the schedule was part of the adventure.
We had 10 days to complete this trip with a few constraints. First, we had a "companion" ticket from Delta we decided to use for half of the round trip. We would only be driving one-way which us to plan more sightseeing. Second, our original route would highlight the Grand Canyon, thinking that since we were getting married in March, the weather would be nice and crisp. However, due to work schedules, we had to postpone our honeymoon until July, which made a southerly route through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona much less attractive. We live in Florida, but we're more of a cold-weather couple, so driving across the desert in 110-degree heat was a big deterrent. So we decided on Seattle, WA as our western turnaround point to take advantage of the cooler temperatures on a northen route.
That was the easy part of the planning process. When planning a long roadtrip, having a destination where you can relax after days of roughing-it is a great starting point. But the real fun comes from filling up the days along the way with interesting sites and activities.
AAA guidebooks are a good place to start brainstorming. (On a side note, I wholeheartedly believe every person over 16 should have a AAA card. Not only does it provide a measure of safety when traveling, but you also get free maps, free guidebooks, and travel discounts at 1000s of places.)
Another excellent resource is the US National Parks Service website and this is where we started making our list of sites to see. We absolutely had to backpack in Yellowstone, and since we were going to be in Seattle, we wanted to see Mt St Helens. So we did a couple triptiks on the AAA website and looked for national parks and interesting sites near the recommended routes.
We ended up with a aggressive but doable travel plan that allowed us to see the most sites feasible in the short time we had available.
Day 1 - Central FL to Hickory, NC to drop off the girls at grandma's house.
Day 2 - Hickory, NC to St Louis, MO - See the Arch
Day 3 - St. Louis to Sioux Falls, SD - First day of camping
Day 4 - Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD - See Mount Rushmore
Day 5 - Rapid City, SD to Yellowstone NP, WY - Camp at a standard campsite
Day 6 - Yellowstone NP - One day of backcountry camping
Day 7 - Yellowstone NP, WY to Spokane, WA - Standard campsite, rest
Day 8 - Spokane, WA to Mt St Helens - Climb a volcano
Day 9 - Mt St Helens to Seattle, WA - Rest up for the flight back
Day 10 - Fly Home
Like I said, aggressive, but I love to drive and with just the two of us, we're very efficient travelers. I would not recommend such a tight schedule with children, but for us, the schedule was part of the adventure.
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