I know it’s not summer yet but that doesn’t stop me for dreaming about it! It’s the beginning of February which means the cold is starting to make me crazy and I’m dreaming about getting away! In doing so, I remembered that I took a fun little vacation with the family last summer and never shared it! Because of COVID, it was a tough decision to finally figure out what to do but I think it ended up being pretty memorable for us all. Looking up vacation rentals all over the world is a fun hobby of mine (see list towards the end of the post for ideas in MD/VA) and so far I have only had good experiences. I found this particular one on a whim and totally last minute. As you will see in the photos, the rental had everything we needed and more! We didn’t need to…
Outer Banks, North Carolina
My friend F and I booked a trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina a couple of weekends ago in the hopes of getting away from the cold. Now, I know that it was going to be a hit or miss and it wouldn’t be that much warmer than Harrisburg or D.C., but we still decided to give it a shot. Of course, the forecast called for overcast and rain 70% of the time but we made the most of it. What made our stay great was picking a really nice AirBnb. Our Stay We stayed at a house in Kill Devils Hill with a view of the bay. The house was beautiful and beach themed. It was super clean and cozy. Despite the weather, the views we enjoyed during breakfast time were incredible! The listing says they have some of the best sunset views, and although we didn’t get to…
Road Trip: Los Angeles > San Francisco > Las Vegas – Part II
*This post contains affiliate links. I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase using my links.* Okay, so this is a continuation of my previous blog post about my recent road trip. Day 3 San Francisco, CA to Bakersfield, CA Stop 1: Crissy Field, San Fancisco After eating breakfast, we headed up towards San Francisco. We went straight to Crissy Field to see the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, which was on the top of my friend, S’s list. We could have seen it up close and personal from the bridge itself, but I think we preferred this because it was less crowded here. There is a little hike here where you can go up and get better views. I only went up a little bit. Stop 2: Cod Mother’s Fish & Chips on Fisherman’s Wharf This was also another taco place…
Road Trip: Los Angeles > San Francisco > Las Vegas – Part I
I did a crazy thing last month and it was absolutely incredible! My friend, S and I did a 5-day road trip from LA to San Francisco to Vegas and back to LA. I say this was crazy because it was a lot of driving in the last end of the trip! It was also crazy because I planned it last minute. I was in the west coast for a week and S and I hit the road the day that I landed! I landed in Orange County, had lunch with a couple of friends and then started to heard up north. I will break the trip down in two parts because I have so many photos I want to share. Day 1 Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo (SLO) After having lunch in the OC at Eat Chow, and gelato from Scoops, we headed for San Luis Obispo. This…
A Weekend Getaway – Falling Water, Mill Run, PA & Berkeley Springs, WV
FALLING WATER!!!! I studied about this architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright in school and ever since, I knew I HAD to check it out in person! In planning it all out, my friend, M (my fellow architect friend and appreciator of everything design) and I debated whether it would be a day trip or a weekend trip. We ultimately decided that a weekend trip would be perfect because we wanted to get away and find a cool cabin near it and just relax. However, it was hard to find a good place near Mill Run that was decently priced so I had the genius idea to look up places in West Virginia which didn’t seem too far from Mill Run, PA. It actually wasn’t that practical at all lol but it all worked out for us. The cottage we got via airbnb was 1 hour and 45 minutes from…
Hawk Rock Overlook on Appalachian Trail
One of my favorite trails in Pennsylvania so far is Hawk Rock in Duncannon, PA. I hiked this trail for the first time ever, 2 years ago. Since then, I’ve gone back to it a couple of times. It’s beautiful both on cool, cloudy days as well as on bright, clear sunny days. We even spotted a hawk (I think). But also, I think it’s named Hawk Rock because the rock looks like a hawk from afar. It takes us about 2 hours to climb up and back down which is a pretty decent workout. Hike Details: Parking Location: Watershed Dr, Duncannon, PA 17020 Hours: It looks like it’s open daily Length: 1.6 miles out-and-back Level: Moderate Elevation Gain: 750 ft Helpful Llinks: All Trails – A lot of helpful reviews Uncovering PA – Detailed map and outline of how to see Hawk Rock Overlook as well as Cove Mountain Overlook…
A Perfect Day in Chicago
It’s kind of ironic that I didn’t post this sooner, when I was actually living in Chicago. I think I procrastinated it because I kind of wanted it to be perfect. In my three years living there, I had many visitors and I think just before moving, I got the tour down to perfection. This is not one of those “local tour guide” posts. In fact, a lot of these things are pretty touristy. But I liked going to them, and no matter how many times I went, I never got tired. I think that’s just kind of the person I am. The place might be the same no matter how many times I visit, but the experience is different every time. Okay without further ado here is what a perfect day in Chicago is for me. 1. Parking Most parking lots on Wabash cost $15-$20 a day. I always…
Southern California Sunsets
It’s that time of the year when I’m missing California a little too much. This year’s East Coast winter has been brutal with below freezing temperatures and all I want to do is go somewhere warm. So although I’m not going anywhere, I do have some photos of spots where I watched the sunset, from my last trip there. (It’s been too long!) 1. Michael D. Antonovich Trail The place to see the sunset here is right from the parking. I actually went here twice. Both times the sky was different. The second time I went, it was a little cloudy and was sprinkling. All the clouds made the sky do such beautiful things. 2. Laguna Beach This is probably one of my favorite beaches and the sunset views here are highly recommended! I have a whole blog post on this beach. Read it here. 3. Corona Del Mar Not…
24 Hours in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Okay, so I decided to take a break from my Pakistan posts and share with you what I’ve been up to this summer so far. For me, summer started after the month of fasting ended! As soon as it did, I wasted no time in planning a short trip out of Chicago to a place I had been researching about ever since I moved here, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. My nieces were visiting also so it ended up being the perfect little 24 hour family vacation! Strawberry Picking at Apple Barn Orchard & Winery I have also been wanting to go fruit picking for ages and when I looked up things to do near Lake Geneva, this barn kept coming up for apple and strawberry picking. Since we were just in time for the strawberry season, that is what I planned to do first. My nieces love, LOVE strawberries so it…
National Cherry Blossom Festival – Washington D.C.
Hello all, I hope your March was spectacular, mine sure was! As you probably know I was off exploring and visiting family in Pakistan. It was a wonderful trip but now I am back and ready to go back to our regularly scheduled program. 😉 I know that it probably would have made sense to come back and post about Pakistan; however, I am in the middle of organizing all the photos so you will have to wait a little while longer. When I got back on Sunday morning, I was struggling with major jet lag. And the best way I knew how to tackle it was to avoid sleeping at 3 pm and go out to explore and stay awake! So the following day, I went to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. with my friend, A. Lucky for me the blossoms had reached their peak…