Life By Kristen

Travel Tuesday: Portsmouth, NH

Over the long Labor Day weekend, Q and I escaped a few hours north to Portsmouth, NH for the weekend to relax a bit and enjoy some time away from the routine of life. We took the Friday of the long weekend off and headed up to Portsmouth on Thursday night after work. We decided to stay in the city proper so that we could walk to restaurants and not have to worry about parking.

After sleeping in Friday, we headed up the road a bit to Kittery, Maine to do some outlet shopping, mostly for Q. There were some good deals to be had since it was the long weekend and both of us scored a few good ones, though most of the buying was done by Q who was in desperate need of clothes ( why do men wait until shirts are threadbare to go shopping?). It was so nice to be out and about since the weather was perfect- it was the first time in weeks that it wasn’t hot and humid, so we were quite happy to walk around. We found a fantastic BBQ spot- Ore Nell’s BBQ– on our way back to Portsmouth on local roads instead of the highway, which was already congested with long weekend travelers.

The view from our picnic table at Ore Nell’s BBQ

After a little afternoon nap, we strolled the streets and shops of downtown Portsmouth, had some coffee, and then an early dinner at a delicious seafood place, Surf. I had the Fisherman’s Stew which was so much food. Q had a huge seared tuna steak (the only seafood he eats) and we enjoyed a gorgeous view on the water.

Saturday we started with a seriously out of this world breakfast at Friendly Toast, and then ventured off to explore The Great Bay Wildlife Refuge, which was about half hour from Portsmouth. I’m glad we went early as there weren’t a ton of bugs yet and other than some photography folks, there was no one there. A lot of people do a harbor boat cruise or visit the Isle of Shoals, but I get seasick pretty easily, so didn’t want to ruin the weekend being queasy for a day.

Even though we were “on vacation,” our Saturday still included a stop at Target! Q has had a shoulder injury for a few weeks now (thankfully, he’s on the other side of it) and his shoulder had been bothering him the night before, so we stopped at Target for some one-time use ice packs to get him through the weekend.

One of the highlights of the trip was our tour and tasting at Smutty Nose Brewing. There are a lot of options for breweries in the coastal New Hampshire/Maine region. We chose Smutty Nose not just for its close location, but neither of us were that familiar with the beer and weren’t sure if we’d ever had it before, so we were excited to try some flavors. The tour was good and the beer was even better! Highly recommend their pumpkin ale that’s coming out right now which may be the first time I’ve ever liked a pumpkin-flavored beer.

After beer, we napped, walked some more, and then had coffees while people watching in Market Square. We had dinner at Poco’s Cantina where I are their out of this world smothered vegetarian nachos. While this was delicious, it was also A LOT of cheese and nachos and I spent the rest of the evening definitely questioning my life decision.

Sunday morning after a quick bite at the hotel, we headed home fairly early. Early on in our relationship, we both realized that one of the keys to successful travel together was making sure we had a cushion between coming home and going back to work. We like having the time to do laundry, grocery shop, and get back to the swing of things before work starts, so we try to do long weekends where we get the actual holiday day off to be home. It’s my favorite adulting/vacation life hack to pass long!

Also, these three photos are the only ones I took the entire weekend- we were having such a good time, I barely touched my phone!

Travel Tuesday: Utah

Utah isn’t probably a place high on many people’s travel to-do lists, but it should be! It’s one of the most interesting places, both with its Mormon culture and its amazing geography and natural wonders. My aunt lived there over 20 years ago and now has made it her home again. Q had never been to to the state, and it had been so many years since I was last there, that we were both anxious to visit. We also both desperately needed a vacation!

We were in Utah for a week and packed it full of time with family and exploring. We spent a few days down in Moab to visit Dead Horse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park. The weather was absolute perfection. I kept saying to Q as we were driving around that nothing was familiar to me, but seeing as the last time I was there I was about 14, my perspective of everything was from the backseat of the car. I also realized that we always visited in July ( with one Christmas visit one year) when it was blazing hot so I likely opted to stay in the air conditioned car instead of hiking around.

 Arches National Park

2 relaxed, happy vacationers (minus Q’s sunburned arm)

at Canyonlands National Park.

This photo is the best because my aunt took it. 

Q had only two goals with this vacation- to consume as much Jamba Juice and In & Out Burger as possible. He had Jamba Juice every day ( a few days twice!) and we did In & Out 3 times. He was  a happy camper.

This is Jamba Juice visit #1

We encountered some closed shops and roads in the mountain areas where there is still snow and threats of avalanche. Park City is busiest in the winter and then picks up again in the summer, so there were several shops and museums closed for “spring break cleaning” since it was the last week of April. It didn’t dampen our spirits though- it was lovely to be out and walking around in the sun.

Two highlights of the trip ( other than spending much needed time with family): Hole in the Rock in Moab and Gilgal Gardens in Salt Lake City. The first is a totally wacky roadside stop and essentially historic home that is built into the giant rock. You cannot take photos inside, but it was quirky and weird in a way that I love– it had everything from amateur taxidermy that was truly creepy to fascinating stories about the couple who used dynamite to carve out their home and diner in the base of this rock. Gilgal is a hidden sculpture garden in a residential neighborhood of SLC that was quiet and quirky.

The view from my aunt’s porch 

Gilgal Garden

Great Salt Lake

Weekend in Vermont

Q and I desperately needed some time away. After a tough summer, we decided just after Labor Day weekend to go away for the long weekend in October. We chose Southern Vermont because it wouldn’t be too long of a drive and would be a nice change of scenery. Honestly, I wanted so badly to get out of our rut, I would have taken a night away at a Holiday Inn off the highway somewhere.

We stayed in Brattleboro, Vermont– it’s just under a 3 hour drive from our house and we both had been there in our younger years and liked the place. It also was well-situated for short car rides to other spots that had things to do too. Downtown Brattleboro is a small New England city, but has some great food and beer spots, and a very active arts scene. Since it was the long weekend, there were a lot of people around and all the restaurants were packed.

Our weekend was spent, as most vacations are, eating and drinking. We really enjoyed the Whetstone Station Brewery, Saxon River Distillery, and Grafton Village Cheese Company. We stayed at the Latchis Hotel, which is right in downtown Brattleboro, which made it great for walking around and going to various spots without either of us worrying about how much we were drinking ( which, isn’t a lot anyway, but always nice to not have to think about driving and how many beers one of us can have). It rained most of the time, which happened when we went to Maine a few years ago on Columbus Day weekend too, so at least we’re consistent! We ended up driving into New Hampshire on the rainy day to see Keene, which is near where I went to college, so it was a nice little trip down memory lane for me. We ended up at one of my favorite bookstores, Toadstool Books, which I spent many hours in over my 4 years of college.

The foliage was just short of peak, so lots of muted colors and the cloudy skies made them seem a bit more gloomy than usual. Overall, we had a lovely weekend and it was a good reminder that we need to make more of an effort to break up our routines and get more fun into life!

Clearly we are not amazing picture-takers, as our selfies were all ridiculous looking from our height difference & those pesky power lines!

Finally, Vacation

A few weeks ago, Q and I hightailed it over to San Francisco to visit my aunt and grandmother, but more importantly, to get some much needed time away from work and the routine of life. I’ve been to the Bay Area several times in the years my aunt has lived there, but this was Q’s first time to the area, so we did a mix of tourist stuff and general vacation relaxing.

The weather was fantastic, the food was delicious, and the company amazing. Q, by his own admission, is not a great traveler, but had a great time, even despite traffic and some crowds.

And, after a failed attempt a few years ago, I was able to meet up with the lovely San! Love when I can finally meet in person someone I’ve ‘known’ online all these years.

Overall, it was a treat to get away and spend time with family and as a couple. Mostly, it was good to be away from our routines of life and work, giving us some much needed relaxation and perspective on life.

Muir Woods

Weekend in Maine

Q & I took a much needed weekend away over the Columbus Day holiday weekend. In fact, it was the first time in our 2.5 years together that we’d gone away just the two of us. Long overdue indeed!

With a somewhat tight budget for our getaway, we scrapped our initial plans for Colorado and went to Maine– same idea for outdoor activities, quiet place, but a lot closer. We originally were thinking of heading to Acadia National Park, but it’s about a 5ish hour drive from our home and neither of us was feeling like doing all that driving, so we settled for Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It was just over 3 hours from home, so it felt enough like a getaway and close enough that we weren’t both cranky in the car.

We both took Friday off from work to make it a relaxing four day weekend ( shouldn’t they all be that anyway!?!). We originally were booked for three nights at our hotel, but about a week ago we decided to come home on Sunday so that we could skip some of the holiday traffic and feel more relaxed at home on Monday before the work  week, instead of frantic. Best decision ever.

Since we are now a one- car family since Q has a work truck,  my little Hyundai with 164,000 miles on it wasn’t something we wanted to be traveling in, so we borrowed my Mom’s car and left the area late morning. It started raining once we hit the NH border and didn’t stop until late Friday night in Maine. Between the drive and the rain, we were fairly tired by the time we reached Boothbay.

We stayed at the Beach Cove Waterfront Inn, which was a quiet spot away from the busy harbor and had a comfy room that was recently renovated. Friday night we ate at McSeagull’s, where I would have, unbeknownst to me, my only seafood of the weekend.

It turns out that Boothbay is like so many New England seaside tourist communities– they essentially shut down in the winter. While I expected that, I didn’t expect that a lot of the businesses wouldn’t wait until the end of the Columbus Day weekend to close. We came across more than a few spots that had already shuttered their doors for the season. It’s a good thing we didn’t end up staying an additional day, or we might have been eating crackers in the hotel room Sunday night!

That aside, we had a truly wonderful and relaxing weekend. Even though it was quite chilly on Saturday, the sun was out and we were anxious to spend time outside. We walked the many trails and paths at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and visited the Fall Foliage Festival at the Boothbay Railway Village. We tried some great new beers at the Boothbay Craft Brewery and Q had one of his favorite corn beef hash breakfasts ever at the Wave Cafe.

Even though we’re on a tight budget, we’re committed to getting out of routines and house a bit more because we had so much fun and laughed the whole time, even when one of the restaurants told us they were out of almost everything on the menu since it was their last night open for the year. The biggest takeaway from our weekend away was that we have to make getting away together more of a priority.

View from our room at Beach Cove Waterfront Inn

Wanderlust: Iceland

I can’t say that I’ve never been to Iceland because on my 2013 adventure to The Netherlands, we stopped over in Reykjavik for all of two hours, each way. Both ways it was gray and raining, but the airport was lovely ( minus the $20 spent on a croissant and Icelandic yogurt).

I can’t remember when I first learned of the amazing beauty and offerings in Iceland, but I know that by the time I met my sister-in-law in 2011 or so ( who has traveled to Iceland a few times), Iceland was in my top ten places to see around the world. On Q and I’s first date, it was one of the places we also both had in common for wanting to travel to someday.

Iceland has amazing waterfalls, glaciers, mountain ranges, and hot springs. And also makes the list for one of the world’s places with the most happy people. The food and nightlife in Reykjavik are supposed to be awesome. It’s described as a ‘Nordic Nirvana’ and it’s hard to choose all the things I’d want to do when there.

Öxarárfoss

Turf-roof houses

Hot spring at Leirhnjúkur

Westfjords

 Probably one of the most famous things in Iceland, The Blue Lagoon

Images via wikicommons