Road Trip

Some of you may know, I am not the biggest fan of road trips, I would much rather fly whenever given the chance, but there are some places and trips that just have to be taken in a car ... or at least it makes more sense to take them in a car - our trip this past Memorial Day was one of them.   And if you are going to have to take a road trip you may as well do it over a holiday weekend when flights cost too much anyway.  So about three months ago I suggested to Steve let's go to Glacier National Park over Memorial Day - and then I thought well you have to see Waterton Lakes at the same time, and if you are that close you may as well see Banff as well.  

I mapped it all out and realized it would be over 2,000 miles and that is when Steve finally convinced me maybe we should take Tuesday off as well.   So Thursday night we left after work and drove to Idaho Falls, got up early early on Friday and drove to Kalispel Montana and started our drive through West Glacier.   The Going to the Sun Road still had snow at the top so you couldn't drive directly to East Glacier - but the drive down around the Southern end of the park Saturday morning was pretty amazing.   And we spent Saturday exploring East Glacier, then drove up through Cardston - stopped to have lunch and see the Cardston Alberta temple and then drove through Waterton Lakes. After that we drove across the very flat Alberta prarie up to Calgary.   Sunday we got up and drove over to Banff and Lake Louise, and then back to Calgary - to see the Calgary Tower.   Monday we got up and drove to Helena - stopped to see the Montana state Capitol, and then got up Tuesday morning and drove home.   When it was all said and done we had put over 2,300 miles no the rental car in 5 days.   We were tired and exhausted - and confused as to why GM stopped putting those helpful KMH on the speedometer, which made things a bit tricky while driving in Canada, but luckily our Garmin could switch to Kilometers and we were able to approximate our speed that way.  

The one thing I will say for road trips is it is a great way to spend time with my awesome husband.  

Our first stop in West Glacier - it was cold - but beautiful and the crowds were so minimal - really a great time of year to visit.

One of the little walks / hikes we took in East Glacier before heading to Canada

The elevator going down from the Calgary Tower - which is really just a big space needle - I insisted we see Calgary this time around since when I cam when I was young my Dad didn't let us stop by any big cities.  (he may have been right the extra hour out of the way wasn't that worth it but, now I can say I have been to Calgary)

Another little hike in two medicine - Glacier - we really hoped we would spot some bears... especially since there were very few people... but alas the only wildlife we saw were deer, a mountain goat and a fox.

Montana's capital building - one of my travel rules if you are in a capital city you better get a picture in front of it.

Girls Trip 2012

In March I went on a girls trip with Mindi and Abbey - Mindi and I have been friends since the 7th grade, and so that means I believe we have known each other almost 20 years --- now that makes me feel old.   Abbey was my college roommate at Weber and then ended up marrying Mindi's older brother - so we love to get together and check in for dinner ... talking usually until the restaurant closes - so it only made sense to take a few days and go on a little girls trip.  

We picked Catalina Island - there isn't a ton to do there, but it was a fun place to just hang out for two nights... there was a bit of a fiasco with the sofa bed... but we will just leave that part of the story for another day.

The first night at the hotel - it was beautiful - the first night we got massages and then just relaxed.

The first night at the hotel - it was beautiful - the first night we got massages and then just relaxed.

Day two we rented a golf cart and drove around the city three times - we had to get our moneys worth. It was a great time, and we learned for future reference that maybe Abbey should not drive golf carts.

Another one of our stops on the golf cart adventure - after the golf carts we spent our second night out on a walking tour of haunted sites - it was actually one of the creepier ghost tours I have taken --- Finally on Wednesday we had to go home... but definitely a fun trip and one we may have to take more often.

Cruise 2012

During February of 2012 - Steve and I went on a cruise with some neighbors to Cozumel, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama.   We were a little nervous after we went on the cruise last fall with Steve's Brothers family that maybe we weren't cruisers.  Well we don't love that you can't spend more time in each port - and I am not sure we love Carnival Cruises - but this cruise was so much fun.  It was great to get to know neighbors we didn't know that well prior, and to have people to visit with - but it was also just an awesome way to relax.   I grew up taking vacations that were go, go go... and I tend to still plan vacations that way - well cruises don't really allow that they force you to slow down - sit on the deck and read books.   It was a great week, and while I am not sure we will always be cruisers we were definitley glad we did this cruise.

The first stop on the cruise was Cozumel - it was unlike any part of Mexico I had ever seen they had armed guards keeping people away from the the tourists, so we didn't really get to see any of the locals - we took an excursion out to the Mayan Ruins - Book of Mormon country - it was crazy how much was being made out of 2012.

This was Steve making his way down one of the ruins that they let us climb up --- it was insane how steep (scary) it was to come down --- it is moments like this that always remind me I am a little more afraid of heights than I like to admit, and my depth perception maybe isn't what it should be - thanks for passing that one down Mom.

Stop two was Limon, Costa Rica - it was beautiful - going through the country side to make our way to where we rode a tram through the rain forest and did a couple of short hikes - above is one of the many birds of paradise found. 

Steve and I at the bottom of the rain forest - we took a tram ride down through it was pretty cool - although we didn't get to see any monkeys because it was the middle of the day and too hot.

Probably the coolest thing we saw in the rain forest - there were ants and bugs everywhere but watching the line of ants work together to carry their leaves back to to their home was pretty awesome... just made it difficult to use the hand rails.

The third and final stop was Colon, Panama - where we got up early and got on a bus to drive to Panama City, then we got on a little boat with small plastic chairs to spend the next 6 hours going through the Panama Canal - above is the view from the back of our boat while in one of the locks.  It is one of those experiences where it is cool to say you have done it, but so boring to actually do --- I was so excited to be in Panama though and see Panama - because my great grandmother - Mary Johnson - lived in Panama as a little girl - her stepfather was one of the Chefs down during the building of the Panama Canal - and at the opening of the Canal - she was sitting off to the side as a 12-13 year old girl would do when she was given permission to attend the celebration.  Teddy Roosevelt was at the celebration and saw her and invited her to dance -- so as we toured Panama City and looked at all the old military housing - I could picture her spending her adolescence in Panama - I would love to go back and spend more time in Panama City - and Costa Rica.

After we docked on Sunday monrning, Steve and I got a rental car and drove up to West Palm Beach to catch our flight home - we had all day so we took our time driving up the one and stopping at different beaches - it always amazes me to see skies like these --- and the heat of the day in Florida in the middle of February.