travel – Page 2 – Exploring With Gratitude

A Quick Tour of Southern Poland

Back in September, I had the opportunity to travel to Southern Poland to visit my relatives. While the trip was focused on much needed family time, I was still able to fit in some sightseeing, which is summarized for you below ツ!

Sandomierz

The first city I was able to see during my travels was Sandomierz, a historic town located near the Vistula River (Wisła, in Polish), which is the largest river that flows through Poland. Sandomierz is very important to Poland’s history, as it was home to Polish royalty, was heavily involved in trading with other major Polish cities along the River, and was also forced to rebuild after being involved in many wars.

We started our visit in Sandomierz by entering through the main entrance at the Opatów Gate (Brama Opatowska). Back in the 14th century, Sandomierz was enclosed by brick walls (part of its defence system), and you could only access the town through one of its four gates, only one of which remains today – the Opatów Gate. I learned after-the-fact (once I was back in Canada) that you can actually go to the top of the Gate and enjoy panoramic views of Sandomierz and the Vistula River!

After walking through the Opatów Gate, you will pass several shops before arriving in the Market Square. The Market Square, or Rynek in Polish, was bustling with tourists and buskers, my favourite being the gentleman playing the accordion. The rynek is surrounded by souvenir stores, restaurants and tour vehicles, and at the centre you will find the historic City Hall and clock tower. While taking in my surroundings, I noticed several people sketching the building, which was not surprising as the Structure is supposedly one of the nicest city halls in Poland.

*Rynek in Sandomierz, featuring historic City Hall*

There are many other stunning architectural structures to see in Sandomierz. We went inside the Sandomierz Cathedral, the Sandomierz Castle (which is now a museum filled with archeological exhibits, art, history and more) and walked through the Needle’s Eye (Ucho Igielne), which is a very narrow passage into the town. One of the tour guides we met informed us about an old myth related to the Needle’s Eye: apparently, if you have been a “bad” person, or have a guilty conscience, the passage will close on you when you try to pass through – scary!

*Views of the Vistula River from the Sandomierz Castle*

Other than these structures, I would definitely recommend taking a walk by the Vistula River, and having a meal in Sandomierz. I enjoyed a plant-based gnocchi meal at Widnokrąg, which is located right by the Opatów Gate – it was delicious!

Rzeszów

Rzeszów was the next city we were able to visit. While it does not contain the same amount of history as Sandomierz or Kraków (another city I visited – discussed later in this post), Rzeszów is one of the largest and fastest developing cities in Southern Poland. Our main purpose for visiting Rzeszów was for shopping – their rynek is filled with clothing and jewelry shops, as well as various restaurants. We definitely indulged in ice cream, fries (served in a paper cone, which reminded me of my time in Amsterdam), and my favourite was the freshly baked pretzels. The market square also contains a beautiful church (there is definitely no shortage of churches in Poland) and water fountain, both of which were worthy stops during our visit.

Other than the market square, we also explored the major malls in Rzeszów and stopped for lunch at Zielona Baza, which was a fully plant-based restaurant serving burgers, salads and wraps.

*Water fountain in Rzeszów – definitely better at night than during the day!*

Łańcut

We made a quick visit to Łańcut one afternoon in order to see the Łańcut Castle. We completed a tour of the first floor of the castle, which once upon a time, was home to several royal Polish families. The tour takes you through various living spaces such as the private bedroom chambers, ballroom and dining rooms. Our tickets also included a tour of the Stables and Coach House, where you are able to see a collection of horse carriages that were used during the 18th and 19th centuries. After we were done with the tour, we made sure to walk the Castle grounds to take in the beautiful gardens and landscaping.

*One of the private bedroom chambers inside the Łańcut Castle*

Zakopane

Next on the list was a mandatory visit to Zakopane, a small resort town located in the Tatra Mountains (Tatry) near the Slovakia border. I often describe Zakopane as the Whistler of Poland – it is surrounded by beautiful mountain views, and there is no shortage of things to do, regardless of the season. Many visitors enjoy hiking during the summer, skiing during the winter, and you can explore the shops and restaurants along Krupówki Street (the main “strip”) at any time during the year.

Since we only had half a day to explore Zakopane, we prioritized walking down Krupówki Street, where I purchased several souvenirs and gifts for family and friends, and made a quick visit to the Sanktuarium Najświętszej Rodziny church.

*Outside the Sanktuarium Najświętszej Rodziny church*

Not too far from Krupówki Street was one of my favourite attractions – the Upside Down House. As the name suggests, the house is literally upside down – you will walk on the “floor,” which is actually the ceiling, and all the furniture and fixtures (e.g., chairs, fireplace) will be on the “ceiling” above you, which is actually the floor. To make things more difficult to navigate, the house is on a slant!

Following our visit to the Upside Down House was a walk along Gubałówka Mountain to take in the views of Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains. Visitors can take the chairlift up to Gubałówka, but we opted to drive and walk. There are several shops and restaurants along Gubałówka (just like Krupówki Street), a chapel, and we were even lucky enough to witness a Góralski Wedding. Górale are the ethnic group that live in the Zakopane region, and their traditional clothing consists of several bright colours and floral patterns, which were evident in their wedding attire!

The final two stops we made in Zakopane were to see the famous ski jumps, as well as the large Zakopane welcome sign. For food, we enjoyed a vegetarian pizza (with plant-based cheese) at Pizzeria Pinokio.

Wadowice

The primary reason we wanted to visit Wadowice was to go to the John Paul II Family Home Museum. The late Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice, and his family home from when he was younger has been turned into a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can learn about the Pope’s youth, his family, and the years he spent as head of the Catholic Church, as well as observe various displays of his clothing and other possessions. Visitors can also walk through the actual rooms that made up the Pope’s family home – the furniture and design of the space have been recreated to authentically reflect the home’s original state. I will admit that I do not usually enjoy visiting museums (you can ask Justin), but I really appreciated the John Paul II Family Home.

Other than the museum, we also attended a mass in the basilica next door before heading to our next destination – Kraków.

*The Basilica in Wadowice – the John Paul II Family Home is in the building on the right*

Kraków

Kraków is probably one of the better known cities in Poland, as it used to be the capital of the Country. There is a lot of history in Kraków (including an invasion by Germany in World War II), which means there are many historic buildings, churches and castles to visit. Because we only had a short afternoon to explore the City, we prioritized visiting the Wawel Royal Castle, which was home to many Polish kings and queens for a number of centuries.

Next, we explored the rynek (you must be very familiar with this word by now), which similar to other Polish cities, was surrounded by souvenir stores and eating establishments. Further, if you have an appreciation for European church architecture, there are multiple churches to see in Krakow (the cover photo for this blog was from the inside of a Polish church). One activity I wish we had time for was to do a boat cruise down the Vistula River, which also passes through Kraków. At least we were able to find a spot by the river to watch the sunset ツ.

*Sunset over the Vistula River in Kraków*

Further, I was excited to see that Kraków has many plant-based options and restaurants, but given our limited time, we could only pick one to try – we opted for No Bones Vegan Food. I very much enjoyed my salad with “chick’n” (it appears to have been a seasonal option that is no longer on the menu), and later indulged in a slice of their delicious sponge cake. I will note that the entrance to the restaurant is a bit unexpected – somewhat of a dark tunnel – but keep going, the food was worth it!

Wieliczka

Our last stop in Southern Poland was the small town of Wieliczka, as we were very interested in visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Our visit to the salt mine was probably my favourite part of the trip – I would strongly recommend booking a tour and heading 130 metres underground to experience the tunnels and sculptures that are made of salt!

In terms of preparing for a visit to the salt mine, you should be aware that you will begin your descent underground by going down an 800-step winding stair case – make sure to bring your walking shoes! You might also be thinking about whether you need to take the stairs back up, but I am happy to report there are elevator lifts to assist with your exit ツ. I also found that there was a bit of a draft in the underground tunnels – I would recommend bringing a sweater or light jacket, just in case!

Your tour guide will take you through a series of tunnels, educating visitors on how to mine for salt, as well as providing some Polish history. Not only will you encounter several salt sculptures during the tour, you will actually get to experience an entire underground chapel that is constructed from salt – apparently, it is a popular venue for events such as weddings!

*The underground chapel made of salt in the Wieliczka* *Salt Mine*

*One of many salt sculptures in the Wieliczka Salt Mine*

You could likely spend all day underground, as there is also a museum you can visit following the tour, but since you already know my stance on museums, I do not think you will be shocked to hear that I opted to head to the gift shop, instead ツ. The Wieliczka gift shop is probably one of the best I encountered in Poland – there are several very practical purchases you can make here, all of which include salt from the mine – salt (shocking, I know), seasoning for cooking, chocolate, body lotions that include brine, etc.

Once you are back above ground, I would recommend making a quick stop at the Graduation Tower (Tężnia Solankowa) – make sure to include this option when purchasing your tickets. Graduation Towers are used to separate water from saline solutions, enhancing mineral content. Apparently, there are health benefits to being in the presence of the Graduation Tower – the mineral content in the air can help with clearing respiratory issues, and further contribute to a relaxing environment.

Well, I think that concludes my time in Southern Poland this past fall! During my layover in Frankfurt, I had a brief conversation with another travel, and I said to him that I feel Poland is a very underrated tourist destination. Therefore, the next time you are planning a trip to Europe, I would definitely encourage you to spend some time in Poland. There is no shortage of history, beautiful architecture and different landscapes to see, which I hope I have convinced you of through this blog post ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

Welcome to the Jungle – Costa Rica!

Back in March, Justin and I had the chance to spend a week exploring Jaco, Costa Rica, and the surrounding area, and I cannot wait to tell you all about it! But, since we kicked-off our adventure by spending a couple of days in Los Angeles, perhaps I should start there ツ.

Los Angeles (LA), California

As far as I am aware, travellers from Vancouver cannot fly direct to Costa Rica – they either have to connect through a major city in the United States, or through Toronto, Canada. We decided to fly through LA for two reasons: 1) it provided the shortest flight path, and 2) we had never been to LA before and thought it was a good excuse to visit the area!

Since our time in LA was limited, here is a short list of attractions we were able to see:

Hollywood Sign: In order to see the famous Hollywood Sign, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory, as this is considered a top viewing spot. However, we did not have the best weather during this day – it was raining and overcast for the entire morning and part of the afternoon. For this reason, our first attempt to see the sign in the morning was unsuccessful. We decided to go back to the Griffith Observatory in the afternoon and while the weather had cleared up, it became incredibly busy and we were not able to find parking! Luckily the drive up the hill (as the Griffith Observatory is located on Mount Hollywood) was slow, and I was able to jump out of the car to take photos of the Hollywood sign and the views of LA. But, this meant that Justin was not able to take in the views – sorry, Justin!

*Views of LA from the Griffith Observatory*

The Oppenheim Group Real Estate Office: We took a drive down Sunset Boulevard, as I was determined to see the Oppenheim Group Office in real-life! To all the Selling Sunset fans, while the office was closed that day (it was a Saturday) and I did not see any of the cast, I can confirm that the office is as nice as it looks on television! Has anyone ever been near the Office on a weekday? If yes, please tell me what you experienced!
Rodeo Drive: Think of an expensive, luxurious brand, and you can guarantee that there is a location on Rodeo Drive. We opted not to stop here, but rather drive through and observe stores like Louis Vuitton, Prada and Dior from afar ツ.
Hollywood Walk of Fame: While our walk amongst the stars was short-lived due to the weather, we were still able to find stars for Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys, to name a few.
Beaches: As you probably already know, there are tons of beautiful beaches along the California coast. The first beach we visited was Santa Monica State Beach, which includes a small theme park on its Pier, and then we also enjoyed a walk along the Manhattan Beach promenade.

Other than the sights above, we indulged in some local plant-based cuisine – the baked cashew ricotta and pepperoni pizza at Pura Vita West Hollywood, the vanilla and chocolate soft-serve at Bestie’s Paradise, and we also ate at Veggie Grill. LA is quite well known for its diverse plant-based restaurants – we hope to be back in the future to try more delicious food!

Jaco, Costa Rica

The next stop on our trip was to fly to San Jose, Costa Rica! From here, we would drive for 1.5-hours to our final destination – Jaco (pronounced “Haco”). We had a private ride arranged by our hotel from the airport.

It was quite late when we arrived in Jaco, around 10:30pm – we received our keys from security and it was time to get ready for bed!

We spent our first full day in Jaco getting ourselves organized and exploring the town. Our first stop was at Claro to purchase SIM cards for our phones, and then we checked out a couple of different supermarkets to get groceries. Our go-to supermarket (we came here multiple times during our trip) ended up being the Mas X Menos – it had a large selection of produce and packaged food, and also carried other items such as toiletries, sunscreen, etc. making it a convenient one-stop-shop for tourists.

Once we had (mostly) organized ourselves for the week, we went for a beach walk along Jaco Beach and then went back to our hotel to read and swim in the pool. You will notice as you are reading this blog post that this holiday was not like some of our other action packed trips – we actually took some time to relax ツ.

For dinner on our official first night, we went to Karma Cafe & Restaurant and very much enjoyed our experience. We each had a delicious bowl, drink and the best part was carrot cake for dessert!

We were up early the next day to explore Tortuga Island – a “must see” according to the concierge at our hotel. We had to take a 45-minute catamaran boat ride to reach the Island, where we then spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon enjoying its sandy beaches and turquoise blue waters. Our trip to Tortuga included a banana boat ride, a traditional Costa Rican lunch (lots of rice and vegetables – non carne para mi), unlimited margaritas and a short self-guided hike. One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Costa Rica was to experience the wild life, and this small Island had wild pigs, deer and iguanas.

*Views from our short hike on Tortuga Island*

For our third day in Costa Rica, we were off to find the monkeys! Costa Rica is actually home to four species of monkeys (squirrel, white-faced capuchin, howler and spider monkeys) and we were lucky enough to see three of the species on our trip. We signed up for a Mangrove Boat Tour in the city of Quepos (about an hour away from Jaco), which took us along a water channel surrounded by Mangrove trees. We learned during the tour that Mangroves are actually very important to Costa Rica as they provide protection during severe storms.

While we very much enjoyed a relaxing boat ride through the jungle, and were able to see bats and various types of lizards throughout the tour, the most exciting part (obviously) was finding the white-faced capuchin monkeys! The monkeys were very curious and were not afraid to approach the boat or the humans. At the time, we did not know that we would actually see several more monkeys during our trip to Costa Rica, but the boat tour was the closest we were able to get – it was truly incredible!

*One of the monkeys we saw during our Mangrove Boat Tour*

On our way back from the Mangrove Boat Tour, we stopped at the Welcome to Jaco sign for some photos and beautiful scenic views, and at this point, we also saw our first scarlet macaws hanging out in the trees! While at the time I was disappointed we could not get closer to these beautiful birds, it would not be our last time seeing them (this appeared to be a theme for the day).

After an eventful afternoon with the monkeys, we had worked up an appetite and went for dinner at SER Restaurante (another fully plant-based restaurant in Jaco) where we indulged in delicious tacos and a veggie bowl.

For our fourth day in Jaco, we signed up for a tour of Carara National Park. This Park was not actually on our original itinerary, as we were planning to go to Manuel Antonio National Park instead – which is a much more well-known park in the area for experiencing wild life. However, we are very grateful we did not pass up the opportunity to go to Carara National Park!

Our hotel concierge recommended JungleXpeditions for touring Carara National Park, and the owner, Mauricio, was the best tour guide we experienced during our trip. Our visit to the Park was scheduled for the early afternoon, and on our way, Mauricio made a road side stop at a scarlet macaw nest (remember how I said we would see many scarlet macaws on the trip?) – there was a family of these beautiful birds living inside a hole in a tree. Mauricio had a very powerful telescope that allowed us to see the birds up close, and you could even take pictures through the telescope.

*Scarlet macaw nest outside Carara National Park* *(note: this photo was not taken through the telescope)*

Carara National Park is considered to be a transition forest – where dry and tropical climates collide – making it an excellent area for observing wildlife. You can read more about transition forests here. We were greeted by various types of reptiles at the Park entrance, along with one of my favourites, a two-toed sloth. Other animals we saw at Carara National Park included: howler, spider and white-faced capuchin monkeys (yes, we saw all three!), an owl butterfly, northern ghost bat, more scarlett macaws, an orange-collared manakin, turquoise browed motmot, and a snake – unfortunately, I did not take notes on the specific type.

The snake incident was kind of a funny story, actually. Mauricio had suggested Justin and I stand next to a very tall tree for a photo. We started walking towards the tree, Justin a bit ahead of me, and then all of a sudden Justin started screaming and ran back towards Mauricio. He was so shocked he barely got out the word “snake” – Mauricio, myself and the other person on our tour were dying of laughter. As we inspected the snake, Mauricio confirmed it was not poisonous and that it had just eaten – you could see the belly was full. The snake had apparently made eye contact and hissed at Justin, which is why he got spooked! I am sure we will be telling this story for years to come ツ.

While we were absolutely thrilled with our trip to Carara National Park, the one animal we did not see (which was very high on my bucket list for Costa Rica) was a Toucan. Mauricio told me he would try to find a Toucan on our drive back.

Carara National Park is also very close to the Tarcoles River, which is home to approximately 2000 crocodiles. We had originally hoped to go on a crocodile tour (which in hindsight, I am glad did not work out), but instead, Mauricio brought us to the Crocodile Bridge, where we could view these massive creatures from a safe distance ツ.

On our drive back to the hotel, I could tell Mauricio was looking hard for a toucan (I made it very clear how much I wanted to see one). At one point as we were all chatting in the van, he quickly pulled over and said “Michelle, here is your toucan.” We all jumped out of the vehicle – I turned on my camera and Mauricio setup his telescope, and of course in that moment, the toucan flew away. We got back in the vehicle and Mauricio was actually able to follow the toucan. We made another road side stop and started looking, and yes, Mauricio found the toucan… only for history to repeat itself – by the time we got setup, the toucan once again flew away. I was quite disappointed as I did not actually get to see it, but I had not given up hope – I knew there would be more opportunities to find a toucan.

The next day we actually went to visit the other National Park in Costa Rica – Manuel Antonio. This Park is much more popular for tourists than Carara – this was evident, as our tour bus was full! While we were able to see a lot of wild life at this Park, our group size made it difficult to see things through the tour guide’s telescope and we were not able to take pictures on our phone through the telescope. The park was incredibly busy with other groups, as well, which meant we did not see any birds – we definitely did not see a toucan. I much preferred the intimate group size we had for Carara National Park.

*Two-toed sloth outside Manuel Antonio National Park*

Our trip to Manuel Antonio also included a traditional Costa Rican lunch, as well as some time at the Manuel Antonio beach. On our walk from the beach back to the Park entrance, we saw several white-faced capuchin monkeys as they climbed trees along our path – apparently the monkeys here are not afraid of people, and will even open up your backpack!

For our final day in Jaco, we attended the Chocolate Experience at Vista Los Suenos Adventure Park. During the Chocolate Experience, we learned about where the cacao plant grows (along the “Cacao Belt,” which is near the equator), the different species of cacao trees (23 species, 7 of which are found in Costa Rica), the process by which cacao becomes chocolate, and we even got to make our own chocolate. Costa Rica is actually not a big producer of chocolate – they only produce about 0.7% of the world’s cacao! Costa Rica is much better known for growing coffee; however, we were not able to participate in a coffee tour during our trip.

Following the chocolate tour, it was time to head to San Jose for our final night, as we had an early flight to catch in the morning. We actually received a ride from our Carara National Park tour guide, Mauricio, as he also offers airport shuttle services. One other request I had for Mauricio was to find me another toucan ツ.

When Mauricio picked us up, he had mentioned he spoke to some other tour guide friends and was made aware of a toucan nest nearby. As we slowly started making our way down a dusty dirt road, we saw a small bird flying from tree to tree – it was a toucan! We pulled over, got out the telescope and I watched the bird fly back and forth with the biggest smile on my face. It was actually very interesting to watch the toucan fly as it would start to “fall” when it stopped flapping its wings – apparently the toucan’s beak is so heavy it actually has a hard time flying!

Finally feeling like my time in Costa Rica was complete, we continued onward towards San Jose, making one final stop at Playa Pogeres to take in one final Costa Rican sunset.

And with that, I will end this blog post. This was definitely a long one – if you are still reading, thank you for being here! I hope you enjoyed reading about our time in Costa Rica and that it will provide you with some ideas on what to do when you visit the area of Jaco!

Always grateful,

Michelle

Back to the PNW – Olympic National Park

I used to think that going six weeks in between blog posts was a long time, but now it has been five months since my last post! Life has been incredibly busy lately, and while I have started writing several new posts, I have not been able to finish one.

We have had a couple exciting adventures since my last blog post in February – we spent some time in Los Angeles, Jaco (in Costa Rica), on Vancouver Island, and most recently in Olympic National Park in Washington. I am going to share all my thoughts about Olympic National Park now while everything is still fresh in my head!

Olympic National Park is around a four-hour drive from where we live, making it a great option for a quick weekend trip. This is our 9th National Park visit in the United States, and it definitely did not disappoint! I actually bought a scratch off poster last year to track all the parks we have been to, but I am currently behind on this activity (being behind on things appears to be a common theme in my life right now…).

In order to explore Olympic National Park, we decided to stay in Port Angeles, which is the largest city near the park. We stayed in an Airbnb in a quiet neighbourhood with our friends, Iwona and Craig. The highlight of this location for me was all the deer (including the babies!) roaming the streets and nearby trails.

We did not spend too much time in Port Angeles, itself, but here are some notable shops and food establishments we checked out:

Our favourite restaurant was New Day Eatery. While I did not try the coffee here, I was advised by Justin, Iwona and Craig that this was their favourite coffee stop of the trip. New Day Eatery also had several plant-based (and gluten free) baked goods – it was actually difficult to make a decision due to all the options! Different scones, muffins, coffee cakes… if only calories were not a concern. We also had breakfast here on our last morning, and it was delicious.
A shoutout to Westside Pizza for offering vegan cheese – loved the vegetarian pizza option!
We all picked up our local swag at MOSS. I usually try to limit myself to one item, but I could not make a decision (apparently another common theme in my life). I ended up getting the Washington Nature Checklist t-shirt, and Iwona and I are also the newest members of the Out of Breath Hiking Society with our new hats. If you are hoping to pick up some Pacific Northwest gear, definitely stop by MOSS.
While we did not make any purchases, we enjoyed browsing the gift items, games and books at Port Book and News.

We essentially had two full days to explore the park, plus some time in the evening the day we arrived. One thing that makes Olympic National Park unique is its diverse ecosystem which is made up of the coast, forests and mountains. Since our daylight was limited on our first (partial) day, we settled on exploring a shorter trail amongst the forests – the Marymere Falls Trail.

This was a very peaceful and easy hike – we loved walking amongst the tall trees, breathing in the fresh air and listening to the water flow in the nearby creek. I would definitely recommend doing this hike later in the day if this is an option for you, as the light scattering through the trees onto the trail was beautiful.

Moving onto our first full day at the Park, we decided to drive out to the Washington coast to explore the beaches that make up Olympic National Park. Our first stop was at Cape Flattery, which was around an hour and 45 minutes from Port Angeles. Note that this area of the park is managed by the Makah Indian Tribe and visitors must pay an additional $20 USD entrance fee, on top of the National Park fee. In order to reach the beautiful cliff overlooking Neah Bay, you have to walk along a short, tree-covered trail – the trail out-and-back is less than 2kms. There are a couple of different view points once you get to the end, and all of them are spectacular!

Our next stop was Shi Shi Beach, which was a 20-minute drive south from Cape Flattery. On AllTrails, you will find a 14km Shi Shi Beach Trail, but to actually get to the beach, it is around 3.5km. The trail to the beach was through the forest, and it was more muddy than we expected – I would definitely recommend hiking or waterproof shoes for this trail… leave your white sneakers at home ツ. Craig had actually seen a sign in the beach parking lot that made reference to the number “0.6,” leading us to believe this trail was 0.6 miles. You can imagine how surprised we were to have walked a total of 7km (out-and-back). But, upon returning to our vehicle, we realized the 0.6 miles was actually referring to the next parking lot for campers – oops!

While Shi Shi Beach appeared to be a beautiful spot, we were very limited in what we were able to see, as there was a lot of fog and low cloud coverage – I actually kind of enjoyed the eerie atmosphere ツ.

Our final destination along the coast was Rialto Beach. This Beach was about an hour and 20 minutes away from Shi Shi Beach, and was just outside the city of Forks. Many people are familiar with Forks, as this is where all the Twilight movies were filmed – I personally had no idea as I am not a Twilight fan. Even though the series was filmed over 15 years ago, the town is not shy about capitalizing on this moment – you can find vampire swag in the shops in Forks, and the town refers to itself as “Home of the Twilight Saga.”

Blood-sucking mythical creatures aside, Rialto Beach is easily the nicest beach I have ever seen. When we initially got here, similar to Shi Shi Beach, it was quite foggy and actually very cold and windy! Have I mentioned that Justin did not bring a sweater or jacket on this trip ツ? Our plan was to walk along the beach towards the Hole-in-the-Wall rock structure (which is located about 2.5km one way from the parking lot), but unfortunately, the tide was too high and we did not make it to the end – but, we still got pretty close!

However, during our walk, the fog lifted and we were able to see the beach for miles – it was beautiful. My favourite part about this entire experience was the abundance of drift wood along the beach, which made for very cool photo opportunities, as well as the pelicans flying along the coast and diving for fish! Although, one thing I was surprised about was how tired I was from this walk – 5kms through the sand and rocks is no joke!

*Rialto Beach after the fog lifted, featuring some pelicans!*

*Another photo of Rialto Beach – can you spot the Hole-in-the-Wall we were trying to reach?*

After finishing up at Rialto Beach, and grabbing a bite to eat at Blakeslee Bar and Grill, it was time to drive back to Port Angeles, which was about 1 hour and 20 minutes away. Needless to say, we did a lot of driving on this day, but it was definitely worth it!

After touring the forests and coast, the last ecosystem we had left to explore within the Park (and it was also our last day) was the mountains, and our trail of choice was Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge. In order to get to this trail head, you need to drive about 40-minutes through the park along a switchback road, up to an elevation of 5,252ft. Note that there are only three small parking lots near the start of the trail and they fill up quickly – we arrived around 9:30am and had to park at the furthest lot.

Despite the limited parking situation, I cannot say enough good things about this trail. The picturesque mountains, the colourful wildflowers and the views of Vancouver Island from the top were incredible. If you only have time for one hike in the park, I would put this at the top of your list!

*Views from the top of Hurricane Hill – can you spot Mt. Baker?*

*Mountain views and wildflowers along the Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge trail*

In terms of difficulty, I would rate this hike as moderate – while it is fully paved, there is an elevation gain of 252m over 2.75km, which results in some steeper sections along the trail. If you struggle with downhill, I would definitely recommend bringing some hiking poles. The trail is also fully exposed – there are very few trees to provide shade.

After taking a lunch break to watch the EuroCup Final, we decided to finish our day in the forest with an easy walk around Crescent Lake along the Spruce Railroad Trail. We did not have enough time to complete all 18km, but we enjoyed the first part of the trail, stopping to sit by the lake to take in the Olympic National Park views one last time.

Overall, we are very happy with our time spent in nature at Olympic National Park and we are already starting to plan our next National Park visit! Where should we go?

On a completely unrelated note, I am thinking about starting an Instagram account to showcase some of my travel photos. What do you think – should I do it? Do I have time, or will it just become another activity I am behind on ツ?

Until next time!

Always grateful,

Michelle

The Pacific Northwest

Back in November, Justin and I had the chance to spend an extra long weekend doing some exploring in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with our friends Iwona and Craig. Specifically, we spent time down in Washington in Leavenworth and Wenatchee.

The drive from the Canadian border to the Wenatchee/Leavenworth area is around 4-hours, but we managed to stretch this into a 7-hour drive by making several stops for lunch and coffee, and at Trader Joe’s.

One thing I have never mentioned in any of my previous blog posts is that when we are travelling in the US, we try to book accommodation with a kitchen (or at least a decent sized fridge) as our very first stop in every new city is Trader Joe’s. We always stock-up on the premade salads, wraps and snacks as this helps to keep the food portion of our trip cost effective, and it helps us eat healthier. Well, our trip down to Washington was no different ツ!

We ultimately had two full days in Wenatchee and Leavenworth, and during this time, we were able to fit in two hikes, as well as some time to explore the nearby towns and shops. Our first hike was a trail surrounding Clara Lake and Marion Lake in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which was around 30-minutes from our accommodation in East Wenatchee. The reason we picked this hike is because some reviews we read suggested we might still be able to see larches in the area, even though it was already mid-November.

Well, to our surprise, we did find larches on our drive to the start of the trailhead, but there were definitely no larches on the trail, itself, as it was covered in snow! Fortunately, we showed up prepared with crampons and ice cleats to help us enjoy our hike through the winter wonderland.

*The larches we saw when driving to the Clara and Marion Lakes trailhead*

As we were hiking along the trail, we remained hopeful that there might be more larches at the end of the hike. We decided to ask the first person we encountered whether there were larches by the lakes, and he laughed and said “sure.” He either did not know what larches were, or we missed the sarcasm in his response – he definitely got our hopes up! Either way, we will have to go back to this trail one day, hopefully a bit earlier in the year to see the larches and to see Clara and Marion Lakes without all the snow.

*Up close and personal with the larches!*

The other trail we did was the Icicle Gorge Trail, which is also part of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. This trail was actually closer to Leavenworth, and was around an hour away from our accommodation. To our surprise, the entire area surrounding the trail was surrounded by larches! I later learned that there are actually multiple types of larches, and I believe the ones we saw were western larches, which can be found in lower elevation areas (compared to alpine larches, which grow at high elevations).

While I would definitely consider the Icicle Gorge Trail to be an easy nature walk, it was a stunning walk along the river – I would highly recommend putting this on your must see list when visiting Leavenworth.

*Icicle River along the Icicle Gorge Trail*

*Larches surrounding the Icicle Gorge Trail*

Other than our time outdoors, we also made a point of checking out the local restaurants in the area. While we were in Wenatchee, we went to Wenatchee Valley Brewing to enjoy a local beer and some snacks, and also checked out Tap and Putt, which offers games and indoor mini-golf in addition to food and drinks. We ended up playing shuffleboard, and also three rounds of Monopoly Deal (which I brought from home), and we could not believe that Craig won every single game. It would not be incorrect to say I get a little bit competitive when playing Monopoly Deal.

In terms of eating establishments in Leavenworth, we enjoyed a Mexican lunch at South Leavenworth, dinner and live music at Yodelin (I definitely regret not trying one of their soups) and played a couple more rounds of Monopoly Deal over a drink at the Icicle Brewing Company. While I was not able to completely redeem myself over Monopoly Deal this time, thankfully I won one game ツ.

*Views from the town of Leavenworth – on the left is one of the Bavarian-style buildings*

I should note that our trip to Leavenworth was during the shoulder season and I would love to visit again one day in the winter. In case you did not know, Leavenworth goes “all out” for Christmas – thousands of decorative lights, live music, carolers and, of course, a special appearance from Santa, himself.

I know this was one of my shorter blog posts, but hopefully it gives you some ideas on what to do if you are ever visiting Wenatchee or Leavenworth!

Always grateful,

Michelle

More Time in the Desert

If you have been reading my other blog posts, you will know that we have previously spent time in both Palm Springs and Scottsdale, hence why I am titling this blog post “More Time in the Desert” ツ. We have recently been on two separate trips to Indio, California – the first visit was in October 2023, and we just got back from our second visit earlier this week!

October 2023

I will start by saying that our first trip to Indio was a hot one – even in October, the weather was over 35°C every day! When it is this hot out, your only opportunities to spend time outside are early in the morning and later in the evening. But, we did not let this stop us from exploring outdoors!

For our first full day, we drove out to Palm Springs (which is around 30-minutes from Indio) to check out the Indian Canyons. The Indian Canyons are actually made up of multiple canyons – Palm Canyon, Andreas Canyon and Murray Canyon. Because it was already quite warm out, we opted to start in the Palm Canyon and complete a shorter (fairly easy) hike called Victor Loop, which provided some shade as the start of the trail is almost entirely covered by palm trees. However, the second half of the trail was completely open – the true definition of a desert landscape! This short hike provided fantastic views of Palm Springs and its iconic turbines, and we even saw some desert bighorn sheep.

*Views of the palm trees from the top of the Victor Loop*

*One of the desert bighorn sheep we saw along the Victor Loop*

Apparently the rule for hiking in the desert is: once you have finished half your water, turn around and go back! Makes sense to me!

After we finished the Victor Loop, we drove to Andreas Canyon to do the Andreas Canyon Trail. Fortunately, this trail is only 1.5km long, and similar to Victor Loop, it is surrounded by palm trees. The short distance and shade made this walk tolerable in the heat; however, it is important to be prepared – sunscreen, hats and water are critical!

The other hiking we did during this trip was in Mount San Jacinto State Park. In order to access these trails, we took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The Tramway is located about 40-minutes from Indio, and it is similar to a gondola but it spins as it goes up, providing you with 360° views of Palm Springs. Once we reached “Mountain Station” and stepped into Mount San Jacinto State Park, it was clear we had left the desert – the temperatures were about 10°C lower than what we were experiencing in the valley, and the Park had a luscious green landscape.

We started by hiking the Round Valley Trail. Because this hike is slightly longer (4km), you are required to stop by the Ranger Station to grab a permit to complete this hike. The Ranger assesses your ability to hike the Round Valley Trail, primarily by checking if you have enough water to drink (remember the rule I mentioned above?).

While there were not that many view points along the Round Valley Trail, it was a very peaceful walk through the wilderness, with beautiful fall colours!

*Fall colours along the Round Valley Trail*

The second trail we did was the Desert Valley Trail. While only 2km in length, this trail provided stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. The Desert Valley Trail was definitely more scenic than the Round Valley Trail, but overall, we very much enjoyed our time in Mount San Jacinto State Park! As a side note – a big shout out to the tramway operator we had on our way down – he told jokes and had everyone singing along to Sweet Caroline.

In addition to the little bit of hiking we did in October, we also went back to Joshua Tree National Park. Our first visit to Joshua Tree National Park was in December 2022, which I wrote about in my Palm Springs & Joshua Tree National Park (Southern California – Part 1 of 3) post! But this time, we went to the Park at night for stargazing.

Joshua Tree National Park is considered an International Dark Sky Park, and let me tell you, it is very dark at night. It took us about an hour to drive from Indio to the spot where we intended to stargaze – the Ocotillo Patch within the Park. I will admit that we know very little about stargazing and were very unprepared. When we arrived at the Ocotillo Patch, there were other stargazers already there with their folding chairs, blankets and red lights – we did not have any of these supplies! We read that it takes about 30-minute for your eyes to adjust from bright lights, whereas red light does not impact your night vision in the same way. Either way, we were amazed with how many stars were in the sky, and we were even able to see the Milky Way. I am excited to try stargazing again in the future, but this time, with all the proper equipment!

*The night sky in Joshua Tree National Park – this photo does not do the sky justice!*

The final activity we were able to fit in during our visit in October was the Palm Springs Windmill Tour, which allows you to get up-close and personal with the wind turbines. We opted to do the self-driving tour option, where you drive through the different exhibits while listening to an audio track (through a phone app). There are 10 exhibits that discuss the history of the turbines, the different sizes, and you also drive past a solar farm. My favourite fact I learned is that there are various reasons why a turbine might not be spinning in the wind – a couple more obvious reasons like the turbine is down for maintenance or there is not enough wind, but apparently too much wind can also be a bad thing!

Other than that, the rest of our time in Indio was spent relaxing by the pool and hot tub. We were also sure to visit a couple of food spots in Palm Springs that we enjoyed during our last visit – Sammy G’s, for pizza and pasta, and Nature’s Health Cafe, for delicious smoothies!

January 2024

Earlier this week we got back from another trip to Indio. While not as warm as our October trip, the temperatures were between 15-20°C, which was the perfect temperature for hiking and hanging out in the hot tub. I appreciate the temperatures even more now given that it is -13°C (feels like -23°C) in Vancouver as I am writing this blog post!

Our friends, Jeanette and Mike, actually joined us for this trip, and Jeanette is quite familiar with Indio and the surrounding area. She scouted out a lot of our activities for this trip, starting with the East Indio Hills Badlands hike.

This was a very cool trail – it was around 9km in length and took us 2-hours to complete. This hike is the epitome of hiking through the desert with various rock landscapes and we even walked through multiple slot canyons. The highest point on the trail also provided beautiful views of Indio. While I would throughly recommend this hike, make sure to bring enough water and to consider doing it earlier in the day, as there is almost no shade on this trail (with the exception of the slot canyons)!

*Views from the east Indio Badlands trail*

The second hike we managed to fit in during our trip was actually about 1-hour south of Indio in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The trail is called Calcite Mine Trail, and as the name suggests, the Trail is littered with calcite minerals. Jeanette and Mike both collect rocks, making for an exciting rock-hunting adventure ツ. Even Justin and I myself managed to find a couple cool pieces of calcite to bring home!

We also managed to find a slot canyon on this trail – this was the highlight for me, personally!

*Slot Canyon along the Calcite Mine Trail*

I should note that the Calcite Mine Trail is actually fully accessible for a 4×4 vehicle, but unfortunately for us, we had to walk the trail since our vehicle did not have enough clearance. Similar to the East Indio Hills Badlands, it is best to do this hike in the morning, as shade is minimal, and to bring plenty of water.

Following the Calcite Mine Trail, we decided to drive for 1-hour to Slab City to see Salvation Mountain, as we had read several good reviews online about this attraction. However, other than reading a few reviews, we definitely did not know where we were going, and it turns out that Slab City is actually, to quote from Wikipedia, an “off-the-grid alternative lifestyle community.” In other words, this area is very rundown, and populated by homelessness and drug addicts. Slab City actually used to be a training camp for the military, and people have now built their homes on the “slabs” that remain from the military buildings. We got out of our vehicle to observe the Salvation Mountain artwork (which is a giant Christian mural made from bricks, tires and windows) and painted vehicles in the area, but we got startled by a person sitting in one of the vehicles – safe to say, we did not spend too much time in Slab City.

We decided to head back to Indio but wanted to make a stop at the Bombay Beach Ruins – another attraction on Google with great reviews. Little did we know, the community of Bombay Beach is actually considered a “living ghost town.” In order to get to the beach ruins, we had to drive by the community, which is made up of several streets of mobile homes, many of which have been clearly abandoned.

When we reached the beach, we noticed only one other vehicle, as well as a sign that said something along the lines of “The last vehicle to enter did not leave.” Needless to say, we were a bit spooked and decided to observe the ruins from our vehicle without getting out! Amongst the ruins was a lemonade stand, a giant fish, a decapitated person and a bus stop that read “ETA NEVER.” We decided this was another place we did not want to hang around at for too long ツ.

*The bus stop at the Bombay Beach Ruins*

After leaving the beach, we drove through the community to observe the homes. We later learned that there is a small population that continues to live in Bombay Beach, but as noted above, most of the homes are unoccupied. One of the homes even had a swing set with skeletons on it!

We definitely spent some time reading up about Bombay Beach after leaving, and apparently it used to be the “hip and happening place” in the 1950s. However, the Community is situated right next to the Salton Sea, which is becoming increasingly toxic, and ultimately resulted in many residents leaving the area. If you have some free time, I would definitely recommend reading up on both Slab City and Bombay Beach, California – it is all very interesting! But, I am not sure if I would recommend going for a visit ツ.

Lastly, because this was Mike’s first time in California, we took him on a tour through Joshua Tree National Park. Unfortunately, it was quite cold (6°C) when we went, and to make things worse, incredibly windy. It was so windy that Jeanette and I both ended up with wind burn on our faces! Either way, we made the most of our time there by doing a quick hike to the Arch and Heart rocks, pit-stopped for a quick visit to Skull Rock, and also stopped at the Hall of Horrors exhibit to see the Joshua Trees up close!

*Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park*

I think that is it! Hopefully if you are planning a trip to Palm Springs in the future, this post (along with my other post) will give you some ideas on activities to check out in the surrounding area!

Always grateful,

Michelle