After a fun day and night in Great Basin National Park, the Andrea and BC roadtrip rolled into Idaho. I have been to Idaho once and didn’t really spend much time there so it was a priority to see some Idaho sights.  When one Googles “Thing to do in Idaho”, Shoshone Falls is the first thing that pops up. The pictures of Shoshone Falls, right outside of Twins Falls, Idaho looked amazing so I added it to the itinerary.

The stupid GPS took us to the wrong place but whetted our appetites with gorgeous views of the Snake River basin. Once at the entrance of Shoshone Falls finally, the man took our $3 and then told us the bad news- there was a 50/50 chance of us actually seeing water go over the falls. Apparently they were having quite the dry spell and this week was dreadful for waterfall viewing.

Bummer.

It was still a cool site even though it wasn’t everything I had hoped for. I guess Shoshone Falls has to go back on the list of places to see- this time I’ll specify during rainy season.

After our Shoshone Falls fail we drove on to spend the night in Idaho Falls, closer to our destination of Glacier National Park, albeit at least another day’s drive away. Idaho Falls was a good stop and their Wal-Mart people watching was truly astounding on a Friday night after work.

From Idaho Falls Betty (our Jucy van), BC and sped up to Kalispell, Montana. The happy part of the drive included this awesome deep fried pork chop sandwich from Freeway Tavern in Butte, Montana.  It was on Adam Richman’s Man v. Food- I love that show.

The scary part of the drive was outside Missoula, I was driving and BC was sleeping- an oil tanker truck jackknifed in front of me. I calmly cursed like a sailor avoiding the truck (that luckily did not explode)  while BC slept on. Scary stuff!

After all that I needed an adult beverage and it was my favorite time of day- happy hour! While driving down the road I veered off to Kalispell Brewing Company for a sampler tray. The two best ones were a Dunkel and a Dunkel wheat.  So different and so good. It reminded me of German beer.

We ate yak burgers at Hops- this place was hopping! At 5:10pm we snagged the last 2 seats at the bar. Apparently people line up for their yak burgers. After I devoured mine I would line up for another one too someday when I’m back in Kalispell.

Tomorrow we are off to Glacier. I’m so excited!

Reader Question: Have you ever eaten an exotic meat burger? What was your favorite?

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The Travel Bloggers Exchange (TBEX) was held this year in Hunstville, Alabama. I may have been one of the few people genuinely excited about the location because I have always wanted to go to Spacecamp and Alabama is one of the three US States I have left to visit on my quest to visit all 50.

Huntsville turned out to be a fantastic city filled with good restaurants, outdoor activities, beer, museums, and of course Spacecamp. No,  I will never shut up about Spacecamp! Read more about my time in Huntsville here and Spacecamp here.

Spacesuit selfie!

The conference itself had high points like Samantha Brown of TV travel show fame and Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures– my go-to travel company. I went to a lot of talks of travel, social media, blogging, and marketing but I also got to hear one of the head engineers at NASA talk about the upcoming manned mission to Mars- it is happening!

The nightly social gatherings at TBEX were the best we’ve had at any conference in the past.  On Night 1, the buses took travel writers, bloggers, and social media gurus to AM Booth’s Lumberyard– a converted lumberyard to event space/restaurant/music venue.  It was my favorite party venue!

I did some drinking and shooting (yikes! only with an air gun, I promise) before wandering through Unclaimed Baggage section of the party full of displays of the weird things people have left in their lost, unclaimed luggage. Alabama is home of the biggest Unclaimed Baggage Center in the US. And normal people and go there to see everything and buy random stuff!

Visiting Unclaimed Baggage would be a blast, I have a feeling.

And as always, plenty of Southern fare to soak up the delicious craft beer- Mad Malts Vanilla Porter, a beer brewed in Huntsville and my favorite of the night with some fried chicken and waffles.

The party on the 2nd night of the conference was at the amazing US Space and Rocket Center, home of Spacecamp! I had already been here for Spacecamp but this time we got to hang out after hours and eat German food. Dr. Wernher. Von Braun (of German heritage) was the head engineer of the Saturn V rocket and head of the Marshall Space Center.

The Saturn V Hall:

A party surrounded by rockets is a cool party!

In these buildings are the things that helped us get to the moon. Soon there will have to be a whole other wing to display those things that helped get us to Mars.  Mars 2020!

There was one of these at the party- I guess it really isn’t a good party until someone throws up (although I don’t think anyone did!).

It’s not a party until someone pukes! @RocketCenterUSA #tbex pic.twitter.com/mQHrDsTrjO

— Andrea On Vacation (@Andreatravels) May 6, 2017

The final night social gathering was at a place converted from an middle and high school- Campus No. 805.  Let me tell you, the bathrooms were hilarious and had the same flooring as my elementary school. My blogger friends and I had a few beers and some pizza- which I snarfed down on the bus home.

We mostly hung out in the speakeasy part of the the building which had a hidden entrance behind some lockers. Fun! There are 2 breweries and a bunch of restaurant options at Campus No. 805.

I had a fantastic time in Huntsville and would recommend that you visit if you get the chance. The US Space and Rocket Center is worth the trip alone. Combine it with eclectic Southern fare, craft beer, farmer’s markets, botanical gardens, and historic homes- you get a great bang for your travel dollar in Huntsville!

Reader Question: Where have you been lately that you were surprised about how much you enjoyed it?

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After flying into Fargo the afternoon prior, I was up at 5am to drink coffee, dress in my running gear, and catch the hotel shuttle to the Go Far Woman Run at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. The Go Far Woman Run consisted of a half marathon, 10K, 5K, and half marathon relay, totaling 1000 runners. I signed up for the 10K.

The morning of the race it was a cool 60 degrees and sunny- the most glorious running weather I can imagine having in August. The course was really pretty through mostly parks and a few neighborhoods with Fargo residents cheering us on. I made friends with another woman who was at a similar pace and we ran about 5 miles together and finished together. My goal was to make it in under an hour- and I made it! 58:21 (9:20/mile). I was proud I went that fast without training too much and keeping up with my new friend.

There were some hunky firefighters handing out medals at the end. That was nice but I was more excited about the popsicles and water. #priorities

My race swag:

Like most people, after any run all I can think about is food. I showered up back at the Radisson in downtown Fargo and walked 2 blocks to the Red River Farmer’s Market which is my new favorite thing.

There were fruit and vegetable stands, baked goods, coffee, pickles, flowers, but most importantly food and booze stands. The food all looked so good but the minute I saw the Poke Bowl food truck, I knew I had to get one.

I went for the ahi tuna bowl and devoured the delicious tuna, avocado, seaweed salad, roe, rice, and siracha combination while sitting in a lawn chair and listened to a local songwriter/singer make lively music on the stage.

The Red River Market in Fargo also has booze stands with local vodkas, gins, wine, and beer. I hit up one of the beer stands, Drekker Brewing Company, for a tasting before deciding on the Coconut Killer IPA. It sounds horrible and I made icky faces at the guy giving me tastes of the different options because I thought I would hate it. This is why you should try everything once. Coconut Killer was fantastic.

I hung out and made a few new friends- mostly dog owners who’s dogs were trying to get to my beer and poke bowl. At this point it is 10am and I need a nap.  A 5am wakeup call, 6. 2 miles, and a beer will do that to you! Back for more from Fargo in a bit.

Reader Question; Do you judge a beer by it’s name? Would you have tried a beer called Coconut Killer IPA or passed it by?

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Friday night after work BC and I hopped a plane to London and then another to Glasgow. It was the never-ending day. After arriving in Glasgow at the Marriott hotel I booked in the City Centre we had a few hours to explore and eat before we both crashed hard from a lack of sleep. During our 5 hours in Glasgow in which we were awake, we had a great time exploring and drinking all the beer.

Buchanan Street in Glasgow is the place to be on Saturday. Tourists and local alike walked up and down the pedestrian road. There were some interesting buildings and tons of shops but we had some tourist destinations in mind so we kept walking.

At George’s Square there was a Scotland Independence Rally with music. The City Hall loomed over the rally in the beautiful square. At this point it starting raining (which is a normal thing here) so we just kept trucking to Cathedral Square in the Merchant City section of town.

In Merchant City there were a lot of awesome murals on the building walls. There was an art and design school nearby.

The medieval Glasgow Cathedral was beautiful! Actually the Glasgow Cathedral is a double cathedral with two separate church spaces.

The stained glass throughout was was favorite feature.

The Necropolis was the #2 thing to do in Glasgow and it is a little creepy but mostly just a beautiful and serene place to honor the dead. On a hill, the tombs and crypts are in different worldly styles and makes for a pleasant walk (if you can forget you are really walking through a cemetery).

On our way back to City Center hunger pains struck and who knew this was going to be the most challenging part of our day! Luckily Glasgow is with the times and offers free WIFI so I was able to search Google Maps for good places to eat nearby. We tried 3 different places with no luck- apparently everyone in Glasgow eats at 5pm on Saturday. The fourth place we tried, Brewdog Bar and Brewery had a table if we shared with others. No problem- at this point I was getting the hangries (hungry + angry).

My beer sampler was awesome as was BC’s IPA pint. I had a double IPA, grapefruit IPA, Scottish Ale (of course), and a Framboise. I loved them all except for the double IPA (too strong!) so I handed that off to BC and took a few sips of his regular IPA.

We split a burger and halloumi fries.  The burger was good but the halloumi fries were so amazing we ordered another order of them. Halloumi is cheese- so they were like mozzarella sticks but less stringy and heavy.

I was ready to fall asleep at the table (5 hours time difference plus hardly any sleep on the plane) so we grabbed our check and walked down the hopping Argyle Street.

BC and I made the most of our 5 hours in Glasgow and saw some good sights while getting a feel for the city. We are off to the Scottish countryside next!

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On Saturday the rained cleared out making way for sunny skies. Unfortunately our time in Edinburgh has come to an end and while an adventure in London is around the corner. We spent our last few hours in Edinburgh walking through New Town, giving us gorgeous views of Old Town.

The free Scottish National Gallery is a good way for an art lover to spend the morning or a non-art lover to spend 30 minutes wandering around and 30 minutes on the museum’s free WIFI. Always two thumbs up for free, working WIFI!

The gallery had some interesting works to me like the Degas’ dancers. The second floor had my favorite impressionists so after a quick look we checked our emails/Instagram and returned to the magnificent outdoors.

The Sir Walter Scott Monument sits along a promenade overlooking Old Town with a lot of good shopping across the road. I couldn’t fit the massive monument into my camera viewfinder. You can climb to the top of the tower but BC vetoed that idea immediately. I wasn’t too keen on it either but wasn’t about to tell him that

We grabbed a few beers and found an outdoor table to soak up the Vitamin D we had so been missing over the past few days. Tennent beer for me again and an Innis & Gunn IPA for him.

And just like that it was time to board our train for the 4 hours and 30 minute ride to London. Europeans do this train thing right! I love taking trains- no airport hassle and you get to see the country side. We spent about the same amount of time getting to the airport, checking luggage, flying, collecting luggage, and getting into London city would have taken.

Waiting for us in London was an awesome AirBnB (more on that later), some Baltimore friends, and sunset drinks at Tattershall Castle on the Thames River.

Photo credit: Bill

BC went to hang out and do a spooky bar crawl with some of his friends so my friends and I hit the town (until 9pm when I was back home and tired).

The view at Tattershall Castle, a boat/bar was amazing! Sunset wasn’t much because of the cloud cover but the location of this bar/boat was amazing.

Our epic UK adventure continues….

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Last weekend prior to the latest Nor’easter, my friend Rebekah and I flew to Maine to hang out in her family’s ski condo and celebrate our birthdays! Her birthday is the week before mine so she likes to get away around her birthday just like me. A few years ago we went to Napa and Sonoma and this year we went skiing.

I have not skied in 2 years at least so I was a bit nervous about keeping up with Rebekah and Kristin (her friend  from Massachusetts, that also went to wine country with us). They both are very experienced skiers while I would call myself mediocre.

My photos from this trip make it look like we did more drinking than skiing but that was because it was way to cold to whip out my camera on the slopes. The temperatures never got above 20 degrees (-7 Celsius) and the wind was whipping. The condo was ski in/out which made for moving around the mountain and taking a break to warm up very easy!

On our first day on the slopes  at Sunday River Ski Resort only 2 ski lifts out of 15 were open due to high winds. That day we stayed out for about 3 hours before we were frozen. So we had some cocktails! It was St. Patrick’s Day so technically we should have been drinking green beer or Guinness but I don’t like either of those things so I had a martini with green olives- that counts, right?

Day 2 was so much more pleasant. There was still cold and wind but all the lifts were open and making the slopes so much less crowded because we could spread out on the mountain. It was a magnificent day to ski! And I was getting better so I could keep up.

Although when they wanted to do some black diamond runs I met took a blue (intermediate) route and met them at the bottom. We had beer and chili for lunch at one of the lodges at Shipyard Brewery Restaurant for some warmth.

My favorite food experience on this trip was on one of our trips into Bethel, Maine- the nearby town with bunches of cute shops and restaurants. I had a fantastic lobster roll last time I was in town at the Sudbury Inn.

This time we went for dinner to a new restaurant recommended by the ski rental guys called Harvest Bar Eatery and Alehouse. The star were these crazy little dates stuffed with apricot goat cheese and topped with a bit of jalapenos. So interesting and delicious.

And of course, beer! The best beer I had on this trip was here too. It was called Lunch by Maine Beer Company. It is a light, not too hoppy pale ale and one I will be searching for again.

I had a fun time skiing at Sunday River. The mountain is not too big that it is annoying to get around but isn’t too small to get stuck with loads of other people. I would love to come back and improve my ski skills someday!

Reader Question: Are you a skier? Snowboarder? Hot chocolate drinker in the lodge?

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Isn’t food the best part about traveling? I guess for the few who dislike trying new things maybe not but I love new experiences and eating all the food! Bruges is full of tourists traps but getting off the beaten path a few steps opens up some great places to experience Belgian beer, cheese, waffles, and some mainland European favorites.

I found an adorable waffles café a block off the main square. Lizzie’s Wafels is known for their extra large homemade waffles. I ordered mine with a side of caramel sauce and sparkling water. You can get a lot of different toppings (all homemade) but I chose my favorite- caramel! The waffles here are very light and crispy and made for an excellent light lunch.

There are a few to-go waffle places around the main squares in Bruges. Load them up with toppings or eat them plain, there are so many options.

Tripel De Garre is a famous Belgian tripple beer that is only found on tap at De Garre, a beer hall/café. Down a narrow alley with one tiny sign you have to be able to find it if you want the taste the deliciousness that is Tripel De Garre.

There are rules that come with this beer:  3 Tripels per customer is the limit. I had one and was buzzed so I have no idea how anyone could order 3 of the 11% alcohol by volume even if you eat the accompanying cheese (best beer snack ever!) and one of the charcuterie platters offered on the small food menu.

Google Maps has replaced Yelp has my go-to app to find places to eat. I find it to be slightly more reliable and the pictures easier to access. Using Google Maps, I found an Italian place for my dinner which hit the spot.

Salad (vegetables on vacation in Belgium can be so few and far between!) and gnocchi with mushrooms.

Besides tasting amazing, the other good thing about pasta is that it reheats really well. My AirBnB in Bruges has a refrigerator, microwave, and a coffee maker (with coffee included) so it was easy to not have to eat out every single meal.

My favorite random food find was a cheese festival! I was doing some window shopping and wandering when I stumbled upon a cheese festival. They were giving out free samples, selling blocks of cheese, charcuterie, foie gras, baguettes and had food trucks selling glasses of champagne.

From the 50 or so vendors, I had a few samples and purchased a cheese and baguette for my dinner that night. Spent 5 Euros on cheese and 1 Euro on a baguette = a cheap dinner in Bruges (things are a little more expensive here!).

Finally I took a brewery tour of De Halve Mann which was recommended as the tour to take in Bruges. It was 10 Euro and informative if you are into beer.

The views from the top of the brewery were fantastic. This brewery built their own underground pipeline from the brewery to the distribution center a few kilometers away. The big joke in Bruges is that if you are lucky enough to live above the pipeline, you can stick your own tap into it. That would be pretty cool if it was true!

Also included in the tour was one Bruges Zot Blonde beer, their most popular. It was not very good. Skip this beer if you see it on a menu. Belgium has way better options out there. I’d call this the Miller Lite of Belgium.

The courtyard had a lot of other beer options and food. But this place is popular so getting an outdoor seat was difficult.

Eating and drinking in Bruges was a lot of fun. Cheese and beer galore! When I get home, I’m eating salad for a week!

Reader Question: What would be your favorite kind of food festival to accidentally wander into? Cheese, wine, and pizza festivals for me!

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With cooler temperatures and less crazy schedules, fall weekends are perfect for hiking with friends. Maryland has a lot of state parks and hiking trails that I’ve never explored.

Kilgore Falls is part of Rocks State Park and is an easy out and back hike good for families, dogs, and friends who recently got out of a boot cast after foot surgery (my friend Sharon). With all the rain we have gotten recently in Maryland the falls were very full and while crossing the stream is usually simple and not a swimming affair, today one would have gotten soaked.

(Photo by Mandy)

We saw a number of people attempted to cross and fall in so we opted to just stay on one side of Kilgore Falls. Usually there are stepping stones but they were under water.

(Photo by Mandy)

The parking lot at Kilgore Falls was packed with people waiting for spots. If you are new to hiking or not athletic at all, this is the trail for you!

(Photo by Sharon)

Since Kilgore was easy and no one had really worked up a sweat we opted to go to another hiking trail sort of nearby. I bought this awesome book in Portland, Oregon about 5 years ago. It is very strange to find a book about hiking in Baltimore in Oregon. This book was such a good purchase.

The trail we really wanted to do Rocks State Park’s White Trail Loop to the King and Queen’s Seat but Sharon’s foot was not yet ready for so we ended up on the easier Hidden Valley Trail. Deer Creek views and rock formations abound but mostly we were laughing at Terri’s little, adorable dog do weird stuff. He was extremely overjoyed during our hikes.

(Photo by Sharon)

After a few bug bites, photos, and communing with nature we hopped in my car and rode to Slate Brewery on Terri’s recommendation. I had a really good ginger pale ale but Sharon’s Apple Pie Ale was the big winner of the day.

Slate Farm Brewery has a great covered outdoor space that is a fantastic was to spend a Saturday afternoon. Go check them out if you are in the area.

All in all it was a fun, fall Saturday with friends!

Reader Question: What is your favorite fall outdoor activity? Pumpkin patches, hiking, breweries, apple picking???

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Riga, Latvia is a small city with a lot of fun options for food, drink, and culture. While I was in Riga in November I did a beer tour in the Beer District (they have a beer district!), a food tour to the gigantic Riga Central Market, and an art tour to different museums and galleries.

The Riga Central Market is made up of many old Zeppelin/blimp hangers and each building holds specific food stalls. There are specific areas for fish, meat, produce, bread and all things pickled.

All the pickled things we tasted (cucumbers, cabbage, garlic, krauts, beets, and more) were delicious along with some local mustards, jams, bread, and honey.

We spoke with some locals (through an interpreter) who told us about the history of the food and any stories they had to share. It was a fun experience.The Central Market is an easy way to spend an hour or two. There is a lot both inside and outside of the zeppelin hangers. There were more places on the food tour but this was by far my favorite stop.

In spite of being under the Iron Curtain for decades, some of the Old World architecture survived. Granted there are some Communist-style block buildings but they are few and far between in the central/more touristy part of Riga.

Flowers are also a big part of Riga culture. There are flower stands everywhere and having fresh flowers is a big thing here.

Since it was the Women in Travel Summit, we supported a lot of women-run businesses like this art gallery whose photography exhibit featured shots from a youth camp. Riga is pretty progressive but a lot of males we spoke to definitely said some off-handed remarks disparaging women in the workplace. As if we needed a reminder that the world has a long way to go.

Despite the sour taste of misogyny, the rest everything I experienced in Riga was pretty great. From wine to architecture, the small city of Riga has a lot to offer.

My last night in Riga before heading off to Vienna, I spent with a fun group walking through the beer district trying all sorts of beers and beer snacks.

Riga is not a very crowded place during the week in the off-season. Most of the breweries were about half full so we got a some good service.

And of course we had a lot of pickled snacks.

Mostly it was cool to see parts of Riga, mostly deserted, that were not anywhere near the touristy spots.

On my very last day in Riga, the sun finally came out! Yay!

I had yet to get a good photo of the cutest little restaurant in Old Town. 10 other tourists and I worked together to stay out of the way while taking our own shots. Restaurant 1221 supposedly has really good food (although pricey for Riga).

I’m very happy with my decision to attend the Women in Travel Summit in Riga because I got to explore a great Baltic city I never would have traveled to otherwise. Someday if you make it to this part of the world, hop on a cheap Air Baltic flight and check out Riga for a few days, tasting all the beer and get to daily steps in walking around the charming Old Town.

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Oahu is the most populated and most popular vacation destination of the Hawaiian islands. After a week on the Big Island of Hawaii, we were ready for some more dining, shopping, and sandy beaches. Oahu really has it all!

If off-the-beaten-path and few crowds is your jam, drive up to the North Shore of Oahu, specifically Haleiwa. The uncrowded, gorgeous sand beaches provide ample beach blanket space to marvel at the surfers tackling the giant waves.

The North Shore is known for having monstrous winter waves and daredevil surfers. While not good for the average swimmer, it is my preferred locale for people/surf watching.

Both Mom and I decided that next time we are on Oahu we will be staying for a few days on the North Shore and a few days on Waikiki. This trip we spend every night on Waikiki while venturing out around in the island in our rental car a few times.

We sprung for an upgraded room with a balcony overlooking the ocean and that was the best vacation decision we made this trip. I spent many a night out there, particularly at sunset.

The Hilton Hotel on Waikiki Beach also has Friday night fireworks every week. You just show up on the beach a few minutes before and they last about 10 minutes. It was a very cool, family-friendly activity.

My favorite thing we did on Waikiki is a little strange. I fell in love with the small outdoor market that took place outside a nearby bank on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. There were so many yummy treats for sale for a decent price (Hawaii is expensive so it is relative). Malasaladas are fruit filled doughnuts of deliciousness.

I also had many papaya salads, fresh cut pineapple and mango, as well as pad Thai and some eggrolls. Take them with you to the beach to watch the sunset. Sunset time is strolling around time here.

On the nights when the outdoor food market was not running,  I mostly stuck to poke bowls, grilled fish (usually in taco form), shrimp, Kona coffee and some local beers.

If I lived on an Hawaiian diet for the rest of my life, I would be a happy person.

Maui Brewing company had some interesting beers. And their restaurant was a pretty good backdrop for happy hour followed by sunset.

One morning I woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise on Diamondhead Mountain. The hike up is steep but isn’t too bad. With a lot of breaks, anyone can do most of it (or enough of it to get the gist and views). It was a gorgeous morning.

Definitely make the effort to hike up one morning as early as possible, before it gets hot and before it gets too crowded along the trail. I took my hotel’s first shuttle and was very happy with my early morning views.

While I think Kauai remains in my top spot for favorite Hawaiian Island, Oahu is a close second. You can get everything here- quiet towns, fine dining, food trucks, markets, and great beaches but you will have to deal with quite a lot of traffic. Inter-island flights make it easy to hit a few islands and experience all that Hawaii has to offer.

When the time comes to travel again, keep Hawaii at the top of your list!

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