Nags Head Day Trip

"I still love things that you don't even need to pay for. Going to the beach and being around five of your friends and having a good time means so much more than going out and spending hundreds of dollars."--Maria Sharapova

What do you do on a nice weekend after moving to North Carolina when it’s super sunny and warm outside? You pack up the dog, the boyfriend and hop in the car to drive to Nags Head for a day of fun in the sun with my amazing tiny family. 

We take our dog everywhere we possibly can and the OBX is the perfect place to take your fluffy family. On the way, we looked up local restaurants where we could grab a bite to eat and also bring Atlas. At a glance, South Beach Grill looked pretty good. Turns out pretty good was actually amazing.

The Grill had two stories of inside and outdoor seating. We got to sit outside at picnic tables on the ground floor. The food was fresh and the ingredients were locally sourced. Will had a fish burger and I had a sandwich. What was more important and rare was the doggy menu. Most places don’t allow dogs much less have their own menus just for dogs. The service was spectacular and the waitress loved Atlas so much that she kept bringing him bowls of crushed ice (his favorite). We even had people come outside just to see Atlas and talk about how cute he is. I’ll never get sick of hearing that!

Great service, good prices, and happy bellies full of delicious food were a concoction for a fantastic day. We even found free parking in the middle of beach season! HECK YES. It was a short and pleasant walk to a public access beach since we were closer to the residential/private beaches. The beach was pretty deserted so it was easy to find a nice spot to ourselves. 

Atlas loves loves loves the beach and as soon as we hit the sand he was determined to get in the water. We put our towels down and ran to the water so he could play, dig in the wet sand, and hop around like the super happy boy he is. While he rested after an epic playtime, I went on the hunt for sea shells. I have my own tiny craft company and drift wood wind chimes are one of the things I make and I’m always needing more shells. I got a ton of them while enjoying the heck out of the beautiful day walking up and down the beach!

Our walk back to the car was interrupted by a quick stop for one of our favorite things…ice cream! We stopped at Scammel’s Corner Surf Shop and Ice Cream Parlor. They boast having authentic Hershey’s ice cream and they were not lying. There were tons and tons of flavors making it hard to choose just one. We made our choices and enjoyed delicious ice cream on the way back to the car. Don’t worry, Atlas got a few licks of vanilla in too. 

By the time we got back to the car we were all satisfied, full, and ready to make the trip back home. It was all in all a great day out and I would absolutely repeat the day trip again and again! On our way home, we stopped by a Seafood Market which had an amazing selection of fresh caught seafood. There were crab legs, frog legs, fish, oysters, clams, etc. It was a seafood lover's heaven! You should absolutely make a stop here if you're driving west from Nags Head!

"The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach."--Henry Beston

Hiking First Landing State Park

"I am unbore-able in the great outdoors." --P.J O'Rourke

When you think of Virginia Beach no one has ever said "Oh my goodness that's such a fantastic place to hike!" If someone had said that to me a few weeks ago I would've thought they had a few screws loose. A week ago my boyfriend, puppy (Atlas) and I discovered the glorious, beautiful, and slightly confusing First Landing State Park.

First Landing is located near the Oceanfront area, but away from the insanity of the tourist attractions near the boardwalk. How I have never been there before still blows my mind, but I am beyond happy we discovered it recently. My dog Atlas is 50% border collie, 25% lab, and 25% miniature pinscher. Needless to say he is one insanely cute, smart, hyper, goofy boy. He is also born for walkies. We walk in a lot in neighborhoods near us, at Mt Trashmore and on the beach when it's not too hot, but none of those places are scenic.

Will and I were cruising around the internet one day and came across the website for First Landing State Park. We realized we had never been there before so we decided to take Atlas hiking on our day off. It was one of the best things we've done as a family. There are about a dozen trails you can take depending on what you want to see and the length you want to go. Many of them meet up so if you get tired of one you can switch another!

We took Long Creek Trail, which we thought was a 4 mile loop. Turns out we read the super tiny map they gave us wrong so it was not a loop, but could be if we transferred to another trail...which we had already passed 2 miles ago by the time we realized what had happened. Moving on.

The trails aren't marked too well as far as knowing which trail you're taking, but it's pretty easy to find your way around, plus there's bound to be a fellow hiker you can ask along the way. Back to Long Creek Trail. We started out walking up a small road to the entrance and began our hike in a very wooded area. Atlas had never really seen much forest so he was a sniffing fiend. He just trotted along like he was the happiest puppy ever, which it's pretty safe to say that he was.

I have a feeling this trail is going to be our absolute favorite. Some trails only see the beach or forest. This trail took us through swamp, wetlands, beaches, forest, and even a small meadow. We got to see tons of wildlife while we were out there and met a lot of nice hikers who let their dogs meet ours. By the end of it all even Atlas was tired, which is a feat in itself.

When we finally found the trail head again we were exhausted. We had explored new places, Atlas had the best walk ever, we were starving, and Atlas didn't even want to walk anymore. Will decided to give our poor dog a break since we gave him the longest walk he's ever had and carried him partway down the hill. Atlas definitely has us trained well ;-)

First Landing is also super cheap! As a Virginia resident it's only $5. I think for out of owners it's $10 and there's also campgrounds! It's a super neat place that I can't wait to explore more!

"Marry an outdoors woman. Then if you throw her out into the yard on a cold night, she can still survive."--W.C Fields

My First Ever Cruise... And Quarantine!

"I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."--Marilyn Monroe

Most of you are probably assuming from the title that I had just about the worst cruise ever. Having nothing to judge it against, I'm going to say it could have been worse, but I certainly could have done without the norovirus experience. I'm getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning.

My friend Nick proposed the idea of going on a cruise with his brother, Will, who happened to be my ex boyfriend (don't worry it wasn't freakishly awkward, we're friends). We decided last minute to go to Jamaica and Haiti on Royal Caribbean Cruise lines. Simple enough right? No. We needed a 4th person so we could split room costs. Got one guy, but turns out he didn't have a passport. I got my friend Dan who took the SCUBA dive master class with me to come along. You might be thinking YAY you got the 4th person! Nope. Will backed out for no reason.  Us being stubborn decided to go on the cruise anyway and enjoy a much needed vacation for them and for me it was something equivalent to satiating my need for adventure and travel.

Nick lives in Georgia and both Dan and I live in Virginia. We made the 9 hour drive down to Georgia the day before the cruise and it was surprisingly eventful. It started raining so we thought it would be a good idea to where snorkel gear while driving down the road... just in case. If you have to ask why you might want to stop reading because nothing I do ever really makes sense.

Dan and I also spruced up our car dancing skills and enjoyed singing at the top of our lungs. It really makes long drives more interesting for everyone. I can't tell you how many people have driven past me when I am full on performing a broadway show/concert in my car and given looks of pure confusion and wonderment. Give it a try!

We got to the cruise ship the next day, which was MASSIVE. I've never seen on up close and it was pretty much a floating city equipping with 2 theatres, piano bar, nightclub, gym, pools, climbing wall, surfing area, and helicopter landing pad to name a few. Dan and Nick received a free room upgrade meaning they got a window... me? I got a mirror shaped like a porthole. No big deal because I had somehow magically morphed into a woman named Ruth. Apparently someone else was supposed to have my room before we bought them for the week. The housekeeping and crew of the boat still thought I was this Ruth woman. I went with it because I kept receiving free things like chocolate covered strawberries, and free teeth whitening consultations and money credits to our cruise cards. I guess that's the trade off of not getting a window.

Our first night was spent wandering around and seeing various shows and performances all around the boat. And drinking. Lots of drinking.

 I also tried my hand at gambling. Turns out slot machines are a lot more complicated than I previously anticipated... Of the whopping $2 I spent here is my return...

 The next day was spent entirely out to see so we spent it laying out in the sun. I desperately needed a tan after spending a year in England. I was practically an honorary albino. We spent the day migrating between pool chairs, hot tubs, and the various activities that involved being outside. I am now proudly a shade darker and was not a lobster!. That night was formal dress night so we all got snazzed up for our 3 course meal. These chefs were top notch. I have never had better food in my life, which was unfortunate that I got sick and was restricted to toast for the rest of the trip after that night.

That night we saw the Cirque du Soleil show In The Air. As always it was AMAZING. I can't even form sentences describing how fantastic I think any and all of the Cirque du Soleil shows are so... just go see one. You won't be disappointed. Your mind might be dazed for a few days, but it's a good thing.

The third day we pulled in to Falmouth Jamaica. We pretty much ran off the boat and then got in a minibus that was going to take us to our planned day of snorkeling and climbing waterfalls. Jamaica really looks like a run down third world country. It has its moments, but for the most part it is really apparent that the residents have almost nothing. The landscape even reflected that too, which was slightly disappointing as I had higher hopes for Jamaica. All 3 of us got on the boat for our snorkeling trip and were immediately confused. Dan and I are certified to teach snorkeling and we have never been told to wear a life jacket in this way before...

We knew it was so people would be kept flat on their stomachs to minimize people touching the coral... but it was still an odd way to do that. Jamaica doesn't have much to see when it comes to snorkeling, but it was still a really fun experience. The views once we got back on the boat were more impressive in my opinion. There was a storm that was coming over the mountains and the seas were ridiculously green and blue so it made a really beautiful contrast. 

Once everyone was back on board aka me, Nick and Dan since we refused to come back in early and wanted as much time in the water as possible,  we sailed to Dunn's River Falls. We got in a large group and made our way up a surprisingly difficult climb up a series of waterfalls. I kicked about every rock and also found every hidden hole thereby plunging myself into very cold water. Everyone was SOAKED by the end of it without a change of clothes. SO of course we went to lunch and enjoyed jerk chicken and an odd beef stew that still had all of the bones left in it. I gave up after I started identifying each individual bone and freaked myself out a little bit. I guess that's the downside of being a bone analyst...

Here are some pictures of the falls and the place where we had lunch!

That night the illness from the depths of hell struck. I had just finished eating the best chicken marsala of my life and had just begun the chocolate dessert. The first warning sign was that I didn't want the chocolate... I excused myself from dinner and went back to my room where I began to expel the entire contents of my stomach and intestines and all of the liquids left over in my body for the entire night. That's about as non-graphic as I could make that. 

The next day was the Haiti port call. Needless to say I felt like %@#&. However, me being me, I dragged myself off of the ship knowing I would regret sitting inside my little box of a room all day. Lucky me the walk to the kayak excursion was about a half mile... I managed to get there and finally found the boys. I tried to hide how gross I felt, but it didn't work too well. I was a trooper and made it through out kayak trip! It actually made me feel better to do some exercise and be out on the water. I guess that has to do with me being part fish. I was also slightly angry. Of course it would be my luck to be healthy in the country I didn't like as much and sick as a dog in Haiti which was absolutely gorgeous and that had plenty of places to explore and places to romp around. What did I do instead? I was curled up on a beach chair wrapped in a towel since it was slightly cold outside. 

The view from my beach chair of doom. Not too shabby.

After kayaking I immediately dragged myself to the doctor on board the boat and was diagnosed with norovirus and was stuck in my room for the rest of the trip. I did sneak out and lay by the pool on the last day out to sea and spent the entire day in a hot tub meeting new people who I ended up running around the boat with doing random shenanigans. Apparently that sent me over the edge and I was sick all the next day. Driving back to VA was a good distraction and I felt much better. However the good feeling was limited after losing 10lbs in 2 days and being limited to toast if I was hungry, which wasn't very often. Good news is that I am completely cured!

"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." --Oscar Wilde

Barcelona! The City of Amore and Thieves

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." --Martin Buber

It's taken me what feels like years to start writing this, so I apologize for not being on the ball and missing out on a few weeks of posting! I recently went to Barcelona and I can safely say I have fallen in LOVE with the city. For anyone who knows me this might be surprising. I usually HATE big cities and avoid them at all costs. They are just overpopulated, too busy, and not enough foliage for my liking. I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures... That will be explained later on... :(

Laura and I were ridiculously excited to visit Spain. Luckily she was fluent in Spanish since I could barely say hello. I could've spoken to everyone in French, but I would've seemed pretty insane. We boarded our evening flight and it still hadn't hit me that we were going to one of the countries I had always wanted to visit. We arrived at night and got a great view of the mountains with little lights dotted all along them where people were going about their daily lives. Being in a plane does weird things to your thought processes, at least for me it does. I kept thinking about how no one really paid any attention to the plane flying overhead with a hundred people on board. Everyone was going about their daily lives and we each had our own purpose for going to Spain and we had no idea how we would affect people there or how the experience would change us if at all.

Laura and I stayed outside the city in a place called El Prat de Llobregat. It's a very industrial part of town, but we decided to go exploring. We have never been the type of people who were able to resist exploring anywhere no matter if it seemed like nothing was there. Little did we know we would discover quite possibly the best playground of all time. It had slides, mesh passageways, tubes to climb through, and swings. You never really realize how little you used to be until you get stuck in something like that...     Laura and I really like see saws for some reason and we found the mother of them all. It was attached to a pole sticking up about 10 feet high. The see saw was hooked to the top of it so it could go up and down, spin in a circle, AND rotate side to side... all at the same time. We were prime entertainment for anyone who encountered us that night.

The next morning we got up early and headed into the city. Excited just doesn't do the feeling justice. I had no idea what to expect when I got there, but I was blown away. It was a huge city, but all of the buildings were old or had some unique character like all of the buildings Gaudi designed. We made our way around the Plaza Catalonia down La Rambla, which is a HUGE stretch of road that acts as a market for food, flowers, paintings, jewelry, etc. We also found Gaudi's house of bones. I had only ever seen a picture of this house in passing, but I immediately decided Gaudi was a genius. I can't really do it justice, but here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about. His designs are just WEIRD, but so innovative and different. That's what really impressed me. It made a lasting statement, which is hard to have on me since most architecture tends to bore me.

We spent the rest of the day laying out trying to will our skin to get tan instead of the paper white sheen we had acquired after living in England for so long. We managed to skip over the gay beach and ended up on a topless beach. We didn't even notice until we ran in the water and were walking back to our towels. It was an.... interesting experience. All I have to say is that some people should not go topless and some people need a MUCH better plastic surgeon since it looked like they have pineapples underneath their skin. I've noticed that the people who look nice tend to steer towards the classier side in Barcelona... while the people you REALLY don't want to see bare it all, do. Yikes.

The next day Laura and I were ridiculously stoked. We have always been addicted to bike riding. It's pretty much a staple of our friendship. We had booked a biking tour of Barcelona with the Travel Bar Group. They are amazing. Use them if you ever go to Barcelona, you won't regret it. 

We spent over 3 hours riding around Barcelona and saw the beaches, Olympic village, Gaudi house of bones, other Gaudi works, La Sagrada Familia, the port, bull ring, park with a ridiculously large and elaborate fountain, and an Arc de Triomph. Needless to say it included everything and more that I wanted to see.




That night we decided to stay in town for dinner at the same place where we did the bike tour since it had a bar and restaurant attached.

Little did I know I would end up having a date! The bartender was by far the most attractive Spanish guy I had seen. He ended up being our waiter and somehow thought Laura was spanish and that I was french. We were just glad we didn't look like Americans. He ended up asking me out for drinks later that night. Laura and I ended up rushing back to our hotel and took ridiculously fast showers and I think I got ready faster than I ever have in my life... and I was still late. I blame the trains that only come once every 30 minutes and we never got a schedule. Oops. We met up after I searched for Plaza Catalonia and asked a very nice Spanish man where the heck the store was that I was supposed to be meeting Javier. I'm just glad my french came in handy.

And here's a picture!

We went around some back alleys to a little known bar and had drinks. I won a drinking competition and some guys about killed themselves laughing that I could out drink a guy 3 times my size. HA. I guess I have England to thank for that. We decided to go meet up with Laura and along the way I was pretty much swept off my feet. He stopped me and told me to stand still and hold my arms out and then just spin. So I did what any girl would want to do, I spun, and ended up in one of those fancy dip things that you always see people doing on tv. We got bored with the bar and decided to take a walk on the beach. Yet again he stopped me to dance and I learned a bachata in the middle of the port in the moonlight. Yep. I was smitten. It was literally like a scene out of a movie. Not sure how I got so lucky. We got to the beach and were talking. The next thing I realize is that my wallet has disappeared. Javier takes off running down the beach and confronts the guy, meanwhile I'm standing halfway down the beach completely helpless trying to be consoled by a girl speaking to me in Spanish... We comb the beach and Javier ends up getting punched and gets into a fight. The rest of us called the police, but by the time they got there the guy had gotten away. Javier managed to get back the wallet and my driver's license, but the jerk had gotten away with my money, both credit cards, and my camera. Of all the things someone could steal it had to be my camera. Pictures are the best way to remember everything and now all of that was gone. Needless to say I was upset, worried, anxious, and scared. 

I started the next day off with a thrilling trip to the police station to give them a statement. I thought it was going to be a bit like the DMV and would take years to even get a number. Turns out I only spent 30 minutes there and spent the rest of the morning hanging out in the restaurant with Javier and socializing with everyone there. Laura met up with me later that day and we spent the afternoon on the beach!

 That night I was supposed to hang out with Javier again, but my phone decided to smite me and didn't receive calls... Just my luck!!




On our last day we spent the morning buying souvenirs then decided to rent bikes again to visit the Sagrada Familia. I usually hate cathedrals and they almost always get boring after 30 minutes, but I think I could've stared at this one for hours. It was designed my Gaudi if that gives you any clues to its quirkiness. The carvings are different on all 4 sides and progresses from the birth of Jesus to his death in a really original way. There are ridiculously huge pillars that are topped with sculptures of local fruit. The pillars are designed after trees and if you turned the cathedral upside down the decorations mirrored the mountain range that surrounded Barcelona. Pollution had darkened the outside significantly so I wasn't prepared for the brilliant white of the stone on the inside. There was also stained glass everywhere in every color imaginable that illuminated different parts of the cathedral in multitudes of color depending on the time of day. Gaudi was an absolute architectural genius.

After that we rode around trying to recreate some of the pictures I lost on Laura's camera. It wasn't exactly the same, but at least we both have pictures thanks to her camera. The afternoon was spent on a beach in El Prat that was still just as beautiful, but tourists never came to that area so it was deserted except for some locals. The water was also SO MUCH warmer. I really didn't want to leave!! Thank goodness we had a night flight. It would've been much more depressing if we had to leave during the day without getting to lay out on the beach one last time.

Even after getting robbed I still love Barcelona. All of the tour guides warned us that once Barcelona gets a hold of you you will never want to leave and that's exactly what happened to them and also to me. I'm going to attempt to find a job there in the film industry or as a scuba divemaster. I just can't imagine myself staying away for too long. Now... to learn Spanish!

Again, sorry for the lack of pictures :( The next trip I take I will make sure my camera isn't stolen!

"Once in a while it really hits people that they don't have to experience the world in the way that they have been told to." --Alan Keightley

I walked to an Irish island... No big deal

"Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, who blood is in our veins." --Charles Alexander Eastman

The second half of my trip to Ireland I stayed with a good friend, Lindsey, who I have known since Kindergarten. It's sad to say that we had not seen each other in years, but I was extremely excited to catch up with her and just enjoy a few days exploring Ireland with her. She works as an Au Pair in Skerries, which is a very small beach town outside of Dublin. After making sure Kelsey got on the right bus to her airport I set out for Skerries. The only problem was finding the correct bus station. To give whoever is reading this a mental image of what I was carrying around the following picture should be good enough.

 I lugged all 30 pounds of this everywhere I went.

There are about 5 bus stops in Balbriggin where I searched for the bus station. I walked to one end of the city following someone's directions, while getting looks something akin to "Why in the world is there a tourist in Balbriggin of all places?" This look also followed me to Skerries. Meanwhile, the bus station I needed was directly on the other side of town... 2 miles away. Off I went albeit slightly perturbed.

I managed to get to Skerries in one piece and even found the street and place where I was meeting Lindsey on the first try. Everyone who knows me and my amazing lack of directional skills will know this was a feat worthy of an award. However, I had gotten there 4 hours before Lindsey was scheduled to meet me. I walked around getting odd looks and explored. Then I found what might possibly be the most fun beach in Ireland.

One of the coolest things about it was that in Ireland low tide really means LOW tide. There were a series of islands about half a mile off shore when the tide is in, but when it's out it's possible to walk to them. So I set off for one of them! It is such a weird feeling to walk to an island when something like that just isn't possible back home. The whole time I felt like I shouldn't be out that far, especially since no one else even bothered to walk there either. The picture should also be a good indication of how far from shore I was!

I must have looked nuts because I bent down every few seconds and almost fell each time I did it since I was slightly top heavy from my backpack and I really didn't want to fall in the random puddles. For those who don't know, I have an obsession with macro photography. I really liked the random creatures and plants I kept finding because of their textures and positioning so I tried to take as many creative ones as I could. I'll give you guys a taste of it. I am by no means amazing, but I really enjoy it.

I also crawled all over some very slippery rocks and managed to neither wound myself or fall. This should also be considered award worthy. Here's some of what I saw that day. I was amazed by the colors. It was just too gorgeous for words.

After trekking all day I finally met up with Lindsey! We went to a really cool pub and then called it a night. See part 2 for the rest of that trip!

"Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone." --Anonymous

St Patty's Day Adventures in Ireland Day 1

"Take me drunk I'm home!"  This was plastered on the shirt of someone Kelsey (one of my best friends of 12 years) and I saw as we departed our plane from Leeds, England to Dublin Ireland. We decided to make the most of St. Patty's Day and venture out to Ireland to party with the best of the Irish. We arrived in Dublin airport by 730am after waking up at 4am. This was not a pretty site as I'm sure I looked like I was practicing for a zombie apocalypse movie.

Our plane ride was uneventful, however the man who shared my row was quite entertaining. He looked like the stereotypical gangster from old movies. He was short, stocky, had ridiculous gold bling on his fingers and tattoos all up and down his arms. I'm convinced he was a gangster. His stories about how he missed Ireland since he hasn't been able to get in the country for 40 years helped my thinking too. In typical Irish fashion he also told us we were going to fall in love with Ireland and that Guinness is better than anything else in the entire world.

By mere accident and a misleading website Kelsey and I ended up staying in a VERY small beach town called Balbriggin 30 minutes outside of Dublin city center. By small I mean the population was 300 at the very most.

As soon as we dropped off our stuff we made a beeline for Dublin. Taking Monsieur O' Gangsterhan's advice we decided the Guinness Storehouse would be the perfect place to visit first. Apparently that's what every other tourist wanted to do also. It was pretty impressive with 7 floors devoted to nothing, but processing beer. We even got a free pint and a half! When we first got there we saw photobooths and anyone who knows me will know that I never pass up a photo opportunity with friends. We learned that the Guinness Storehouse was trying to set a world record and make St. Patty's Day the happiest day of the year by taking pledges to be happy and do something nice on that day. Kelsey and I both signed up for this and got free pictures!

After that we ventured out and tried something new! We got a horse drawn carriage and we taken to Temple Bar where we had lunch. We toured the famous Grafton Street and took pictures in St. Stephen's Green. On our way from Stephen's Green we noticed a HUGE festival with Irish jigging going on. We immediately ran into the center and joined all the dancing for about 30 minutes. We probably looked spastic, but we had the time of our lives. We even got on local tv along with about 200 other people in the street. A professional photographer kept laughing at us and we got our own mini photoshoot. I can't wait to see those pictures. After that we went back to the hotel to relax and prepare for St. Patty's Day.

St. Patty's day toast:  "Here's to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold beer and another one!"