Niagara Falls

After Maine, we drove through Canada and stopped at Niagara Falls. We almost didn't make it through the border because the guy did not understand how we were from Chicago, didn't have any guns or weapons, and were only staying one night in Niagara Falls. Alas, he eventually let us through. (At the next border crossing we explained our honeymoon and it went much smoother.)

We made it to the falls and had an enjoyable 1/2 day before we continued our road trip.

My mom got Nick a Tiger's hat for a wedding present. He's officially a Michigander and part of the family!

Hiking

I was really excited about Acadia National Park. I had been looking at photos for months. I was so excited to do some hiking and enjoying the beauty of the park.

We hiked Parkman Peak and were planning to go to Gilmore Peak (the Gilmore Girls theme song was what we chose as our first dance), but I was pooped and it looked so far away. I almost made Nick carry me down the mountain, but I made it on my own two feet.

Acadia is absolutely gorgeous! If you get a chance, you must go!

We thought we were pretty funny with M & N related to our names and our undergraduate institutions. We had several comments about how we survive football season. Nick said, "we root for Michigan, of course!" :)

The view of Jordan Pond on our way to Parkman Peak

European Vacation

My friend Mary and I traveled to Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, and Bratislava in February and March. We were able to see some amazing architecture, museums, and eat some wonderful food. I'm so glad that we found reasonably priced flights to Vienna. If you're interested in finding a cheap flight somewhere, I recommend www.theflightdeal.com. It's crazy that we traveled and drove around Eastern Europe for 9 days with no major issues. 

The grounds at Schunbrunn Palace

The view of Vienna

Michaelerplatz in Vienna

Vienna State Opera House - we saw the ballet Onegin

Sacher Cake from Hotel Sacher in Vienna

The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg!

Salzburg

The drive to Prague

Church of Our Lady before Týn

Charles River

A little rain didn't dampen our day

From Prague Castle

Entrance to Prague Castle

Bratislava Castle

The Biltmore Mansion

During our adventures over the break, we helped Nick's family start their move to Charlotte, North Carolina. While there, we took a day trip to Asheville to the Biltmore Mansion home to the Vanderbilt family. We saw a pretty cool tour of the place with giant Christmas trees and just the grandeur and majesty of the place. 

In front of the Biltmore Mansion

The view

Now this is a gingerbread house!

A Quick Visit

I started following a website that tells you when there are cheap deals. They have a formula for the prices. All I know is that I got a round trip ticket from Chicago to DC for $80. I was sold! 

The only touristy thing I really wanted to do was to go to the top of the Washington Monument because it was closed the entire time I lived in DC. It's more difficult to get tickets than I thought it would be. But I ended up making it in the first tour group anyway!

View of Lincoln Memorial from top of Washington Monument

 I love the WWII memorial. It is so interesting to me. And on a beautiful sunny day, you could really capture it's meaning.

WWII memorial

 A totally unknown gem is Roosevelt Island. I would definitely want a little island in the middle of the city if anyone ever built a memorial to me. Just saying.

Lynn and me. No hats! Weird light!

 The monuments at night are also great. Just a magical city.

Melanie C. and me

 Oh, DC. You know how to give me all the feels.

I was able to catch up with several people. Life is good. History is fun! Happy Fall! :)

Island Life

I wanted to go on vacation to a place that had diversity of things to do, and was relatively inexpensive. I found that place in Puerto Rico. If you love the beach, Puerto Rico is the place for you. If you love adventure, Puerto Rico is the place for you, too! If you love museums, I don't really know if Puerto Rico is the place for you because I didn't go to any museums, but I passed a few...

I started following a blog about things to do in Puerto Rico (here), and basically planned my trip from there.

We went to Old San Juan and discovered the history of a great port in the Caribbean.

Castillo de San Felipe del Morro

 

We went to Cueva Ventana (Window Cave) where we saw some bats and spiders, and a gorgeous vista from the "window" opening in the cave.

Cueva Ventana

 We then went to Aguadilla and set up our beach afternoon at Playa Isabela.

Playa Isabela

 I was pretty excited for El Yunque National Forest - it is the only US tropical rain forest. We saw a lot of waterfalls and were able to get in some hiking.

La Mina Falls, El Yunque National Forest

 We hopped on a catamaran for a day of exploring islands off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico and snorkeling. The views were gorgeous. We were able to see fish and coral. Definitely a blast!

Off to Tortuga Island

 

Great snorkeling!

 I thought it would be fun to check out this unique church in Luquillo that has all of these intricate wood carvings.

La Iglesia de San Jose, Luquillo

 The carvings melded Puerto Rican culture with Catholic culture. For example, for Puerto Rico, pelicans are a sign of rebirth, so they carved pelicans into their alter.

I really liked the carvings.

 From the blog, we found a spot that wasn't too far off from where we wanted to be with some more water falls that created natural water slides. The stone was smooth. I definitely enjoyed going down it a few times!

Natural Waterslide

Then we took a kayaking tour of a bioluminescent bay where the phytoplankton glow at night. 

After taking a very long and winding road for 40+ kilometers, we came to this beautiful waterfall.

La Dona Juana Falls

View from one of the curves in the mountain

 This was our home base - Ocean Park/Condado.

Costa Rica!

Welp. I'm baaaackk! From Costa Rica!

I had a fantastic time. The volcanoes, the rain forest, the beach. I can't complain. I love adventure vacations! Repelling, zip lining, jet skiing! Sloths, monkeys, tarantulas! I love that the entire country's motto is "Pura Vida" (pure life).

I need to take advantage of the moments that make life really sweet. I hope you do too!

Here are some photo highlights of the beautiful country of Costa Rica:

Sloth!