West Texas

I have lived in Texas my whole life.  I have had Big Bend National Park on my list of places to see for years, but I've never made it a priority.  This was the year.  Big Bend's peek is Thanksgiving and Spring.  I have to say, I pretty much had the park to myself on this visit (we were the ONLY group at all the stops and lunch).  It is, in fact, the desert, so it was pretty toasty, but....it's pretty toasty back in Dallas right now too, and I loved getting to see the sites without a crowd.  The mountains really felt nice, even midday, the canyon area was hot, and I don't think I'd do too many hikes (that's what this park is known for) during the summer, but I really just don't think there is a bad time to see the park.  I put it on my list to check off, but I definitely feel like I need to add it back to explore in a different season.  

 On the way down to Big Bend, I stopped in Big Spring at the historic Hotel Settles.  I stopped here last year.  It's about half way, the rooms are great, the restaurant is delicious, and they have a great pool and hot tub.

 Day 2, I headed to Fort Davis, home of the McDonald Observatory.  This is a trip unto itself.  They have night star parties, but I wasn't there on the right night, so I took part in a sun watch where we got to see solar flares and dark spots.  This is one of only 6 'dark sky' areas in the US, and this one has places that are close enough to stay to make this star gazing more convenient.

 As a bonus, we stopped at For Davis National Historic Site.  It's an old army encampment.

 We also had a lot of tasty meals, despite the less than promising sign....or maybe the sign overselling the sheer number of items available, I can't tell you there was a bad meal anywhere on the road.  Just ask a local.  They are friendly, helpful, and full of great tips.

 We also swung through Marfa.  Marfa has housed some pretty swanky movie stars throughout the years and is a stop on it's own.  This is also home of the famous "Marfa Lights."  Aliens or highway lights?  Regardless, there is a spot to watch and discern the truth along the road.

 I spent several nights in the CUTEST hotel.  The Gage Hotel is in Marathon, Texas.  These towns are LITERALLY in the middle of nowhere and I just can't believe how much they have to offer.  The closest Walmart is 60 miles away.  Most things are closed on Monday (and Tuesday), and there isn't much TO be closed, but what is open (stores and a restaurant at the hotel) far exceeded expectations.

 I don't know that I could do this hotel justice in this post.  Every little nook and cranny is filled with adorable, personalized, and unique details.

 Our rooms overlooked the courtyard with great seating in front of the room, and behind the room on a private patio.

 There are so many flowers and decorations all throughout the grounds.  Look it up, I don't want to fill up *your* device with too many pictures, but this is as much as I can narrow down hotel details for now to even give a taste of what it was like to get to hang out here for a few days!

 There are several entrances to Big Bend.  This one was about 40 miles from our hotel.  Some of the visitor centers were closed for the season, so it was probably an hour or more before we encountered some of the larger visitor centers.

 We only had a day, so the goal was to hit up one of the mountain views (Window View).  This is also where they have a restaurant overlooking this view and lodging for folks staying in the park.

 We took a 40 mile scenic drive called Ross Maxwell.  You wind through the dessert with overlooks at nearby canyons and mountains.

 The final destination on the drive was Santa Elena Canyon.  There is a short walk on a boardwalk to where you can go and stand at the mouth of the canyon where the river runs.

 Big Bend is a birders paradise and we saw our fair share of road runners and all their friends throughout the park (I'd need to do some real studying up to do them justice).  There are a lot of really unique cactus,  friendly looking trails, and again-great star gazing throughout the area.

It was just enough of a preview to let me know I'd definitely love to go do it again now that I know what I'm doing.  Above is a little quirky building I passed halfway between Alpine and Marathon.  It didn't appear to be open for business, but there is apparently the world's smallest Prada store with actual items for sale nearby....so....something for everyone!

California Vacation

 I tried to narrow down the pictures for this post, but it turns out this June when I headed to Yosemite for my first visit....they just so happen to be having the best waterfalls in over fifty years thanks to some major snow this past winter....and I just can't narrow it down.

 I love visiting National Parks, and each one has it's own set of rules and ways of successful maneuvering.  I headed here at the beginning of June before a lot of schools were out, but it was already super crowded, and I know it only gets more crowded as the summer heats up, and the waterfalls decrease.  I can see why.

 We had rented a car and we took it down all the paved roads in the park and lucked into some spots, BUT they also provide a shuttle service for free throughout the park, which is definitely something I'd do in the more crowded months.  One stop we made a few times was the Majestic Dining room-it had a beautiful view.  They recommend reservations, but if you go at lunch they do have some openings and you can get on a list-we did that twice and were able to get seated within 20 minutes.

 We had better luck parking the first day when we arrived before the lunch reservations (about 11-the dining room opens at 11:30).  My favorite find was the vegetarian onion soup.  They are famous for this, and it was really delicious!

 My two favorite stops were at tunnel view (the view you get after coming through a long tunnel).  It overlooks El Capitan and a beautiful view of the valley below.

 Glacier Point also took my breath away-and Half Dome and more waterfalls.

 On our second day we hit up Toulumne Trail.  One of the park rangers told us to get there well before 8 b/c the parking lot filled up since some of the more famous sequoia groves are currently closed.  It was down an old paved roads cars and carriages used to drive down, but it was straight down.....and then alllllll uphill on the walk back, but very peaceful.

 It was a mile before the first Sequoia tree, BUT the famous drive through tree was just a few hundred yards up the road from the first tree, which was my main goal!

 We also went to a less frequented part of the park-Hetch Hetchy.  The winding roads were gorgeous (and a little frightening).  It ends at a dam where we got to catch a great double rainbow in the mist...a common sight around the park when the sun is just right.

 The easiest trail in the park is one called Bridalveil.  It leads to Bridalveil falls. Again, the parking lot backs up, but you can shuttle up there too.  We went later in the day and were able to snag a spot.  It was not too far up a hill before we caught sight of the falls that definitely did it's job soaking us with those sprays.  A lot of folks brought ponchos, but my camera and I just dared the damp.

 We did not spot any real wild life (a few deer, and a lot of squirrels), but one of the most fascinating things we spotted were the rock climbers on El Capitan.  There were often crowds, or even folks seated in chairs watching their climb.  I used my telephoto lense b/c I forgot my binoculars.

 This was my first trip to Yosemite and it did not disappoint.  I learned a lot about maneuvering through the crowds, but even with a lot of folks enjoying the same views, it managed to be peaceful and it did not detract from it's beauty.
On our way back to LA we decided to stop in Sequoia National Park as well.  It takes about an hour from the highway to get to the park, and then another full hour to get up to Giant Forest where General Sherman resides.

 I had never seen sequoias before this trip and when I had taken the trail in Yosemite I kept wondering if each large pine was a sequoia, BUT once I spotted my first I understood the magnitude of these beast.

 It's hard to capture in picture, but it's worth seeing at least once!

 To get to General Sherman (the largest tree in the world) you have to take a half mile trail downhill, but if you don't want to walk back up you can walk a few hundred more yards and catch a shuttle back up the road to where the trail started from the handicap parking section (just fyi).  Again....I couldn't even fit the tree into my lense....

 After the Giant forest we also took a small road near the museum that led to a tunnel carved out of a fallen sequoia you can still drive through.

 We weren't able to get over to King's Canyon b/c we wanted to head back towards LA to spend more time with family, but it was worth the stop.  Warning, the roads are really windy snaking back and forth, and there are some really sheer drops.  That makes me totally nervous, so I'm glad I didn't know before....and I'm glad I wasn't driving.
Back in South Pasadena I went to visit Olvera Street.  It's  small street that is where Los Angeles began.  There is a Mexican Market with merchandise and food up and down the street.

 We walked up and down and then headed on to the Griffith Observatory.

 There are all sorts of parks around this area, but at the top is this planetarium with an amazing view of LA and the Hollywood sign.

 In the evenings you can also use their telescope for free to check out space.

I spent the day with my cousin's kiddos and they were satisfied with these little scopes.

 Inside the observatory are all sorts of space exhibits and a show in the domed ceiling.  There are all different shows that last 30-40 minutes (kids 5 and older only after the first show of the day).

The kids and I really enjoyed the show.  The planetarium was one of my favorite places as a child, and they fell in love too and wanted to see the next show (the shows were only 5 for kids and 7 bucks a ticket for adults).  I've headed to California quite a few times since my family lives there, but each visit I try out new things, and this trip was one for the books and will be hard to top, which is a great problem to have.

South Florida

So, before heading to South Florida for the first time I did a lot of research.  I read a lot of post.  I asked a lot of friends.  The best advice came from a friend of mine who lived in Miami for a few years.  One thing she told me (after I rented a car) was that I wouldn't need a car while I was in Miami.  She was so right.  I parked the car for two days and didn't move it once.  One, because everything I wanted to see was a mile or less away (at the most) and two, the traffic is CRAY-ZEE!  I'm sure it didn't help that the spring breakers were all in full force, but I'm told the drivers are always this nuts.  So, just a thought-to save some sanity and money-wait to rent your car until you are done touring Miami.  I also found the car rental to be really expensive.  I had read it wasn't bad, but....it was pretty pricey and they added a bunch of fees for tolls.  Even if you only use the tollway once they charged us every day a service fee, plus the tolls, so....plan to add quite a bit to your usual cost b/c I think it would be really tough to drive anywhere without hitting a toll road.  

OK....on to some details.  When I first arrived I drove to one of the first Keys-Biscayne (not to be confused with Biscayne National Park).  There was a cute lighthouse that sat at the end of the beach.  You can climb it and get a great view of the beach around.  It was just a beautiful little beach town and worth a stop-especially as we waited for our hotel room to get ready.  

 On to the beach-not many of the hotels are ON the beach-they are generally one street away.  On Ocean Drive you will find adorable art deco buildings everywhere (which is why I wanted to go), but even at that you are overlooking sand dunes that eventually lead to the (really beautiful) beach.  There is a sidewalk that runs the length of the beach.  I stayed near 8th on Collins and it seemed to be the place to be.  I stayed at a really cute Art Deco hotel called The Hotel.  This is not an ad.  I wish I did get something for saying I stayed there-but I highly recommend it.  They only allow you to stay if you are 21 or older.  It's really clean inside.  The staff was AMAZING and attentive.  It was so quiet and relaxing even in the middle of spring break CHAOS.  There is a pool on the top floor that is heated....like, actually heated.  It overlooks south beach and has a bar etc.  It was one of the highlights of the stay in Miami.

 We also were able to hang out in some beach side chairs and towels the hotel provides (umbrella's are extra).

 The beach was quiet in the morning....later on, the spring breakers woke up.  Lots of white sand.
My friend also suggested we walk to a place called Lincoln Road with tons of shopping.  We went on a Sunday and they also had an antique market with rows of booths with lots of art deco fun, jewelry, and antiques on Sunday.

 They also had a bunch of fruit stands set up on Sunday.  The shopping included a lot of high end stores, but it was fun to browse, and I LOVED antiquing-they were really affordable prices at all the booths I frequented.

 I ate a few great meals.  For Cuban food there was a restaurant a shop gal suggested called Havana 1957 along Lincoln road.  I suggest anything there.  There was another place we tried called Naked Taco on Collins (which runs parallel to Ocean Drive one street over).  It has Florida's take on Mexican and it was really good.  They also provided free shots.  It was wasted on me, but....just so you know.  Last up we tried Joe's Stone Crab.  My friend suggested it.  Expect to wait, but it was fun-it was on the pricier side of the three places, but it literally takes up a block....and we waited an hour to be seated, but it was worth the wait.

It's been my goal for a LONG time to see Miami Beach's Art Deco scene.  The crowds were really rowdy during Spring Break, but the weather could NOT have been any more beautiful.  I found that when I went out early the younger crowd stayed in until about 3 or 4, so I did all my site seeing early and my lounging later on.  There was one shop I really loved that was right next to the Art Deco museum on Ocean Drive.  They sold lots of 1930's antiques.  All of it is non-profit and they had some really cool pieces.  I ended up buying a pin made from antique jewelry by an artist who lives local.  It was my favorite shop stop.

 Next up on the travel plan for South Florida was a drive down the keys.   I expected to see more beach, and there was, but there were also pieces where it was  town scenes, but it was fun and it was a really easy drive with tons of bridges, and glimpses of blue waters.  We shared a lot of the road with motor cycles.  There were lots of places I had read to stop.  There are tons of little art shops etc, but they were all really similar, so....stop when the mood hits, or keep driving. I didn't find one that was better than the other.  Obviously,  I didn't hit them all, but they were all good that I did stop at along the way.  There was one shop I was really liked called Shell World.  I expected it to be like all the other beach shops (there were at least two), but I found out they had some super cute beach things inside, so....that's the one place I'd say to definitely stop if you want to grab some gear.  The one I went to was in Key Largo.
I read about a stop called Robbie's in  Islamarado.  There were some little stands etc around a marina, and a place to eat that overlooks a boat marina (the lot was crowded).  The draw is the tarpon.  ONE THING I didn't know was that to walk out on the dock, it's two bucks a person.  If you buy a bucket of fish-(a few bucks more) you can walk out with that, but....just know-it's not free.  The fish were pretty impressive.

 Some were as big as 8 feet.  They'll leap out of the water to grab the fish....but, so will the pelicans, so....just know it can be a little chaotic.  It was neat to see such large fish.  Aside from some catfish-these definitely were the biggest fresh water fish I've seen.

 I asked for some dining advice and one of my favorite views the whole week was at this little stop called Sunset Grill.  How cool is this, you can swim (or your kids can) while you wait to eat.  It overlooks the 7 mile bridge.  It's literally the last left before the 7 mile bridge in Marathon.  The food was really great, and the view of the water and 7 mile bridge were gorgeous.

 My final destination was Key West.  It took a little over three hours (not counting stops).  I stayed in a little bed and breakfast-ish place called The Douglas House.  It was in between Duval Street (the main street on the island) and the street that houses the Southernmost Point marker and Hemingway's house, so....perfectly located.  The room was clean, and they had a pool and a bunch of different seating areas to hang out.  We started the afternoon walking up Duval.  I stopped at a shop with Key Lime everything called Kermit's and grabbed a chocolate dipped piece of Key Lime Pie.
We shopped and walked up the street.  Next time I'd probably skip most of the other shops along the route and just shop Duval.  There were lots of different artist shops and souvenir shops and stands.  We also hit up Jimmy's Buffets for lunch.
We took a few hours to walk about a mile making lots of stops and finally made it to Mallory Square.  There are more shops here, but this is where to aim towards sunset.

 Get there an hour before sunset and you can see all sorts of street acts-jugglers, acrobats, sword swallower etc.

 Grab a spot on the wall overlooking the water and watch the sunset.  Lots of boats were out on the water with the same aim, but they just make the scene more picturesque.  Even on a semi cloudy day it was a pretty sunset.

 The next morning we got up early (8:30 ish) and walked to the Southernmost point.  The key is to get here early or you will wait in a REALLY long line for your picture.  When we arrived there was just one other person so I was able to grab as many shots as I wanted.  Any other time of the day there was quite a pile up waiting to take pictures.

 I then walked up to street to Hemingway's House (again) when it opened.  Again, two hours later the line was down the street, but when we went we walked right in and hopped on a guided tour.  The admission is around 14 a person (student and senior fees vary).  It includes a guided tour around the house and then you are left to roam.

 There are over 50 cats with their 6+ toes who roam freely through the houses and grounds.  That's 20 less than Hemingway had when he lived there.  He thought they were good luck.  Given his life....not so much, but they made it a truly different sort of tour!

There were lots of fun pieces that tell the story of his life here and after, and you can even walk up and see where he wrote many of his books throughout the 7 years he called this place home.  

 Key West was a super cute beach town.  Chickens roam free throughout the islands and there was tons to do for everyone of all ages.  The last morning we were there I yelped a restaurant.  We found this little side street and tried out some southern food foodie style at a restaurant called Firefly.  It was soooo good.  I had met my beach food/Cuban food max and it was a nice break from the usual.
Last up was a drive to Homestead and the Everglades National Park.  I LOVE national parks.  I'm on a quest to visit all the big ones, and I've got several on my list for the year.  It's so neat to see animals in their natural habitat.

 The Everglades are one of the lesser visited parks, but I'd add it to the list.  March, again, was the perfect time.  The weather was great.  The mosquitoes were pretty testy at our first stop, so....bring spray.  They were fine on the trails, but it was a windy day.
We stopped to take the Anhinga Trail.  It's less than a mile, but....first up you need to cover your car with the provided tarps so the vultures won't damage your car.  Sure enough they were still on the cars that were covered up prancing around.

 We started down the trail and I was thinking-I hope I see an alligator....uhhh....silly.  They were EVERYWHERE.  Check out this guy.  I read up on it and nobody has ever been killed by a gator, so...good news.  I still didn't make any sudden moves.  They were along the banks and swimming through the swamps.

 There were wooden trails that lead you into swamps with birds, turtles, snacks, and gators.

 I mean....this guy swam up to the dock we were walking on and was so close I could see his teeth.

 I'm not a birder, but I can appreciate all the variety.  This colorful guy was hopping along the lily pads.

After the trail, we drove to an area called Flamingo (about an hour drive).  A family of manatee hangs out in the marina there and we got to watch them play.  We also decided to take a boat ride from here.  It was about 30 bucks a person.  One goes out into the bay, the other goes into the back waters.  We chose the back waters.  We saw crocodiles, manatees, dolphins, mangrove trees etc.  It was a great tour.  We went back and forth between this an an airboat, but the was definitely more relaxing and the wild life was amazing.  Our guide said you usually saw sharks...uhhh....alligators and crocodiles were enough for me.  
A day was really enough time to spend in the Everglades, but it was a really unique spot and a different national park from the other wooded ones I've visited in the past.  We ate at Buttonwood-it's just a little grill in the park.  It was great grill food, nothing fancy, but an easy spot.
After we left the park I stopped at this farmer's market you pass along the Homestead entrance called Robert Is Here.  It has all this unique fruit and veggies, but I recommend the fresh fruit milkshakes.  They cost about 7 bucks each, but they really were delicious.  For dinner I tried out a BBQ restaurant about ten minutes from my hotel called Shivers-another great find.  I'm tossing in food recommendations b/c I've had a lot of bad meals in my days-but all of these stops I've mentioned I'd definitely do again!
     On my last day, we had a few hours before we needed to head to the airport so I took my friend's advice one last time and went to an area called Wynwood Walls.  It says it opens at 11, but that's only a small portion, you can really get there earlier and see a lot of the art work before headed into the small portion that opens/closes etc.  The earlier the better because parking is a booger.
What a unique concept though.   I LOVE art, and this whole part of town used to be these old abandoned concrete buildings.  Artist were brought in and now the whole place is covered with graffiti art by well known artist with little funky restaurants along the way.

 Seriously, this is just a big concrete wall gone art.

 This is the back of some warehouse.  I could never do it justice.

 And these little Florida oranges.  They were everywhere.  It is #3 on the best places to see-and I agree it's a don't miss b/c I've never seen anything like it.  It brought life to what I imagine was once a really dreary place and embraces the culture of what's around this part of town.
All in all I learned a lot.  I could definitely do it better next time, and I have lots of tips and tricks I can share now with my friends who head down south.  Let me just say-spring breakers or not-March looks good on Florida!