2014 Highlights

Seattle Seahawks win super bowl

Leavenworth, WA

Tree House Point

San Diego, CA

Oaxaca, Mexico & Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Mt. Rainier/PNW hikes

Portland, OR (girls trip)

Moving out of Kirkland, WA

Seattle, WA

Color Run-Tacoma, WA

New York City

Vancouver, BC

Jack Johnson at the Gorge

Lewiston, ID

Kauai, HI

Spending time with the family before traveling & settling in Hawaii

2014 was filled with many first time moments like experiencing Seattle’s first super bowl win, taking a spontaneous trip to NYC and camping at the gorge x Jack Johnson.

It’s crazy to think that in the beginning of 2014 we were set on moving to San Diego, CA.  We have always thought SD would be a great balance for us; warm weather x beachy city. However, plans changed swiftly after some contemplation & Dusty’s trip to Mexico. Instead we were inspired to travel!#yolo...then settle on a tropical island. 

The biggest lesson we've learned in 2014 is to 

trust the timing of your life…

In the end, everything works out better than planned! Always put trust in God & the universe will deliver.

2015 will be grand! We already have many things to look forward to & be stoked for like best friends' weddings, Emma’s college graduation, close friends becoming first time parents, high school reunion, moving to a tropical island, and traveling the world with my best friend. #blessed #grateful

Have a happy & healthy new year! 

May your hearts always be full & grateful.

See ya 2014, you’ve been awesome!

2015, let’s go!

-A & D

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn.

Fresh off the plane at JFK.

Travel Tip:  Get in the yellow cab line to save money, 

the town service cars will cost you more.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset.

-August 2014-

This past August we took our first trip to NYC. We have always wanted to see the city and decided to pull the trigger. We booked our tickets and started shopping around for lodging. As you can imagine hotel prices are pretty high in the areas around and including New York City. Aimee using her booking guru skills found us a place to stay using VRBO.com which is a home away from home service much like airbnb.com. The place we stayed was in the heart of Brooklyn in the master bedroom of a 3 bedroom condo. Our host was a local and really impressed us with his attention to detail and thoroughness in our stay. Complete with a multipage itinerary for places to eat, watch live music, drink, dance, see live acts and attractions, free bottles of wine and mints on the pillow he really did a great job. We would highly recommend booking through one of these services as it saved us money, gave us a more localized experience for our trip and we had a constant reference for any questions/directions we needed.

NYC is of course one of the most visited cities in the world and with good reason. So needless to say there are the tourist staples that are a must to visit. We very much like to get into new places on a local level as much as possible and not go for the complete tourist experience, but there are reasons that these things are so popular, they are awesome. So here is a quick list of the typical attractions we went to, all were fun, interesting and at times provided a new perspective on things. If anyone would like more info on any of these just leave a comment. 

• Statue of Liberty
• Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)
• Empire State Building
• Times Square (Day & Night)
• MOMA (original Picasso, Warhol, Van Gogh & more)
• Brooklyn Bridge
• SOHO (Shopping district)
• National Museum of American Indian
• New York City Library
• 9-11 Memorial (pretty heavy)
• Central Park
• Grand Central Station
• Carnegie Deli (NY style sandwich)
• Joe's Pizza

Travel Tip: Purchase the NYC City Pass if you plan on visiting popular tourist destinations. www.citypass.com/newyorkcity $109 and grants access to multiple attractions. Money Saver!

Subway is a must, we got a week pass it saved us money and gave us a better NYC experience.
Travel Tip: download the NYC Subway app, it can be a life saver!

These pretzels are making me thirsty. Seinfeld Diner.

Top of the Rock.

Brooklyn Bridge.

Times Square lovin' at night.

Coney Island. Nathan's Hot Dog's is a must.

Aimee lookin' rockin' on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Exploring NYC.

Coney Island. Home of the Warriors.

Times Square at night.

 We had an awesome time in NYC but missed a few things, hard to see everything in one trip so next time we will be booking Broadway tickets and Comedy Cellar tickets when you book our airfare.

-A & D

Seattle, WA

We spent the last 2 years living in Seattle, Washington. In that time we experienced the excitement of city living, good concerts, awesome food, great nightlife and won the Super Bowl. As a teacher (Aimee) and a chef (Dusty) we had a unique way of life and never had a dull moment or a free weekend. As a music Mecca and world renowned tourist destination the vibrance of the city was really something to appreciate. 

Here are some of our personal highlights of the city: 

• Concerts 
• Food 
• Speakeasies 
• Breweries 
• Wineries 
• Shopping 
• Seahawks 
• Mariners
• Diversity 

Favorite Places:

• Kerry Park
• Norm's (Dog friendly bar in Fremont)
• Capital Hill Bars (Weekends go off)
• Chateau St. Michelle Winery
• Redhook Brewery
• Marymoore Park (Concerts, Outdoor movies)
• Bala Yoga

 

-A & D