just peachy 🍑

With the current state of things, more than anything..I find myself craving simplicity. So a few weeks ago, I found a new outing for us that was exactly that. simple. peaceful. quiet. and still safe to participate in right now. 

sunflower fields forever

 You guys, I've been trying to get us out to a sunflower field for years. I'm not exactly a patient person, but even I have to admit that this was worth the wait. 🌻

Sunflowers are one of my favorites and always have been. So when I found out you could visit a sunflower field, this climbed to the top of my to-do list. For 3 years, we attempted to visit the sunflower fields in the Boston area while Husband was attending school there for his PhD. With me being in another state, we never quite got things right with booking flights though. I was always in town a week before the sunflowers bloomed or a week too late. I had essentially given up when I discovered a sunflower field near us and our new home state of Virginia. We decided to make this long awaited visit extra special by bringing our puppy along and doing an autumn family photo session here. 

Enjoy a full photo overload with pure golden sunshine! 

the garden maze at luray caverns

This past week, we've been staying with my in-laws in the mountains of Virginia. They were kind enough to take us in when we evacuated for Hurricane Florence so we got some unexpected time visit to spend time with family that we don't get to see nearly enough. 

A Great Big Southwest Adventure Road Trip

Here it is. A great big post all about our Great Big Southwest Adventure Road Trip! Every year, we head out to spend some time on the West Coast. And our 2018 adventure took us on a week long road trip through Nevada, California, and Arizona. 

I've been sharing bits and pieces from this road trip for a while now, but here is our itinerary with links and budget all in one place. 

Touring Tennesse

In my mind, there is no better way to celebrate than with a trip. Anyone else agree? We pretty much travel to mark every good occasion. And last week was one worth celebrating.

After presenting and defending his doctoral thesis, Tom put the finishing touches on his dissertation last Wednesday, which means that he is officially finished with his PhD in finance. Woohoo! Then on Thursday, we hopped in the car and made the 8-hour drive to Nashville Tennessee because first thing Friday morning, I took the first half of my dentist licensing exam and PASSED! We have so much to celebrate and be grateful for after all this stress being melted away, so instead of driving straight home Saturday-we decided to make a trip of it and add in a few stops through Tennessee with camping and hiking our way through some of the state parks there. It was only 24 hours, but we made the best of this time and took the opportunity to see something new. Here’s a glimpse of our time Touring Tennessee.

day trip diaries: Phoenix

Visiting Phoenix, Arizona was a sweet unexpected treat during our Southwest Road Trip. After our time in Joshua Tree, we had planned to leave California and cross over into Arizona to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon before flying back home through Phoenix. So initially, our itinerary included nothing beyond a brief tour of the Phoenix airport.

But there was a change in the weather for the worst that made our plans to camp at the Grand Canyon not the best idea. Also, it felt like we were trying to squeeze the Grand Canyon in and this is not something that you want to rush through. Ultimately, we decided to save it for another trip and just head into Phoenix a little sooner since we were already booked with flights and a hotel there. We simply extended our hotel stay and spent 2 nights and 1 full day exploring the Phoenix area. It's not like us to change our travel plans last minute like this and be so spontaneous, but I'm glad that we did. 

the top of mount san jacinto

Wherever we were in Palm Springs, we could see the mountains. And we of course had to make our way to the top. 

 The city of Palm Springs California is located at the base of a valley, but is surrounded by mountains on all sides. You have the San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the South, the Little San Bernardino Moutains to the East, and the San Jacinto Mountains to the West. We took the best route up to the top of the mountain with riding the world's largest rotating aerial tram up the top. 

hiking to a secluded beach

The best kind of hike is a birthday hike! I didn't think we would be doing any hiking this year since we spent my birthday in Martha's Vineyard, but I was surprised to learn that there are a lot of great options there. So after a morning bike ride to a lighthouse, we headed off to spend our afternoon on a quick 3 mile hike to a secluded beach. Of course we got a little lost along the way, so those 3 miles quickly turned into 5! 

The Aquinnah Cliffs

While we were celebrating my 29th Birthday in Martha's Vineyard, I had the opportunity to visit the gorgeous Aquinnah Cliffs. When heading over to the Vineyard, the ferries dock on the Eastern side of the island. Since Aquinnah is on the western most part of the island, it's a side of the Vineyard that many people don't have the chance to see. 

But we knew ahead of time that we wanted to explore as much of the island as we possible and had ferried over with our car. It was a little over an hour drive, but so worth it to spend the last few hours of my birthday in this gorgeous place.

29th birthday in Martha's Vineyard!

I’m THAT girl who loves birthdays. Everyone’s birthdays. A whole day dedicated to just you. Oh, and let’s not forget about the fact that there is cake involved. Yes…Please! I don’t even care that I’m getting older. I’m just so happy to celebrate and I think I rang in the last year of my twenties the right way. 

When I realized that my birthday was on a Friday this year, I immediately took the day off from the dental school clinic. I will have to make up the missed day, but it was worth it to have a 3-day weekend for my birthday. Why ADULT on your birthday if you don't have to? I flew into Boston late that Thursday night to reunite with Husband for the first time since our Easter Trip to New Orleans. Between that and my birthday, we had so much to be grateful for. Also, how amazingly perfect is this "OFFICE" themed birthday card that Tom got me? He knows me too well. 

desert oasis

After spending a day hiking through the desert in the hottest place on Earth, it was nice to stumble upon this hidden gem of a desert oasis in Palm Springs.

Pressure from the San Andreas Fault created underwater springs that support the palm trees in this area. It's kind of crazy to be wondering through the desert to suddenly happen upon a lush forest of palm trees.

camping in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park...it's where the cool kids go. It's just an hour away from Palm Springs, California. And it's the perfect quick detour on the route from LA to Vegas. Never have I been to a place with so many hipsters and professional photo shoots. It's the place to be. But the true cool kids do this park just right with camping here. At least we think so. 

We spent 8 nights on the West Coast, staying in some pretty nice hotels, but nothing beat camping under the stars in Joshua Tree.

sah-wah-roh

This pretty place was one of my favorite stops along our Great Southwest Road Trip, which is funny because it wasn’t originally on our itinerary, or even our radar until the day we went. We got lucky enough to stumble upon Saguaro (pronounced sah-wah-roh) National Park on St. Patty's Day, which turned out to be the perfect spot amongst the desert greens.

We were supposed to visit the Grand Canyon, but the weather had us changing our minds and our plans at the last minute. At first, it felt like this was going to be a downgrade that we would have to make the best of. Instead, it turned out to be a favorite spot that we visited. We both agreed that changing our plans was for the better and we got to spend the day falling in love with this hidden gem. 

a secret hike in Joshua Tree

We managed to visit 3 desert national parks across 2 different states during our Great Southwest Road Trip. Each one had a completely unique environment. But without a doubt, the award for best hike goes to Joshua Tree National Park. 

I plan most of our trips, but I put the Husband in charge of finding us some great hikes to do in Joshua Tree and he nailed it by finding an off-trail hike to Eagle's Cliff with a great reward at the end. 

sunset at cholla cactus garden

I'm a bit overdue to share more from our spring break trip to the Great Southwest. I thought I'd do things a little out of order by starting with our last stop in Joshua Tree National Park first. Because when it comes down to it, I'm a girl who would prefer a sunrise to a sunset any day of the week, but this one has me re-considering.

cactarium

When we pulled into Palm Springs, I knew that our first stop had to be this hidden gem of a botanical garden, featuring only cacti. 

I've always been a fan of caudiciform plants. We even had succulents as our wedding flowers BEFORE they became a trend. I love how unique these plants are and that they don't fit in with anyone else. And the variety at Moorten Botanical Garden does not disappoint. 

We went first thing in the morning so we pretty much had this place all to ourselves. It felt so dreamy and relaxing to wander through the garden with flowering cacti underfoot and dozens of hummingbirds flying above our heads. This really was perfection. 

death valley national park

Welcome to the hottest place on Earth! ☀️ 🌏 

Lucky me, I got to visit with the hottest guy I know. 💍 

And lucky for both of us that we visited during late winter when the temperatures are still tolerable.

After our day in Vegas, we made the 2-hour drive to Death Valley National Park with a detour here on the way.

exploring rhyolite ghost town

Before crossing the state line into California, we decided to make one last stop in Nevada at the Rhyolite Ghost Town. 

an arctic adventure…4 days in iceland

From volcanoes to glaciers to Icelandic ponies to cave hikes to chasing the northern lights to soaking in geothermal pools---somehow two poor grad students managed to visit one of the world's most expensive countries on a budget. 

We had a hectic 4 days in Iceland and I've enjoyed sharing bits and pieces of our adventure here from what we packed to what we did. So I thought I would finish out Iceland by sharing our exact itinerary and budget below. 

spelunking in a lava tube cave

spelunking = n. the exploration of caves