Jolly Old New England

This past year I have been working at an elementary school, so summer break sounded as exciting as when I was a kid, so we had to take advantage and go on a summer vacation. After lots of thinking and research we decided to go to the New England area. Neither of us had seen most of it and it sounded like a nice relief from the Texas heat. 

Our first stop was Lincoln, New Hampshire.  We hadn't heard of Lincoln before, but turns out, it's beautiful. We flew into the Portland, Maine airport and took a quick drive over to New Hampshire. 

Top: The route the GPS told us to take to our hotel was a windy highway that cuts straight through the White Mountain National Forest. It was all fun and games until it started to rain.  Then we saw signs saying, "Brake for Moose, it could save your life, hundreds of collisions." I was like "Whaat?? Not only is it raining on this windy road, but we have to make sure we don't run into a huge moose!?" Then to make things more of a white knuckle drive, it got so foggy we couldn't see more than about 10 feet ahead of us. I was like 99.9% sure we were gonna run right into a big moose. Turns out we survived and no humans or moose were harmed. 

Bottom Right: Russ' awesome parents have some time shares throughout the country and one of them is in Lincoln, New Hampshire. It was such a fun hotel and even had a game room! So naturally Russ and I challenged each other to about 10 rounds of the Fast and Furious racing game. 

Bottom Left: We knew we were officially in New England when we grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonald's the next morning and we saw they have lobster rolls on the menu! 

The first item of New Hampshire business was visiting The Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. The weather was overcast and about 60 degrees. The perfect hiking weather. The flume and the trail were "gorge"-ous! Seriously, the whole trail was full of beautiful trees, moss covered rocks and limbs, and the flume itself was beautiful.

We went to explore more of Franconia, NH and got to see The Basin & The Baby Flume. We also got to cruise by Robert Frost's house. 

This was one of the scenic lookouts off the highway. 

The next day Russ and I hopped in the car to meet up with his brother Logan and sister Ruth-Anne. Ruth-Anne and Logan are living in Boston so we all decided to meet up in Vermont.  The drive to Vermont from New Hampshire was filled with even more dangers! Above are just some of the warning signs shown within about a 10 mile period. Like as if looking out for moose wasn't dangerous enough let's also keep an eye out for "low flying aircrafts!" Once again we survived and met up just outside Sharon, Vermont.

We drove to South Royalton to see the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial. We were glad we did. It was really cool.

Top Left: There's not much left of the original house, but this is the original stone front step to the house.

Bottom Left: This statue is supposed to be a very close likeness to him and the face is made from his death mask.

Bottom Right: The stones show the frame of the house. Inside the museum we got to see the original fireplace hearth, a chair that's believed to have been built by him as a boy, and we read some testimonies about him.

Top Right: At the end the sweet senior missionary talked about how the big obelisk was such a feat to put in place, but there were a bunch of little miracles that led up to its completion. She tearfully read the quote Joseph used to describe himself, "I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else...Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty." Hearing the story of how the obelisk came to be and hearing that quote in that setting was really touching.

Then we drove to Quechee to eat at a restaurant called Simon Pearce. The restaurant is attached to a shop that sells handblown glass items. The items are made in the store. It's set right by a covered bridge and waterfall (not too shabby of a view) and while we waited to be seated we got to go to the basement and watch the glassblowers at work!

After lunch we headed to Sugar Bush Maple Farms. Cause when you're in Vermont I think it's like the law that you have to have some maple syrup. And we didn't want to break any laws. :) There were some adorable animals on the farm. (Though Logan may not think they're so adorable because shortly before this picture was taken this horse bit him on his jacket.)

We got to try some yummy Vermont cheese and some syrups. They were delicious! After our tour of the farm we headed back to New Hampshire. 

The next day we took Logan and Ruth-Anne to Flume Gorge. Even though we'd seen it a couple days before it was just as beautiful and it was fun to share it with them.

Left: Siblings at the Flume. Right: Avalanche Falls

After we hiked around the trail (and took a picture with the only moose we ever came close to seeing) we headed to Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

We checked into our rental house and headed to the Portland Head Light. It's historic and for you history buffs George Washington was actually the one who commissioned it. 

We wandered around a little and climbed down to some rocks for a different view of the lighthouse and we got to see some cool little rock sculptures people had made. After we visited the lighthouse sadly, Logan and Ruth-Anne had to head back to Boston. They were fun travel buddies and we were glad to hang out with them.

Russ and I headed to Portland, Maine the following day to check it out. We stopped by the beach there, but the coolest part was going to the Old Port District. There are cobble streets and historic buildings. It was like walking into the past. We also got to wander around some of the little boutique shops. Russ and I were hungry so we went to grab lunch at Duck Fat and had some yummy french fries and homemade sodas. 

The house we stayed at was right by Two Lights State Park. We went to go see the lighthouses and take in the scenery. The rocks looked like they were carved metal or something. Really pretty.

We tried to go back to the park that night to do some star gazing and get a picture of the sky. We pulled up and got out of our car. It was pitch black. We set up the camera and heard the craziest noise we'd ever heard. It was like a noise neither of us could identify. The closest thing we could describe it as was a baby coughing/screaming at the same time. It happened once and we wondered what it was, but when it happened a second time in a different spot we couldn't hop in our car fast enough! We turned on the headlights and saw a fox in front of our car. In the moment I figured the foxes were communicating an attack like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, but turns out they're not too dangerous to humans. Either way it creeped us out and kinda changed our picture plans. 

The next day we took a little road trip. Our first stop was Old Orchard Beach. We walked around the boardwalk area, got some Pier Fries and shot some hoops in the arcade. Then we headed down to Kennebunkport. 

I'd never been to the driving range before and for some reason Maine just seemed like the perfect to do it. So we practiced our swing. 

The town is so charming and everything is so quaint. Even the signs for shops are like the adorable ones above.

Top Right: Kennebunkport is probably most well known for being the summer home of George and Barbara Bush. So we had to be creepsters and we got a picture of their house. We saw someone riding around on the grounds on a segway. We were hoping it was George, but my gut tells me he probably doesn't do much segway riding. 

Bottom Left: When we went to the pier in town we saw some painters with easels painting their view of the ocean and a lighthouse in the distance. 

Bottom Right: This is called the Wedding Cake House and is the most photographed house in Maine. Figured we had to get a picture too. 

Our last full day was a nice mellow one. We hung out at the pool at our house, which the warmest temperature the water reached was about 65 degrees so those swims will definitely wake ya up. Then we visited an antique shop and went to pick some strawberries. The strawberries were probably the best we'd ever had. Our house had a small pond so our last night we got to go out and listen to the frogs and watch the ducks. It was the perfect last night in Maine.

We found some pretty good food everywhere we went. 

Top: In Lincoln, NH we ate a couple times at a restaurant called The Common Man. It was like a cozy cabin. The food was good, but the best part was the chocolate homemade ding dong with ice cream for dessert. 

Bottom Left: In Portland, ME we grabbed a dark chocolate sea salt donut that was made out of potatoes! at a place called The Holy Donut. (Best veggies I ever had!) 

Bottom Middle: We grabbed probably the most quintessential Maine-y dinner ever. We got some awesome lobster rolls and a Maine Root blueberry soda from a food truck called Bite into Maine. We got to eat em on a picnic table that overlooked the Portland Head Light. It was pretty perfect. 

Bottom Right: We got some delish Maple Creemees (basically just softserve with fresh VT maple syrup mixed in) while we were in Vermont. Clearly, based on my face food brings me joy. 

We also had an incredible breakfast in NH at Flapjack's Pancake House. We had some blueberry pancakes with fresh maple syrup and some other yummy stuff. We also had great breakfasts in Maine. We grabbed some bagel sandwiches from a little shop called Scratch Baking Co. The bagels were amazing and they sell out basically every day.  

We got to see some animals on our trip too. Like a cute little black bear at a little bear park in NH, plenty of seagulls in Maine, and my favorite - chipmunks! I'd never seen one outside of the Chip 'N' Dale cartoons and needless to say they're pretty cute. 

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see my best friend from North Carolina - Jenna! We had a layover in Charlotte and nothing says true friendship like having your friend meet you at the airport with her two precious kids and some Bo-Berry Biscuits from Bojangles. It was so great to catch up and see her adorable kids. Who knew layovers could be so fun!? 

Our trip was a blast and I had lots of fun hanging out with my "Maine" man. (Boom! Are you proud I lasted this long without using a Maine play on words?) It was such a nice break and great to see some new pretty parts of the country. 

Aloha!

In August Russ and I got to go on a trip of a lifetime, courtesy of our credit card SkyMiles. We had accumulated the perfect amount to get us both round-trip tickets to Hawaii. How can you say no to that! Neither of us have ever been and we couldn't let perfectly good SkyMiles expire, right?! So we made plans to visit the islands of Kauai and Oahu. Our first stop, Kauai. 

We flew through Honolulu and made a mad dash to grab our bag, re-check it through security, and barely make our connecting flight to Kauai. 

Top Left: When we arrived to the Kauai airport it was crazy because the majority of the airport has big open half walls, where you think windows should go but it's just open to outside. Top Right: On the hotel grounds, someone had taken the time to write "Kauai" in real Plumeria flowers. Bottom: Right: We stayed at the Kauai Marriott and we loved it. When you turn into the hotel grounds from the road, you drive a beautiful tree-lined drive up to the entrance. It was like a tunnel of trees. Bottom Left: Our favorite part of the hotel was the pool! That's where we spent most of our time. It was massive. It is set up in a flower-shape, so no matter how many people were at the pool it never felt crowded. Plus, they had like 5 hot tubs. We also had some of the best sushi ever there!

Our first full day was a Sunday. So we went to a local ward - which was awesome. At the end of Sacrament meeting all the members of the ward went to the front of the chapel, by the pulpit, and sang "Aloha Oe" to the visitors, while they passed out leis they made out of yarn. It was the sweetest ever. After church we cruised around the island. The entire island isn't very big, so we drove up the entire East side of the island within just a couple hours (including some detours and stops.) 

Top Left: There are wild roosters everywhere! They strut around everywhere, like parking lots, outdoor eating areas. It's like they think they're pigeons or something, but they are surprisingly beautiful. Top Right: This was our means of travel. We quickly discovered a Jeep was the ultimate symbol that you are a tourist, not a Hawaiian native, but it was a fun little ride. Never did get to take the top off it though, cause without any notice it would suddenly start raining. The rain would usually last about 5 minutes. Guess that explains why the island is so green. Bottom Left: There is basically one main "highway" on the island and it is just a two lane road,  while driving we would occasionally stumble onto one-lane bridges. You are supposed to alternate which direction of traffic drives on the bridge. (You can see the line of cars waiting on the other side of the bridge.) Bottom Right: I didn't realize people hitchhiked anymore, and I think it's not that no one hitchhikes, its just that all the hitchhikers of the world moved to Hawaii. We saw so many there. 

The first stop on our Sunday drive was the Kilauea Lighthouse. We just stopped at the lookout point and it was lovely. 

Russ checking out the Lighthouse.

The highway is beautiful. It looks like you're driving through the jungle with all the big, lush trees. I felt like any second we would see Tarzan swing right in front of us. 

Top Right: There were lots of signs along the road that said "Scenic Viewpoint." We made sure to stop at everyone. One of the viewpoints was this beauty. Bottom Right: There was an adorable church along the side of the road. 

Us in front of one of the Scenic Views. According to one of the other tourists there, they said it was land used for farming and they were growing Taro plants. So I now pass that little fun fact on to you. Do what you will with that gem.

Another shot of the lookout point. I mean, come on. 

This was another gorgeous view as the highway curved. I don't know how there aren't car accidents all the time from people distracted by all the pretty scenery!

Another rooster struttin his stuff along the beach. 

After driving up North we headed back down South, near our hotel, because we were headed back for a Fireside. While we were at church we saw in the program's announcements that Jimmer Fredette was giving a Fireside at their building. Russ and I looked at each other like "Whaa? Is there a Hawaiian who lives here named Jimmer?" Turns out Jimmer was vacationing there the same time we were, so he got asked to give a Fireside. So we thought out timing was amazing on that one. Before the Fireside we stopped by Wailua Falls. It was gorgeous. 

We made sure to get in plenty of beach time on our trip, but the island was just so beautiful, and we only had a few days so we wanted to make sure we saw as much as could. So the next day we continued cruisin'. This time we were headed to Waimea Canyon. (And if you're asking yourself, "Waimea Canyon? Is that the Grand Canyon of the Pacific?" Yes, yes it is.) 

It is a little drive to get to the main part of the canyon. Along the way we made a couple stops. Right: We saw this beautiful view along the road. Top Left: While at this viewpoint we noticed a couple houses in the middle of the mountains, but they were in the middle of nowhere and there were no visible roads or trails. So how anyone gets there or out, we had no idea. Like a Hawaiian version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, I guess. Bottom Left: There was this tiny little waterfall on the way up to the canyon. The dirt was so red it looked like we were on Mars. 

Then we made it to the big enchilda, the Waimea Canyon Lookout. It really was awesome. If you look at the pic on the right, you can see a tiny waterfall on the left. Unfortunately it was foggy so you can't see it very clearly, but trust me, it was beautiful. 

There were a couple other lookout points farther down the road and one was this beautiful view. It was awesome to see the big green, rocky mountains right next to the bright blue water. I think it was the prettiest of the views we saw. 

After some time in the mountains we headed back down to make it in time for our Sunset Dinner Cruise. It was a cruise to take us along the Napali Coast. The Napali Coast is only visible by boat, helicopter or if you're crazy adventurous, you can hike. We opted to see it by boat (or catamaran to be exact.) On the cruise we saw some dolphins, flying fish and some unbelievable views. When I envisioned the cruise, I pictured a smooth, peaceful sailing trip, maybe a string quartet, but at some points it was the complete opposite. We hit some choppy water which start splashing up over the boat. So everyone was getting blasted by water. We'd see people stumbling around trying to get to some shelter and getting soaked in the process. Kinda funny. But we had a really good time and the food was pretty good too. Right: We stopped the boat for a little while to eat, and we happened to stop right by some beautiful mountains and a rainbow. How Hawaiian is that?! Bottom Left: There were some really cool looking sea caves, we didn't explore them but they look pretty from afar. 

Russ took some video while we were on the boat. 

Sailin'.

It was sunset just before we got back to port. It was a little cloudy but still a very pretty sight. If you look closely you can see a couple little boats sailing on the water. 

Our last full day we mostly hung out at the beach and pool, but had special dinner plans. Everyone who had been to Kauai recommended a restaurant called The Beach House. The food was pretty good but the views were amazing. This video shows the view. Disclaimer, Russ was not stalking the lady walking in the video. She just happened to be walking the exact pace he was filming, and going the exact same direction.  

The restaurant was right on the water and we arrived there right at sunset. So we had to grab a pic. 

The next day we had just a half day in Kauai so we went to the most authentic Hawaiian restaurant for breakfast - McDonald's. (We tried to go to this little trailer, Rainbeau Jo's, for breakfast every single day we were in town but it was never there. When we called the number it went straight to a voicemail saying if they weren't at their designated location they were either catering, sold out, or just plain closed. So apparently one of those 3 things occurred every. single. morning.) But the silver lining, if we had gone there for breakfast, Russ never would've been able to order Spam & Eggs for breakfast at McDonald's. Right: An adorable little chicken family in the McDonald's parking lot. Left: There were lots of little produce stands around the island. 

Next stop, Oahu. In Oahu we were able to meet up with Russ' brother, Logan. He was our buddy and we all went on our adventures together.  Middle: We stayed at Turtle Bay, because we'd heard good things and it was close to BYU - Hawaii, the Temple & Polynesian Cultural Center. Right: The bay surrounded the entire hotel, so it looked like almost everyone had a view of the ocean. Even the hotel gym had incredible views. This was our view every morning. Not too shabby. 

Our first day we headed to Dole Plantation. To get a view of the plantation we hopped aboard the Pineapple Express Train where we learned more about pineapple growing than I ever thought I would, but it was a nice little ride. Then our next item of business - dole whips (after getting our picture in those head-hole things, of course). The dole whips were very tasty. 

After the plantation and getting an icy dole whip, we stopped for a snow cone at Matsumoto's Shave Ice. We got a Rainbow flavored cone, with vanilla ice cream on the bottom, and it was de-licious. (Sidenote: we liked the shave ice so much we went back a second time before we left, we got a Hawaiian flavored cone with ice cream and sweetened condensed milk on top. We are still craving one!)

On our drive along the North Shore we saw a sign for a Farmer's Market and we pulled over. Everything looked amazing there, but we had already had a dole whip & snow cone within the course of 20 minutes so food wasn't really our top priority. But one of the things Russ wanted to try while in Hawaii was fresh bananas. We saw someone selling little tiny bunches of bananas for like $1 so we tried some, and they were so good! They were a lot sweeter than your standard banana. Bottom Middle: There was this amazing tree leading to the entrance of the Farmers' Market. Bottom Right: I had never seen some of the produce they were selling like ever in my life, but it looked pretty. 

Left: Our next stop was Banzai Pipeline, where there are supposed to be huge waves and incredible surfers. Well, guess I didn't research that thoroughly cause the huge waves are only during winter. So it was kind of a bust, no surfers, no waves, but we did see this pretty sight. Right: So we didn't see any pro surfers at Banzai, but I did see some awesome surfers at Turtle Bay! Russ and his brother, Logan, took surfing lessons at our hotel. That's a picture of Russ getting up on the board. They both did really good. 

The next day we had plans to spend the day in Honolulu. The traffic is horrible in Honolulu. Worst I've ever seen. So we tried to consolidate as many Honolulu activities as we could in one day. Which meant, as usual, a lot of food. One of our first stops was Leonard's Bakery, for some of their famous malasadas (they're like Portuguese donuts). They were warm and delicious. 

After the Bakery and a quick lunch we headed to Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, we got there after tickets had sold out to see the U.S.S. Arizona, but we did get to see the Museum and do an audio tour of another ship at the harbor. It was cool to see all the tiny rooms of the ship. 

After Pearl Harbor we headed to yet another bakery (Liliha's bakery) and got some cocoa puffs. Not not the cereal, though I'm cuckoo for those too, it was a cream puff filled with chocolate cream and topped with a macadamia nut topping. Russ wasn't a big fan, but I liked em. After our puffs we headed to Waikiki beach to watch the firework show they put on every Friday night. It was the first time I'd ever seen fireworks on the beach. It was like two of my favorite things in one!

A little taste of the show. 

Our hotel was only about 15 minutes away from the temple so we definitely wanted to go. So we got all dressed up and were excited to go inside. Well once again, my planning failed us. We got inside about 15 minutes after their last sessions started. So we couldn't go. :( But at least we saw the lobby, and got to see the grounds. The temple is absolutely gorgeous. (Plus, it just gives us another excuse to go back. Am I right?)

Right: There is a little palm-tree lined road that leads to the temple. (This was the view of the road from the temple.)

Us in front of the temple. 

The temple is right by BYU-Hawaii campus so we cruised around there, and then it was just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Polynesian Cultural Center. We spent most of the day at the PCC. It is divided by little villages that each represent different island countries like New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, etc. We did a canoe ride, and then toured the villages. They each had different activities so we did some spear throwing, Tahitian dancing, poi twirling, saw some great presentations, took ukelele lessons and even drank coconut milk out of a real life coconut! (Note: that is not an actual tattoo, it was a stamp from one of the stations. I swear, mom!) After exploring we went to a luau tried some poi (wouldn't do that again), ate some yummy things and drank a smoothie out of an actual pineapple. After the luau we went to the Ha! Breath of Life Show. It was a play and told as a story, but with lots of dancing. They even had fire dancers. It was really well done. 

The next day was Sunday so we went to church and then drove around the Western side of the island along the coast. There are some gorgeous views there. Left: We hiked a small little trail to get to some tidal pools. It was really pretty to see the waves crashing right there. Left: While driving we saw a few small rock islands out in the water.

Logan at the tidal pools.

We stopped at Halona Blowhole. When the waves hit the rocks just right magic happens. Check it out.

We spent the rest of the day relaxin' and hanging out at the beach.

Our last day we wanted to do some stargazing. We heard near Keana Point (the westernmost tip of the island) there is beautiful stargazing. You can go off-roading or hike to get to the very tip but we just drove til the paved road ran out. The night was a little cloudy but when we got out of the car it took our breath away. This picture we took doesn't do it justice. We saw soo many stars (including a few shooting stars) and even saw the cloudy Milky Way band going across the sky. It was incredible because not only was the sky stunning, but you could hear the nearby waves crashing. It was pretty magical and a good way to spend our last night in Hawaii.

We had an incredible trip. When we were hanging out in the pool our last day we were already trying to plan a trip back. We made lots of good memories and saw some of the most beautiful sights we'd ever seen. We can't wait to go back some day. Aloha.