I'll take you in my backpack

6/22/19 With only one weekend for fun stuff and exploring while in Hawaii on a business trip, I knew that I had to make the most of my very limited time. There was no doubt that hiking would be a major part of those plans! I had intended on waking up around 4:30 am and heading to Koko Crater to kick the day off, but a week full of battling jet lag finally caught me and sleep won in the end. Hike 1: Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail Starting a little later than planned (6:30am) I headed off to a my first destination, Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. The drive from Waikiki to the light house was beautiful, along the coast, with several scenic stop offs that I took full advantage of, putting me even further behind schedule but with some added in Hawaii experiences too! This park opens at 7am (something I hadn't previously known) Makapu'u Trail is completely paved the entire way up. I wore my hiking shoes but would have been very happy doing it in my Chacos. It's a pretty steep inc...

3/22/19 I'm hoping that this post helps people wanting info about the Diamond Head hike because when I was looking for info online (including climb time) I found very little that provided the information that I needed. I was in Hawaii on a time crunch, there for 2 days for a training for work then flying out. I wanted to get in some of the beauty before leaving the island. When considering Koko Head and Diamond Head, Diamond Head won because of the close proximity to where I was staying (Waikiki) and the time crunch of needing to catch a flight that day. I took a Lyft to Diamond Head, they stop you at the tunnel until the park opens. Some people park there (very limited spots) and tour buses drop people off there as well. There is a park ranger who lines people up to try to make sure it's a smooth process and flow getting people into the ticket booth. From the tunnel you go down a small hill and around the corner and the ticket booth will be in front of you (it's a...

Saturday morning I woke up and decided I needed a little adventure in my life! I have had the Chureito Pagoda pinned for a while as a "must see" place so this was the lucky winner for adventure time! Train time vs drive time was pretty close and after a debacle with getting lost in the tunnels of Tokyo the previous day, I decided to reduce my stress and take the train! The Chureito Pagoda is approximately 2 hours from Yokota Air Base via train. If you're taking the train the stop for the Pagoda is Shimoyoshida. I enjoy train adventures because it allows you to see some beautiful places, riding in to Shimoyoshida I passed through some beautiful mountainous terrain. At one point we were riding along with some of the most stunning shots of Mt Fuji. Times like this I'm constantly reminded of  how lucky I am, the beauty of nature, and just how small we are in this big beautiful world!  taken from the train, while moving. Speechless Shimoyoshida train station is TIN...

2/25/18 Find what you love, and never stop doing it! Yesterday I did something that I've wanted to do for a REALLY long time! I've seen photos and lusted over this adventure. Why it took me so long I have no idea, but I'm so glad that I cashed in on life'ing with this one! Seeing the snow monkeys in Nagano at the natural hot spring was something that I'll never forget. I highly recommend it for anyone who is in Japan (fun fact you don't have to go in the winter, they're open year round, the monkeys are always there (free range, not caged or contained). I would even venture to say that it may be better to visit during the "off" season because as you can imagine this place is riddled with tourists, which becomes annoying. My annoyance increased because some people literally have zero respect for animals, their habitat, and personal space. More often than not tourists would get uncomfortably close to the monkeys, babies, mamas with babies, in...

12/24/17 Christmas Eve in Bali. I'd choose nowhere else at this point in my life. Yesterdays down day was in part because of today, a big trek. I did a little bit of research leading up to this and knew that it would be intense. I read somewhere that it was 1700 steep and uneven steps up to the top of Lempuyang Temple. That you aren't to use foul language or complain about the hike because if you do you won't be afforded the stunning views at the top. Also those who have a sick heart or who are mourning shouldn't make the trek (pilgrimage is actually what they call it) because they will not make it as their heart is heavy and not able to carry them to the top. My heart is very happy and healthy and in a good space, I made sure to really focus my mind before starting the day, and most importantly to focus on controlling my language! When I convinced Made to do this trek with me (rather than sitting in the car and waiting) he thought that it was 500 steps. I tried t...