For a few hot seconds, we made our way into Arizona. We wanted our road trip to include both Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. After seeing both natural beauties, we celebrated with lunch at Fiesta Mexicana in Page, AZ. On the front of the menu, I saw that Fiesta Mexicana had a location in Sedona, AZ, and thought for a second that I may have been to this restaurant after backpacking to Havasu Falls exactly 4 years ago. Thankfully, my…
Kevin and I kicked off our first vacation of the year together in Utah. The 13 day adventure included hiking, camping, exploring riverbeds, UTV riding, stargazing, and seeing national parks. On the first day, we flew into Salt Lake City and drove four hours south to Moab. It was exciting that the first two nights were completely unplanned and we were banking on first-come, first-served BLM camping. Night one was a success after finding a sweet camp spot by Bowtie…
After watching an epic sunrise in Cholla Cactus Garden and completing a 7 mile hike on the Lost Palms Oasis Trail, we left Joshua Tree National Park for the afternoon. I was sad to know this was our last day at Joshua Tree National Park. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Joshua Tree National Park from sunrise to sunset, along with the incredible stargazing. I think tied with the natural beauty, was the adventure that came within the park….
About a month ago, I took on my first out of three planned out west trips for 2022. I went with my middle school friend, Deepali, to Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks. We flew into San Diego and out of Las Vegas. I was so excited for our fun-filled itinerary with room for spontaneity. Deepali has never been to San Diego, so that is why we chose to fly into San Diego over Los Angeles. I also prefer…
On Super Bowl Sunday, Kevin and I ventured out for an early lunch before the game day festivities. I chose a taco place suggested by another coworker. Like Viva Los Tacos, this restaurant is also east of the city. We made our way to Tako Torta in Bakery Square. Tako Torta is a taqueria-inspired outpost, compared to its full service sister restaurant, Tako, in downtown Pittsburgh. Tako Torta has the same authentic ingredients, creative tacos, and handcrafted cocktail focused specialties…
On one of the many frequent cold weekends, Kevin and I bundled up and made our way to Harrison Hills for a winter hike. I revisited my old friend, the Rachel Carson Trail, and introduced Kevin to the eastern terminus of the trail. We have hiked sections together near North Park, but none east of Hampton. One of my favorite segments has you trek through an ATV park near Saxonburg Road. I chose this section because of the rolling hills…
Less than halfway through a long work week stretch, I needed to take a break and get tacos in my neighborhood. Both work and life outside of work had me exhausted. When I was not verifying medication orders in the hospital, I was lifting cardboard boxes from my apartment to my car. I am in the process of moving into my boyfriend Kevin’s house in the North Hills. Although I am going to miss the accessibility to everything in the…
In the beginning of November, the day after my Halloween birthday, I tagged along on Kevin’s work trip to Saint Augustine, Florida. It was a birthday treat to spend some time in 70 degree weather versus the 30 degree temps back in Pittsburgh. We flew into Orlando on a direct flight and then rented a car to drive up north. On our route to Saint Augustine, we stopped for lunch in Daytona Beach. I chose Tia’s Tacos based on its…
When my Ultimate Frisbee game was cancelled on a beautiful Thursday evening due to lighting issues at the field, I took that opportunity for a “bike the Burgh” and “eat the tacos” kind of night. The last time I bicycled in Pittsburgh, I went to Taquitos taco truck and Voodoo Brewery. This time, I went to La Bodega in Southside followed by Penn Brewery in Troy Hill. La Bodega was my initial plan last time, but I got taco-stracted by…
Kevin and I had a bicycle and taco date night planned for a beautiful fall afternoon. The plan was to check out the fairly new taco place called La Bodega in the Southside on our way to Voodoo Brewery via the Greater Allegheny Passage Trail. The plan was quickly changed when I locked eyes with Taquitos Taco Truck less than 1 mile into our ride. My preferred bike route down Mount Washington involves cycling on Grandview Avenue all the way…