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…
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…
Around Christmas of 2020, I had a taco dinner night with my middle school friends, Deepali and Hillary. If you follow my taco instagram, there is a picture of our taco spread on Hillary’s dining room table. It was quite the setup, where it looked like the table was set for 15 people and not just 3. But hey, tacos can make great leftovers. During dinner, we brainstormed planning a trip together and set a date in the calendar for…
The week prior to my visit to see Carolyn in Colorado, Carolyn and Tyler had some disappointing news. Their boat’s transmission died. We wanted a backup plan for boat day so we decided on a river float. None of us were prepared for the exhilarating rapids of Cedar Creek in Golden, Colorado. We all imagined the float to be super casual that maybe even involve a drink or two. That was clearly not the case. We screamed in fear, gripping…
In the beginning of July, I made my way back to the West Coast to explore 4 National Parks, 1 National Forest, and spend (not enough) time in San Francisco, California and Bend, Oregon. Over the course of two weeks, I hiked 76 miles, kayaked 5 miles, white water rafted 3 miles, and mountain biked over 20 miles. Even though I was a walking zombie by the end of the two week period, I would take an action-packed trip like…
The last tacos I had in Oregon were back in 2018. Click here to see the Portland, Oregon taco post. Just like my 2018 visit, I started my trip in California and worked my way up to Oregon. My Pittsburgh friend, Kevin, was working in Klamath Falls, OR. He met Alexis and I for kayaking on Shasta Lake, dining in Redding, and hiking the beautiful waterfalls of Shasta-Trinity National Forest. After a wonderful week and a half with Alexis, we…
At the end of April, I set out on a 5-day, 339 mile bike packing trip. I opened up the bike packing Pandora’s box last October when my friend, Caitlyn, and I bicycled from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh. We had so much fun on our 5-day adventure. I really felt like I was living in the moment the entire time. Nothing else mattered and no worries were on my mind besides food, water, and shelter. Yes, I did think about…
I joined the Florida bandwagon and visited my friend Colin for a long weekend. Colin lives in Lakeland, Florida which is about 45 min inland from Tampa. Colin had an awesome map and itinerary which included bicycling, hiking, paddleboarding, beach time, and tacos. Colin knows me very well, clearly! All of my favorite things crammed into 3 full days. Gallito Taqueria Colin scooped me up from the Tampa Airport Thursday evening and he picked out a waterfront beer garden called…
I jinxed myself when I said (with a taco in my hand) that I was celebrating my last clinic visit at Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center. I ended up having to go to Baltimore again the following week. With a lot of monitoring and wound care, I am finally seeing progress from my last surgery on December 18th! I could have reviewed another Baltimore taco spot after my last clinic visit, but I decided to surprise my mother with her favorite…
After my fun-filled weekend in Denver, Carolyn, Tyler, Christina, and I made the 8 hour drive to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to partake in an adventure that we have been planning since last September. We were on our way to hike 41 miles on the Teton Crest Trail in the back-country of the Grand Tetons. About 10 years ago when I was back in college, my family and I took a trip to Yellowstone and we spent only an afternoon driving…