Wordless Wednesday: Massachusetts State House
#Take12Trips
A few people have been posting about the new travel challenge to #Take12Trips in 2016. As I am currently down with a wicked cold or mild flu, this is the perfect time to distract myself with our future plans for the year 🙂 Unfortunately, we aren’t able to take a trip each month due to the fact that our work schedules are so hard to sync. I work Sunday through Thursday, Eric has a “regular” work schedule something I haven’t…
2016 Adventures: Conquering the Canyon
One of the most fun and unique things that we are doing this year will be hiking the Grand Canyon with the Team in Training group for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. This will be my second trip to the Grand Canyon. I had the great luck of being required to go there for work training (really sad, I know! haha). Eric will be experiencing it the first time, which will be a treat to see. Since we are going with…
America’s Best Idea
Did you know that this year marks the 100th birthday of what is considered America’s best idea? The National Park Service will turn 100 years young on August 26 and is celebrating this year with programs, special events, and lots of cake. While many people believe that there are only the 59 “National Parks,” in reality there are many many more UNITS of the system. There are 409 units of the National Park Service from Acadia National Park in Maine,…
Water, water everywhere…
The other day at work, a person asked me if the water coming out of the water fountain was filtered. I was taken aback for a moment before I remembered that so many places in the world do not have good tasting water even with filtration. Boston, however, is incredibly lucky that our favorite beverage (no it isn’t beer! haha) comes from a special place called the Quabbin. In recent taste and quality tests, Boston’s water has scored either in…
Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!
What a year it has been! Between the record snows of February curtailing almost ANY travel, even to the grocery store, to my first attempt at a ropes course and chasing fall foliage throughout New England, it was a great year. It saw us attempt (and successfully complete) our first ever 2 country trip (with plans to go back!!) and use our local beaches on an almost weekly basis. 2015 was pretty darn great. 2016, though, should be amazing….
Last hike of 2015
We were lucky enough the other day to be able to get one last mountain hike in before 2015 came to a close at Kearsarge North in North Conway. Peaking out at 3,268 feet, it isn’t high enough to be a 4,000 footer but has a really steep climb in the middle. One of the newest experiences that we had on this hike was a large amount of ice along the route! Oddly enough, most of the ice was shaped…
Je suis reconnaissant, I am grateful
On Friday  night, Eric and I watched and read the updates coming out of Paris with heavy hearts.  It is always horrible to hear these stories, and even more so when you have been to that place of destruction and hurt. Add to that the attacks in Lebanon and other events unfolding throughout the world and it can seem like there is no hope. But, as we know, you must hold out for that little sliver of hope to survive…
2016 Plans: Conquering the Canyon
Remember how one of our plans for 2016 was to do more hiking? It was partially inspired by wanting to feel and get healthier, but also because of an idea that I had years ago when my dad was first diagnosed with leukemia. Unable to bike ride for very long (and lacking a bike) and not really interested in doing a marathon, I found a different type of charity activity: hiking! First called “Hike for Discovery” and then a few…
