NYC!

 For my birthday this year Brandon and I took a trip to New York City! We started out at ground zero where we saw the new towers they are building. We walked down to Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty (Left). From there we walked through Chinatown where we enjoyed some bubble tea and continued on through Little Italy. Past that we wandered around SoHo, where all the major shopping is location. We got on the subway after that and headed over to Brooklyn to find a specialty clothing shop that Brandon had heard of.

For dinner we went to Crif Dogs (above), which we had heard of on the Food Network. Best. Hot dog. EVER. I had the BLT, so mine was wrapped in bacon and had lettuce and tomato on top. Brandon's had bacon avocado and sour cream on it I think. After a little more sight seeing, including Times Square, we called it a night and headed back to his dad's house in New Jersey. It was an extremely memorable birthday and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We decided that traveling to cities is going to be a birthday tradition for us.

Spring Break Pt.2 (backtrack 03/2012)

For the second half of my Spring Break I was able to take a trip to visit my Sister, Amy, in Arizona! (Early birthday present from my parents!!!) I flew out Wednesday in time for a dinner in Phoenix with my sister, her best friend Denise and her husband Ben. The next day Amy had to work, so I slept in, relaxed in the sun and read my book. When Amy got home we had a cook out with Speidies and roasted veggies. After a dip in the hot tub, we called it a night. Friday Amy took off work so we could go hiking in Sedona (above and below). There were so many neat rock formations, and a nice loop trail for us to follow. We stopped to climb several of the large rocks which gave us a spectacular view. 

Saturday the four of us took a trip to the Arizona Science Center, which was pretty awesome. Ben and Denise got a little bored after awhile, but Amy and I had a great time and made sure we didn't miss a thing in the whole place. After that, we took a drive over to the University that Amy works at, Grand Canyon University. I got to see her office, and some of the other buildings on campus, as well as a street dance competition going on haha. We headed over to an authentic Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was excellent. Later on we had some frozen yogurt at Yogurtology, where you build your own flavor/toppings. Of course we had to take some pictures with the cactus :) It was a great way to spend the second half of my break, and I enjoyed seeing my sister very much. I can't wait to go back soon!

Spring Break Pt.1 (backtrack 03/2012 )

Brandon's birthday was the first Saturday of Spring Break this year. We took a trip to Toronto, Canada to celebrate. We decided to try out "Couch Surfing" for the first time. Here's how it works: you make a profile on couchsurfing.org and search for hosts that are available the days you are looking to stay in the location of choice. You send them a request, and if they think you are cool enough, you get to hang out with them and sleep on their couches. We stayed with Ana and Jakob right outside downtown Toronto. They were wonderful hosts. When we arrived Saturday evening, they had a wonderful dinner prepared. Ana drew us a nice map and we explored around the city a little bit before calling it a night. The next morning we were served breakfast in bed! haha. All four of us rode the "street car" (like a trolley) to a market where we browsed around and enjoyed a coffee. Ana had to go to work, but offered to draw us a wonderful map of the city and all the places we should check out. Jakob showed us around the University of Toronto, including the library, and then parted ways with us. The rest of the day we spent touring around and freezing to death :).

This was towards the end of the day, looking at the CN tower through downtown. 

Our touring consisted of the Hockey Hall of Fame (above), historic district, upscale shopping centers, flea markets, "mini times square", figuring out the subway/street car system, waiting a half hour at a bus stop for a bus that didn't run on Sundays, spotting a mountie, and watching the sun set over the skyline. That night after another great dinner, Ana brought out a birthday cake she had made for Brandon. Over all it was a fantastic first couch surfing experience. On our way back to America we stopped to see Niagara Falls (below). It was SOOOO incredibly cold, so we stayed for about 5 minutes and left haha. 

Chicago (backtrack 08/2011 )

On my way back from North Dakota I stayed with Brian and Jen Rea and their two kids (Awesome people that used to live in Vestal). They took me to see Chicago! Our first day there we went to the planetarium and the aquarium. We went shopping downtown before eating dinner at this really really good place that  don't remember the name of. The next day we went on a architectural boat tour, which was AWESOME. Then we went to see the Bean of course in Millennium Park.

Winnipeg (backtrack 08/2011 )

I created this blog so that I could keep a record of all my travel adventures, and I have been SLACKING big time. I am about to leave for another journey on Monday, and figured I should catch up on all the stuff I have done over the past year.  Before I left North Dakota, I took a trip up to Winnipeg Canada, because I felt like it. Not many people with me had passports, and the people that did weren't interested, so I went solo.

I just went up one Sunday afternoon and basically wandered around. The welcome center across the boarder was very helpful and gave me maps and suggestions of places to go.  I spent a lot of time at "The Forks" which is were 3 rivers meet at a fork. There's lots of shopping and parks and fancy buildings there.

They even had an official pow pow with local Indians going on.After that I walked to this area that was basically Chinatown but for the French. It had cool architecture, but all the signs were in French so I didn't stay long. I walk downtown to the Parliament building and then enjoy an outdoor concert on the greenway. All in all it was a nice afternoon.