loveliness.

Live, travel, adventure, bless and don't be sorry.
loveliness.
  • Home
  • about
  • travel
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • Canada
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Mexico
    • Philippines
    • Thailand
    • USA
      • Arizona
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
      • Hawaii
      • Montana
      • New York
      • Oregon
      • Washington
  • loveliness
  • books
  • favourites
  • Tag: travel

    • half dome: part 1 (before)

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on August 6, 2018

      img_20180709_164645_995-1609471230.jpg

      I’ve been trying to climb Half Dome for four years. Four times I’ve paid my few dollars, entered my name in the lottery and hoped for the best, and four times I’ve been rejected. When I got the email this year that I hadn’t been chosen, especially now that I know other people who’ve gotten in on their first try, it was starting to feel a little bit personal, to be honest.

      Luckily (or not, I guess we’ll see) a friend of mine did get selected, and knowing my desperate tale, asked me to do it with her. So that is the short version of a story where I try really hard to be selected to do something that I probably can’t do, and honestly can’t remember why I wanted to in the first place.

      Half Dome has been on my list of things to do for probably 5 years. I call it a list of things to do, but really it’s an amorphous, seemingly random collection of things I probably heard someone talking about on public transportation at some point and thought to myself “I could probably do that.” I wouldn’t call it a bucket list, at any rate, since most of the things on it are not things that would make me feel my life had been wasted were I not to accomplish them.

      Other things on this list include climbing Kilimanjaro, having twin girls, and finding a white button down that isn’t see through and doesn’t gape at the bust (this last one seems most unlikely). Items I have successfully completed on this list include sky diving, running a marathon, piercing my belly button, and also, owning wooden salad bowls, which for some reason had been a great and unknowable yearning of my heart ever since I was around 12 years old.

      So, to summarize, I found out last month that I would be attempting the climb to Half Dome this summer. I don’t know much about Half Dome, to be honest, other than that it’s probably going to be hard. My general strategy in life for things that might be hard is to learn as little as possible about them.

      When I ran a marathon 5 years ago, I read no books and did no research. I really didn’t even understand how far 26 miles was, having grown up in the land of the kilometer. I believe that’s why, at mile 13, I thought to myself, “Well, if I was running the half I’d be done already! That practically flew by!” By mile 23, my thoughts had taken a turn for the rather less enthusiastic, and though I finished, I could barely walk for three days, and I couldn’t sleep comfortably without a pillow between my knees for…well I’ll let you know.

      But the point is, I did it. Ignorance as bliss is highly underrated as a training strategy, in my opinion. Had I known going in what I know now, I might have opted to skip the blessed experience altogether, although stronger women than I have been lured into less by the possibility of being serenaded by Brett Michaels, who was performing at the finish line.

      Three weeks before the climb, the only concessions I’ve made to the fact that this is actually going to happen is to go into REI to buy hiking boots (grudgingly, as there were some really cute ankle boots that I actually wanted to buy with that money). I agreed with the salesperson that I was at best a casual hiker, so when he found out the boots were for Half Dome he looked at me like he thought I was going to die. On the bright side, I have since taken to clomping around in my boots on all occasions, including with short shorts to the grocery store, where my husband pretended not to know me.

      I’ve also added some gloves to my Amazon cart, which are either for climbing cables or for gardening; it’s definitely one or the other.

      Additionally, I’ve begun planning my snack allowance for the day, which so far includes Gushers, the really good crunchy potato chips from Trader Joe’s and at least one sleeve of Oreos. The Oreos are actually crucial to my plan, as I did a three day volcano hike in Indonesia a few years ago, again with little to no planning or idea of what I was undertaking, and I only got through it by rewarding myself with an Oreo at each mile marker. Chocolate and bribery are my love languages.

      20180709_1637011401570956.jpg

      TO BE CONTINUED.

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, half dome, hiking, travel, yosemite
    • orange county

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on February 2, 2018

      I mentioned here that we started a list of things we want to do now that we’re living in Southern California, so I thought I would share. I love to do anything outdoors, especially hiking or anything to do with the ocean, and there are also random activities and restaurants I’ve been wanting to try.

      I’m definitely still learning my way around here, so maybe some of these will get knocked off the list once I learn more about them, and I’m sure there are lots I’ll be adding as I learn about new things, so I’ll update this every once in awhile to see where we’ve been and what we thought, and any new additions.

      On that note, if you have any recommendations for things or places you love to visit, please leave them in the comments section!

      Activities
      Concert at the Hollywood Bowl
      Weekend trip to Catalina Island
      Scuba dive
      Rent this AirBnB Airstream in Malibu
      Run and Yoga at Santa Monica Pier
      Surf lessons
      Stay overnight at the Beverly Hills Hotel
      Movie on the rooftop of the Montalban Theater
      Camp at Joshua Tree National Park
      Rose Bowl Flea Market
      Weekend away in Palm Springs
      Rent paddleboards in Long Beach
      Go to a Speakeasy
      Skating at Hotel del Coronado in San Diego
      Griffith Park Observatory
      Visit the Flower Market

      Restaurants
      EggSlut (I’ve been here a couple of times, in Vegas and Venice, but it’s so good I’m going to leave it on here.)
      Salt and Straw
      Petit Trois
      Pizzeria Mozza
      Gjelina
      Malibu Farm
      The Bungalow
      Ivy at the Shore
      Grand Central Market
      Creme and Sugar
      Anaheim Packing House
      Spire 73

      Hikes
      Devil’s Punchbowl
      Mt. Baldy
      Sturtevant Falls
      Escondido Falls
      Bridge to Nowhere
      Rose Valley Falls
      Top of the World
      Solstice Canyon
      Del Cerro Park
      Shipwreck Hike  (we actually did this last weekend, post coming soon!)

      Posted in California, life, Los Angeles, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged hiking, Los Angeles, orange county, restaurants, southern california, things to do, travel
    • land’s end

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on June 28, 2017

      There are so many pictures from this day, I couldn’t really narrow them down any more than I already did. Over the Christmas break we had the opportunity to really spend some time in Northern California, which hasn’t happened since we lived there over three years ago. Usually we are flying in for a wedding or other event, so it’s a very rushed trip with no time to do anything but the thing we are there to do.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      I was just thinking about this the other day, how when you first move somewhere you are so excited to go everywhere and check things out, and see all of the sights, but eventually you get settled in, and have your few places you go back to, and get busy with everyday life, and it’s easy to stop doing those things. I think that’s one of the reasons I like moving around so much, I don’t like to take places for granted or get complacent with how I’m spending my time.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      I worked in S.F. for three years, I was in the city every single day, so going into the city wasn’t usually high on my list of things to do on my days off. So we really took advantage of having some free time on this trip, and spent a full day playing tourist in San Francisco. I’ve been wanting to go to the “labyrinth” at Land’s End for years, and I’ve also heard about Twin Peaks from many of my photographer friends, so I was excited to check it out. Luckily we chose a beautiful, sunny day since we spent almost the whole time outside.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      On our way to Land’s End we stopped at Ocean Beach to watch the surfers for a while, then parked near the Cliff House and walked along the water to Land’s End. It was about a mile “hike” (on a groomed dirt path with stairs). It was a little bit muddy, and kind of windy since it was on the water, but the view was amazing.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      After Land’s End, we went to a local brewery for lunch, and then stopped off to check out the 16th Ave stairs and wandered around Golden Gate park for awhile. Finally, we drove up to Twin Peaks and walked up to the top to enjoy the view just before sunset, before heading back to Tony’s for the best pizza ever.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      It was a lot more memorable than what we would have done otherwise that day, which if I remember correctly, would have been finishing our binge watch of the first season of The Man in the High Castle.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      Posted in California, San Francisco, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, labyrinth, land's end, San Francisco, travel, twin peaks
    • big sur

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on May 10, 2017

      Well, it’s been over 3 months since the first post in this two-part series, that’s quite a cliff hanger. I just finished my second semester of grad school, and I usually have to take a little break from this space during classes since there is so much else going on.

      But, anyway back to our Big Sur trip. The drive down from San Francisco was absolutely stunning, we probably took twice as long to get there as we should have since I kept pleading to stop every 5 minutes, but every single view of the ocean and the coast was better than the last. Our windows were down, the sun was shining, and we had good tunes and peanut M&M’s. It was basically the perfect day.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      We were there for three days and two nights total, and we didn’t actually have a campsite booked when we left, since the place we wanted to stay at, Kirk Creek, is first come, first served. But it’s right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean so I was hoping if we got there early enough, we would get a spot. It was a bit stressful, but we snagged one of the last sites.

      The first day we kind of just crept around and explored some of the beautiful beaches in the area. As I mentioned about 10 times, I thought it would be really cold out along the coast in December, so I only brought leggings, combat boots and flannels. Needless to say, I looked pretty crazy at the beach.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      I also didn’t realize that some of the little towns there are actually kind of upscale, so I got some strange looks when I walked through the parking lot in my shredded Jack Daniel’s t-shirt, but I won it playing quarters when I was 17 and I’ll never not wear it, no matter how ratty it gets.

      We thought about making the trek to Hearst Castle since it’s only a little further down the road, but after two days of camping, and my aforementioned wardrobe woes, we decided to wait until next time when we might be a little more presentable (unlikely).

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      There is almost no phone service there, so it was actually such a relaxing few days. We had a great time hiking and exploring, and then came back to our camp site to drink grapefruit beer, grill vegetarian sausages with extra mustard (for me) and smokies (for D) and enjoy the ocean view from our tent.

      There is also a really pretty beach along the front of the campgrounds, but you have to shimmy down the side of a cliff using a rope that is older than I am to get there. It’s a bit tricksy, especially if you have a Twisted Tea in your hand, but still very do-able.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      I had been hearing really good things about this podcast, so I downloaded a couple of episodes to listen to in the evenings, which I immediately regretted, since hearing about victims of brutal murders who were camping in Yosemite at the time (only a few hours away) was basically a guarantee that I would be up all night listening for the slightest rustle in the bushes outside. Did I mention there are quite a few raccoons in the area?

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      Overall it was an amazing few days, and basically my favourite part of Christmas 2016. I can’t wait to go back to Big Sur, and maybeeee spend one night sleeping here, in a human nest?

      big sur

      big sur

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged beach, big sur, California, hiking, travel
    • grad school: two down

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on May 8, 2017

      Oh hey, remember me? It’s just been a casual few months since I posted anything! I just finished my second semester of grad school, so I finally have time to write for fun, and to feed myself anything besides canned peas and Lara bars.

      This semester was even busier than the last one, since I was also writing for the ASU State Press, and working as a TA for one of the undergraduate classes, in addition to taking some pretty intense classes, and a foreign reporting trip to Mexico, but I made it through. You can check out some of the stuff I’ve been working on here, if you’re interested.

      I have one semester left, which I’ll be finishing in the fall, and over the summer I was accepted to do a fellowship, so I’ll be spending most of my summer in Phoenix (it was 104 degrees yesterday, and it’s only May. Help.) but also traveling to a few places around the country reporting on stories.

      I have a few weeks off before it starts, so I’m jamming in as many things as I can, including a Vegas trip, a few days in the Great White North, and a road trip to New Mexico to visit White Sands, which has been on my list of things to do since we moved here two years ago.

      I’m excited to do some reading for pleasure (!) and post as much as I can here, since I still have some trips from last fall that I haven’t hit publish on yet.

      Posted in life, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged grad school, Las Vegas, new mexico, road trip, travel
    • ewoldsen trail: big sur

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on January 23, 2017

      Since we ended up spending the whole Christmas break in California, we decided to sneak away for a few days to Big Sur. It was honestly even better than I thought it would be, I had been planning for subzero temperatures, but it was actually gorgeous out during the day, though it was a little chilly sleeping in a tent at night.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      We spent our whole second day there exploring the different hiking trails, including Ewoldsen Trail and McWay Falls, which isn’t really a hike at all, more of a quick saunter down a paved sidewalk, but the view at the end is stunning.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      Ewoldsen Trail took us about 3 hours total, but at the top there is the option to take a detour onto Waters Trail, which is about 200 yards straight uphill, but leads to the most gorgeous views of the entire coastline. We were pretty tired and sweaty by the time we got to the top, not to mention dehydrated since I hate carrying water with me when I hike, so we stayed at the top for almost an hour, just enjoying the view and recuperating.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      The colour of the water is absolutely stunning, so we laid in the grass, soaked up the sunshine and listened to a little boy in the only other group at the top counting the whales surfacing along the shore. He got to somewhere in the 50’s before his parents dragged him back down the hill, although I’m pretty sure he counted the same whale more than once.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      I would definitely recommend all of these trails, although they do get busy later on in the day. We got there at 8:30, and were one of the only cars in the parking lot, and we only saw a few other people on the trail, but by the time we got back to our car we were passing huge groups of people on their way to the trailhead, and people were parking for miles along the highway on either side.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged beach, big sur, California, ewoldsen trail, hiking, ocean, travel
    • zion

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on January 3, 2017

      Just 8,000,000 pictures of Zion that I had to share because it’s so completely stunning. We stopped in Zion (well actually, kind of just drove through) on the way home from Montana over the summer, after stopping at Arches.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      We were actually only about half an hour from Yellowstone at one point on the drive home and we thought about going there as well to fit in as many national parks as possible, but it was already a 20+ hour drive so we decided against it.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      We didn’t get to spend a ton of time in Zion, but it was so beautiful there I can’t wait to go back. The little town where the main entrance is, Springdale, was really charming and had some really neat stores and delicious looking restaurants, so I definitely want to stay for at least a couple of days next time.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      The other thing I really want to do next time we are there is hike Angel’s Landing. It’s supposed to be really scary if you are afraid of heights (I’m not) because some parts of the trail are not very wide but completely worth it for the view at the end.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      I might actually do this for my birthday in March, I kind of have a different trip planned, but since we may not be in Arizona for too much longer, I don’t want to miss out on any of the things I wanted to do while we were there.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      Posted in travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged national parks, travel, utah, zion
    • salt lake city

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 27, 2016

      We left Montana at 4:30 a.m. to drive back to AZ in August, and spent the first night in Salt Lake City. I’ve really only been to the airport there before, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was really beautiful there. Our original plan was to go hiking at Cecret Lake and Lake Mary Trail, but there was a big bicycle race going on that had all of the entrances to the area where we wanted to go hiking blocked, and we would have had to drive basically all the way around the mountain to get to the other side if we wanted to go, so we ended up going to downtown SLC instead.

      We went for drinks at a few bars in downtown and then went to check out the LDS Temple, which is right in the heart of the city. The grounds were gorgeous, and we went into the visitor’s center to learn more about the Mormon religion and the temple, which we didn’t even realize was a thing you could do, but it was really interesting.

      We were only there for one night, we stayed at a really cute AirBnB, but I’d like to go back and spend some more time there, and hopefully visit Park City while we’re in the area.

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      salt lake city

      Posted in travel, USA, utah | 0 Comments | Tagged hiking, salt lake city, travel, utah
    • arches national park

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 14, 2016

      I can’t believe how long ago I actually started this post (August) vs. when it’s actually getting published, how embarrassing. But our trip to Arches National Park was pretty amazing, so I still wanted to share it.

      When we moved to Arizona two years ago, one of the things that we liked about Phoenix was how central it was and how many cool places you could get with just a few hours of driving. So I made a list of places I wanted to visit while we lived in AZ, and Arches was at the top.

      The problem is, it’s not really near anything else. It’s about 8 hours NE of Phoenix, so it’s not really on your way to Salt Lake City, or the Grand Canyon or anything like that, and there isn’t really much around it, except a few other national parks, so it’s kind of where you are going, if you are going there.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      We were driving home from Montana in August, and it was already going to be like, 20 hours, so I guess I thought “What’s another 5?”, and decided to make Arches part of the trip.

      We got to SLC the first night, and planned on going hiking but were thwarted by a biking event, so we just went drinking instead. The next morning we were up early, had breakfast, and drove the rest of the way to Moab, which is where Arches is located.

      About half way there the landscape started getting really rugged and gorgeous, with jutting rocks and beautiful vistas around every corner, so it kind of felt like we were in the park already, and it went by really fast. We got a campsite at a really cute little campground right outside the front gate of the park.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      We got settled in and then went to the park about 11 a.m.. If you are going to Arches, especially in August, make sure you have a full tank of gas, and bring LOTS of water and snacks. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but the park is enormous, and you drive around it and stop at any of the Arches or areas you want to see.

      There is nowhere to get gas (obviously) so if you had to stop, and drive back out to Moab to fill up, it would take probably an hour. There are also only a few places in the park where you can fill up your water bottle, and they are few and far between.

      It’s a lot of hiking and walking around to see everything, so having water on hand is essential, especially when it’s 110 degrees, like it was when we were there. Also, sunscreen.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      There are lots of arches and things to see inside the park, and you get a map when you drive through the gate so you can see which ones you want to visit. There are some that are better to see in the morning, and some better at night, depending on the lighting and where the sun is located, and there are some that are really famous and pretty busy all the time.

      My favourite things to see inside the park were Double Arch and Turret Arch. Balanced Rock, Devils Garden and the Windows are very popular too. We stopped at the parking lot to go to the Windows, and there were a lot of people there, so we took a right at the trail and ended up at Turret Arch, where there were hardly any people, and I thought it was one of the best ones we saw.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Delicate arch (the very last picture) is the image you often see of Arches, and there were tons of people up there to get a picture of it with the sunset behind it, but it’s kind of a long walk, and after being in the sun almost the whole day, and being in the park for about 8 hours at that point, I was not into it, so we just went to a view point to see it, and then went back to the campgrounds.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      It was still so hot out that we put our bathing suits on, bought a six pack of beer and some frozen lemonades from the little convenience store, and played in the pool while the sun set.

      We didn’t have any camping gear with us, but we bought sleeping bags at Target (which I’m hoping to use again in the next couple of weeks!) and made a bed in the back of the truck. We ate bag salads on paper plates for supper, watched a movie on my laptop and then fell asleep under the stars.

      It was kind of the best day ever.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Sleeping in the truck always reminds me of our time in Australia where we spent two months sleeping in the back of our Subaru, or my birthday last year where we spent the weekend in San Diego. Just being able to jump in the car and go somewhere without stressing about logistics and planning everything out is honestly one of my favourite things to do.

      We did get woken up by a wicked lightening storm at about 3 a.m., but even that was kind of cool.

      If you are going to Arches, I would suggest going early in the morning to hit some of the “sunrise” arches, then going back to your hotel or campsite for a few hours during the hottest part of the day to eat, relax and get out of the sun, and then going back to the park later in the afternoon to see a few more things and catch the sunset.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      I’m so glad we got to cross Arches off our list, it’s honestly stunning, I kept wishing we had Derek’s motorcycle with us because cruising those roads is probably the reason bikes were invented. As we start to plan where we are moving to next (more on that soon!) we’re trying to do as much as possible before we go. This is hopefully still going to happen, but it might have to wait until April, once next semester is over.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Posted in travel, USA, utah | 3 Comments | Tagged arches, national parks, travel, utah
    • NYC summer

      Posted at 8:36 am by jasminedesirees, on August 15, 2016

      I was back in NYC in June for work for a few days, and it was my first time in the city in the summer. It was definitely hot and humid (my hair wasn’t impressed) but it was perfect for my agenda, which was work, run in the park and drink at as many rooftop bars as possible.

      I flew in on a Saturday afternoon, and met up with some friends on the upper west side for Mexican food, Magnolia’s, and all the rooftop wine. The view of the park was amazing.

      new york city

      new york city

      Sunday I wandered around, did some shopping,and watched the Pride parade. It was really neat to be there in person, and everyone was having such a great time. It was so hot though, and for some reason I was wearing jeans, so I eventually had to escape into the nearest air conditioned Zara.

      new york city

      On Monday I finally got to try By Chloe, after hearing about it for almost a year. Everything on the menu is organic and vegan. I tried the Quinoa Taco salad, and it was really delicious. We also got one of the enormous chocolate chip cookies and some sweet potato fries, the beet ketchup was really good also, and such a pretty colour. After work we went to a much needed yoga class, and then I walked most of the way back to my hotel.

      new york city

      One of my favourite things to do in the city is just wander around, there is always something going on, and I love people watching and seeing all of the restaurants, shops and galleries.

      new york city

      new york city

      Tuesday was my last night in town, and we really wanted to find a good rooftop bar. We tried a couple near the office, but all of them were so packed that we ended up wandering around and found ourselves at a German Beer Hall drinking enormous beers, at enormous tables, with enormous pretzels, watching groups of people do shot-skis, while listening to Polka music. It was really random, but really fun.

      new york city

      new york city

      new york city

      After we left the beer hall, we made one last ditch effort to get on a rooftop, and found ourselves at Salvation Taco. The rooftop was crowded, but we managed to snag a table, some chips and salsa, and some delicious margaritas. The view from the rooftop was gorgeous, and I loved the decor.

      new york city

      new york city

      new york city

      Writing this post has kind of made me sad, I’m starting Grad School in two days (!) so tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I’m going to miss everyone I’ve worked with for the last couple of years, and I don’t know when I’ll be making it back to NYC, so I’m really glad my last trip was such a great one.

      new york city

      Posted in New York, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged New York, nyc, pride, roof tops, summer, travel
    ← Older posts
    •        
    • Follow loveliness. on WordPress.com
    • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    • Popular Posts

      • hiking mount batur
      • cave dweller
      • loveliness
      • loveliness
    • Recent Posts

      • half dome: part 2 (the climb)
      • half dome: part 1 (before)
      • favourites
      • queretaro
      • white sands
      • orange county
      • life update
      • news21
      • land’s end
      • big sur
    • Instagram

      No Instagram images were found.

    • Categories

    • Archives

Blog at WordPress.com.

loveliness.
Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel