Memorial Day

 

Eco Friendly Luggage

With our pending trip to San Francisco, and some busted up luggage from our last trip to Mexico, it was time to invest in a nice new set of luggage. And, since you know I'll crazy about all things earth friendly, I searched the web from some eco luggage choices.

Heys Usa Renovo 5 Piece Set - Made from 100% recycled polyester and is biodegradable - $390

Patagonia MLC Wheelie - Fabric made form recycled plastic soda bottles - $229

Ella Vickers Sailcloth Duffle - made from recycled sailcloth from yachts around the world- $178

 

Heys Usa Eco Leaves 3 Piece Set - the shell is made form 100% recycled plastic - $450

Matt & Nat Faithless Bag - Vegan leather and recycled suede lining - $147

You might be put off by those hefty price tags, but rest assured places like amazon and overstock are selling these things at a nice discount. We picked up the Heys Usa Renovo in Charcoal for $250. Still seem like a lot for luggage? We weighed the options and it seemed comparable to other luggage sets plus it had some of the features we were looking for. Not only was it made of recycled and compostable fabric but it's frameless (our other luggage tore right along the frame on our flight to Mexico) and it's lightweight so we don't have to worry as much about weight limits.

California Dreaming

During one my few short breaks from nursing school, Mike and I are planning a trip to San Francisco Don't worry I won't buy a hybrid and pass out awareness citations (South Park Reference). We're so excited to visit all the beautiful places around San Francisco and try to immerse ourselves in West Coast culture. The trip is in the early stages of planning so nothing has been determined but here are some places I'm dreaming about.

Of course, the Golden Gate Bridge

Muir Woods - home of some of the California coastal redwoods

Sausalito - a dreamy little coastal town across the Golden Gate bridge

Napa Valley - wine making and tours

Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market - for a wide variety of local, organic and artisanal foods. Right up my alley.

Anyone have some recommendations for must visit places in San Francisco?

Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Summer Farewell

I've been feeling a bit melancholy about the inevitable end of summer. Today is the first day of classes for my 21 month, accelerated nursing program. In the past I preferred Autumn over summer, but now saying goodbye to summer feels like I'm saying goodbye to my "youth" instead of part time jobs and carefree summers, I'm trading up for a career and working holidays. August just flew by, and I feel I did really well filling up every spare minute of my social calender. All in all, I have to say that this has been one of the best summers that I can remember.

At one point this summer, during our summer getaway in June, I thought about putting together a list of words to describe each day of our trip. I never completed said list but thought it would be fun to compile a list of words to describe the summer in it's entirety. Some are inside jokes, but most can be taken at face value. Here goes:

Trailer Park Boys
Fenn Valley Rosé
Deck Sprayer
Last Hurrah
Thunderstorms
Catfish
Serrano Peppers
Butter Pecan
True Blood
Life changing decisions
Mosquitoes
Campfire Chili
Air Conditioning
Lunchtime walks
UV Blue
Half Sticks
Detox
Eclipse
Kiddie Pool
The Lonely Walk
S'Mores
Tarp City
Farmers Market
Beer Steins
Power Outages
Puppy Play dates
Guacamole
Summer Shandy
Twelfth Night

Hey, we still have Labor Day weekend...

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Camping

So I survived my first real camping trip (see my camping must haves). No showers, no portable toilet, no internet (well I still had my iPhone). It was amazing, and I'm already excited to go with this group again next year. We set up camp along a riverbank on state land about an hour north of Grand Rapids, MI. When we arrived, we immediately set to work putting up the tent. The sun was intense and after quite a bit of confusion due to the "simple" directions and randomly labeled tent poles, we managed to put the tent up. Sweaty, sticky and slightly irritated we headed down to the river to cool off.

On day two, I had settled down for a much needed nap, having not slept well the night before due to the constant popping of the rain on the tent. I woke up just in time for more familiar popping. This however, quickly turned into a deluge. As the rain pounded, the wind leaned heavily on the trees and thunder hit so close that I swear the trees around us were getting hit. And I was alone. As far as I knew, the others, including my beloved husband, were sitting under tarp city or had gone into the river. My heart was seriously racing as I imagined flash floods and fallen trees, when Mike finally appeared outside the tent window (above right) wearing a rain poncho but still soaked to the skin. I admitted to him that I was scared and he just laughed. My sister in law Kristin appeared in the window then and dressed only on her swimsuit told me to get my suit on and join them outside. So I did. The rain continued on and off for another few hours but stopped in time for us to spend the afternoon in the river, the only casualties suffered were tarp city, the pile of beer cans along the river bank (which we later retrieved), and a couple of leaky tents.

We did a community meal system. Each couple or group was responsible for providing breakfast or dinner for the entire group (17+) on one day of the trip. For example, we made campfire chili on Thursday evening so were able to partake in the meals everyone else made. It's a sweet deal which minimizes extra work cooking for yourselves for every meal and minimizes the amount of food that needs to be kept on ice.

Every day, the men would go out and retrieve fire wood. They sought out dead or fallen trees and chainsawed them or went full out with an ax. I never saw it, though I did hear some yelling, falling trees and the many blisters on Mike's hands to prove it.

Camping Must Haves

I'm about to embark on my first real camping trip so I've asked my brother A.J. an avid camper, hiker, and backpacker for some advice on what camping essentials we will need.

Here's the breakdown:

Propane Lantern



PVC free Solar camp shower



Dr. Bronner's organic biodegradable soap

Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink

Sea to Summit Clothesline



Biodegradable Toilet Paper

Of course, there are many more things needed for camping; a tent, tarp, sleeping bag, air mattress, towels, crockery, toiletries, ax, dutch oven, etc.

Some fun and interesting camping related links:

A Fun Camping Engagement Session

Green Camping Packing List

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics

Summer Vacation

Mike, my brother A.J., his wife Kristin and I spent a week long vacation relaxing and enjoying Michigan's west coast while staying at our family cabin. We got our groceries for the week at a local farm stand and meat market, and we were set. It rained a few days, and we were left without power on the last day, but we had a wonderful time. We went hiking through the Allegan State Forest, where the trail was overgrown and the mosquitoes were ravenous, but we made it to our favorite spot (nice pic A.J.).

We spent part of everyday on the pontoon boat reading, fishing, drinking and laughing.

I was the only one not to catch a fish. Granted, I didn't try very hard.

One night we went to a local winery where, although we weren't able to do the vineyard tour, we tasted 5 wines of our choice, and left with a total of 10. After the tasting we stopped into an amazing Mexican restaurant and headed back into town for ice cream.

We spent our last day at the beach in South Haven. There is one tiny patch of beach along the coast where it is acceptable to bring your pooch. Olive, although a bit intimidated by the waves, was ready to play once her ball was involved. We spent the rest of the afternoon meandering through local shops before ducking home early due to an incoming storm.

The best thing about our trip was that we were able to do a multitude of different things while spending very little money. Although the weather kept us from doing some of the things we wanted to do, we can always go to the cabin for a long weekend and head to any local hotspots we missed.

How about you? Any summer vacation plans in the works? Leave a comment below and let me know about upcoming summer vacations.

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Weekend Getaway

With all of the stress I've been experiencing lately including going back to school, going down to part time at work, as well as the usual sprinklings of paying bills, traffic and everyday obligations, Mike and I decided we would get away for the weekend. We packed up our shit and grabbed Olive and headed to my cousin's cabin in Berrien Springs MI for a weekend of drinking, eating my cousin's great homemade food, fishing, 4x4ing, getting in fights with the neighbors, and explaining things to the cops. It was just the thing we needed to recenter and forget about all the bullshit we deal with on a daily basis. We made the drive late Friday night after work and dove right in. Cocktails and bags and 4x4ing, oh my. There were about 8 of us that first night. I made it until about 3:45 (2:45 IL time) and finally couldn't keep my eyes open. I was actually the first one to bed, with the others marching upstairs to the rest of the bunks at about 6 am. The next day didn't start until everyone woke up around 1 pm. My cousin's wife Mandy made us a large scale gourmet breakfast, which we gobbled up to fill our empty stomachs. We talked about the "situation" that occurred after I had gone to bed when the neighbor came down on his tractor to complain; not about the noise, not about the music or the 4x4s per se, but the fact that someone apparently drove on his "5,000$ lawn" (very much a Will Ferral "Big Time Stuff" moment, "I drive a Dodge Stratus!)) Everyone was pretty far gone at that point, but apologized (even though no one actually drove across the lawn) and the neighbor got in his crazy souped up tractor and went back home. Unfortunately, someone decided to give a little shout out to the retreating neighbor which was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back and prompted a call to the local PD. Four squad cars, some "investigating" of the lawn, and a badge flash later, the cops left and everything settled down. After reliving the story and cursing the neighbor Mike took Olive down to play in the water and about half of us went back to bed to sleep away the afternoon.

The evening official started when a few more people arrived (including my good friend Michelle) and Mandy set out to make some Frogmen's stew

After we all gorged ourselves on this incredible meal, we all headed down to the fire. We talked and laughed and stayed out long after the rain started to come down. We reluctantly started trudging back up to the cabin, falling more than once in the mud. We played bags and drank jello shots and road the 4x4s some more. We all began trickling upstairs to bed around 4 am with my cousin being the last man standing. He came upstairs shouting about the sun coming up and how he waved at an early morning fisherman while drinking a beer on the pier.

We all slept until around 1 again and ate another great breakfast. Some of us had to work later in the day and others had other obligations. Mike and I took our time getting ready, packing up and heading home, reluctant to go back to the real world.