Yellowstone Vacation Recap (with pictures!!!)

We're back!

If you haven't seen on my Instagram, I took a trip to Yellowstone National Park two weeks ago.  After a killer week back at work and our awesome Demo Day (congratulations to my awesome students on graduating!!), I've finally got some time to upload some photos and share a bit!

The Window Boxes of Charleston

During our summer vacation in Charleston, I was taken by the many charming window boxes on the houses downtown.  You could tell that they were tended to constantly, and I imagine that their gardeners took great pride in them.  I started taking pictures for future inspiration.  Aren't they beautiful?

Tree Climbing at Panola Mountain State Park

My mother-in-law bought some Amazon Local coupons so that all us kids could do an assisted tree climbing at Panola State Park.  Now I know what you're thinking.  "Assisted tree climbing?  That sounds super lame.  Why can't you just climb the trees like normal?"  I hear ya; I was thinking the exact same thing, but believe me when I say that this was much cooler than you'd expect.

Travel Destination: Atlanta Treehouse

This tree house looks unbelievable!  Seriously, can you believe it's in the center of Atlanta?

A Fox Village in Japan!

Mark this on the list of places I need to visit before I die.

Zao Fox Village in Japan!

via RocketNews24 via Matome

Recommended for February

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. - Mother Theresa

Hobbit fan?  Check this out.  Fans + actors reacting to each other.

Jason Brown's energetic Nationals performance that secured him a spot on the USA's figure skating team

Vieques Honeymoon: Wrap up

Really, I just want to show you pictures of these little guys.

Listen to this 20 second clip of coquis singing while you read on.  Here that high pitched chirp that sounds like "coqui?"  That's them!

Vieques Honeymoon: The Beaches and the Jungle

There isn't tons to do on Vieques.  There aren't any clubs or movie theaters or anything like that.  There are plenty of beaches, though, each a little different from the others.  And there is the jungle.  It's not a rainforest, mind you, but there are trees and iguanas and mongooses and vines and huge wasp nests.

I didn't get a chance to dig very deep into the jungle, but we did find some sugar mill ruins among the trees.  If you take the roads to the western side of the radar, park right where the road splits to the radar and goes into the woods.  In the triangle section of the Y, beyond a few trees, you'll find paths that wind around remarkable tree trunks and that weave between vines like hair.  There are ruins there, great concrete structures that look like they were once important.  Caleb and I arrived just at dusk, and we didn't have much time before we could hardly see anything.  The canopy is so thick and the vines are so everywhere that not much light gets through to where we were at the ruins.  If you can make it during the day, you'll have a great adventure.  Don't forget the bug spray!

See all the vines hanging down?  It was so cool!  And about halfway into the picture, you can see some stone pillars from the ruins.

Vieques Honeymoon: The Bioluminescent Bay

There's a bay on Vieques that's different from most in the world.  It is home to bioluminescent creatures called dinoflagellates.  They glow at night when they move.  We took a nighttime kayak tour to the bay and got to see the magic in action.

Caleb tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn out at all.  In lieu of original content, let me show you these pictures of a similar phenomenon in the Maldives.

Photography by Will Ho via Colossal

Vieques Honeymoon: The Ceiba Tree

When looking up things to do on Vieques, I learned of this huge, old, magnificent tree.  There weren't great directions anywhere, so I was worried that we wouldn't find it, but it was actually hard to miss it!  Driving toward the pier from the airport, it's right on your right after a while in a field.  There is a little hut with informational signs nearby, and then there is the tree.  No fence, wild horses nearby, and The Tree.

Vieques Honeymoon: Prequel

Caleb and I got married in September when we had just gotten jobs and just started getting money in our bank accounts.  Given the options of a honeymoon within our state directly after the wedding and a honeymoon in Puerto Rico two months later, we saved for the splurge.  And it was worth it.

So I don't overwhelm one post with all my pictures and information, I'm going to be breaking things up so they'll be easier to digest for the curious.  To give you an overview, I've made a short teaser video and a brief summary of the highlights.

Highlights include: seeing my old home from the airplane, taking a nighttime kayak trip to the bioluminescent bay, meeting a barracuda while snorkeling, being the only ones on the beach for most of our beach trips, laughing with and trying to understand the pool maintenance guy who made fun of my Spanish, a full day of reading at our house, making 4 trips to the street food stand selling garlic BBQ pinchos, and having a mountaintop two-building house with a private pool and a view of the island all to ourselves.

Click below to see my other posts and recommendations for traveling Vieques:

Where we stayed
Where we ate
 The Ceiba Tree
The Bioluminescent Bay
The Beaches and the Jungle
The Coquis

I've Been Away. Here's a quick update!

November ended up being much busier than I anticipated.  For one thing, when you're leaving work for a week, the preparation leading up to your vacation can be intense.  I hardly got to take any time for myself that week, but it was completely worth it when Caleb and I found ourselves on the island of Vieques for a week.

This was our house!

Technically, those are pictures of the back and front yard, but they do the trick.

Caleb and I rented a house called Casa dos Cuervos.  I'll write more about it later, but this is a quick update, so I need to keep moving.  For now, I can tell you it was amazing and you would love it.  I promise.

When we returned, Caleb and I had a week and a half of work before leaving again for his family's Thanksgiving in Florida.  The milder weather was very welcome, the folks were friendly and funny, and the food was just right.  I made my mom's dressing and it got great reviews, mostly because it includes bacon.

Now I've got Christmas on the brain, and I'm very glad to see myself excited about it.  Last year's season was very difficult and frustrating because I wasn't ready to be back in America and I felt like Christmas in general was just an ugly display of consumerism and superficiality.  2013 brings our first Christmas as a married couple, our first small tree, getting to pick which new traditions to start, and for-real branching out as a new family.  I'm excited, and, frankly, I'm glad I have Caleb as my husband this year.

Next on my docket:

Buying Christmas presents

Figuring out what to take for a party appetizer

A wintery date to include picking a tree and possibly a Snuggler

Seeing The Hobbit with my sister

Hosting a Christmas dinner for the young adults in our combined families

Figuring out what to have for Christmas Eve dinner

Christmas!!

What do you have going on these days?  Did you have a great November?

Recommended for the Traveler

When I look at friends' travel pictures, I also hope they have shots of the markets.  I love those pictures.  The open air markets of other countries always seem so alive and dangerous.  They make me think of Agraba in Alladin and all of the places I want to visit.

People have made Pinterest boards for these pictures!!

Markets &Street Food

World Markets

Also, I recommend checking out the Pinterest profile of the new Little Market from Lauren Conrad.

What things do you like to see when you visit new places?  Besides the open air markets and kitsch shops, I definitely hunt down local food and some interactions with strangers.

A Quick Update on My Situation

Well, after much worry, prayer, an epiphany, and a decision, then some chickening out and a little more resolve, today I will tell my supervisor that I will extend my contract for 5 more months!  I'll be home by Christmas, I'll make a bit more money, I'll get to be with my loved ones here a bit more before never seeing them again, and I'll get to stay in my favorite city for a little longer.  I'll also get to enjoy the edge of another frigid winter, I'm sure, but I'll see one more full summer and fall, too.

And, 'cause maybe you're wondering, my boyfriend's support remains strong and caring.  Both of us are feeling the weight and the burdens of our long distance relationship, but we're still going strong.  And, he'll be visiting in two weeks for 12 days.  I'm so excited.  :)

Also, I've redone the blog layout.  I like its cleaner and brighter mood,  but I'd love to hear what you think.

I hope you all are doing well!  Thanks for checking in and for supporting me through this whole adventure.  You guys have been great, and I'm so grateful for your encouragement to keep on and to not leave any opportunity wasted.

Here's what the street looks outside my school now, by the way.  The cherry blossom trees are all over spreading their loveliness.  The large cherry blossom festival was last week.  These sakura trees are celebrated so much.  I really like that.