United States Archives - Page 8 of 10

A Weekend in Yosemite National Park

I’m reading my last post on my stay in Yosemite and I can’t believe I forgot to mention our flooded tent situated on one of the park’s campgrounds. It was October 2014 and one of the last weather-allowable weekends to camp and explore the national park. We had no idea there would be a downpour on our first night’s stay so we foolishly opted not to put the rain cover on our tent. When my boyfriend and I got back to our campsite that night, we discovered about a foot of water in our tent had drenched our pillows, mat, and blankets. We slept in our friend’s SUV that night, barely sleeping a wink.

3 Days at BottleRock 2016

Stevie Wonder, Florence + the Machine, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s no wonder the festival sold out for the first time in four years.

Napa provided the perfect backdrop for a music, wine, and food festival. Who knew you could see top musicians and top chefs (Gordon Ramsay and Iron Chef Morimoto were there) at one event? I loved that the fairgrounds weren’t too expansive so you never had to walk too far to get to your next destination. Perhaps even more of a plus was the lack of young hooligans. The festival’s audience skewed a bit more mature than most festivals, which equaled less unnecessary yelling, pushing, and puking.

Thanksgiving Weekend Down the California Coast

We wanted to get away for the Thanksgiving long weekend without breaking the bank and decided on Santa Barbara since neither of us had visited before. We stayed in a quaint Airbnb just a five minute drive from bustling downtown SB, which was just the right amount of time to hit up all of the town’s hot spots: its historic county courthouse, the pier, Mission Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

New Experience: Outside Lands 2015

It was 3 days of magical music, delicious eats, and all walks of life.

Music: Elton John. ELTON JOHN. He is the main reason why I had to go – “Tiny Dancer” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” were pivotal songs in my adolescence. He absolutely surpassed my expectations; what a spectacular voice and performer. Other faves: G-Eazy, Mumford and Sons, the Black Keys, Sam Smith, DJ Mustard, Porter Robinson, ODESZA.