One of our favorite places to go in Portland is the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden located in SE Portland’s well-to-do Eastmoreland Neighborhood. The garden is owned and maintained by Portland Parks and Recreation which keeps the entrance fee reasonable at $15 per year for a family pass, $3...

What are the key factors that define your idea of the perfect walking holiday? Is it the place, time, distance, terrain or accommodation? Is it your own particular combination of these, or could it be something entirely different? There’s a lot to think about and many important decisions to make before...

Before we had our daughter, our house, and even before we were married we had our Beagle, Gabby. Our love for the outdoors had us taking Gabby everywhere we went. We took her camping, hiking, kayaking, sailing, and to her favorite place, the Oregon Coast. She could dig in the sand and play fetch in the...

Our First House In 2001 we bought a small starter home in a working class Portland neighborhood with the intentions of fixing it up, selling it in a few years, and buying a bigger house. The typical American dream. Five years later, while everyone else was racing to buy bigger houses before the prices...

We have been doing a lot of research on the different types of accommodations in Europe. We will be starting an around-the-world adventure later this year that will have us in and around Europe for the first year. Since we will be on a tight budget, proper planning is important. Hotels, B&B’s,...

Many visitors to Bali soon realize the important part that festivals play in the lives of the local people. The events, which occur throughout the year, are significant for all the special occasions in Balinese life. In fact, festivals in Bali are part of the cycle of life, and there is usually some...

Last week my brother, Eli, and his 5-year old daughter, Addie, came to visit us. Since they live in a landlocked state, a trip to the Oregon coast was a must. A day trip to the coast is fun, but it feels like you spend your entire day driving back and forth and very little time doing stuff at the beach....

One of the things that I will miss when we leave for our round the world adventure is my local library.  I did not really discover or come to love my local library until after I had Sydney.  Admittedly, before having a child I was one of those people that if I found an interesting book I would just...

Two years ago we visited one of the most amazing places ever; Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Mexico is rich with pre-Columbian history and we were excited to see the Mayan ruins and to enjoy the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. But we were completely wowed by the Mayan structures and would love...

The must see place to visit in Costa Rica is the Arenal Volcano; an active volcano with spectacular lava flows set in a lush tropical rainforest.   So, I was excited when we left Ecoplaya in Costa Rica’s dry Guancaste Province for Arenal.   Arenal embodies the typical vision of Costa Rica with...

Two years ago this month I was playing around on a website that lets you check the availability of website names (domain names). We planned to start a travel blog at some point to document our round the world (RTW) adventure, but it seemed so far away at that point in time. But as I was playing around...

Two nights ago I was in the kitchen when I heard a loud CRACK sound from the living room. I went to the living room and looked around and noticed that the cat had been woken from his nap by the noise and was also looking around. I could not find anything that would have caused that noise and dismissed...