On a bit of a whim we decided to head to Joshua Tree to spend some time doing drugs… I’m just kidding. We didn’t do any drugs, we did go to Joshua Tree National Park. I’m actually kind of embarrassed by this but prior to us getting there, I didn’t know it was a National … More Joshua Tree, CA

So two nights at our fist campground, and it’s moving day. Today we moved a little north along the coast to Big Sur Campground. We stopped along the way at the Big Sur Bakery for breakfast. Breakfast consisted of the three egg pizza with bacon. It was pretty incredible. After breakfast we drove to our … More Big Sur, CA – Part Two

We started Big Sur a little differently. Tara has spent weeks with head in guide books, maps, online, and asking friends searching for campgrounds and trying to figure where we’re going to be next…. But not this time friend… nope. In a true effort to make this week as enjoyable and stress free as we … More Our Big Sur Vacation

Driving to Sequoia didn’t take long. We stopped really quickly in some little town for Murphy to run around at a park, and for Tara and I to grab lunch. We stopped at a place called Crabbie Cakes I think? Whatever, it wasn’t that bad of a place, Tara, Murphy and I sat on the … More Sequoia & Kings Canyon

…Not really, but for awhile that’s how Tara thought it was pronounced. We woke up the next day having been treated to an onslaught of fantastic natural wine the night before, although, as Alex had promised… no hangover. Why, natural wine, no additives. Perfect, it’s only that we’re exhausted because we were up all night. … More Yosemite…Pronounced Yo-Suh-Mite

Outside of passing through the area, stopping in San Francisco was by design so that we could catch up with our friends with Claire and Alex who used to live in Boston. I worked with Claire at TripAdvisor, until just over a year ago, when I talked her over the ledge and convinced her that … More San Francisco & the Bay Area

We knew we’d be stopping in San Francisco while on the West Coast, and while camping, the outdoors/hiking, and not showering don’t really pair well with vineyards and wine tasting, we knew we wouldn’t be able to pass up on spending some time in Napa Valley if we were going to be this close. We … More Our intro to Wine Country: Napa Valley

Redwoods to… along the coast? Or so we thought. During our drive south from the Redwoods we stopped to grab a coffee and while perusing for a snack, Tara came across this really weird Bigfoot display. There were a bunch of news paper clippings and photos of Bigfoot sightings, but they were displayed in what appeared … More Finding Bigfoot and the Northern Cali Coast

Heading out of Crater Lake and on to California and the Redwoods. Along the way, Tara and I stopped in Grant’s Pass, OR. The only reason that I knew that Grant’s Pass existed, is that it’s one of two locations for Off The Map Tattoo. I got my “Birdnard” (as Tara calls it) tattoo at … More On to Big Trees… The Redwoods

1.Being able to call a loss a loss, especially if it’s your fault. Last summer when we went backpacking through Shenandoah National Park, on our last day I decided to use prop our camera tripod in on a rock next to a river to take a picture of us. Just as Derek was telling me what a … More Tara’s Lessons Learned…so far.