A Christmas Road Trip

It has been a few years since I have had the privilege of a quiet Christmas at home with family. Instead, the season of late has entailed long car rides and desperate attempts to find open gas stations and food joints on Christmas Day. 

This year, while we did get to be with family (on both sides, I might add!), we did have to travel. It was not all bad and we saw a few different States, but I am looking forward to a traditional and quiet Christmas sometime soon!

Our trip actually started in Tennessee, but we didn't really document it. Chatanooga was as beautiful as ever. The warm Florida sun was a nice change from the cold Winter we left behind. We revisited the Kennedy Space Center, saw some pretty lakes, and enjoyed time with family.

I also saw my very first snake in person - and it was far enough away that I didn't faint, crack my head open and make it easy for it to eat me #irrationalfears 

We can definitely talk about this giant mug I got for Christmas. HOW GREAT IS IT?! Funny story, I actually got two! Everyone must really know I love huge mugs :)

New Orleans was not my favourite city, but there were a few interesting things to see; the architecture and Mississippi River to name a few. We even went on a steamboat ride, which was quite the adventure. But pray for New Orleans.

Galveston was terribly foggy the day we went but was still a sight to behold. It turned into a dolphin-sighting chase when some fishermen told my in-laws they had seen some. We ended up driving to a few different spots to see what we could see, but there were none to be found. 

And what is a trip to Texas without stopping at the Silos?! I made an extra excursion of 6 hours with my mother-in-law and met up with a friend in Waco. Magnolia was everything I dreamed of - and more; it was totally worth it.  

Two weeks on the road made us truly appreciate being home. As much as we enjoy roadtrips, we were glad to be back safely in the end.

Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico

Winter getaways are always welcome for us. We have made it a tradition to get out of the cold every year and go someplace warm. This last cold season, we actually made 3 trips, but one of our most memorable was Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving. It was perfectly green and lush, and because we opted on going the local route, we felt that our trip was also educational. Thought I would share some of the highlights on the blog. 

It was fun riding in a plane together. In our 5 year relationship, this was only the third time traveling by plane together - which is really ironic since we were long distance. I guess we only traveled to see the other person in a plane, never with. Huh.

The views were breathtaking! 

Aibonito was fun to see - a really cool place to visit.

Not going to lie, I do not remember which beach this was since we saw so many!

Rincón is a hot spot for surfers and the waves didn't seem too disappointing. Some highlights we saw were Antigua Planta Nuclear, Maria's Beach (not pictured), Punta Higuero Light and Balneario de Rincón.

Finding this spot was definitely the highlight of our trip. There was a rope to swing into the pool, and it was a lot warmer than I had anticipated. We didn't take too many pictures because we were having way too much fun swimming around to take more pictures, but that doesn't bother us at all. 

Old San Juan and the fort El Morro (a 17th-century Spanish fort) were pretty cool to see too. The views were spectacular and totally worth the climb in the hot sun. This iguana seemed to be enjoying his little perch too. Do you see him up there?

Have you ever been to Puerto Rico?