Most of the wineries we visited had a $10 tasting fee that was waived with purchase. No one minded if we split a tasting and more often than not we also had a chance to try a few extra unlisted...
Blog posts from USA Travel
Istanbul 2015: 20 hours in Chicago
Chicago's blue line makes it relatively straightforward to get from the airport to downtown, and after one transfer and a few blocks walk we were at the Park Hyatt an hour or so after we had landed....
Wild West 2015: Bozeman, MT
We only had about 18 hours in Bozeman, but that was plenty of time to enjoy several spots downtown. Bozeman Brewing - Open until 8p, we got in with about 40 minutes to spare. I sampled the Berliner...
Wild West 2015: Yellowstone (day 4)
After a morning spent in Grand Teton, we began our drive north to Bozeman, through Yellowstone. We had already seen much of the scenery from the South Entrance to Canyon Village on previous days but...
Wild West 2015: Grand Teton Park & Jackson, Wyoming
Monday We spent roughly 24 hours in Grand Teton, and we were really amazed at the sights in the park. First of all, the mountains are amazingly picturesque and can be seen from just about anywhere...
Wild West 2015: Yellowstone (day 3)
We were up with the sunrise and decided to walk the Geyser Hill loop before breakfast. Only a few other people were out, so it was quiet and peaceful, with quite a bit of steam and colored pools. We...
Wild West 2015: Yellowstone (Day 2)
We decided to make the famous Old Faithful geyser our first stop for the morning, so we walked over from our cabin ~20 minutes beforehand to find a nice viewing angle. Thankfully we had enough...
Wild West 2015: Yellowstone (Day 1)
We arrived at the West Yellowstone park entrance around 4:30pm where entry was quick and painless with our airport-purchased pass. It doesn't take long for Yellowstone to welcome you - 20 minutes...
Wild West 2015: Introduction
Yellowstone National Park has been a destination of interest to us for years, and during the snowstorms of winter 2015 we had some time to research and book a trip using Delta miles. We decided on...
New Mexico 2014: Santa Fe to Taos
Sunday morning we woke to beautiful fall morning, so after a filling breakfast we got back in the car and drove the High Road to Taos. The road is well sign-posted and offers beautiful views. As an...
New Mexico 2014: Albuquerque to Santa Fe
Our main destination for Saturday night was Santa Fe. By interstate it would take about an hour; but taking scenic backroads and making stops at several spots turned it into an all day exploration....
Memory Monday: Canyon Road art galleries
On our last morning in New Mexico we filled up on a great buffet breakfast and walked a few yards to the start of Canyon Road to admire some of the galleries. I think Eric had assumed there would be...
New Mexico 2014: breweries
Le Cumbre Brewing (Albuquerque) — Our first beer stop in ABQ after checking into our hotel. The bartender was very friendly and the East African Karibu Cafe food truck's pork curry was amazing. The...
New Mexico 2014: overview
We've wanted to visit New Mexico for some time, but good airfare deals between NC and NM have been rather rare, so we used some Southwest points to fly out for a long weekend. Our hope was that...
Three Weddings in August
After not having been to a wedding in over two years we found ourselves with three in one month this August! Thankfully one was local and the other two involved family, so we got to visit with lots...
Sonoma County: where we ate (and drank beer)
There are lots of great places to eat and drink (outside of the plethora of wineries) and we visited a few interesting places on this trip. Santa Rosa Belly Left Coast Kitchen - Planning to go to...
Sonoma County: Russian River Valley wine tasting
Porter Creek Vineyards -- On our second visit to this charming tasting room we had an equally lovely visit. Jonathan was a friendly host full of suggestions and stories. Given the small tasting room...
Sonoma County: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley wine tasting
Though we have been to Sonoma County a few times now, we really hadn't explored the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, so on this trip we set out to remedy that issue. Zinfandel is king here and you...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)