Your next adventure: Sea Kayaking

While Alex and I were on the Olympic Peninsula, we thought it would be awesome to go sea kayaking in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We were right, it was pretty awesome…minus some big waves and choppy water.

Alex was in charge of this adventure, which he booked through Olympic Raft & Kayak. He selected the 2 hour tour, which includes a guide, transportation to the kayaking location, slash gear, your kayak…and plenty of play time with the resident dog, Steve.

The Olympic Raft & Kayak staff was awesome! I forgot my sweater and they managed to find me a warm fleece to borrow, how nice is that? They’ll hang onto your rental car keys and any other valuables you don’t want to risk falling into the ocean, have a great bathroom setup complete with showers, and again…they have Steve.

Steve, to dog, will great you at your car and show you the way…he’s a great dog ambassador for kids (or adults) who are hesitant around dogs. He doesn’t jump on people and all he wants to do is play fetch…so if you start playing with him, expect to continue to play with him. Steve is the best.

But enough about Steve.

Alex and I were on our micro-adventure with a family of four from Chicago and our guide, who grew up in Olympia and goes backpacking and rafting in his spare time. He was really good at answering all of our questions, not making anybody feel like they were stupid (even when I crashed into Alex who then bumped into some rocks. oops), and made sure we were comfortable while trying to get ourselves out of some extra choppy water.

If you ever have the opportunity to go kayaking, especially in the Pacific Northwest, I’m going to highly suggest you go sea kayaking. If you’re like me and uncomfortable (understatement of the year) in water, getting a guided tour is totally worth it. I was more worried about dropping my phone (I use a Lifeproof case – the green one, so I was worried about losing my phone more than getting it wet) than about the act of kayaking because our guide made the whole thing seem doable and safe.

I can’t wait to go kayaking at our local beaches this summer, and hopefully going stand-up paddle boarding!

Things to consider when you go kayaking

Wear sunscreen, bring a hat
Bring a change of shoes, the ones you wear kayaking will most likely get soaked
Dress in layers – it was super windy and cold in the bay so that fleece they lent me was perfect
Go with a friend! That way you’ll both get photos
Ask about conditions before going out if you’re not with a guide
Eat a good meal before going out, there isn’t time to stop for a snack

Do you kayak?
What activity do you want to try this summer?

June 18, 2013 { 6 comments }

Kam goes to: Olympic National Park

Where do I even start with this one? Olympic National Park was Alex’s #1 park to visit since we started this endeavor, and spending a long weekend in the park was exactly what we hoped – magical.

If anybody ever talks about her weekend in Olympic National Park and does use the word magical…well, there is something very wrong with that person. Magical can’t quite capture this multi-environment park. It’s other-wordly. I was able to go from an Alpine mountaintop, to the rainy and secluded coast, and to the moss-covered wonderland of a rainforest.

All in one freaking day.

The clearest way into the Universe
is through a forest wilderness.
-John Muir

We stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Port Angeles, which offers free wifi, free parking, and a free breakfast in the morning. If you’re not concerned with staying in a fancy hotel, this is a great option for you. It even came with a small fridge, so we were able to have “hotel dinner” to help save money.

We started our adventure on Thursday at the Visitor Center on the way to Hurricane Ridge, the rangers were super helpful with letting us know about the closures in the park. One ranger spent quite a bit of time with us, writing out the high tide and low tide times for the next few days, giving us the driving times between different areas of the park, making suggestions for seeing what the park had to offer, and showing us photos she took on her tablet. Honestly one of the best interactions with a ranger we’ve had at any of the parks.

We started our day early on Friday, grabbing a quick breakfast before heading out to Rialto Beach. We spent a few hours on the (really, really wet) beach, exploring the shore, taking photos of the sea stacks, being followed by a few river otters, and chatting with a local about the history of the areas. Magical.

Our adventure didn’t stop there, we had a more proper breakfast in Forks (please see below for my suggestion on dealing with anything having to do with Forks), and then drove to the Hoh Rainforest. The Hoh Rainforest should not be missed…yes, it’s a drive, but it wouldn’t be as magical of a trip if you don’t go there. All I need to say: banana slugs. Because, why wouldn’t you want to drive a couple of hours in search of a banana slug? We did about 5 miles of the Hoh River Trail before stopping for lunch…and the shore called to us again so we decided to check out Ruby Beach. It wasn’t as deserted as Rialto, but it was much drier.

Where to visit on your next weekend in Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge
Hoh Rainforest
Rialto Beach
Ruby Beach
Elwa

I cannot capture the magic that we encountered over the few days we were in the park, so I’ll be back with more posts. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of the photos I took while in Washington. If you don’t, you can find me at @CampfireChic.

Before you go

Check the park website or call the ranger station for closure updates
Get your fill of Mexican food, the area isn’t known for it and the last thing you want to do is be disappointed when trying to satisfy a craving
Bring extra water – I only remember 2 water fountains and neither were water bottle-friendly
If driving from SEA-TAC, load up your phone/music player with some podcasts…it’s a long drive to Port Angeles
Practice saying, “No, I’m not here for the Twilight Tour”

Have you been to Olympic National Park?

June 17, 2013 { 4 comments }

Learning How to Build Top Rope Anchors in Joshua Tree National Park

Alex and I spent last weekend learning how to build top rope anchors in Joshua Tree National Park.

And I have the sunburns to prove it.

What this means is: Alex and I hired a guide to take us into the park and show us how to build different types of anchors for top rope climbing (the kind of rock climbing you do where the rope is at a fixed point above you as you climb…like what you see on cruise ships or at your local rock climbing gym) and to climb a bit. We were paired up with another young climber from the LA area, and the three of us had a blast getting to know each other while also learning a million different kinds of knots. Millions.

I think I love climbing and learning to build these anchors because it’s like a giant puzzle…and because it’s kind of like a grown-up version of Legends of the Hidden Temple…mostly the second one. Placing the gear into cracks you would normally overlook to construct a way to hold some ropes that will keep me safe should I fall sounds super scary (and it is!) but it is also a really incredible feeling knowing that you are able to do something with the gear and make good/safe choices!

Not only did we practice making anchors, we learned how to go from the top of wherever we built our anchor to the bottom where the rope hits the ground! I’ve done some rappelling in the past, but this was way cool because we had to move from one rope to another safely…again, a freaking awesome puzzle. I tried to find a video that would explain what we did, but I can’t…I’ll keep looking.

And what’s a weekend away without eating? We stopped at our favorite Joshua Tree restaurant, Crossroads Cafe, after our first day of class (class went from 8 – 4ish on both Saturday and Sunday) where Alex had the Hell Tacos (spicy Seitan tacos) and a cold beer and I had a BLT with an added chicken breast inside with a side of mac n cheese and some juice. Doesn’t food always taste more amazing after you’ve been outside all day?

We also stopped at a new-to-us place across the street from Crossroads Cafe: Natural Sisters Cafe. Both locations offer vegetarian options, but Natural Sisters has more vegan options and even locally-made Kombucha. They have great juices, smoothies, sandwiches and an awesome spinach and cheese breakfast burrito. If you’re looking for vegetarian options while in this area of the desert, we highly suggest these two locations!

I can’t wait to get back out to Joshua Tree to do some more climbing, but it’ll be too hot until later this year. I’m hoping Alex and I can get up to Big Bear to do some climbing and maybe a few other mini-trips so we can get more experience and meet more climbers.

Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park?
When was the last time you took a weekend to dedicate to learning something new?

May 22, 2013 { 8 comments }

Kam Goes to: Portland, Oregon

You know how I keep mentioning going on adventures?

Alex and I packed our bags Friday night for an early flight last Saturday from LAX to PDX. Yep, we headed up to Portland for a long weekend and didn’t really tell many people about it. Why? Because we didn’t have a solid reason for going other than, “why not?” and because there is a limit to how many times I can listen to somebody tell me how I just have to go to Voodoo Donuts.

Sometimes, you just need to book a flight and get out of town.

It was hot last week in Southern California…like, in the 90s, so we were hoping for gloomy weather in Portland. As the weekend drew near, we saw that it would be in the mid-80s all weekend, which turned out to be perfect for us considering we didn’t rent a car and ended up walking all over the city. A soggy walk in TOMS to find breakfast would not make for a happy-Kam.

We stayed in the Lloyd Center area right across the street from a MAX light-rail stop, which was an awesome deal for getting us to and from the airport ($2.50 per person rather than a $30 cab ride) and in and out of the downtown area. Our hotel was also a few blocks away from a bouldering gym, which was a huge surprise to us and a great way for us to kill some time on Monday before our flight.

Most of our photos of the weekend involved what we ate…can you blame us? It’s nice to find so many restaurants with vegetarian and vegan options without the default veggie burger. We were also thrilled to find out that the craft beers in Portland never cost us more than $3.50 a pint. That would be out of the question in our neck of the woods…oh, and no sales tax? AWESOME.

We had breakfast at:

Milo’s City Cafe (Irvington)
Byways Cafe (Pearl District)
J Cafe (Lloyd District)

We enjoyed lunch and dinner at:

Sizzle Pie (Downtown)
Frank’s Noodle House (Broadway District)
McMenamins at Kennedy School (Near Alberta District)

What did we actually do? We walked around a ton, visited Powell’s bookstore, hit a few comic book stores, hunkered down at Ground Kontrol classic arcade and bar, spent the morning at the Portland Saturday Market, I drank plenty of iced coffee and iced tea, watched lots of basketball, went climbing at Circuit Bouldering Gym, and spent even more time walking.

Have you been to Portland?
If you were to book a long weekend right now, where would you go?

May 9, 2013 { 21 comments }

3 Reasons to Go Camping This Weekend

The nice weather in Southern California always has me thinking, “should I book a campsite for the weekend? I could use a night under the stars”. I mean, few things beat going to bed all snuggly in a sleeping bag and waking up with the birds to a new day full of possibilities and the promise of a much deserved hot breakfast.

Maybe you feel the same?

Maybe you need a little bit more convincing? Don’t worry, I have 3 reasons why you should go camping this weekend:

You need to take a break

Earlier this week, I received a newsletter with the subject line: Are you feeling overwhelmed? My answer, “YES”, and then, of course, I had to quote 10 Things I Hate About You and ask myself, “can you ever just be whelmed?” Funny enough, I was on vacation while I was reading it and my answer was still a big yes. I’m the type to work myself to the bone so I can conquer my to do list. But you know what? Working constantly doesn’t lead to a balanced life. It’s time to take a break. A break from your cubicle, a break from soccer practices, a break from technology.

Shake off that cabin fever

It’s starting to get to you, isn’t it…the rooms seem smaller, you’re tired of looking at the same pile of laundry, and your Netflix queue is pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel. It’s time to pack up the car and head out of town. Leave cell service behind, set up camp, and tell that cabin fever to hit the road.

You’re a creative person and seeing the same things over and over again may feel like it’s dampening your spirit. Get into the fresh air and step out of your comfort zone (unless you’re extra comfortable outdoors)…this weekend away could be exactly what you need to recharge your system.

Still snowy in your neck of the woods? I have a few tips for beating cabin fever without leaving home.

Things taste better when cooked outside

This may sound silly, but think of the last time you ate a burger from your barbecue versus a burger cooked on your home stove. There’s a giant difference, yes? The same goes for what you cook at your campsite! Maybe there’s magic in the air.

The thought of cooking while camping may make your stomach sink with the thought of sad hot dogs and instant oatmeal, but when you are car camping you can do some fantastic things! Some favorite Campfire Chic camping recipes include: