Partying Broadway Style!

When Lindsay and I took our honeymoon we had a nightmare of an experience at the Houston airport. We were delayed by HOURS and it made the whole ordeal miserable. A few months later while working in Montana we received a letter from the airline saying that we had $400 credit as a result of the delays...thus started our newlywed New York Adventure. The minute I received the letter I began planning a trip to the Big Apple. I surprised Lindsay a few weeks before her birthday by telling her we were all set to go. Because we didn't have a lot of money, and because Manhattan is not cheap, we had to spend most of our nights at the Americana Hostel in Midtown. However, the day of Lindsay's birthday we decided to splurge and went crazy Broadway Style! We got a room at the incredible Hotel QT which is an ultra modern boutique hotel right in Times Square. We both got decked out in the nicest cloths we had and hit the town. The first stop was Times Square to take in the sights, sounds and overall feel of this incredible place. Next we found a quite little Italian restaurant in the theatre district. The restaurant was small and when we saw how busy they were we started walking out but were quickly stopped by the owner who told us he had a table. We ended up sharing a pasta dinner in a quite and charming place...it was perfect. After that we topped off the night by heading to the Majestic Theatre for the evenings performance of "The Phantom of the Opera." Although we were young and didn't have a lot of money; for one night we got to live the NYC high life by partying BROADWAY STYLE!

Madrid in 24 hours:

Lindsay and I had one night to spend in Madrid, Spain on our 2008 Middle East/Africa trek. We took a flight from Tangier, Morocco to Madrid and had about 24 hours before we caught an early morning flight. Lindsay had spent time there during a European backpacking trip after high school but this was my first time to this unbelievable city. We started by catching the efficient Metro at the airport and took it right into the "centro district." First stop was the magnificent Royal Palace and then we made our way through the winding streets to the Plaza Mayor. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the Middle East and Northern Africa this city seemed so calm, quite and organized. The only thing that tainted the experience at all was that the dollar was incredibly week compared to the Euro so this was quite the shock:) After taking in the sites of the old city we made our way to Parque del Buen Retiro (a huge park) to stroll along with the locals watching the late afternoon turn into evening. Once the sun was down we went back to the main shopping districts and just took in the scene. We would chill for a minute, hit up a cafe, and then pick another place to stop and people watch. The architecture, temperature and overall vibe was a perfect and relaxing way to end an incredible long and adventurous trek. At around midnight we caught one of the last Metro trains back to the airport and spent the night sleeping on the cold hard floor with our backpacks (can't afford a hotel with the Euro so strong). Madrid is incredible and a city that deserves weeks of time to explore as opposed to 24 short hours, however, we loved every minute of our time there.

Bozeman In a Day:

On one of our MANY trips up to Montana Lindsay and I decided to spend a beautiful spring day in one of the coolest small towns in America: Bozeman, Montana. The 2 hour drive from our ranch in Dillon was absolutely spectacular! The valleys were green and the mountain peaks were bright white with snow. When we arrived in Bozeman we went immediately to the mountain village of Big Sky. Highway 191 or "Gallatin Road" follows a beautiful river and winds through the canyon before opening up to grand Lone Peak. After taking in the views we were interrupted by a spring thunder storm so we headed back to Bozeman to check out downtown. For such a small city Bozeman sports one of the most vibrant downtown's in all the west. There are tonz of restaurants, shops, historic buildings, etc. After strolling along we had worked up an appetite and decided to hit up a local favorite: MacKenzie River Pizza Company. After a great day of chillin we headed back to the ranch and made it just in time to see the sunset over the Pioneer mountains...to put it simply; we LOVE Bozeman Montana.

Bike Ride in Bocas Del Toro:

On the Caribbean side of Panama near the Costa Rica border lies one of the funkiest places Lindsay and I have ever been: Bocas Del Toro. This small island has one town called "Bocas" and then everything else is basically dirt roads, beaches, etc. It has a really unique Caribbean feel with colorful buildings, unique people and sunny beaches. While there me and Lindsay stayed in a beautiful guesthouse that had recently been opened by an American women. The hotel was about 45 minutes outside the town and sat high upon a hill overlooking the ocean (I will definitely write more about Hotel La Coralina in another post). The owner rented beach cruisers to the guests and one sunny day Lindsay and I decided to take a ride. We were told about this fantastic swimming hole on the northern end of the island so we decided to go explore. The ride was absolutely beautiful; the dirt road hugged the ocean and the only other people on it were local villagers, children on horses and the dogs that decided to follow us. Every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of the incredible coastline through the thick trees. We would also stop along the way to see if we could spot any "sloths" in the trees and we did eventually end up seeing one. After about a mile of bike riding we came to this small farm house with a gate. Just as we had been told two young kids came running out, we gave them $1 and they opened the gate so that we could ride through their property. Then after another 1/2 hour of riding we finally found the totally secluded swimming hole and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, snorkeling and taking in this totally undiscovered island paradise. By sunset we were riding back to the guesthouse along the beautiful and winding country road.

Petra, Jordan: City of Stone

For most people in the world the desert landscape around southern Jordan is absolutely unique. However, if you ever ever been to Moab Utah then you know exactly what the area around Petra Jordan looks like. Although the scenery is the same the Bedouin people, camels and cities carved in stone make this place truly unique. Lindsay and I arrived in Petra in late afternoon after a very long taxi ride from Amman (about 3 hours). We arrived in the small village of Wadi Musa and couldn't wait to make the 30 minute hike down into the stone city of Petra. This amazing place was built by the Nabataeans in the 3rd century BC. They carved Temples, palaces and tombs into the red desert cliffs. The area was made famous because the main building is were Indian Jones and the last crusade was filmed. The hike from Wadi Musa down into Petra looks like the "narrows" hike in southern Utah. There is a narrow trail in between tall red and orange cliffs. After what seems like forever the trial finally opens up and you are looking straight at the most magnificent of all of Petra's buildings: The Treasury. When we arrived the evening light was just perfect and we were absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the magnificent structure that stood before us. Not only was the building beautiful but the camels, horses, donkeys and local children playing made the scene truly unique. We spent the rest of the evening exploring the treasury and taking in this amazing place. The next 2 days of our trip were devoted to hiking around and exploring all of the other buildings and sites. We will never forget this one-of-a-kind place.