Travel Diary: Alaska

About three months ago I had just finished a book called The Great Alone, which is an amazing novel by Kristin Hannah that takes place in Alaska. The book completely transfixed me and I spent an entire weekend reading it and avoiding all human interaction and responsibilities. ha. After finishing the book, I knew I needed to goto Alaska ASAP. We also have some friends who live in Anchorage that we have been wanting to visit and so we quickly put together an impromptu trip and booked our flights! 

Alaska did not disappoint. Wow. Last week was a complete dream and so refreshing to the soul. The beauty and wildness of Alaska completely mesmerized me and I could sit and stare for hours at the serene mountains, bald eagles out the window, and the wildflowers popping up everywhere. After 2 weeks visiting family in California, it felt so nice to just unplug and relax with nothing to do and nowhere to be. We didn't pack everything in while we were there, we simply did what we wanted to and did rush ourselves. 

What we did:

-We stayed in a city just north of Anchorage called Eagle River. Our first day we drove up to the small towns of Wasilla & Palmer and we went into the cute shops, bought books at a local book store, and just explored!

-Our third day we drove down to Seward, a small fishing town on the Kenai Peninsula. It was a beautiful sunny day (apparently rare for Seward) and the boys hiked up a mountain, while my friend Ashley and I spent the day shopping, walking on the water, and drinking coffee from the cutest cafe's! 

-After a day in Seward, we headed to Homer which was just as cute! Homer is where Summer getaway dreams are made of. The Spit is a narrow peninsula of shops, restaurants, hotels, and condos for rent. It is in the middle of Kachemak Bay and overlooks the most beautiful mountains. I swear, Alaska is magical! 

-In the middle of road tripping, we would stop on the side of the road to explore, take photos, and goof off with our friends. The trip was filled with so many great conversations, realizations, and reflections. 

-GLACIER KAYAKING! The most adventurous thing we did on this trip was kayak in Bear Glacier! This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. There is only one company that has the equipment to get people to Bear Glacier by river boat and they only do this excursions for a couple month out of the year. We spent an hour in a long and bumpy river boat going through the wave-filled ocean to get to a small river where the glacier was. Outside of the glacier was huge icebergs that we got to kayak around. It was extremely cold & rainy the whole trip but it truly was an unforgettable experience. We went through the company, Liquid Adventures, for our trip and I would highly recommend them to anyone! 

What we ate:

Oh boy, we ate, a TON! One fun fact about me is that my favorite food in the entire world is Salmon! I'm not going to lie when I say that I could eat Salmon for every meal! We ate like royalty on the trip and I'm not mad about it one bit. Most days I ate a salad with salmon for lunch and then salmon and veggies again for dinner! It was pretty easy to eat healthy there because most restaurants just offered fresh fish and veggies! 

On top of Salmon, I indulged a bit and got hot mocha's a couple of times, which I never do normally! I try to have as little sugar as possible but it felt nice to indulge a bit on vacation! I also indulged in wine a couple of times while we were spending late dinners overlooking the ocean. I think it is really important to enjoy simple things like a good glass of wine, especially if you hardly ever drink alcohol like me and so it felt nice to treat myself! 

Places I would recommend:

-BEST pizza in Anchorage: Moose's Tooth

-Best coffee shop in Eagle River: Jitters

-Restaurant in Seward: Chinooks

-Restaurant in Homer: Fresh Catch

-Store for Alaska goodies: AK Starfish has the cutest stuff and I got pretty much any salmon-related product they offered! haha 

This trip made me realize that traveling truly is so good for the soul. Traveling gives you a fresh perspective on life, love, and the things your passionate about. I feel so refreshed and restored from this trip! I'm already dreaming about where I want to explore next... 

Here are some photos from the trip! I hope this inspires you for your next travel trip!! 

Koko Head Hike

I've done many hikes here on Oahu but this one was one for the books...

A few weeks ago my friends and I decided to hike up Koko head which is basically just a very steep mountain with over a thousand stairs to climb up. I had heard about this hike so many times but was honestly super intimidated by it! Our friend Alex was in town and wanted to go on a fun adventure and so we thought, why not? It can't be THAT bad. 

It was raining that day which honestly turned out to be a blessing- I can not imagine doing that hike in the sun! The hike in itself wasn't too long but it was STRAIGHT UP. It seemed like we were climbing a ladder at some parts! I think of myself as being in pretty good shape, but dang, it was a rough hike! It is SO worth it and the top is so beautiful but there were definitely times during it that I wanted to give up. 

If you are ever in Oahu and are up for a challenge, I would definitely recommend doing Koko head! You may be super sore the next day but I promise the view at the top is so breathtaking that it easily makes up for it!

I decided to film the hike which was both challenging and hilarious! I am not the great at "vlogging" but I gave it a try! Please let me know if you like "vlogging" and if you would like me to do more of it!! 

Hope you all have an amazing day!!

-Lo

Adventures: Molokai

My adventures and memories from my trip last weekend might be split up in a few blog posts just because it was THAT incredible. I had no idea what to expect going into last weekend... My new friend Heather basically just said, come along! And so I did. 

If you haven't heard of Molokai before, thats probably because most people haven't heard of it. Its one of the Hawaiian islands but it is very small, very bare, and there is little to none tourist attractions there. There are only 5 restaurants on the entire island! Knowing this, I had no idea what the weekend would entail and to be honest, I was kind of nervous. I was going on an 8 person plane, to a basically empty island, with friends I had just met a month ago. A month ago, I would have called that terrifying. Today, I call it an ADVENTURE! 

I've realized recently that adventure kind of works like that. Things that are uncomfortable, scary, and risky often turn out to be our greatest memories. Since moving to Hawaii, I've realized that i've spent the last few years of my life being very comfortable. Of course there were things that terrified me, like starting my own business at 21. But for the most part, I didn't do anything too crazy. Actually, I lost a lot of my creativity that used to flow generously through me. I went to college, went to work, went to church, and got married. I didn't travel a ton, stopped playing music, and rarely got into nature. That all changed when I moved to Hawaii and I am so so thankful. 

So, here's to adventure and the never-ending pursuit of all that God created and all that life has to offer! Enjoy this video documenting our adventures! My friend Lauren made it. She is so talented! 

hugs + kissees,

Lauren

Making New Friends

Since coming to Hawaii, i've been really focussed on getting settled into our new home, building my skincare business, going to yoga school, and starting this blog. Its been a busy and productive few months but one thing I have really missed is quality girl time. I live in a small town and i've found that meeting people isn't as easy as it was in grade school when all my friends were in my class and we would pass notes to each other. I keep in touch with all of my close girlfriends via FaceTime dates but its still not the same. I met a new friend (Heather) on instagram and then another friend (Lauren) while surfing and they happen to be best friends with each other! Us and a few others (including another Lauren) went on a sunrise adventure to one of the prettiest hikes on the island this morning and it was just what I needed! 

Despite the pouring rain that drenched us and mud that seeped into our shoes, we had a blast exploring Gods creation, collaborating on creative ideas, and getting to know each other better. I'm loving these new friends of mine and i'm excited for all of the adventures to come!

Hugs + Kissees,

Lauren