Puerto Rico: East Coast (Icacos Island)

    To conclude our road trip around the island we decided to pay Icacos Island a visit.  Our visit to this little island off the coast of Fajardo was actually a first for both of us. You see, my family's go-to island off of Fajardo has always been Culebra (which is, hands down, my favorite place in the world). However, we were unable to find a spot on the ferry that morning. A local fisherman heard us talking to the ferry terminal officer and mentioned that he was actually heading to Icacos in about an hour with some friends and he had space in his boat for two more. Now, we normally don't accept "rides" from strangers but in the spontaneous spirit of adventure we said yes.   After grabbing a quick breakfast at the bakery down the street, we met up with Alexis and his friends at Las Croabas,  paid about $20 to help with fuel, and off we went.

    As soon as we spotted Icacos from our little boat we knew we had made the right choice... it was paradise.   Definitely an island I wouldn't mind getting marooned in.  Our friend, the fisherman, dropped all of us off on the shore (there is no dock so you have to jump right in) and off he went. We knew we had about five hours before he came back for us so we split ways, his friends off to go spear fishing and Sean and I in search of the nearest shade to leave our stuff and jump back in the water.

    Since this was sort of our farewell to our amazing adventure we just took it all in.  Swam and played in the ocean till out fingers and toes were all wrinkly, napped under the palm trees, relaxed in the tide pools, and walked around the island exploring its many beaches.  It was the most perfect way to conclude the most amazing adventure. 

We'll be back.

San Francisco

Last week Melissa and I headed to the West Coast to get a taste of the city by the bay and to enjoy some much-needed sister time.  Unfortunately, Adriana wasn't able to join us on this one but hopefully next year will include all three Torres girls.  Some of these pictures will be familiar to those of you who follow me on Instagram, but I liked them so much I decided to share them on here as well. Just a warning, this is a very picture-heavy post, hope you guys don't mind. Here is a summary of our five-day adventure in San Francisco:

Thursday

After flying into SFO at around 8:30am we headed downtown, checked in at the Chancellor Hotel, freshened up, and headed back out. There was no time to loose. Because of the location of our hotel (right on Union Square), we were within walking distance to many of our must-see locations on our list. Our first stop? Chinatown. From there we roamed the whole city, with map in hand, finding sight after sight... Little Italy (where I had the BEST gelato to date... Blackberry Cabarnet), Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Grace Cathedral, and back to Union Square. By the end of it all we were too tired to even dress up for dinner. We ended up just walking a couple doors over to Lori's Diner for a hearty meal in our most comfortable clothes. To say we were spent after our first day would be a complete understatement. 

Friday

If we thought Thursday was exhausting we were definitely in for a treat.  We ate a quick breakfast at the cafe next to the hotel and to Fisherman's Wharf we went. Once there, we rented bikes and embarked on my favorite biking adventure to date. Our first stop was Pier 39 where we checked out the fruit market, all the cool little shops, and the famous sea lions. Afterwards, we followed the downtown coast all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Riding our bikes over the bridge was quite the experience. The wind gusts were so strong that we were propelled forward for most it thus making the ride definitely less strenuous but all the more terrifying (for me anyways, since heights are my absolute worst enemy).  The view was so beautiful, and our destination even more so. Definitely worth it. We rode into Sausalito just in time for dinner and some more exploring.  Instead of biking back to the city we followed the advice of the locals and took the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf. Best decisions of our lives... I don't think our legs would've survived the journey back. 

Saturday

My favorite day in San Francisco. 

One of our closest friends from college and her husband drove all the way from Santa Cruz to meet up and to explore the other side of the bay with us. We drove across the bridge and through very winding roads to Muir Woods where we walked along the magnificent redwoods.  From there we drove up to the very foggy Mount Tamalpais, down to Stinson Beach, and all along the cliffs of Shoreline Highway. Truly a breathtaking experience and the perfect way to spend the Sabbath... surrounded by nature in all its splendor and absolutely amazing company.  After sunset we headed back to the city for dinner at Belga and more gelato at Cafe Greco where we stayed until they closed for the night.  

Sunday

This was probably the first day we actually slept in. We only had a couple places left on our "Must See" list so we just relaxed for a bit.  From our Laurel Heights Airbnb room we walked to a small Brazilian cafe for breakfast and then we made our way to the Palace of Fine Arts. We concluded our day with a visit to the Painted Ladies in  Alamo Square and the Mosaic Steps. 

Monday

Our last day.

We woke up fairly early because we had two things left on our list... to ride a famous San Francisco cable car and to pay Ghirardelli Square a visit.  We were pretty excited about it but unfortunately a million other people had the same idea.  After trying to jump on the Powell-Hyde cart for a ride and being told it was too full time and time again, we gave up and went to get some brunch a nearby cafe. We were a little disappointed about not being able to cross off all the locations on our list but here is to next time.  Back at the airport we said goodbye to the beautiful city of San Francisco and to each other (Melissa continued her adventure to LA and I came back home to the Midwest). 

With Sausalito (our destination) in the distance...

The view from the "other side".

Thank you San Francisco for the amazing memories and your beautiful sights! 

You have become my favorite city to date.

Check our our trip's hashtag #MnMTakeSanFran on Instagram for more pictures!

Charleston Anniversary Trip pt. 2

The first thing we did when we arrived to Charleston on Sunday was a sailing trip on The Schooner Pride.  It was such a perfect way to kick off our little vacation! The weather was absolutely perfect that day... 80 degrees of sunshine and blue skies.  There were so many playful dolphins too! They were a bit too quick and spontaneous for a picture but we have a bit of video footage of them and their cuteness. Once we docked we went back to the apartment, ordered takeout, and chilled on the couch... the drive from Wisconsin had officially taken a toll and we were ready to recharge. After all, we still had two full days of exploring ahead of us. 

    On our last full day in Charleston we decided to drive out 15 minutes to the Boone Hall Plantation. This late 1600s plantation is the very same one that inspired many of Gone with the Wind's scenes/sets and where The Notebook was filmed (AKA Allie's house). The drive in through the "Avenue of Oaks" (the nearly one-mile rows of oak trees originally planted in 1743) is absolutely stunning and so whimsical. After taking it all in it was decided that our future home must have big oak trees with Spanish moss on them. 

Charleston Anniversary Trip pt. 1

    About a week ago Sean and I embarked on one of our longest road trips to date... a seventeen hour car ride to the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina.  This trip came about when we decided to celebrate our six years of togetherness a month earlier this year because of our busy schedule for April.  After surviving a very brutal winter up here in Wisconsin, Charleston truly became paradise the minute we drove in. With its temperature in the 80s, sunshine, palm trees, and the Atlantic Ocean, how could it not?

   We stayed in a beautiful upstairs apartment inside of a late Victorian château in the Historic District.  Located just two blocks from the famous King Street and within walking distance to the docks.  The day after we got there Sean had a big project to finish so I got to do a bit of solo exploring. That mostly consisted of quite a bit of shopping at the City Market and checking out a couple art galleries. When I got back to the apartment the project had been submitted so Sean was ready to explore and I was more than eager to show him around. I put on the dress I had just bought a couple hours before and we set out for a stroll on the boardwalk. We got to see Rainbow Row, explore some alleys (seriously, even the alleys are breathtaking), and catch a stunning sunset. After dinner at the Fleet Landing we just walked around till the wee hours of the morning.  You can be sure no morning alarm was set for the next day.