Monthly Archives: December 2014

Big Basin Redwood State Park

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

Once we approached Santa Cruz, we were so close to home.  But I didn’t want to go home. Not yet.  I wanted to take Scromp to the giant redwood trees of Big Basin Redwood State Park, up in the Boulder Creek wilderness. … Continue reading →

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Highway 1

Posted on December 25, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

I’ll admit it–I’m a terrible Californian.  Having grown up in the Bay Area and gone to school in Orange County for 2 years, I really have no excuse to justify why I’ve never seen the famous central California coastline all along … Continue reading →

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San Diego

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

In addition to seeing some familiar faces of friends in San Diego, we enjoyed our holiday–where else? At the beach!  Oh, Pacific Ocean, how I’ve missed you so! First, some pelicans in Coronado were kind enough to let me get this close … Continue reading →

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Heading West

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

A farewell to the Gila Cliff Dwellings meant a farewell to New Mexico, and off to Arizona we went.  Like Utah’s scenic route 24, New Mexico’s Interstate 10 spoiled us with vast, rugged desert eye candy. Although the drive was long … Continue reading →

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Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

Hands down, traveling > vacation.  No planning, no such thing as “last minute.” We only plan as far as the campground for the next evening–nothing more than that–because flexibility is priceless.  The real Jean in the office at a desk … Continue reading →

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White Sand Dunes National Monument

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

Our day entailed a morning tour through Spider Cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and a late afternoon rendezvous to Roswell, which made us pull into Lake Holloman at the Holloman Air Force Base long after the sun had set.  We … Continue reading →

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Roswell

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

Well, we just had to go to Roswell, New Mexico.  I mean, why not? It was just about a 40 minute detour on our way to White Sand Dunes National Monument.  Thanks Chris for the idea! If it weren’t for … Continue reading →

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Carlsbad Caverns

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

It has been a while (7 months to be exact) since we spent any time under the depths of the earth, and even though no caving experience can possibly top Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave, we knew we would still be dazzled with … Continue reading →

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A Taste of Texas

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

Because the state of Texas is presumably larger than most countries, we spent half our time in Texas driving across the state.  Probably not, but it sure felt that way. Driving from New Orleans to Austin was a long haul, so we … Continue reading →

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New Orleans

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Jean Nguyen

It was no surprise that gas prices dropped even more as we drove further south.  I couldn’t find anything interesting to do in the nation’s poorest state, so we passed through Mississippi and made it to our destination in Louisiana … Continue reading →

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