Memorial Day Weekend

  My boyfriend Geoff and I aren't exactly what you would call "outdoorsy" and have not once gone camping together. So when memorial day weekend rolled around we weren't itching to get out our tents and sleeping bags. We instead opted for the comforts of the windy city. We both really needed a break from our busy schedules and were excited for this mini getaway. We loaded up the car and took off for Chicago that friday night after work. We got in too late that night to do anything but were ready the next morning to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was in the mid 70s and sunny which made it perfect weather to explore the city. We started off walking down the magnificent mile drinking our morning dunkin donuts. Then we acted like tourists and did some shopping and walked down Michigan Ave toward the river for our first photo opp. Then off to Millenium park for some quality people watching and lunch at Pret a manger.

After lunch we strolled down to the lake and watched the sailboats and yachts pass by. We found ourselves dreaming about what life might be like in Chi-town. I really don't consider myself a big city person but still somehow desire to conquer this crazy and vibrant city. I have lived in Minnesota for all of my 24 years of life and thought that I would finish out my days as a Minnesotan but recently have begun to explore the possibility of expanding my horizons and breaking away from the ordinary and comfortable. If you know me at all you know that I really do not like change. Yet I find myself longing for change and becoming curious about what a future might hold for me outside of Minnesota.
I attribute this newfound flexibility to a few different things

1. LOVE
2. My family's impending move to Scottsdale, AZ.

I think my mover and shaker boyfriend has had a huge influence on me in this area. He has always had big dreams and inspired me to expand my horizons. Not just because I want to be more like him, but because I want to be apart of the crazy dreams he has for his life. This trip especially reaffirmed my love and desire to spend my life with this amazing man. Enough sappy stuff for now though.

After more walking around we regrouped and grabbed some italian for dinner and changed for our nighttime activity. Geoff discovered that every Saturday night from Memorial Day to Labor Day they have fireworks on Navy Pier. So we grabbed some overpriced but delicious gelato and headed down to the pier. The fireworks brought families and couples and crazy drunk college students and it was absolutely packed. The show was spectacular of course especially since the skyline was sparkling in the background.

The next morning we found a delicious brunch spot and I devoured the most amazing egg, bacon, and spinach sandwich  on a honey biscuit. It was a sort of rainy day so we laid low for a bit and did some work at a Starbucks to pass the time before our next chance to stuff our faces! We went the cheap route for dinner and had Shake Shack which is officially my favorite fast food burger place.

Our next chance to appease our stomachs came in the form of drinks and dessert. We dressed up and went over to Pops for Champagne. I of course had a glass of champagne and we split some chocolate panna cotta with raspberries which was of course to die for. We thought about checking out some other rooftop places to get some views of the city but by that point my feet were killing me from wearing flip flops and sandals with no support all over the city. I will not be making that mistake again because 5 days later my feet still hurt!

Monday morning came too soon and our fairytale in Chicago ended. We had a long drive ahead of us but it was worth it. I cannot wait for our next trip!

Bahama Mama's

I finally got to go on a vacation after two years of graduate school and two and a half years of work after undergrad  in a challenging job. My wonderful travel companion Diane is a friend a met this year in church who is also in my small group and has become a good friend. We planned this last minute trip one night after small group and about a month later we were on a flight to sunny Miami! We spent one day laying on the beach in Miami, eating cuban food, and preparing for our cruise! We departed from the Port of Miami and boarded the Norwegian Sky. This was my first cruise and I was a bit nervous about a few things which may seem ridiculous but worried me nonetheless. 

1. I was worried about sharks. I have a huge fear of sharks and have heard from my years of dedicated shark week viewing I know that Florida is the shark attack capitol of the world and I was more than a little worried about swimming in Miami. The first night we went to the beach (which was conveniently just steps away from our hotel) a group of guys told us that they had just seen a large shark in fairly shallow water right in front of our hotel. I was pretty hesitant to go past my ankles into the water but eventually the heat outweighed my fears and I decided to throw caution to the wind and jump in.

2. My second fear was that we would face severe weather and that we would have rough seas and I would get sea sick or that the weather would get so bad that we would be in real danger. After all the recent stories of cruise ships sinking and running aground I worried that especially as I slept something would happen and that I wouldn't wake up and die or something. Luckily none of my fears came to fruition. I never saw any sharks and had a blast swimming in the crystal blue waters to my hearts content.

Our first stop was in beautiful Nassau. We ate our delicious breakfast on the cruise ship, got our swim suits on, and started exploring Nassau. The town was filled with little shops run by locals and a market where you could barter for little trinkets. We could have spent upwards of $75 a piece to go to the infamous Atlantis and be treated like royalty but decided to stick with the local beach. We were definitely not disappointed by what we found. The beach was stunning and had everything that we needed. Locals were selling beach chairs, umbrellas, and kayaks from the huts that lined the beach. This is where we got our smoothies and french fries for lunch. These locals were some of my favorite parts of our time in Nassau, they had this infectious joy and you could tell that they loved spending time on the beach with the tourists. They danced on the beach with the drunk sorority girls, brought drinks right to your beach chair, and took shots with you in the water. I loved this "no worry be happy" mentality and it made me seriously question the American Dream. I briefly considered uprooting my entire life and opening up a tiki bar on a tropical island...maybe someday. After a long day on the beach we were exhausted but eager to visit the next island.

The next day we arrived at Great Stirrup Cay, the private island that Norwegian Cruise Line owns. This island was all inclusive, we had a lunch buffet right on the beach and could order drinks from the tiki bars and charge them right to our rooms.
We got to spend one last day in Miami when we got back into the US and eat some more Cuban food before coming back to chilly Minneapolis. I will always remember this cruise and can absolutely see myself going on another cruise and visiting Miami again. Hopefully my next vacation comes a lot sooner and can be a bit longer next time!

xoxo

Katie