Now or Never

We started our round the world trip journey with a cross-country drive from our (now former) home in Massachusetts back to California. We sold everything we own, aside from what could fit in our car, and had a final night with friends in our empty apartment. The plan was to drive our stuff back to Ian’s parent’s home in Santa Barbara where they would hold it until our return in 2023. (Thank you!!!) We planned our route to visit sites we hadn’t been to before and crash at as many friends houses as possible. It ended up going like this: Niagara Falls (1 night), Ann Arbor, MI (2 nights), Radcliff, KY (2 nights), Topeka, KS (1 night), Denver, CO (3 nights), Moab, UT (1 night), Springdale/Zion, UT (2 nights), then home/Santa Barbara, CA (5 nights).

Stop 1: Niagara Falls

Our first stop was Niagara Falls. You can either stay on the Canada or New York side. The Canada side is much more built up and seems to have a Vegas feel, which isn’t surprising given it is the most visited tourist attraction in all of Canada! We ended up staying on the New York side in Niagara Falls, NY. Niagara Falls, NY sadly felt a little past its hey day with lots of empty businesses and much less development than its Canada neighbor. However, the waterfalls were BEAUTIFUL and we tried to capture the magnificence in photos/videos. If we come back, we’d love to see the panoramic view from the Canada side.

Stop 2: Ann Arbor, Michigan

We have a friend who recently moved to Ann Arbor and were eager to make this a second stop on our road trip. Ann Arbor is such a cute college town with a really artsy downtown and fantastic food. We found ourselves at a popular ‘watering hole’ called The Grotto the first afternoon, after which our friends made us a delicious dinner. Our second day, after sandwiches at Zingerman’s (reportedly a local favorite), we went tubing on the Huron River. Growing up in San Antonio, Texas – Abby is a big fan of river floating/tubing, so floating in Michigan was a bucket list item. It did not disappoint! There were a surprising number of mini water falls/rapids on the float, so the tubing ended up being pretty action packed.

Stop 3: Radcliff, Kentucky

Our next stop was Radcliff, Kentucky – a small town next to the army base Fort Knox and about 45 minutes from the city of Louisville. We stayed with an old friend of Abby’s and spent much of our time catching up at her house. A highlight of this leg was visiting the Jim Beam distillery. We opted for a distillery tour and were glad we did. The tour guide informed us that 95% of all the world’s bourbon is made in Kentucky and 50% of that is made by Jim Beam! You can really tell how much money this place must bring in with the state of the facilities and how smooth the tour operated. The tour ends up with a tasting, which includes the routine Jim Beam White (your standard well whiskey) to nicer varieties, like Knob Creek or the small batch stuff you can only buy on site. To put a cherry on top, the restaurant on site is delicious – not cheap, but tasty.

Stop 4: Topeka, Kansas

We stopped in Topeka to break up a long drive from Radcliff, KY to Denver, CO. This route has you pass through Missouri and Kansas. When in Missouri, we drove by the St. Louis Arch – which was really striking and marks the “Gateway to the West”. We also stopped at a wonderful Deli spot called “Blue City Deli”. We recommend this food spot to anyone passing through. After Topeka we drove through the rest of Kansas, which was unsurprisingly flat, but absolutely charming. Great opportunity to go pedal to the metal across the prairie!

Stop 5: Denver, Colorado

Denver was one of the highlights of our trip that also welcomed Ian to the big 3 2 on August 21st. We were staying with friends and seemingly had no shortages of entertainment options in this fun, outdoorsy, mile-high city. It was a whirlwind, but some of the highlights included going out in Lower Highlands (LoHi), $7 tickets to Colorado Rockies game, brewery hoping in River North Art District (RiNo), Swedish House Mafia Concert (throwback to 2009), and lunch on Pearl Street in Boulder. We can’t wait to go back! We wish we took more pictures, but were just too busy enjoying everything.

Stop 6: Moab, Utah

Our next stop was Moab, Utah. This is the gateway to several national parks and adventure activities – we were were here to see Arches National Park. This was such a cool area and the arches really speak for themselves. Get up early to beat the heat if you’re there in summer like we were. We gave ourselves the first half of the day to explore the highlights of this park before driving to our next destination. We signed up the night before for a timed entry – we got 6-7am, so we entered around 6:30am and got to the Delicate Arch trail at 7am. The Delicate Arch is a must see and a dynamic 3.5 mile round trip. The other arches we targeted (Landscape Arch and Double Arch) were a pretty easy < 1 to 2 mile hike. After a long morning we left the park by 12pm to start our next 5+ hour drive to Zion.

Stop 7: Springdale, Utah

We stayed in Springdale in order to visit Zion National Park. Our focus for this stop was to hike the infamous Angels Landing – considered the “most dangerous hike in America”. This hike is unique for its last 0.5 mile out and back on the spine of a limestone cliff face. There are chains set up in this area to help you make the journey. After finishing, we’d say that this hike was arguably the best we’ve ever done and recommend it to anyone (if you’re not afraid of heights!). We personally think it looks more daunting than it actually is, and the views at the top are absolutely unbeatable.

Stop 8: Santa Barbara, California

Following Zion, and after a long 9 hour drive, we made it to Santa Barbara, CA. We used 5 days to get our bearings, organize, pack, and take a big breath.

Next stop, Europe!