Amy and the Great World

Archives for November 2013

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Freestyle Fridays: Holiday Bucket List

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I’m done with finals! (How are you?)

That means I am fully immersing myself in the holiday spirit, starting with my…

Holiday Bucket List! 

(can you tell I love lists yet?)

I’ll be traveling between Denver, Washington state (Seattle-area) and Mexico for the month of December, so I’m looking for ways to celebrate in allll of these…if you have any other great ideas, leave me a comment 🙂

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  • Have our annual Holiday Potluck with friends
  • Wear 29 days of Christmas socks (yes, I have that many…it’s an addiction)
  • Buy a fun-ugly Christmas sweater
  • Wear fun holiday outfits
  • Do one Christmas craft

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  • Decorate our apartment and porch
  • Watch holiday episodes of my favorite shows
  • Watch the holiday classics (including Love Actually, Christmas Vacation and Die Hard…of course)
  • Go ice skating
  • Go to one Black Friday sale
  • Go on a see-the-Christmas-lights drive
  • Donate a meal to the food pantry
  • Buy a gift for a child from the Angel Tree
  • Visit the Georgetown Christmas Market in the Colorado mountains
  • See Frisco’s Wassail Days (also in the Colorado mountains)
  • Go skiing
  • Find a candelight service (it’s tradition!) in Seattle
  • Visit Leavenworth near Seattle
  • Sing and/or listen to holiday music non-stop
  • Bake many holiday cookies
  • Host a (our first!) fabulous Thanksgiving dinner
  • Sit in a coffee shop with a festive drink and watch the snow/cold.
  • Eat at a fancy restaurant with a festive special
  • Have a just-the-two-of-us Christmas with a festive meal
  • See the Nutcracker at the Seattle Ballet
  • Enjoy Mexico with my family over New Year’s
  • Document all this with my camera…but also remember to put it away (and all those other electronics) and enjoy the moment.

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Do you have a Holiday Bucket List?

Travels USA

Henry’s Lake, Idaho {USA}

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Here’s something you may not know about me: I spent one summer in my life working on a “dude ranch” in Montana. I worked the night shift, slept in my own tiny little cabin, and drove around southwestern Montana and a tiny piece of Idaho during my few free hours. I had my first car, a Subaru as old as I was, and I had to refill the gas at least three times a week. When you’re working on a legitimate ranch in rural Montana (the Madison Valley, to be exact), you have to drive pretty far to get gas–the closest town, Cameron, only had a bar and a post office. I guess a post office is all you need to be a true town! At least in Montana.

I would take turns driving to Ennis, a nearby, “bigger” town, and Henry’s Lake, Idaho, a tiny resort on a lake, to fill my tank. My first trip to Henry’s Lake was a risk–although I didn’t really have a smartphone in those days (or a GPS),  (and this wasn’t even that long ago!) the cell service/internet was pretty nonexistent way out in the boonies, anyway, so I wasn’t sure if I would even find a gas station. Luckily, I did, and I felt pretty lucky to discover this small, quiet, gorgeous piece of the planet!

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This Is The Life…Mui Ne {Vietnam}

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Although the weather in Colorado is still quite nice right now (what month IS this, Colorado??), I found myself pining for the simple beach life today. Whenever I imagine this life, one little beach town in Vietnam comes to mind: Mui Ne. Mui Ne, which happens to be one of the top kite-surfing destinations in the world (although after several months touring Southeast Asia, I was a little too broke for this…next time!), was a sleepy little town in December. We started with a ride on the best bus of Asia: empty, upper bed-seats, and a clean bathroom! The lap of luxury.

This luxury continued when we arrived in Mui Ne. We found a little bungalow to stay in, right on the beach, and spent several days swimming in the glorious water, watching the kite surfers crash, walking around in the beachy rain, eating Indian food, and shopping for beachy jewelry. Mui Ne is also famous for their sand dunes, which we couldn’t miss, so we rented a motorbike and rode to the dunes and a little waterfall called “Fairy Springs.” The motorbike, which we arranged through our hostel, was about five dollars for the day; upon arriving at the dunes, you can also rent “sand boards” and try your hand at surfing the dunes. I mostly crashed into the sand, but even if you are as athletically challenged as me, you must try it!

After the dunes, we also took our motorbike over to the hike/waterfall, which is fairly difficult to find. Two nice little boys offered to show us…however, I must warn you: adorable little Vietnamese boys will often decide they’re your “tour guides” and get a little annoyed when you, thinking you are just making friends, refuse to pay them handsomely for their “service.”     We fell into this trap a lot, as young naive girls eager to make friends…which is a common occurrence in any touristy area. Don’t worry, we did pay them!…but just a warning.

{photos: watching the kite surfers / the nicest bus / beach living / local flowers / a flower in my hair / the streets of Mui Ne / a flower in the river / our “tour guides” / the hike to the waterfall / Fairy Springs / a local along the coast / the famous sand dunes and little “Johnny” / dune surfing}

 

all photos courtesy of me, or my lovely cousin Courtney!

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