going camping

This Labor Day weekend I am going camping. For the first time, well almost ever. I had a couple of school camping trips in 6th / 7th grade.. but I don't know, I was young, we had teachers and parents there and we usually had the area for our class. Oh, unless you count the times I set up the tent in my backyard and slept in the summer? No, okay then I haven't really been camping before.

It kind of started not that long ago, I mentioned to Brett that I would maybe one day want to go camping. Then we realized we had a three day weekend coming up and before you knew it Brett had bought a huge tent on ebay. So with a tent on its way, everything else just kind of fell into place. There are tons of lakes and coastal camping spots here in California so we are really lucky. We were planning on a two night camping trip, arrive on Saturday and head back on Monday. However, with the holiday weekend a lot of the places had a three night minimum. So, here I am, my first ever trip camping and we are going for three nights. {what was I thinking!} Once the tent arrived and we did a practice run setting it all up and making sure everything worked, I am extremely excited to get out there and become one with nature, or something like that. This tent is huge, it is about 7 or 8 feet tall, says it sleeps 6 and attaches to the back of your SUV so you can easily go from tent to car.

While I am a little bit of a rookie to the camping aspect, I have done my fair share of traveling abroad and taking quick spur of the moment trips and even my latest outdoor activity which you may remember, hiking in Yosemite, I had a few series of blog posts about the experiences and a few pictures of things I packed. {1,2,3} I thought I would share a list with you of some of my "camping essentials." I'm not talking about the basics here, I think we all know you need a tent, sleeping bag, padding, pillows etc. This list is more a girl friendly version of things you may need to keep you sane without our usual daily rituals; running hot water, a proper shower, sink with mirror.

1. Paul Mitchell, awapuhi moisture mist - This stuff is amazing! Use it for your skin & hair to freshen up. I literally spray it everywhere and rub it in a little and it dries in seconds.

2. Fresh Wipes - Seriously any kind of baby wipe or clean wipe. Use it if you've been hiking and get sweaty; it cools you down, soothes your skin, and makes you feel fresh again.

3. First Aid Kit - Always important! I actually usually buy a couple and then combine them and make my own. Always have band aids, insect sting relief, ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, gauze pads, sticky tape, and of course tide-to-go!

4. Platypus Hydration Pack - I personally like these better than the Camel Pack's, they are cheaper for one and I like that it's clear and you can put it in any backpack. But obviously bringing enough water is key.

5. Deodorant - Everyone knows to bring this but I actually prefer the men's kind. Something about the ARCTIC scent somehow does it better than 'cucumber' or 'baby powder.'

6. A Book - I think bringing an actual book instead of reading on your kindle / ipad seems more camping like and it is something relaxing to do by your tent or lake.

7. Bug Spray - Another probably obvious one, but I seriously do not like bugs, spiders, snakes, none of it so I bought the most intense looking bug spray I could find, it's almost 100% deet {I think that's good?} anyway it smells terrible but I do not want to be covered in bumps.

8. Vaseline - I actually love this stuff for my lips as chapstick, but if you also get a small cut or burn or dry skin it comes in handy as it has a lot of uses.

9. Makeup Essentials - Lets be serious we don't need a lot here, so I always have my foundation with spf, a little mascara, a black pencil eyeliner, a compact and some blotting sheets to take away any oil and dirt from the day.

10. Dry shampoo - This is a must for every time I travel, the actual one I use is from the UK and I have to stock up when I go over there but I've heard this brand is also a good one too. Just give it a quick spray in your roots & crown of your head, use your fingers and run through it, then brush it out. Don't you look beautiful!

11. TP to go - You never know what those "bathrooms" or Port-a-Potty's will look like, honestly maybe just hiding behind a bush for a quick tinkle with some TP is a cleaner option.

12. Flashlight - And lots of them! Sometimes it's hard to remember just how dark it is with no house or city lights around. Go for an LED one too, they are brighter & will last longer.

13 / 14. A good hat / headscarf - I have one of each and as you probably saw I wore them all the time on my recent trip to the Greek Islands. Sometimes you can't control the humidity or wind or whatever, so put your hair in a quick braid, throw the hat on and ta-da!

I really hope all of these will be helpful for any of your upcoming trips / travels. It took me awhile to get this routine down but I would love to hear your comments and suggestions on things you can't leave home without in the comment section below!

X x

Chania, Khania, or Xania??

Our trip to Crete started off with a little drama. The ferry from Santorini left around 6pm and it said it was going to arrive into the main port of Crete, Herkalio, around 8.30pm. However once we were on the ferry and it was after 8.30pm we began to worry, thinking maybe we got on the wrong ferry? And I mean, we had been on this ferry for a couple hours it's not like there was anything we could do about it. Also, our hotel was a 2 hour drive to the west coast of the island so we knew we were going to have a long journey. We were told there was a bus from the port that would take us into the main town, but the last one left at 9 something. So now this left us with renting a car, which we figured was probably best anyway because of how big of an island Crete was. Anyway we got off the ferry and yes we were in fact exactly where we were supposed to. The only problem was it was now after 10 and there was only one car rental place. We waited in line for awhile and then we were told they did not have any more cars. They tried to call some other places but they were closed as well. We also had already paid for that night in our hotel because we booked through Hotels.com so staying in Herkalio until the morning wasn't exactly an option either. One of the people from the car rental place called a taxi for us, unfortunately though it was going to be about 200 euros, but what choice did we have? After the long taxi ride and a few wrong turns we made it to our hotel around 1am.

It was all completely worth it as soon as we were shown our room. We had one of the two best rooms in the hotel. It was a beautiful huge room, we couldn't believe that this was our room. After all the traveling and shuffling from the rest of our trip, this is how we are ending it - in style. Our room had beautiful closets with lots of space and drawers, a king bed with a desk and tv, then there were sliding doors into the next room with a couch, tv and table. Followed by glass sliding doors onto our OWN private veranda! Complete with two sunbeds, two chairs, an umbrella and table. It had a view right down onto our hotel pool and then right after that was the beach. RIGHT on the beach. Our other places were close, but this was even closer. These words and the couple pictures I have don't even do it justice. It was just a beautiful hotel and we were so lucky to have this room.

Crete is a much bigger island, close to the side of California, if you just flip California on its side. We were of course completely overwhelmed and excited to make the most of our last 4 days. We decided since we paid so much to get to this town, we should just stay around here and do what we can by bus etc. Not to mention who would want to ever leave that fabulous room?! Crete is much more developed and there were almost all cars on the roads, a few vespa's and motorbike but since everything is so much further away a car is necessary. There were also some great shops and things to do on the street where our hotel was. We did go into the town of Chania where we were staying {we saw Chania, Khania and Xania on different road signs and maps, so confusing!} We spent some lazy days by the beach, rented kayaks and paddled over to this island for a couple hours, walked through town and shopped and enjoyed some really amazing food from our hotel.

One thing I really wanted to do while I was here was try the para-sailing, or para-flight. That has been on a to-do list of mine for quite some time. {also called my 30 before 30 - coming soon!} Brett and I made an appointment and booked us up for a time. It was really getting my nerves going watching the people before us go & I was wondering if I could actually go through with it. Next thing you know the boat is coming back and it's our turn. They strap you up and give you a couple directions as you watch the rope that is attached to you unwind and fall into the water. As soon as the rope runs out you run to the edge of the mat and quicker than the blink of an eye you are up in the air! It was such an incredible feeling, we were really high up and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The boat doesn't take you too far as you are only in the air for about 10 minutes. The landing was probably the worst part, they bring you down by stopping the boat and then when you hit the water the boat moves again and drags you along the water almost like bare-foot skiing. Except there is a huge parachute that is behind you. Then the boat comes around for you and brings you back to the dock. It was a really great experience and there is no way I could have done it without Brett behind me to support me. I think I would probably give it another go, sometime.. in the future.  :]

Anyway, I will leave you with the remainder of these pictures for you to enjoy. All in all I had a wonderful vacation, I wouldn't have wanted to change much but of course there were things I could only know once I got there. I think the Greek Islands were a wonderful place for a summer vacation or holiday and maybe some day I will be back again.

X x

24 hours to see thira (santorini)

The next stop on our journey was a quick overnight in Santorini. We heard it was a very small sleepy little island and didn't think there would be that much going on, so we thought one day / night to explore would be perfect. Well we were a little off and wished we had just one more day to explore but we made the most of our short time and did as much as we possibly could! Santorini is also known as Thira and it is the biggest of the islands that came up because of the volcano below that erupted thousands, or millions of years ago - I'm not exactly sure so don't quote me!

The island is very small and all the houses, buildings, etc. are on top of the island because all around is just cliff! You have to take these steep roads and drive up and down these switchbacks. But once you are at the top it is a little hilly but fairly easy to get around. This time we rented a little car {CONVERTIBLE smart car!} because there were about 8 rent-a-car stations at the port, so it seems that is what everyone does. It also worked out because we had so little time and we could just drive to everywhere we wanted. Well we made it to our hotel just in time to see the beautiful sunset from our balcony and then dressed up a little and went into the town. The car was awesome too, it was a little smart car and the whole roof would go back, so it felt like we were back on an ATV. We loved that little thing, I ended up calling her Put-Put because there were so many hills and we were worried she wouldn't make it.

The "sleepy little town" we heard about - was all wrong! It was just as busy as Mykonos as tons of people walked through the streets, headed into restaurants and bars and did some late night shopping. It was such a fun atmosphere. We had an amazing dinner on a rooftop terrace restaurant and then just got lost in the little winding city streets until it was really late and we headed back. Since we had the full day for Santorini because our ferry was at 6.30pm, we booked to go on a boat tour to the other little islands off Santorini where there is still a little {thermal} volcanic activity. The bus arrived at 9am and picked us straight up from the hotel and took us down to the port. We had a really nice tour guide who was on the boat with us. First we went to the bigger island - called something like Old Burnt Island and the other was New Burnt Island, or the other way around? I can't remember. Anyway the first one we were able to hike to the top and get some great views and our guide gave us a little history about the islands and the volcanic eruptions. It was the strongest wind I have ever felt, oh it was crazy! I thought I was going to blow off the island. But I'm still here, so don't worry. Then he took us over to the other smaller island to the hot springs. {luke warm water} The water was this horrible orange murky color and it was so weird to be swimming through it. Again it is said the waters are supposed to have "healing powers" but I'm not feeling any.

After the tour was over, it was about 1.30 or 2 o'clock so we hopped in the car and drove to the other side of the island because there was a point on the map that said "Ancient Thira" and I thought that would be really cool to check out. It wasn't too far away but the map failed to mention that you have to climb up this huge hill for about 15 minutes to reach the top to "Ancient Thira." Our poor little car {Put Put } just barley made it up there and I kept saying encouraging things so she wouldn't die. We made it to the top for some seriously breathtaking views of the other side of the island, along with more crazy intense winds that made it really difficult to walk.. or stand, or do anything really. But it was still completely worth it. Ancient Thira is only 2 euro's and open to the public to walk through at your own pace and check everything out. There were some great little descriptions and explanations of things that you can read about with drawings of what they think it may have looked like.

After all that walking around and exploring we went down to the beach for a late lunch and a quick swim to get all the murky "hot spring" water off of us. Then we had to head back to our hotel to pick up our bags and return the car and then our ferry arrived right on time to take us to our last and final destination, Crete.

x X

mykonos never sleeps, no seriously

Mykonos is one of the hottest summer destinations for people from all over the world who want to relax on white sandy beaches and party until the sunrises. This place puts Vegas to shame, but more on that later.

We took another ferry from Paros to Mykonos, it was only about 45 minutes because the islands are so close together. We were staying on the southern end of the island, about 15 minutes from the port and main town. Our hotel was adorable with an all white exterior and little blue doors. It was the perfect "Mediterranean style" I was hoping for! Also, it was only steps from the beach and a few restaurants.

First of all, we were so overwhelmed when we arrived into Mykonos. It was much busier than Paros, there were people walking and driving all over the place on these little windy roads. Luckily our hotel had a shuttle and picked us up so we didn't have to figure it out on our own. We spent our first day and night there just looking at maps and walking around everywhere to figure out what our surroundings were. There was a bus that would come every 15 minutes to take you into town. There were also taxi boats that would ferry you around all the coves from one beach to the other; it was perfect. We spent most of our time during the days on the beach and playing in the water.

The nightlife just exploded from there, everything revolved around the night - eating, drinking, shopping and clubbing took place all night and into the early morning. Restaurants and shops were packed from 10pm until about 1am, it was such a strange feeling to be in a restaurant eating a full dinner at midnight, but at the same time it felt so right. Makes sense, doesn't it? Anyway the three most famous and biggest clubs in Mykonos are: Space, Scandanavian Bar and any of the three clubs in Paradise Beach. Of course we went to all three. :] However, no one actually came to the clubs until about 4am, seriously. We tried, we really did to keep up.. but by 4am I was just so tired {Brett too} that we had to just get back to our hotel and crawl into bed. I really don't know how they can do it, I mean honestly what do you do until 4am anyways?! It beats me, but basically Mykonos won this time.

Of course not everything was party, beach, party, beach, repeat. We spent a little time walking through the town in the afternoon, while there was no one else around and I was able to get some great pictures. Mykonos is also known for a couple of other things, one being their windmills. There are 5 of them grouped together in the main town up on a little hill and they are beautiful. They can be seen from pretty much any point in the town and from the harbor. There is also a local "celebrity" of the town. His name is Petros and he is a pelican. He is beloved by his town and he is extremely friendly. You can easily find him just wandering through the town because there is a group of people chasing after him with their cameras. He even let me pet him one afternoon. :] I also could not get enough of the beautiful bright white buildings with its deep blue roof. I think when a lot of people image the Greek Islands, that is what they picture {because that's what I pictured} but those beautiful little buildings are all small churches and they have them almost every couple hundred feet! I even read somewhere that there are 365 churches on the islands of Mykonos alone. That is a pretty huge number for such a tiny little island, don't you think?

 We also lucked out and while we were wandering through the town there were tables set up with local Greek food that had just been cooked by the local women, selling them for a euro or two a piece. It was perfect! We were able to try homemade treats cooked by these women who were selling them to raise some money for a cause. My favorite, of course was baklava, which is a very sweet, flaky pastry. Oh it was so good to have it fresh & homemade. 

Mykonos definitely had a completely different style and vibe from Paros, so we had no idea what to expect for our quick day visit to Santorini, but we were ready to move on. It was great while we were there, but I think if I were to do it again, I would choose to stay on a different side of the island. By the time we had to checkout all we wanted to do was sleep. The hotel shuttle took us back to the port where we waited for the ferry to take us to our next destination. Let the adventures continue.

X x

paros: the windy island

First stop on our agenda was to get from the Athens airport, to the port where a ferry would take us to Paros, our first island, and part of the Cyclades Islands. Honestly, we really weren't sure what to expect, we knew it was going to be a quiet island with sandy beaches, we read there was rocks that turned into mud that people would put on themselves and let dry because it was supposed to make your skin soft and have "healing powers." Other than that we had no idea what we were in for.

We arrived in a flurry of people and vespa's, atv's, cars, taxis and were shuffled around until we found a taxi and asked to be taken to our hotel. It was about 5 or 6pm Greek time. (+10 hours to pacific time)  Our hotel was beautiful and situated a little further back from the port town, but up a little hill with a nice view and a little 5 minute walk down a path to the beach. It was charming and beautiful and exactly what we needed after a long journey there.
 

After getting to know the area the next day we decided it was best to rent an ATV for the day {i'm not so fond of the motorized two wheels} this way we could explore the island and do exactly what we wanted and at our own pace. One of our first stops of course was to see what the beach with the mud was all about. It turns out it's actually the rock that turns into a clay when you mix it with the ocean water and put on yourself. It was a lot of fun putting the clay on and letting it dry and then jumping into the ocean and having it wash off. I am pretty positive that I go to Target and buy a clay mask for myself that seemed identical to the clay found on the rocks. 

We spent some time going through the town, looking in all the little shops and stocked up on some things for the rest of our time - a couple towels, snorkels, paddle boards, etc. The town was great, it had a lot of restaurants right there on the water and Brett tried an authentic Greek dish - Moussaka. It was very interesting and you'll have to ask him about it since I did not have any!

Anyway, we got up one morning and went up to this other little port town on the northern coast called Naousa. It was a real fishing port with all the fisherman getting their catch out and hanging it out. That day we went, their "fish of the day" was...  octopus! Then there was this little castle ruins out to the side of the port, so of course that needed to be explored. I had never seen a castle like that before right on the water where all the waves were breaking right there. It's amazing to think that it is still standing all these years later with all the water thrashing against it everyday. Then we drove around a little more to explore other beaches before heading to our hotel to return the ATV. 

Paros was the perfect island to get us started for our trip and I am so glad we ended up there first. It was pretty small and a little quiet and the staff at our hotel were friendly. But like I said before, every island is completely different and nothing could have prepared us for what was next... Mykonos. 

X x