9 States and 6 National Parks in 10 Days

Today we are fortunate enough to have a guest post from bloggers Oksana & Dimitri, of 

www.travelize.me

Check out all Oksana & Dimitri's inspirational thoughts and pics at: 

Blog - www.travelize.me

Instagram - www.instagram.com/travelize.me/
Facebook - www.facebook.com/oksana.buniak

About Oksana & Dimitri...

Yosemite National Park
Photo: @travelize.me

My name is Oksana, I was born in Kiev, raised in Prague, studied in Kiev, then worked and lived in London, and finally I moved to SoCal 3 years ago. I spent 3.5 years on business trips around the world and that’s when I felt in love with traveling. I’ve been to 41 countries, 39 states + Washington DC, and 21 US National Parks so far.

Currently I work as a Business Analyst. Most of all I enjoy traveling (of course) and capturing the best places on photos. My husband and I are big sports enthusiasts. We regularly go snowboarding, enjoy kitesurfing and make first progress in surfing.

My husband Dimitri is a Software Engineer and he’s much better than me in all those activities listed above  And if you see a photo which you really like then it was most probably taken by him.

**Make sure you click on each days link to read a more detailed description of the the days events.**

Flight: Orange County, SNA –> Salt Lake City; Denver, DEN –> Orange County, SNA

Duration: 10 days
Mileage: ~3200
Starting point: Salt Lake City, UT
States: UT, ID, WY, MT, ND, SD, NE, KS, CO
Budget for 2 people: $1953 ($22.5* flight,  $500 car rental, $700 hotels, $300 gas, $330 food, $100 other)

Day 0: flight from Orange County, SNA to Salt Lake City, SLC; night walk in the downtown

• Day 1: explore Salt Lake City, UT; drive to Jackson, WY via Idaho Falls, ID (300 mi,5 h)

• Day 2: explore Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park; stay in Jackson, WY

• Day 3: continue exploring Yellowstone; drive to Hungry Horse, MT (550 mi, 10 h)

• Day 4: explore Glacier National Park; stay in Hungry Horse, MT

• Day 5: continue exploring Glacier National Park; stay in Cut Bank, MT

• Day 6: drive to Dickinson, ND (530 mi, 9h)

• Day 7: explore Theodore Roosevelt National Park; drive to Rapid City, SD (240 mi, 4 h); explore Mount Rushmore, SD

• Day 8 : explore Wind Cave National Park and Badlands National Park; stay in Rapid City

• Day 9: drive to Denver, CO via Nebraska and Kansas (560 mi, 10h)

• Day 10: explore Boulder, CO; flight back home from DEN

* We had Southwest points to use thus we paid airfare taxes only

Would you rather chicken feet in Thailand or a Mezcal Worm in Mexico?

Would You Rather Wednesdays!

Richard loves to eat. He also loves new experiences, and challenges. Neither of us are picky eaters so more often than not, we will try new foods. 

Chicken Feet

We had the pleasure of visiting Thailand. We did some travelling around Thailand and spent some time on Phi Phi Island. One day trip you can do from Phi Phi island is to Maya Beach. Maya Beach is famous for being the movie location for The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Maya Beach is actually a small island itself, with a small inlet for boats to enter throughout the day. It can be quite crowded at times. We heard you could spend the night on the island and we were intrigued. There is only one company that takes you out there overnight, so we booked it. 

We arrived at the boat in the early afternoon. We met all of the strangers we would be spending the evening and night with. The crew was animated and quite an eclectic mix of characters. All genuinely nice and capable. We arrived to the island with our lightly packed overnight bags just as the mass of tourists were leaving. As dinner was prepared later that evening but a wonderful cook, we were told chicken feet were available. Some of the locals were eating them, and Richard figured if he likes chicken wings, he will likely also like chicken feet. 

Photo: @conciergecouple

He nibbled on it, chewed it, and stretched the skin with his teeth. There were still claws attached. I did not even want to think where those feet had walked and what they had walked on. He said it was chewy and rubbery. The foot was white and wrinkly as he held it in his hand. I forgot to mention that before he ate this, the entire crew and the passengers had been invited to enjoy the signature Thailand cocktail: rum and red bull.

Mezcal Worm

We often travel with my sisters and brothers in law. When we all get together, there is a lot of craziness, boldness, and partying. We were staying in Los Cabos for Spring Break. It was just another usual day by the pool; tanning and enjoying cocktails. Being as we were in Mexico, we were enjoying a little tequila here and there. One long and sunny afternoon, the bartender suggested we all have a shot of mezcal. It reminds me of tequila, but it is apparently considered very different. Both tequila and mezcal are made from the heart of agave plants. Tequila in particular can only be made from the blue agave plant, whereas mezcal can be produced from several varieties of agave that grow wild in Oaxaca.

Okay enough teaching...             

     

 

So we all enjoy a shot and swim away....so we think. Richard and my brother in law decide to have a few more shots, and as they work their way towards the bottom of the bottle. The bartender dares Richard to eat the worm. He not only accepts the challenge, but places it on his tongue and lets its big, plump body hangout before swallowing it. 

His choice?

The Mezcal worm! Sure it has been said to possibly cause hallucinations but some people also believe it has positive psychological effects. Let's hope you get to wash it down with a shot of mezcal when you try it and the positives will outweigh the negatives. 

Bonus: They both give you bragging rights! 

Diary of France

Today we are fortunate enough to have a guest post from blogger Adia, of 

www.globallycouture.com

Check out all of Adia's inspirational thoughts and pics at: 

Blog - www.globallycouture.com

Instagram - www.instagram.com/globallycouture
Facebook - www.facebook.com/globallycouture
Twitter - www.twitter.com/globallycouture

About Adia...

Hi Everyone! My name is Adia Prade, I am in love with both Fashion and Travel. I first got bit by the travel bug when I went on my first International trip to France, I was beyond excited because I got to experience both my passion for fashion and my love of culture. I’d been studying the French culture for five years and I was so anxious to get to France. When we got there I strolled down the Champs-Élysées and was completely in awe of this city.

The idea for Globally Couture came about when I went to Brazil, as I sat on Copacabana Beach and looked upon the glistening water I thought to myself “I should write about my adventures!” Thus when I got back to the United States I started it. Globally Couture is a blog about Fashion, Beauty and Travel!

Photo: @globallycouture

My decision to go to France was purely based on the facts that I wanted to reward myself for graduating High school and the fact that Fashion has always been a passion of mine. I remember it like it was yesterday; my mother dropped me off at the airport and told me she was so proud of me. We then took a picture together to commemorate my first international trip! I was so excited, my first trip overseas and I could practice my French; I had been studying French for about five years in middle and high school at that point. I was so eager and anxious to board my overnight flight to Paris, I couldn't wait! As I boarded the flight I was a little fearful of what to expect; it was a place that I was new to, but luckily I was going with some of my classmates and my French teacher.

The flight was about eight hours and when we all got to France we were exhausted, the reason why the flight was overnight was for us to sleep, however we were so excited that it was impossible for us. As we made our way to the hotel, the only thought on our minds was to take a nap, but it was morning in France and we had a full day of activities planned for us. That day it was July 14th, also known as Bastille Day, a holiday in France to celebrate the ending of Bastille prisons, so there was no one in the streets that day. Walking around Paris was magnificent, there was no one around and therefore it was almost like having the city to ourselves. As night fell, we were all exhausted but it was Bastille Day so we all stayed awake for the Fireworks at 12am. The fireworks were a perfect backdrop for the sparking Eiffel tower, it was a great sight to see.

Photo: @globallycouture

The next day I was exhausted, but the Louvre museum was on the agenda. We made our way to the museum and it was absolutely brilliant! Not only was the art amazing, but the actual museum itself was so large; maneuvering through the tunnels only to be rewarded by viewing a new art piece was such a treat! We then strolled down the Champs Elysees after the museum and I was speechless, it had every designer store imaginable!

Photo: @globallycouture

During our trip to France we spent some time in Bordeaux, a city where Vincent Van Gogh spent many nights creating many of his masterpieces. While traveling there I remember how gorgeous the scenery was, we passed fields of sunflowers that went for miles. Just looking out of the window of our bus I could tell that this place would be amazing. When we first got to Bordeaux we were a little underwhelmed because we were used to the glitz and glamorous stylings of Paris, however once we walked around we quickly discovered that this was a gem! I had my first batch of escargot there and even though I had to keep telling myself I wasn't eating snails in order to convince myself to eat them I really enjoyed them! It was definitely a great experience!

Photo: @globallycouture

So with all that being said, what can I really say about France? I thought it was fantastic, although the journey was brutal to me because it was my first international flight, it was all about the destination in the end and I really enjoyed myself!