I hate hiking. A year ago, I hiked the Grand Canyon.

Everyone who I’ve ever met knows I’m an active person. To the chagrin of my therapist, I like to joke that I’m a shark; if I stop moving, I’ll die. It’s a surprise to many of my acquaintances, then (my friends know better), that I abhor hiking. As a ~fitness professional~, I love working out, playing mid-length endurance sports, and even sweating and being sore. But hiking? Hiking sucks. My hands swell, I have to drink way more water than anyone I’ve ever hiked with, making my backpack super heavy, and that means there is less (or no) room for snacks. I need snacks. Lastly, I’m a slow hiker. I got these little legs that do not go fast, and the people I hiked with in the past have left me behind. Every. Single. Time. A combination of physical distress and loneliness made me swear off hiking forever. So, 13 months ago, when a client I had been training to hike in and out of the Grand Canyon called to ask me to fill in a last-minute opening, what did I do? I said yes. 

This looks like a postcard!

My love of new and unique experiences outweighed my disdain for the third most popular outdoor activity in America. Also fueling my delusion that I could even do this was the love I have for my friend. It meant a lot to me that she wanted me to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience with her. Plus, there were two last minute open slots, and I got to bring my buddy, a psychopath backpacking enthusiast whose dream was to hike the Grand Canyon. Call me friend of the year. 

 

Remember that bit about my client? Yeah. I had been training her for four months to get into hiking shape. I’m in great shape...for the gym. 

I had 2.5 weeks.

A view from the top

So happy. So foolish.

 

More postcard views!

The south rim was in the upper 40s when we got to the trailhead at the crack of dawn. (That’s another thing I hate about hiking; you have to wake up disgustingly early.) While starting out a bit chilly, the cold air felt pretty good once I started walking. We took the South Kaibab Trail, a 7.1-mile-long maintained path from the south rim to Phantom Ranch, our lodgings for the next two nights. Hiking into the Grand Canyon wasn’t so bad. With nearly a one-mile descent, gravity helped quite a bit, and I was somehow the first person to reach The Tipoff, our lunch meeting spot. By then, the temps were in the 70s and climbing fast. I knew my speed wouldn’t hold out, so I set off with the first cmpany on the final leg, stopping very frequently to take in some breathtaking views and chug my Liquid IV.

Phantom Ranch, as seen from the South Kaibab Trail

My friend and I made it to Phantom Ranch around 3:00pm. Our group won the lottery to stay at the ranch in two 10-preson cabins, which included dinner. The Phantom Ranch Canteen offers two evening meal sittings: a 5:00pm steak dinner and a 6:30pm beef stew or vegetarian chili dinner. Our group leader, H, elected for us to enjoy the later sitting both nights of our stay. Both the stew and the chili were delicious, although the chili was a bit spicy for this delicate palate. After dinner, I took what felt like the most luxurious cold shower in the world, then with a full belly and clean feet, I slipped under the covers of my top bunk and drifted off.

H was kind enough to set us up for the late seating of breakfast the next morning, which was still 6:30 am. I get it; most people only stay one night at the ranch, and to hike out, you want an early start, but I really could have used a 9:30 brunch that day, complete with mimosas. I did, however, get a full breakfast with eggs, bacon, pancakes, orange juice, and as much coffee and a girl could drink, so tha's something. Part of breakfast service is a packed lunch for your hiking adventures. The service is top notch. I only wish they weren’t handed out in plastic bags. 😒

Our second day was spent at leisure. The North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim was closed due to heavy snow, but the few miles at the bottom were still open, and so almost our entire group took a “short” hike along Bright Angel Creek into the Box, just north of Phantom Ranch along North Kaibab trail. I was assured it would only be a couple miles to keep from being sore. Thankfully the entire out-and-back was mostly flat, because I logged 8 miles on my Apple Watch. What could possess me to walk 8 miles in a day, having just walked similarly the day prior and expecting a longer, uphill hike the next? I have no idea.

The night sky in Phantom Ranch is unlike anything
I had ever seen, and worth all the torture I
endured over this 3-day trek.

After returning to our cabin in mid-afternoon, my friend and I rested for a bit, then joined several of the others for a swim. We met up at a sandbar on the shore of the Colorado River just upstream of where Bright Angel Creek feeds into the mighty waters that carved the Grand Canyon over 5 million years ago. The water in the river was cold, but the air temp was 100ºF (38C),
so I personally found it refreshing. I jumped right in, and spent considerable time wading in the water. A few of my traveling companions, on the other hand, needed
a bit more persuasion. We had a great time sunbathing
and swimming, and one by one began to head back to the cabins for showers before another dinner of stew and chili. After some stargazing, it was time to get to bed early for what I knew would be the worst part of the journey, the hike out. 

We woke just before 5:00 am. Gross. We took the early breakfast seating, and my friend and I got a head start ahead of the rest of the group. Uphill is not my strong suit, and I knew I would need a sizeable lead if I wanted to make it out and not keep everyone else waiting for hours at the top. 

The only good part of the trail for me.

What a miserable hike! Five minutes in, just barely out of sight of our cabins, I rolled my ankle. I had sprained it just a week before (and had a major injury 4 years ago), so I knew this could happen. I used a special taping method for extra stability, wore a sturdy brace, and bought high-top HOKA hiking shoes. Alas, my efforts only protected my weak ass ankle so much. I popped some ibuprofen, cried a little, and carried on. I was not about to take the most expensive helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon imaginable. 

The Devil's Corkscrew

We took the Bright Angel Trail out of the canyon, a 9.1-mile path that dumps hikers out at the top right by all the lodges. Within the first hour of hiking, we were passed by every other person in our group. At Havasupai Gardens, everyone stopped for a water and snack break. This is the only water station on the trail, so everybody tops up here. As for me, I had already sucked down my entire 5L by this point. This was not a good sign; the steepest part of the climb was yet to come, despite the fact that we already went through the Devil’s Corkscrew (truly, an apt name). This is also where my mood fully quit.
I was tired and my ankle was killing me, plus my friend had wandered off ahead of me, leaving me to hike into the campground alone (don’t worry; we had a fight about it). 

We still had 4.5 miles to go. 

A ranchero rides a mule into the
canyon with a group of tourists.
They had the right idea.

Boy, were those last 4.5 miles rough. I ran out of water with a mile and a half to go, and resorted to sucking on hard candies to keep my mouth from drying out. We were lucky that we left so early in the day, as the hot sun was beating down on us. And for once I was thankful for the mile of elevation gain, because the weather at the rim would be 30+ degrees cooler than at Phantom Ranch at the hottest part of the day. The last half mile consists of the steepest switchbacks on the whole route, dusty and filled with tourists taking short hikes into the canyon. We paused frequently, both to let hikers (and mules) pass, and to catch our breaths. Okay, so I could catch my breath. With about 300 yards to go, we caught up to a few other members of our group, my client among them, and also one who had been claiming all week that he would be the last one out of the canyon. He ensured it; he was sitting there taking a leisurely rest as I limped my way past him. Our entire cohort was waiting at the top for us, and as we emerged over the cliff edge, we were met with cheers. Finally, the whole band could go off to their rooms at the lodge and nap before dinner.

 

Once at the top, it was flat, paved sidewalks the last quarter mile to our room. If I could have, I would have called an Uber. I would have paid someone to carry me in a wheelbarrow, I was so over it. Yet somehow, I managed to claw my way to the room, fill the bathtub with cold water, and plunge my feet and ankles. Sweet relief! 

Our campaign wrapped up that evening with happy hour in one of the rooms (a full case of Washington wines provided by yours truly as thanks for letting me
tag along) and a scrumptious dinner at El Tovar. We were in good spirits, with good company, and had just enough alcohol to numb the aches in, well, our entire bodies. 

Just before dessert, one member of our group broke the 3-day rule and asked me, “so, would you do it again?” 

“F*@% no.”

Bury me at Recoleta

I first said these words to my friend as I dried off in our private room, mid-allergic reaction. Unbeknownst to me, the hostel restaurant garnished nearly every dish with a fresh sprig of rosemary, my arch nemesis. Since we were among the first to have a meal, the insidious scent took a while to make its way to my nostrils. But as the dinner hour stretched onward, the aerosolized fragrance began to mask the smells of sweaty hiking boots and muddy rucksacks, filling my lungs and swelling my throat.  So then, 20 minutes after I bolted out of the restaurant, my medicine just kicking in, I made the joke; “If I don’t make it, bury me at Recoleta.”

 

new life surrounded us in many forms

That became our running joke throughout the rest of our Argentine adventure, but some greater part of me meant it.

 

Our first day in Buenos Aires was the fifth into our two-week itinerary in November 2023. We began with a 48-hr stopover in Santiago, immediately followed by a day trip to Iguazu Falls. So when we finally had a free day in Argentina’s capitol, we did what anyone would do; we slept in.

the narrowest alley we found

 

After a leisurely (and massive) brunch, we strolled from our little San Diego Apartment half a mile to the famed Cementerio de la Recoleta, the final resting place of some of Argentina’s greatest heroes. “There’s more architecture here than in our whole city,” my friend remarked after about five minutes into our self-guided tour. And with nearly 5000 mausoleums, he was right. Some say the 14-acre public cemetery feels eerie, or that it’s haunted, but on that Saturday, I was completely at ease. While the pained visage of grief had been carved into the marble tombs by expert stonemasons over the centuries, there’s hope and life in the city-like alleys among the dead.

stained glass filled numerous tombs

 

 

 

Naturally, we visited Eva Perón. Shuffling through between two tour groups, we had about 11 seconds to see the Duarte family mausoleum, cluttered with flowers and gifts left for Argentina’s most beloved First Lady. If it weren’t for the mounds of offerings, the Duarte mausoleum would blend in with the dozens of others in their row. While Evita loved her people, particularly the working-class, I wondered if she would be more at peace if she had fewer visitors.

 

 

We stayed but a couple hours at the cementerio, and while there was no way we could have seen each tomb, we did find the oldest ones, and we may have spotted the home of Recoleta’s newest resident, who had come to rest there only a week before our visit and whose inscription had not been finished. There is no space for any more mausoleums to be built on the property, nor is there room to expand into the neighborhood, but there was a comfort in knowing that there are still porteños who can make Recoleta their final resting place.

 

As for me, I don’t think I could afford it.

Food Roulette

Here are the exciting dining adventures I had in Japan!

JAL served a teriyaki salmon and rice dish on our flight to Tokyo. It was delicious. That is all. 6/10

Upon our arrival, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at a noodle house inside the train station near(ish) our hotel. These kinds of shops have a vending machine outside, where you select what you would like, put in money, and get a slip that you take to the counter and they give you your food. Marshall took some time looking at the pictures and bought himself some curry and then some yakisoba for Mike. I decided to play Food Roulette. This is a game I have invented myself where I order something at random and hope for the best. I selected an item that was only 4oo yen. There was no picture. It turned out to be yakisoba with fried meat. I think the fried meat was octopus tentacles based on what I saw when I bit into it. But I have no idea. I didn't win, but I also definitely did not lose food roulette. 4/10

We wanted to see if McDonald's had any Japan-specific foods, but the menu was the same. I had an egg mcmuffin. 6/10

At Tokyo DisneySea, I had the Toy Story Special for lunch at the Mexican restaurant called Miguel's. It was not in any way Mexican, but it tasted alright. 6/10

The rice was a little Woody, though.

We found a tiny shop that served gyoza and ramen, my two favorite Japanese foods. It was excellent! 8/10

One of the very rare breakfast restaurants in the entire country, Jade5, almost killed me with a garnish of rosemary in my cranberry lemonade. We made it through, because I clearly saw it before I drank. 2/10

Before we were presented with menus.

Shabu-gen. Marshall's parents recommended this place, and Marshall and Mike had been there before. It's just Japanese hotpot. However, since the last time the Hurson family went to Shabu-gen, they decided to shift their clientele for a more, upscale, customer base. Over $100 bucks a person for me to cook my own food. Admittedly, there was more food than one person could eat, but since taking home leftovers isn't a thing in Japan, we actually just ate until we felt sick and still skipped dessert. However, I did eat truffles (which kinda tasted like dirt) and actual gold leaf. Can't say that I'll ever be doing that again. 6/10

GOLD LEAF

Had bento on the Shinkansen. BTW I love the Shinkansen. Train travel  (esp. bullet trains) is the way to go. Get on it, America! 8/10 because of the amazingness of the train

In Hiroshima, we went to Little Mermaid Cafe and ate pastries. 8/10

In Osaka, we visited a dedicated ramen shop and it was way better than the ramen I eat at home. 9/10 I also tried some Japanese candy from the convenience store. It was called Crunky. It had similarities to Whoppers, but without the satisfying sizzle. 3/10

Starbucks serves a Peach Milk Tart, which tastes just as confusing as you'd think. 4/10



I tried potato chips and it turns out they were butter flavored. Not the best. 4/10

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese stuffed pancake made with egg and was birthed in Osaka, so eating it there was a treat. Marshall liked it way more than I did. Mike didn't want to try it. I tried the sampler of 3, which included pork, octopus, and corn. 4/10 Marshall had Hiroshima style, which included noodles. 6/10 for Hiroshima style

Johson burger, milkshake, Marshall, and country music

Johson Burgers in Himeji. Interestnig take on Western burgers, but not bad. Had a "craft" beer, also not bad. 5/10






Yakitori place in Himeji. JAPANESE FRIED CHICKEN IS SO DELICIOUS WHY DID NOBODY EVER TELL ME THIS BEFORE. 10/10 (All the other food at the restaurant was meh.)

Baskin-Robbins in Japan has a new flavor promotion. They sell Pikachu ice cream and it's yellow and supposed to be 3 berry flavored and it's funny that they consider pineapple a berry. I hated it. 0/10 A full minute after trying the Pikachu sample, I was trying to order my Daiquiri Ice (the girl at the counter made me sample it because she wasn't sure I knew what I was getting into. She kept asking Marshall if I was sure I wanted that flavor because it's very 'bitter'. lol) POP ROCKS began fizzling in my throat. There were pop rocks in the pikachu ice cream but they didn't fizzle right away, so I nearly choked. -5/10 for Piakachu

Thanks for reading about my food adventures!

My Scott's Cheap Flights membership is officially worth it.

Hi everybody! Back in late Spring, I got an email from Scott's Cheap Flights (#notsponsored) about an amazing flight deal. To celebrate the new route from Seattle to Tokyo NONSTOP, Japan Airlines was having a sale. A big sale. A super duper giant sale. Brace yourself.

$466. Round. Trip.

So for Marshall's birthday, we decided to go to Japan! Along with us was Michael, Marshall's brother.

August 22. SeaTac airport. Out flight was at 2pm, so we arrived around 11:30, which turned out to be too early. With Japan Airlines, they don't even open their counter for check-in until two hours before departure. They do offer online check in with your phone, but we were checking bags. So we waited in line. Check-in was super fast and simple.

My bag was the lightest at only 10.0kg. Heck yes!

After checking in, our agent informed us that the departure time, 2:05 pm, was still set and there was no delay, and that boarding would begin at 1:50. At first I thought she said 1:15. But no, 1:50.

We waited at the gate area until boarding began, at 1:50pm. The passengers on our flight were the absolute best. This is because they don't crowd the gate before it's their turn to board! This is a huge pet peeve of mine when traveling. But here, everyone calmly waited at their seat, or up against the wall far away from the would-be crowd. It was so smooth and easy and as a result our flight left on time. I repeat: our flight left ON TIME after the boarding process began 15 minutes prior to departure.

Us, having boarded the plane in 10 minutes.

Once on the plane, I noticed the windows 1) were bigger and 2) didn't have a shade. Beneath each window was a button and you could choose how dark to make your window. This was really nice. The crew controls the windows mid-flight to simulate night time, which was excellent on the return flight when sleep is necessary, but a little challenging on the Westbound flight since we needed to remain awake to avoid jetlag.


The lavatory had a bidet. I was not brave enough to try an airplane bidet.

We landed in Tokyo at 4:15 pm on Friday afternoon.

Something is starting to look familiar...

After our adventure at Hot Water Beach, we slept soundly and arose the next morning to drive to Auckland, where we said farewell to Marshall's parents and brother. Marshall and I spent the afternoon with my college friend Kirsten. It was the break we needed!

The following morning we drove up to Paihia, a cute town in the Bay of Islands. The next two days were nearly identical to the two days Marshall and I spent in Paihia in 2014. We took a coach tour up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand. It is at the point where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet, but do not mix. The Maori people believe that it is here that the spirits of the dead leap off the earth to return to their ancestral home. It is a very special and sacred place, and I enjoyed returning there (while I'm still alive).



We then went sandboarding! I forget how hard climbing a sand dune is.






Our final excursion of the trip was to take a cruise through the Bay of Islands to Hole in the Rock. The hole is quite small, and sometimes the water is too rough for a ship to pass through. Our Captain said that if he doesn't feel 100% confident in his ability to get us through safely, he won't do it. But, he could get us pretty close for some pictures.





Then, as we were starting to back away from the hole, the Captain punched through!





What an exciting way to end our trip. Our last task was the long drive back to the airport, and then try to get some sleep on the 14 hour flight back to Vancouver.

Hobbitses and Hauntings

A short drive from Rotorua is Hobbiton, the set used from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as the Shire. I'm explaining this to anyone who might not know, but I know you all already know this.

Our tour was at 1pm, so we had plenty of time to get up, pack, and get there.

Really, words don't describe how neat Hobbiton is, so here are a bunch of pictures.



After Hobbiton, we made the rather long drive to the Waitomo Caves Hotel, situated within a km of the well known Waitomo glow worm caves. I know, I usually find a cool alternative to some of these really touristy places, and last time I went to NZ I did. I went to a family-owned farm with a cave on the property, paid them $20 USD, and they let me and Marshall traipse around and see some glow worms. BUT there are three caves in Waitomo, and people have said that this experience is really worth it. Also, Marshall and Nolan went black water rafting.

What is black water rafting you ask? It's inner tubing down a river through a cave without lights. It's not for me. Not even a little bit.

Wait! Before I go into details of my awful, terrible, no good time in multiple caves, I need to go back to the hotel. You see, our wonderful travel agent Audra warned us when she booked that the Waitomo Caves hotel might not be as comfortable or as nice as the other hotels. We were expecting a little roadside motel or something similar, but when we pulled up the driveway we were blown away, in a good way. This hotel was spectacular! It was a very old mansion and clearly used to be a fancy resort for very wealthy New Zealanders a hundred years ago, and now it's a moderately priced hotel. It was so fancy and magnificent, sitting on a bluff overlooking the valley that leads to the caves. We couldn't wait to get inside.

Then we went inside.

This place is the Overlook Hotel. I'm not kidding. It's legit haunted. If my uncle started running around with an axe I would not have been surprised. Looking back at the outside of the hotel, it looks like the Overlook so I don't know how I let myself be fooled right away.





The next morning we went to the caves. Marshall and Nolan did the rafting while the rest of us did a tour of two of the caves. The first cave, the Ruakuri cave, was a typical cave, so naturally, I hated every second of it. I spent twenty minutes silently crying while everyone else oohed and ahhed about cave walls. The only interesting structure in the cave was the ribbon stalactite, which I had never seen before, despite being dragged around caves on multiple continents. Ribbons form when the general shape of the cave is an A-frame, so mineral-rich water runs down the wall before dripping, creating a ribbon or curtain shaped stalactite rather than a cone.




The second cave in our tour was the famous Waitomo cave. This is the cave with the glow worms. Except at first it's just a regular cave. Admittedly, the cavern was much larger, so I was less in a panic as I was during the Ruakuri tour, but still nothing of note. To exit the caves, we climb aboard these little boats and silently sail through a very small cavern, where millions of glow worms light up the ceiling like constellations. That was pretty cool. We had to remain completely silent or else we might hurt or even kill the worms. The boats captains pulled us in the dark on ropes so as not to even disturb the water.

We finished our tours around the same time as Nolan and Marshall finished theirs. We piled into separate cars and made our way to the Coromandel Peninsula. My car stopped at the Alphra Lavenders Farm. We met a friendly man who owned the farm with his wife as an after-work hobby. We love supporting local businesses, so we bought a few lavender products and explored the grounds a bit.



We made it to the Coromandel just in time for low tide. That sounds like a weird time to want to arrive at a beach, but on the Coromandel is a beach called Hot Water Beach. Underneath the sand lies a natural hot spring, and at low tide, if you dig a hole, it will fill with hot water and you can have a personal hot tub. Mom said this turned out to be the highlight of the trip for her, so it's good we made it! All of this happened in two days, and so that night, we slept pretty hard.

Weekend in Rotorua

Friday Jan 11

Another flight! 9:30 AM flight. Left for the airport around 8. Checked in at a kiosk, dropped my bag on the belt, then walk over to the gate. That’s it. Not even a metal detector.

That afternoon, we went to Te Puia, where we took a tour of the nature reserve, saw the geyser and mud pools, and participated in Te Po, a cultural event much like a luau. There was storytelling, singing, dancing of the haka, and a buffet dinner. All in all, it was a pretty full day.

Geyser

Saturday Jan 12

FREE DAY! I finally got sleep in! Marshall and I had massage appointments at 12:30 at the Polynesian Spa. If you ever get the chance to go there, DO IT. We soaked in the natural hot pools beforehand and then relaxed with and Aix treatment. The Aix treatment begins with a body scrub, and then you get a massage while they rinse the scrub away with a shower right over the massage table. It’s extremely relaxing and fairly unique.

All three of us on the chairlift

At 6:00 PM, all 9 of us traversed the entire 5km to the Skyline Gondola for more luging! This gondola was less steep than in Queenstown, which made for a much more enjoyable 7 minutes. At the top, only 7 of us decided to actually luge, but Mom and Mike had a good time hanging out at the café and taking pictures. In Rotorua, the luge track is open until 10 PM for night luge! For the normal price of 3 luge rides, you get 5 luge rides in the DARK on a lighted course. The sun didn’t set until 8:45, and Nolan, Marshall, and I had booked a private spa back at the Polynesian for that time. So at 8:00 PM, after only TWO rides down the course, we split and went to the spa.

Except Mom had the car keys with her at the top of the hill.

After a minute of panic, Nolan hopped back into the gondola and raced (at 5mph) back up the hill, where Mom was waiting at the top with the keys in her hand. The operator told Nolan to stay in the gondola and just handed him the keys as he crawled by. We made it to the spa 5 minutes before our booking. Crisis averted.

The view from our deluxe spa

After our sunset dip (it was raining) we went back to the hill and they let us finish our luge rides in the dark. Everyone else had left by then and were probably all together enjoying a nice dinner and laughing at us for forgetting the keys.

Luging in the dark is AWESOME! The course featured colorful lights in the trees and there were way fewer people, so it was a really good time. We finished our last ride right at 10:00 PM and went to Burgerfuel for a late dinner.

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