On-the-Go Snacks

When you’re on-the-go and living a healthy active lifestyle, having go to favorite snacks are a must. Here are a few of mine that you can almost always find stashed in my purse, car or gym bag!

Some of my favorites!

1.     Fresh and dried fruit: Fresh is always better the number one choice, and usually will be an apple, banana or dates. However, my go-to dried fruit is Trader Joe’s “Just Mango Slices”. I usually bring these on hikes as my own plant based “Jerky”.

2.     Bars: while I’m not proud of it, I don’t make NEARLY as many homemade granola bars as I used to and picking up some bars on-the-go is extremely convenient. 

a.     High Activity: Luna Bars, Lara Bars Clif Bars and Clif Builder Bars. These extra calories, Carbs and Protein are definitely needed.

b.      Low Activity: Lara Bars, Clif Kid’s Bar, Trader Joe’s Just Fruit bars, local natural bars. 

3.     Coconut Water: after a hike, or a long day of being in the sun, I look to Coconut Water (regular, not flavored), to re-hydrate!

4.     GORP : Good ol’ raisins and peanuts, AKA trail mix!

5.     Pretzels/Chex Mix:  definitely not the healthiest option, BUT sometimes after a long day of hiking (and sweating away all your salt) you want something crunchy and salty!

Comment below some of your favorites!

Bear Mountain & Snow Summit Ski Weekend

Since landing back in California after Thanksgiving break with ski bags in tow, I’ve been itching to make it to the mountains! After debating making the trip to Mammoth, we decided to save some time and money and spend the weekend at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit instead. 

Leaving bright and early on a Saturday morning, our anticipation was pretty built up by the time we pulled in to Big Bear Lake just two-hours later. However, it seemed the rest of LA thought this was a great weekend to go skiing as well, and long lines were everywhere. After picking up some rentals for Hannah, waiting in line for the shuttle, and finally getting to Bear Mountain it was around 11:00. While the crowds, late start time, and overall chaotic vibe of Bear Mountain were frustrating at the time, it was a great first day of the season! We were all pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming beauty of Big Bear Lake. It provided an almost "Tahoe-esque" feel to skiing in Southern California.

After a great meal and some sleep, we arrived at Snow Summit for Day 2 feeling optimistic and ready to go with a beautiful blue bird day ahead of us. Geared up and parked by 7:30, there was plenty of time to grab some breakfast and caffeine (they serve Starbucks!) before the lifts open at 9:00 AM. We got in a great morning of groomers before the California sunshine turned the snow to mush by 2:00 PM. Finally leaving Big Bear Lake around 3:30, we made it back to the city by the time the sun was setting. 

Overall, a great first time the mountains for the season! Next time, I will only ski Snow Summit, as Bear is a bit crowded and rowdy. 

PC: btfleming.com

Southern California Speed Tour: LA and Orange County

With a few visits from friends and family in the books, we have created a list of destinations we tend to take our visitors. With my brother living in Orange County, and me up in LA, we’ve figured out how to cover quite a bit of ground in a short period of time. Some of these are touristy and cliché, but that doesn’t make them any less great! 

Orange County

The spots we go in Orange County are pretty easy to cover in a day, depending on the weather and how much time you want to spend in each place. Starting in Newport Beach and ending in Laguna Beach, these stops are a great way to see a lot of what Orange County has to offer!

Newport Beach- I may be a bit biased towards Newport, but this is the beach we regularly went to when I first moved here, and one of my favorites. The beach is nice, clean, and parking is rarely an issue. There are good food options, and plenty of activities outside of working on your tan. Beach cruisers are available for rent year round, along with boogie boards, surf boards, stand up paddle-boards and kayaks in the warm(er) months.

 Laguna Beach-  Laguna is small, but if you want a quaint town to mosey along with a coffee in hand, this is a great place to do so.  There are also some great trails in the Laguna, including Top of the World and the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

Perfect Day: Breakfast at Stuft Surfer, rent beach cruisers and ride all the way down to “The Wedge”, head down the coast to Laguna for some window shopping, a meal, possibly another quick hike and catch the sunset.

Los Angeles

Due to the infamous traffic, LA requires you to be a little more selective when deciding what to pack in to a day.

Santa Monica- Downtown Santa Monica has tons of restaurants, shops and of course the Santa Monica Boardwalk.  While this area is a little busier, it’s a cool area to walk around and definitely do some shopping. I have yet to make it down here without stopping at either Patagonia, REI or both. 

Griffith Observatory- Seen in many movies, and has a great vantage point of the city and the Hollywood Sign. There are also tons of trails leading up to the observatory if you would rather hike than drive!

LACMA- Los Angeles County Museum of Art is another great place to spend a few hours if you’re with someone who appreciates museums. We found there were some really cool exhibits, and a few floors we definitely skipped. Make sure to check out the Tar Pits!

Rodeo Drive- Because these stores are ridiculous.

Runyon Canyon- a solid workout, great view of the city AND celebrities are often spotted here.

            Hollywood Sign- A longer hike than Runyon, but another                   great view of the city!

Other Day Trips

- The San Diego Zoo
-Potato Chip Rock (San Diego)
-Mt. Baldy

If you've visited out here and have any other great suggestions to add to the list, leave a comment below! If you're planning a visit, let me know and we can meet up!

PC: btfleming.com

Runyon Canyon

Perfect Day: Start the day with a hike at Runyon or the Hollywood Sign, grab a smoothie or lunch at Urth, Rodeo Drive, possibly stop at Griffith before heading down to Santa Monica for shopping and a sunset along the PCH.

Joshua Tree New Years!

PC:B.Fleming (btfleming.com)

Joshua Tree National Park is one of the places i've been most excited to visit since moving here! It is a strange, beautiful place, resembling a movie scene or maybe another planet. Filled with the areas native trees (aptly named Joshua Trees), massive rock formations, and even some tumbleweed, all that was missing was Road Runner. Well, on New Year’s Eve weekend I finally made it out there!

With my new sleeping pad and tent in tow, we set up camp for two nights at Black Rock Campground!  Something unique to camping in the desert is how drastic the temperature changes throughout the day. While we were there the temperature reached 60 during the day, and plummeted 40 degrees by the time we were fireside enjoying our pre-dinner soup (simple camp dinner recipe in my Cookbook!)

As this was my first time to Joshua Tree, and over 1,000 square miles of park to discover we tried to pack in as much as we could! Throughout the weekend we explored 49 Palms, Arch Rock and my favorite, Hidden Valley. 

PC: B.Fleming (btfleming.com)

PC: H.Labadie (hannahlabadie.com)

Mt. Baldy Sunrise Hike

We all have those moments in life when we are 100% content with what we are doing. Your mind isn’t wandering, wishing you were somewhere else, or doing something different with different people.  These are the moments we have to stop and pay attention to. 

At some point along the 4,000 ft. hike up to the summit of Mt. Baldy, with only the moon and our headlamps lighting the way, I had one of these moments. 

Dressed in running tights, base layers, an awesome Patagonia Nano-Puff, my Michigan State winter hat (still celebrating the B1G Championship Game win from the night before), and a head lamp to top it all off, we started our hike around 3:00 AM.  Stowed in our packs we had cameras (mine being a Cannon Rebel SL1) thicker gloves for the top, snacks (Clif Bars and dried fruit), and of course water (we each fill our CamelBak’s and carry another 1L water bottle). This hike is strenuous, and the path can get a little unclear at times, but I felt safe. I had done the hike twice before, and was with more experienced hikers.

Honestly, when I’m doing a hike for the first time all I can think about is getting to the top. I’m working on this. Yes, I wanted to make it to the top, I wanted to be able to relax and take in this AMAZING sunrise. But I wasn’t as anxious as usual to get there. This is important. During this hike I was genuinely enjoying the challenge, which made me realize how important being outside is to me.

PC: BF

The takeaway is simple: 

make time for whatever it is that you enjoy doing, challenges you, and helps you gain perspective AND GET OUTSIDE!

Dadventures

When your Dad visits you in Southern California for the first time, all the way from Alaska, there is really only ONE place you need to go: the beach. So we did. Three times in one day.

After picking my Dad up from LAX, we headed South to Orange County where my brother lives to escape from the city a bit. My family has always been the type to go to little artsy towns, so I knew we had to go to Laguna Beach. After a long beach walk in Laguna, we ate lunch at one of our favorite spots in Newport Beach, The Stuft Surfer (where you are actually eating on the beach) and ended the night with one of the most memorable sunsets i've seen yet. 

We ended the weekend by going to Los Angeles County Museum of Arts or LACMA and had a good time checking out some of the exhibits. Since being in LA i've spent so much time exploring outdoors, and not as much time exploring the city. This needs to change. Comment any suggestions for places I should explore in the city!
 

**Editor's Note: We also went to In-N-Out. My Dad loved it. Vegan choice-fries.**

Girl's Weekend: Seattle Edition

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One of my biggest pet peeves about traveling throughout the U.S. (and i'm sure others share this one with me) is how expensive flights are! I can travel between two different countries in Europe for the price of an extra checked bag in America! With that being said, when I do get the chance to travel somewhere awesome, for a reasonable price, I will definitely take it!

This past weekend we travelled to Washington for the first time (bringing my count to 43/50 states!) to visit a friend in Seattle. This was also my first time going on a quick getaway since working full-time, and my first time flying since Europe!

We were extremely excited to go, so it was easy to make up a list of the things we knew we wanted to do ahead of time. This made it easier to fit in as much as we did, because all we had to do was adjust when we did activities, according to the weather.

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First stop: Pike's Place Market. The flowers were beautiful and the fruit was amazing. I had hands down the best mango i've ever tasted (which i'm SURE was locally sourced), apples, and even tried a bourbon infused caramel.

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PC: H. Labadie

We then had a fun brunch, as you do on a girl's weekend, and made a quick stop at the original Starbucks. The afternoon was spent getting our "Fall Fix" in by going to the pumpkin patch, having donuts and hot apple- cider, and soaking in all the beautiful fall foliage. As Mid-Westerners this is something that is an IMPORTANT part of Fall. After checking out Freemont Brewing, we turned in [relatively] early, to be ready first thing for our beautiful Sunday hike at Bandera Mountain!

PC: L. McGlinn

Hiking Time! We started the 8-mile round trip hike by 10 AM, with plenty of time to beat the potential afternoon rain. The hike was described as "easy-moderate" online, and this was true until the last mile where my trekking poles sitting at home in California were definitely missed (as they aren't allowed in a carry-on!)                      

Gear-wise I wore many layers: athletic shirt, fleece quarter zip, rain coat, and Eddie Bauer "on-the-go" pants. I would also recommend a hat and gloves. 

We hiked up to just around the first summit (or roughly that area), where we had an amazing view of Mt. Rainier and Mason Lake. The second summit was little further, and not as highly recommended.                                                        

Nonetheless, the hike was BEAUTIFUL, and I truly can't wait to go back! As a kid I spent a large amount of time exploring outside, both in and out of the Mid-West. I recently realized how great of an impact this time spent outdoors has had on me. Connecting with nature, and disconnecting with the rest of the world for a few hours, is the best way to re-gain perspective. 

This trip gave me a SMALL taste of what I know the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and i'm already day-dreaming about my next adventure.

Comment below where you think I should go next on a weekend getaway!

Next Adventure: Europe!

When else do you have 32 days off in your life? Never! Next stop, Belgium!