North Carolina Road Trip: Greenville, Wilmington, & Raleigh

After coming back from our trip to Brazil and Peru, I decided to make a quick turnaround and head for warmer weather again. In March, the ground in New Jersey was still covered in snow—our car even got stuck when we took Bailey to the dog park! No, thank you. It had been a while since the last time I visited my uncle in Greenville, North Carolina, and I also wanted to check out Wilmington, so I packed up the car (which thankfully still ran just fine after almost two months in the snow!) and headed south.

First, I took Bailey to my alma mater, the University of Delaware, with official nostalgia stops at Newark Deli & Bagels and Brew HaHa. Bailey wasn’t loving the car on this road trip, so it was a good point to stop, stretch our legs, and administer more dramamine.

We made a couple more dog-friendly stops along the way. I’m kicking myself for not bookmarking or remembering the name of one coffee shop off I-95 in Maryland. It was extremely dog and laptop-friendly, inside and out!

Bailey was still feeling drugged-up later in Virginia, so this was not her best photo:

Greenville

We arrived in Greenville just in time for dinner. My uncle made BBQ and invited a couple of friends over for drinks and laughs. Dessert was yummy tiramisu from his friends’ bakery, Boston South.

That weekend in Greenville, we took a nice walk in Wildwood Park for some nature time. It’s been wonderful seeing my uncle recover from a stroke and diabetes diagnosis three years ago and get back to his old self and moving around again. We saw a very entertaining production of Grease at the Paramount Theatre in Farmville. And we had some afternoon drinks at Pitt Street Brewing—that’s become a favorite spot for my visits to Greenville. The spring flowers were all in bloom, and it was a lovely weekend.

Wilmington

Next stop, I drove out to the coast. I’ve always fantasized about someday living in Wilmington, and it lived up to the hype. I can tell it likely faces the same traffic and crowd troubles as coming over the bridge to Long Beach Island, NJ in the summer months, but with good reason. I felt like I was visiting at the perfect time of year.

I rented an Airbnb hotel room-turned-aparment just over the bridge from Wrightsville Beach, and I was treated to many beautiful sunrises and sunsets throughout the week.

I loved the glimpses of local surf culture. I saw a few groups of women surfing together in the early morning, then quickly showering off in the parking lot before heading to work. I brought my board and caught some fun small waves.

For food, I had to get my standard southern delicacies—Bojangles & Mellow Mushroom pizza. Then I also tried some local favorites: Sundays Cafe (the best!), Drift Cafe, (nice breakfast!) and Adapt Kitchen & Juice Bar (smoothies & bowls!). My uncle came out to the beach for a night, and we had a really good dinner at Fish House Grill. It was a great visit all around and a nice taste of Wilmington and the Wrightsville Beach area.

Raleigh

My last stop was Raleigh. I’ve visited the city a few times before, so this time, I was really there to see the Thomas Dambo trolls! There are five of the recycled wood troll sculptures throughout the city. I woke up early and drove over to see as many as I could. The trolls are scattered throughout Dix Park, and they weren’t too hard for Bailey and me to find.

Mother Strong Tail was the coolest one I’ve seen, with a tail that wraps a long way through the forest:

There are two other trolls in North Carolina—in High Point and Charlotte—but that was a little too much driving for me this trip.

I went straight from the trolls to work for the day at a WeWork co-working space (which I didn’t love and should’ve just gone to a regular old coffee shop!) I’m glad I woke up early to see the trolls, because the weather completely turned to pouring rain and hail later in the afternoon. It was time to make the long drive back. I didn’t make any scenic stops on the way back to New Jersey (besides a scenic Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s) but Bailey and I arrived safely home around 1am.

Surf Trip to Chicama, Peru

After our visit to São Paulo, Brazil, we headed to Peru to surf in Chicama. First, we spent a few days in Lima (which I wrote about in my last post: The Time We Got Stuck in Peru). Then we took a short ~1 hour flight to the tiny airport of Trujilo, followed by a ~30 minute taxi ride to Huanchaco.

We had a night to explore the little beach town and ended up eating yummy Thai food on a secluded rooftop.

In the morning, it was too foggy to surf (at least for us in a brand new place), so I went for a run and saw more of the village. Huanchaco is right on the beach. There was an outdoor gym:

And I saw many of these traditional reed boats that the fishermen still use today. Apparently these might have been some of the first vessels ever used for riding waves:

Later that morning, it was time for our ~40 minute taxi to Chicama. We stayed at the Chicama Boutique Hotel. I don’t think I’m revealing any surf spot secrets—Chicama is very well-known and the closest spots to surf were pretty crowded!

There are definitely cheaper options for places to stay, but the boutique hotel is right on the break and helps with arranging board rentals and boat trips. Plus, this was my first multi-day vacation of the year, and I was ready to relax in luxury!

The hotel was worth the splurge:

And the waves were 1,000% worth the expense for the boards and boat trips. Chicama’s wave is one of the longest in the world, so most people hire zodiac boats to pick them up and bring them out to the break. They picked us up and dropped us off so quickly that there was hardly any time to catch my breath and rest after each wave. Onto the next one!

I had a couple full 60-second rides—the longest of my life! It was a majorly welcome change from winter surfing in New Jersey.

It was like surfing on another planet. Take a look at this beauty:

We usually ate dinner at the hotel, because the drone photographers would show the video footage from earlier in the day. But we were happily surprised to find some other great food in the small town (like Burgers & Brownies, which is pretty self explanatory as to why we liked it!)

Unfortunately, we might have been too adventurous with eating out, because we ended up getting sick after a couple of days. I think the culprit was a ceviche lunch with some passionfruit juice that might have been made with water. We ended up with whatever the Peruvian version of Montezuma’s Revenge is.

My decadent breakfast turned into this:

Luckily, the worst part of the sickness only lasted for about 24 hours. And I had some extra time to explore the colorful town of Puerto Malabrigo while walking to the pharmacy.

Overall, the trip was completely worth it for the quality of waves in a beautiful setting. Some people dream for all of their lives of going to a place like Chicama. Even though I am still pretty new to surfing, I feel extremely grateful for the experience!

**It’s a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

The Time We Got Stuck in Peru

Back in February, I lost my keys in the snow. One morning, it started snowing in New Jersey, so I walked Bailey up to the beach. We frolicked around the sand dunes, walked to the bay, and then went back to the house. Throughout the day, it snowed and sleeted about 12 inches, covering the roads in layers of wet snow and crunchy ice. Later that day, I reached into my coat pocket for my car keys, but they weren’t there.

I looked in all my pockets, my purse, the garage, the laundry basket, but they were nowhere to be found. At that point, I was pretty sure they’d fallen out of my pocket into the snow, and since a foot of snow and ice had dumped on top, there was no way to check. On top of that, I wasn’t exactly sure where they’d fallen out. I only knew they had to be somewhere in the .1 mile stretch between the bay and the ocean. I walked back and forth down the lane in the spitting snow, half-heartedly hoping to find them. I kept looking around the house, knowing full well they probably weren’t anywhere in there. My neighbor even kindly helped me shovel and check the driveway around my car. But still, no luck.

Oh, I should probably mention that I don’t have a spare key. My car never came with one. Of course, when I told my family members and neighbors that the keys were lost, they asked if I had a spare. Nope. Just the one, buried in the snow.

Over the next few days, the temperatures stayed below freezing. Our street turned to a thick sheet of ice. I slipped, skated, and crunched back and forth, searching for the keys. I started to give up the little bit of hope I had of finding them before spring, so I made some calls to explore my options. AAA wouldn’t come because of the wintry weather. The local locksmith couldn’t make a copy of the master key without reprogramming the system in the car. I finally called Toyota and learned it would be around $800-900 to reset the car and get a new master key. Yikes (my car is a 2016 Corolla)! My job is fully remote, and I didn’t feel compelled to drive around town on the ice rink, so I decided to wait and hope for a thaw.

The thaw never came, but my trip to South America was quickly approaching. I (maybe irresponsibly) decided to abandon the keys and the car for almost a month. I got a ride off the island and eventually to the airport, leaving all my troubles behind.

I already wrote about our stay in São Paulo in my last post so in this post, I’ll only talk about where we went after that… Peru!

Landing in Lima

We flew from São Paolo into Lima for a quick stop. I had visited the city about 10 years ago, and I was excited to return. It’s such a pretty city with amazing food and relaxing coastal paths.

We stayed in the Barranco neighborhood, with cliffs overlooking the ocean and a walkway for easy access down to the beach.

We ate at La Bodega Verde cafe multiple times for perfect patio seating and healthy breakfasts.

We went on an awesome food tour, where we learned about the history of the city and tasted local delicacies: tamales, pork sandwiches, yellow potatoes, tropical fruits, donuts, and the best, ceviche! Our arrival coincided with National Pisco Sour Day, so we celebrated that, too.

Apart from all the eating, we toured the city:

And took a day trip to the Palomino Islands to swim with sea lions:

I really recommend the visit to the Palomino Islands. The water is very cold due to the Humboldt current, but it was worth it to be so close to the sea lions. These particular sea lions are friendly and playful, so they come right up to you. You also get to see lots of little Humboldt penguins.

After our two lovely days in Lima (including watching the Super Bowl and seeing the Bad Bunny halftime show with lots of fans!), we flew to Trujillo and traveled on to Chicama. I will write about that part in my next post, because it was a separate surf trip, so stay tuned for that. The Lima airport has gotten an upgrade since the last time I was there:

Back to Lima

We spent four days in Huanchaco and Chicama, and then returned to Lima. It was Valentine’s Day, and we had the not-so-original idea to visit Love Park with just about every other person in the city! It was felt special though, with live music and dancing.

This time we stayed in the Miraflores neighborhood, which feels a little more central, but is also a high tourist area like Barranco. We stayed in a nice guesthouse that was off the beaten path and had a quiet patio for breakfast:

While we were staying at that guest house, I received some amazing news… my neighbor had found my car keys in the sand dunes during her beach walk! It felt like a miracle. That was a big weight lifted off my shoulders for when I returned home.

Punta Hermosa

Our next stop was a beach town about an hour south of Lima called Punta Hermosa. We spent the week working, surfing, and checking out the town. The weather was a little foggy, but it usually cleared up later in the day.

I almost don’t want to tell anyone where we stayed because I want to keep it a secret all to ourselves, but I will share because the hosts were so kind and helpful: Chino Surf House. It was simple, peaceful, and very close to the beach. I hope to return someday!

We got to hang out with Lua, the best house dog:

Back to Lima

After our week in Punta Hermosa, it was time to head back to Lima. This is when the trip started to get interesting (wink, wink). We were at a cooking class on Sunday, my “last day”, when I got a text from United that my flight had been canceled. I set my stress aside just long enough to make this delicious ceviche:

Later I found out that, due to all the snow back in New Jersey, I wouldn’t be able to leave until Friday. To be honest, I wasn’t heartbroken. That just meant more sunsets and more ceviche! Lima is pretty inexpensive when it comes to accommodation (we also had travel insurance to help with some of the costs), and I didn’t have anything important to hurry back for.

San Bartolo

The next day, Bryan’s flight also ended up getting canceled and rescheduled, so we added another stop to our itinerary. We opted to check out San Bartolo, another beach town that is just a little past Punta Hermosa. We weren’t as lucky with surfing as we were in Punta Hermosa. We didn’t bring our own boards to Peru, and we couldn’t find anywhere close enough to rent them (we didn’t have a rental car).

We stayed at Kauhuhu Casa Hotel, which was really nice, and we dined out at lots of outdoor restaurants all over town. Overall, the town was much quieter than Punta Hermosa with not as much going on at night, but I’m glad we stayed there for the experience.

Back to Lima (last stop!)

Would you believe we went back to Lima one more time? It really is a very easy and livable city. I was sad to leave and return back to winter, but I knew it wouldn’t be too long until the next adventure.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Know that the moral of this story is to leave all your troubles behind and get to South America… everything else will work itself out as you go! And yes, we did eventually make it home and my car keys still worked—even the buttons.

**It’s a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Staying in São Paulo

At the end of January, we took a trip to São Paulo, Brazil. There’s something special about Brazil and Brazilians, for me. I could feel it even before we boarded the plane from the US. Everyone is so warm, friendly, and talkative. I think I made four new friends before we left the ground.

I hadn’t been back to Brazil since a study abroad trip in 2009, but I dusted off my rusty Portuguese and managed to get around and even had a few fun conversations.

This was a trip for Bryan’s work, so it was a little out of the ordinary in that we got to stay in a fancy hotel we normally wouldn’t stay at, and I spent more hotel time than usual. But it was also the time right before Carnaval, so one of Bryan’s colleagues took us to the pre-Carnaval rehearsals, and it was so amazing to see it all in action!

São Paulo is a big sprawling city. Some say it’s not the prettiest:

But the JW Marriott is always pretty! We were there during rainy season, but we did catch a few moments of sun:

And you can’t go on a trip to Brazil without talking about the food. First, there was the hotel breakfast buffet featuring every fruit imaginable:

My other favorite Brazilian foods are feijoada (a black bean and meat stew), moqueca (a fish stew with coconut milk), and rodizio (an eating extravaganza with every type and cut of meat— we tried a new one called Assador and it was really good).

We visited Bolinha for a classic feijoada lunch:

The Japanese food is also incredible, because Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. We had the best sushi meal at MAK.Okuwa, but I forgot to take a photo!

The pre-Carnaval party was definitely my favorite part. It felt like a bucket list travel experience. The samba schools go through all of their routines in the Sambadrome. There’s music, confetti, and incredible costumes, almost like the real deal.

The next day, on a Sunday, we visited Paulista Avenue. They close the street to cars and there are lots of shops, museums, and markets to stop in. We got there and had brunch at mug.sp just before a huge thunderstorm, so we ran into the MASP art museum just in time.

There are a lot of great museums in São Paulo. I also visited the Afro Brazil Museum where they showcase inspiring Afro Brazilian art from throughout history. My only warning is that all the signs are in Portuguese, so it takes a bit of effort or a lot of Google Translate.

São Paulo also has a famous area for street art, called Beco do Batman or Batman’s Alley. This artist was my favorite:

And, of course, Batman himself:

At first glance, São Paulo is mostly buildings. And it is… at second glance and at third glance, too. But there are a few parks, especially Ibirapuera Park. It’s almost 400 acres of trails, lakes, and green space that offers a nice escape in the middle of the city. After being mostly indoors all week, walking through it on my last day was truly a breath of fresh air:

And that was our week in São Paulo! It probably won’t go on my list of favorite cities, but Brazil is still one of my favorite countries, and I hope to someday get back to see more of it! Tchau for now!

Three Places to Visit in Bulgaria

To start this year, we took a trip to Bulgaria. I’ve already written a post about skiing in Bansko, so I won’t include that here. But we spent about a week visiting three other places that I’ll talk about in this post: Sofia, the Rila Monastery, and Plovdiv.

Our flights and all of our travels were in and out of Sofia. We found that this made the most sense since we were relying on public transportation instead of renting a car. It was usually more time efficient to return to Sofia than to take trains between places. We flew into Sofia, took a private taxi to Bansko, then came back to Sofia for a couple of nights. Next, we did a day tour to the Rila Monastery and later took the train to Plovdiv. Going back and forth to Sofia might not have been the most sensible itinerary looking at a map, but it matched with the train schedules and what we wanted to do with our days off work.

Sofia

We spent about four nights in Sofia in total. On the surface, it wasn’t too much different from other western European cities, with modern cafes, international cuisines, landmarks, museums, and things to do. But on my last day, I took a free walking tour that revealed the rich history of the city. There were layers leftover from the Romans and the Ottomans that create a really interesting blend of architecture and ruins. It snowed that day, and it was pretty to see the city dressed in white—though I was completely frozen!

We were a little lazy about going out to eat in Sofia because we’d gone out a lot in Bansko, so we got takeout a few times and even tried the McDonalds (we don’t usually eat American fast food, but we like to see the unique items in other countries!) I have to say, it was our best international McDonalds yet. I also ate at 718 Breakfast & Brunch twice in one day since my Bulgarian coworker recommended it, and it was a nice cozy shelter from the snow.

Our Airbnb was so nice, we almost never wanted to leave it:

We also visit the Red Flat, a museum/apartment decorated to show what everyday life was like in communist Bulgaria. The household actually didn’t seem too different from growing up in the late 80’s or early 90’s in the U.S.—there was a rotary phone and a vinyl record player for the Gen Z-ers to wonder about. The main things that were different were the travel restrictions and work policies.

Bulgaria has gone through some tough times since the fall of communism, and it was apparent in some parts of Sofia. Areas like the train station were really run down and there was graffiti everywhere. But for the most part, it was similar to other European cities I’ve visited and it was interesting to learn the history and see the leftover relics of time.

Rila Monastery

From Sofia, we took a day tour to visit the beautiful Rila Monastery, which also included a stop at the much smaller Boyana Church. It was about a 2 hour bus ride from Sofia, stopping at the small church along the way:

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but there are some very old and beautiful images painted on the inside.

After a short stop, we headed to the Rila Monastery. On our tour, we learned about the monastery’s operations and history throughout the centuries. It’s still active and you can even stay there as a hotel (we chose to return to our nice warm Airbnb in Sofia!)

The paintings around the outside of the main church are amazing:

The striped arches reminded me of visiting the Cordoba Cathedral in Spain. You’re not supposed to take photos inside the church, but it was quite ornate and impressive. We took the audio tour to learn more about each area of the monastery.

However, as much as I enjoy learning about history and beautiful churches, my favorite part of the whole experience was waiting just outside the monastery… at the bakery! We sampled some of the best of Bulgarian cuisine, mekitsas, which are basically fried dough with jam and powdered sugar. Yum!

There was an option to hike to a cave, but we skipped it due to the cold weather and had lunch at one of the two small restaurants nearby. Then we headed back to Sofia on our tour bus.

Plovdiv

I think Plovdiv ended up being both of our favorite stops on the trip. It’s a slightly smaller and more slowed down city than Sofia.

We took the train from Sofia. Here’s our first class car:

The weather was better for us here than in Bansko or Sofia. Even though it was January, the temperatures were pretty mild and in the 50s Fahrenheit. Our Airbnb was almost as nice as the one in Sofia, and it had a balcony:

We took a free walking tour that revealed more of Bulgaria’s layers of history. Plovdiv is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in Europe. You can see more ruins of the Roman Empire under modern city streets. And an amphitheater that’s still in operation for summer concerts:

We ventured out of our Airbnb this time and tried a few restaurants. My favorite was Aylyakria gastrobar, where we tried tarator yogurt and cucumber soup. It was tasty.

Overall, I thought Plovdiv was a much more charming and unique city than Sofia, and I’m glad we had the chance to spend some time there.

All things considered, we had mixed feelings about Bulgaria… Parts were very run down or stuck in the past, but other parts were a beautiful expression of the country’s history. I want to see as much of the world as I can, so of course it was worth it to see a new place and experience a different culture. If you’re interested in history or experiencing this part of the word, then I definitely think these three places are worth the trip.

Skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria

To ring in 2026, we spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria. I have to start off by saying, I learned about Bansko from a travel podcast that recommended it as a great place to ski that hadn’t been discovered by tourists yet. After visiting, I can safely say that Bansko has very much been discovered by very many tourists!

The ski area was quite crowded, which of course can be expected for ski areas that week after Christmas. Overall, it was less crowded than most ski areas in the US would have been, with hardly any lift lines apart from the main gondola that takes you from town to the ski area. The beginner trails were packed with people and it was hard to find a seat at lunch, but the top of the mountain was emptier and more spread out. The lift tickets were also cheaper than they would have been in the US, coming in at around $65 per day.

We rented clothing and equipment from BSR Ski Rent. The skis and boots were pretty decent, but the jackets and snow pants had seen better days. We got spoiled last year in Japan with their amazing organization systems and high quality rental gear, so we came in with high expectations. Bulgaria, as you might expect, was not so organized as Japan, but we got some skis, boots, and clothing for about $25 and only reserved a couple of days in advance. I don’t think they actually track the reservation system and instead just see what they have when you get there, but our friend “Bob” from Bansko got us set up with what we needed, save for a few rips and tears and limited selection. We brought goggles, hats, and gloves from home, which were all very needed since temperatures were in the single digits (Fahrenheit)!

We stayed in an apartment at the Belvedere Holiday Club, which also had some pros and cons. It was a little overpriced for Bulgaria (at just under $200 a night), but on the other hand, where in the US can you stay walking distance to the lifts for that price? When we arrived, our room had not yet been cleaned from the previous guests—that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me with an Airbnb type of place! But it was an easy fix, and our host had it rectified in under an hour. They made up for it by leaving a bottle of prosecco to celebrate the new year.

The ski area was unique, since you walk to a gondola in town and then the gondola brings you to the base area to take other lifts. At the end of the day, there’s a long ski road to get all the way down into town. I’m not sure if Bryan had fun, since the trails were icy and crowded, but for me, it was enjoyable to get to see what skiing is like in another country.

We were also walking distance from the restaurants in town, so we tried a few places for dinner. The House was nice and cozy for traditional food and Alpen was a deliciously memorable Italian meal. We found that a lot of places would turn you away without a reservation, even if they looked completely empty, so it’s best to book in advance. Generally, Bulgarian food was delicious, with a lot of barbecued meats, fresh veggies, and really good bread. There were slim pickings for breakfast, so if you’re thinking about opening a breakfast cafe or coffee shop—you might find a market in Bansko. We either grabbed protein bars from the convenience store or skipped breakfast altogether, but Station had good omelettes on our last day.

The little town was quaint and peaceful with nice views of the mountains. New Year’s Eve was pretty subdued for us, but there was some live music and dancing at the restaurant we went to for dinner, and we saw a lot of fireworks going off at night.

On January 2nd, we were done with skiing and booked a day at the spa. We chose Pulse Therme in Banya because they have a brand new location with lots of baths and saunas to choose from. There were some issues with our arrival, because as we arrived the electricity went out, so the spa was closed. They brought us to their other location back in Bansko, but as soon as we got there, they told us the electricity had come back on at the first location and that it would be much less crowded. So we went back, and it was still extremely crowded! But after all the back and forth, we settled in, used the gym, and bopped around to all the baths, pools, steam rooms, rain rooms, and saunas that we could fit into our four-hour visit. It was a nice spa, besides being overcrowded, and I’m not sure if it was due to the electrical issue, but the hot tubs were more warm than hot.

That was all for our three days in Bansko. As you can tell, there were some ups and downs, but overall it was a unique experience and new place to ring in the new year. Happy trails!

**It’s a privilege getting to ski in other countries. I make sure I’m covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including skiing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Kyushu, Japan Road Trip

Please forgive me for a few more delayed Japan posts from last year. My memory is fading in my older age, so it helps me to write these things down so I don’t forget! Kyushu is the southernmost Japanese island. I’m so glad we rented a car and drove around the island. It was a unique and laid-back experience, and we got to see so much more than we would’ve if we had just taken trains everywhere.

I flew into Fukuoka since I was doing a language program there and we flew out of Miyazaki. We spent five nights on this part of the trip. Here is a map of our route:

Fukuoka

I posted previously about learning Japanese and staying with a host family in Fukuoka, Japan in December 2024. From there, Bryan met me in Fukuoka, where it was essential that we eat ramen, since Fukuoka is the birthplace of tonkatsu ramen. We ran around the city visiting Christmas markets and seeing holiday fountain shows for one night, then we started our road trip.

We rented a car in Fukuoka and drove south. I drove—on the “wrong” side of the road and with most of the signs in Japanese to put my new language skills to the test.

Huis Ten Bosch

Our first stop was an unexpected Dutch theme park in the middle of Japan called Huis Ten Bosch. There were rides, performances, and an incredible display of Christmas lights. We spent the afternoon and evening checking out as much as we could. It was a strange sight in Japan but cool to see the amazing lights!

Nagasaki

We stayed in a very interesting, long and narrow hotel room in Nagasaki (Nagasaki House Burabura). The floor mattresses and tatami mats were normal for Japan, the cat murals and shape of the room were not! We enjoyed our stay anyway. The downstairs had a shared kitchen and living room area with tea and coffee and bicycles for rent in warmer weather.

The neighborhood was pretty, and we found a really delicious French bakery nearby (Aulong).

Next was a sobering visit to the atomic bomb museum (I know, a total 180 from the Christmas lights and bakery, but that’s what the itinerary called for). I thought it was a sad but very well-done museum, including a walking path outside to the fountain of peace.

Kumamoto

Before our trip, we watched a show on traveling in Japan with comedian Rhys Darby. That’s how I learned about the cute Japanese mascot, Kumamon, and how I persuaded us to make a stop in the city of Kumamoto. I think Bryan was mainly there for the bao buns:

But then we got to see Kumamon! He does funny dances and films videos to get people to visit Japan and Kumamoto… it worked on us!

Kurokawa Onsen

Our next stop was a “treat yourself” experience. We stayed for at a really nice ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) at Kurokawa Onsen Village (it was called Kurokawa Onsen Oko no Yu). The rooms were very comfortable with a peaceful view of the river outside and a short stroll to the hot springs.

The meals were outstanding and we got to eat them in our robes. I would’ve spent many more nights at this place, and I’m a little sad that we only spent one!

Fun fact, this stop was actually the first sign that my life was about to change a lot! I had been interviewing for jobs for a while, and while we were at the hotel I got the call with the offer of my new job.

Mt. Aso

We made a brief pit stop to see Mt. Aso, the second largest active volcano in Japan, after Mt. Fuji. We hiked around a little bit, but it was mainly just a quick viewpoint.

Takachiho Gorge

We made another short stop that day at Takachiho Gorge. The gorge was really beautiful and impressive. We took a walk along the river and I was surprised to see so many people boating in the winter weather.

We also had the most delicious noodle soups for lunch (sorry for my finger in the photo, but you get the idea!)

Miyazaki

Our “final” stop on this segment of the trip was Miyazaki. We had a truly magical time! We wanted to surf but weren’t sure about waves and renting boards. We ended up staying at a guest house where the owner happened to have two longboards for us to rent and somehow he found two wetsuits that fit our American bodies perfectly!

The waves were tiny (much to my liking) and we had two really fun days of surfing. People in the water were very friendly, and I was really impressed by their surf van setups. Good vibes all around in Miyazaki!

That finished the road trip segment of the trip. We flew out of Miyazaki for Osaka where we would continue our Japanese adventure.

Christmas in Japan

Ok, you got me. We actually did Christmas in Japan last year, while this year we were in regular old New Jersey. BUT, I never wrote about our Christmas in Japan, and it feels like a festive time to do it now.

First things first, a friend of ours had recommended staying at a really interesting looking castle near Kiroro Ski Resort. It was well off the beaten path near the town of Otaru, which is about an hour from Sapporo. So, that’s how we ended up here:

The castle hotel was nearly empty and kind of spooky! But it was interesting nonetheless. We weren’t sure, but I think we were one of the two or three only people staying there. Some things (like our broken bathroom cabinet) were a bit neglected, but it was an interesting experience for sure. Christmas in Japan was in full swing with decorations:

At the mountain, the skiing was fantastic! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much snow, and it was nice and powdery. The slopes were miraculously uncrowded with hardly any lift lines around Christmas week, which is practically unheard of anywhere I’ve skied in the US. The resort had plenty of terrain and seemed great for families and all levels of skiers. We rented skis and snow clothes and found the whole experience to be very well organized and affordable.

And if you’ve never had ramen as a ski lunch, you are missing out!

Even though we were some of the only guests eating at the hotel, they did not hold back on Christmas dinner. Here’s Bryan modeling our amazing hot pot and Sapporo Classic beer (and giant space heater that was the main heat source in the room):

Our second day of skiing was a total blizzard! We could barely see since we’d brought minimal gear on the trip, but we still had a great time.

We finished the day off by heading to the German beer hall in the town of Otaru (Otaru Beer Warehouse), which was tasty and fun.

And then we took the train back to Sapporo to spend the next day eating soufflé pancakes and visiting the Olympic museum.

I’ve skied in many different places and a few other countries, and I can say that skiing at Kiroro were some of the best or maybe THE best ski days I’ve ever had. I hope someday to return and ski in Japan again!

Recap: New Zealand North Island Surf & Road Trip

Thanks to those of you who followed along our New Zealand north island road trip! If you’ve read all the other posts, feel free to skip this one, but I wanted to do a full recap of the trip in case it helps anyone else with their planning. We found October to be a pretty windy month for surfing in New Zealand, but we got lucky with waves some days and we got to see and do a ton of other amazing things along the way.

This trip took two weeks overall. I flew in and out of Auckland on Air New Zealand, which I really liked. We rented a camper van from Wendekreisen (the Koru 4 Freedom van), which was on the higher end of the options available. You could definitely do it for cheaper, but we wanted extra space because we expected the weather to be pretty cold and rainy, and we thought we might end up spending a decent amount of time in the van, which we did.

The weather ended up being better and less rainy than expected, and I would do the whole trip over again in a heartbeat!

Here’s a list of the places we stopped (with links to each post to read more):

• Whangarei Falls

• Spirits Bay

• Waipu Caves

• Raglan

• Mt. Taranaki viewpoint & Hawera

• Wellington

• Tongariro, Taupo Bay, & Rotorua

• Mount Maunganui

• Hobbiton in Matamata

• Coromandel Peninsula

• Auckland

And a map of the whole route:

Thank you for reading! Onto the next adventure…

Namaste,

Cori

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Auckland (my last stop!)

The next stop on our New Zealand north island road trip took us to my last stop—Auckland! We arrived on Halloween evening, returned the van, and stayed in an Airbnb in the Ponsonby area.

The view from our patio was impeccable, and we were just off the beaten path enough to feel at peace, because Ponsonby Road is quite bustling with a lot of bars, restaurants, and shops.

My friend Mike (who I visited in Sydney) was just starting off a New Zealand adventure with another friend, so our paths overlapped for the night. We set off to see what Halloween in New Zealand was all about.

I was actually surprised to see so many people dressed up and places decorated:

We hit a few bars on Ponsonby Rd., including Parade where it was nice enough to sit outside. Then we had a delicious dinner (and a giant beer tower!) at Eden Noodles.

Auckland is a foodie city, and we definitely made plenty of time for eating. The next day was hanging around waiting for my flight, so we did brunch (not pictured) and walked along the streets in Ponsonby and K-Road.

There was a perfect secondhand bookstore called The Open Book where I bought the first book in my new favorite series (The Little Shop of Found Things.)

We did some more eating and shopping at Ponsonby Central. Grown Up Donuts (sadly not pictured) were a big hit.

Then it was already time for me to head to the airport and fly on home. That was a wrap on an amazing two weeks in New Zealand. Bryan would carry on to explore the South Island.

Thanks for following along on the blog journey!

New Zealand Road Trip: Coromandel & Raglan Return

At this point in the trip, after Hobbiton, we were winding down and didn’t have much of agenda for the last couple of days. We decided to voyage up to the Coromandel Peninsula to check out the hot water beach.

It was about a two hour drive from Matamata, and unfortunately we ended up being a little disappointed. You’re supposed to be able to dig into the beach and reveal little hot water pools, but at least at the time we went, the one small spot of beach with hot water underneath was quite crowded. There were a few groups enjoying their hot tubs—and you could see steam coming over—but there were many other groups digging to no avail. We tried our best at digging, digging, and digging, but ultimately there was no hot tub for us!

We didn’t have a set agenda for where to go next, so we decided to head back toward Raglan and try again for surfing Manu Bay. But first, we stopped overnight at a pretty epic camp spot and our best sunset of the trip:

We fared a little better at Ranglan for attempt number two. Bryan got some waves. I tried the point break and kind of caught a wave, but quickly fell off. Oh well, at least I tried, I guess. Then it was sadly already time to pack up the boards in preparation for the flight.

We had our last dinner and breakfast in the van to clear the fridge, then headed north to Auckland—the last stop for me.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Hobbiton

This might be my most important post of the trip, since we based our whole itinerary around our reservation at Hobbiton. We did the second breakfast tour, and it was well worth it. We lucked out to extreme measures with the weather. It can be really windy, rainy, and overcast in Spring in New Zealand, but we had the perfect sunny day. It even started raining immediately after our tour was done. Talk about good fortune!

First of all, we woke up early here in our van:

We were only a short drive from Matamata, where Hobbiton is located. We drove up through the green rolling pastures (the sheep weren’t featured in any of the movies.) Here we go!

I got a coffee from the cafe, and got scolded (by Bryan) for almost making us late! Then we took a short bus ride to the movie set.

I won’t spoil the experience with all of my photos, but the scenery and hobbit holes looked amazing. There was so much impressive attention to detail. We loved every second of it.

Our guide started out on a working holiday visa. Imagine that being your work away job in New Zealand! And there was a guy on our tour who had learned some songs from the movie on the tin whistle and played them for us.

The general scenery was also gorgeous:

We got to go inside of one hobbit hole. There was so much to see, I think I could’ve stayed all day, or moved in forever! The attention to detail continued, with the fireplace lit and a pipe still smoking on the end table.

Hobbit life alwaysseems pretty sweet to me! Next we headed to the Green Dragon Inn for a pint. I enjoyed a lovely cider by the fireside.

Then we had made it to second breakfast. It’s a good thing we were hungry. All the food was delicious!

I have about a hundred more photos, but it’s best to go see for yourself. And rewatch all the movies while you’re at it! It was a truly magical experience.

New Zealand Road Trip: Rotorua and Mount Maunganui

After our Māori cultural experience in Rotorua, we found a place nearby to park for the night. It was a little tight, and we got one of the last freedom camping spots. There was a nice lake for our morning view:

We spent the next day in Rotorua and ended up visiting the Polynesian Spa. I didn’t take any photos inside, but there are a few natural hot springs in the town and plenty of massage places and spas. The Polynesian Spa was on the higher end, and we got to pamper ourselves soaking in different temperatures of hot springs and a cold plunge. We also got really nice couple’s mud massages! It was a splendid way to relax (and shower) after life on the road.

After our spa day, we drove about an hour north to Mount Maunganui. We stayed the night, though it was a bit difficult to find a camping spot. The lots in town only had a few spaces and the lots outside of town were isolated and felt kind of sketchy. I think this was the only place we had real trouble finding a place that felt right. We eventually landed on a nice marina spot for the night.

The next day, it was raining, so we found a laundromat in the morning, but by the afternoon it had cleared up enough to go surfing (this was kind of a surf trip, remember?)

It was extremely windy, so I had a struggle session, and I think we encountered 3-4 seasons of weather in about an hour, including a pretty double rainbow! My board and I almost blew off the beach as I walked back to the van.

In the evening, we had a nice meal at Latitude 37 and then drove to camp near our location for the next day: Hobbiton in Matamata! Of course that will deserve its own post. Coming soon…

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Tongariro, Bungy, & Rotorua

It was time for our biggest New Zealand day yet! We fueled up on ramen in the van on our last night in Wellington, then we really wanted to squeeze in as much as possible, so we decided to try to fit Tongariro National Park, bungy jumping (for me), and a Rotorua Maori cultural experience in one day. It was packed in, but the schedule was definitely doable with some time to spare.

We woke up super early from our parking lot in Wellington and drove about 3.5 hours north to Tongariro National Park. We started with a short walk to Tawhai Falls (also known as Gollum’s Pool) since we were on a Lord of the Rings streak.

Next, we parked the van in town (not an easy feat, but we were able to street park) and did a longer hike of the Taranaki Falls Loop, which was a little under 4 hours. It was an easy hike with gorgeous views from below and above the falls.

We could’ve enjoyed much more time in the park, but we were on a time crunch to get to my bungy jumping appointment. We grabbed some lunch in the van and drove a little over an hour to Taupo (AJ Hackett Bungy). To be honest, I was feeling pretty nervous at that point and wouldn’t have minded if we missed the appointment! But we made it with time to spare, and they let me walk right up and jump early (lucky me!) I was actually a little relieved to see that it wasn’t as high as the really, really high other bungy jumping locations in New Zealand. I felt less anxious and more excited as I got my harness fitted and walked out to the platform. The staff members were really friendly and reassuring, so I felt better. But when I made the jump, I uncontrollably screamed “OH MY GOD!” I don’t think anything can prepare you for that feeling.

At the bottom, a boat lowered me down, and I got to have a nice little ride back to the dock to hike back up to the starting point. It was the perfect experience! I almost considered jumping again, which you can do for about $80 more, but the weather was starting to turn rainy. Onwards we went to our next destination…

We drove another hour and arrived early to our cultural Maori dinner in Rotorua. Just enough time for a van shower and change in the parking lot before the show. In Rotorua, there are a few different Maori villages that offer tourists the opportunity to learn about Maori culture. We weren’t sure if it would be cheesy and extremely touristy, but we decided to go for it, and I’m glad we did.

We went with the Mitai Maori Village. We spent the evening watching demonstrations and performances, hearing a Q&A session about Maori culture, and eating an amazing (and massive!) hangi meal. I felt like we were able to learn a lot about a special aspect of New Zealand, so it felt worthwhile—though it was a very large group and definitely a touristy activity. After dinner, we walked back down to the stream and saw a few glow worms along the trail in the dark.

And that was a wrap on our most jam-packed New Zealandy day!

New Zealand Road Trip: A Weekend in Wellington

After our rainy and windy drive through Taranaki, we spent the night in a field near Waiinu beach and woke up to this:

The wind was on the waves, so we started to make our three hour drive down to Wellington. On the way in, Bryan had to stop and buy a new laptop, and I learned that driving and parking the van in the big city is no fun!

Luckily, we found a big parking lot for freedom camping and there were a few spots still open. We left the van and opted for Ubering (or DiDi-ing) around the city for the weekend.

We hiked up Mt. Victoria and hit some Lord of the Rings filming photo opps along the way.

I learned that Wellington is very windy! The city gets 175 days a year of over 60 knot winds. We could definitely feel it as we walked up to the summit of Mt. Victoria. The views were beautiful, though!

Burger joints are popular in New Zealand. We tried Burger Liquor for dinner and really liked it. Their burgers, curly fries, beer, and milkshakes met our refined American standards.

Our parking lot overnight stay was just fine. And in the morning we headed to a delicious brunch at Neo Cafe & Eatery, then to the National Museum of New Zealand. I originally wanted to go because I thought it was free, but when we got there we found out it’s only free for New Zealand residents. However, the $35 NZD (was about $17 USD at the time) was really worth it. It’s a very well-done museum, and there was so much to see and discover!

Later that day, we visited Weta Workshop, another of the LOTR stops on our trip. This is where they make many of the props and costumes for the LOTR and Hobbit movies, plus so many other movies with magical props and designs! It was really neat to learn how the actors get into character and see (and touch!) some of original movie props.

We probably would’ve stayed another night because the drive to get to Wellington is quite long, but we had big plans for the next day. I’ll tell you about that next time. But for now, I’ll leave you with some late night van ramen:

New Zealand Road Trip: Rainy Day

After our attempt at surfing in Raglan, we camped overnight near the Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. The freedom camping spot was really pretty when we arrived at just about sunset, but it was high tide. We didn’t end up seeing the rock formations because when we woke up at low tide it was rainy and windy.

What a change overnight:

We had gotten pretty lucky with weather up to this point, so we couldn’t complain. We decided to set out on our route to Mt. Taranaki, even though we didn’t have high hopes of seeing anything. And we were right! Here’s where a lovely view might have been:

On our way to the viewpoint, the van company texted us with a warning that we should pull over due to high winds. So we were actually stuck for a couple hours near the viewpoint. We took a short hike around and had some lunch, then we needed to find a rainy day activity.

Enter, the movies! We had a great time visiting Hawera Cinemas. They had comfy seats, table service, and authentic replicas of props from the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies. Plus nice people. We went full New Jersey and saw the Bruce Springsteen movie on the day it came out. It was a rainy day win.

New Zealand Road Trip: Raglan

Before setting off on this trip, we agreed that it wasn’t a surf trip but more of an adventure trip with some surfing along the way. However, we did bring our boards around the world, so we were hoping for some surf. After we made our way around Northland (the northern region of New Zealand’s north island), we headed down to Raglan on the coast.

There weren’t many (or any?) free camping areas in Raglan, so we paid to stay in this big field with bathrooms and showers. It was windy, cold, and rainy the night we arrived, but the next day turned out nice.

The drive out and down a winding hill to the ocean was beautiful. And there were certainly waves that day.

I didn’t take any photos of the actual surf spot, but it was a point break with a long paddle that tested the limits of my comfort zone. I decided to paddle out to see if I felt like being brave enough to go for any waves.

It turns out, I was not brave enough since with point breaks you usually have to start at the most powerful peak of the wave, which is usually also crowded with the best surfers. I lingered on the side hoping for the leftovers if someone fell off early or missed a wave. But, I was a little too timid, so I watched from the sidelines. Then the waves started getting bigger, so it was time to head back in. Bryan and I tried to paddle in, but we were fighting hard against the channel. The only way to get in was to catch a wave, so I caught a huge one and rode it on my belly all the way in.

Whew! I’ll need to work on my point break courage, but there was a debatably well-earned van shower and brunch at Orca Eatery. I also tried NZ’s delicious Hokey Pokey ice cream for the first time. That’s a new favorite.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

New Zealand Road Trip: Waipu Caves

After we left Spirits Bay, we experienced our first dump station visit. This was my first time staying in a van, so it was a new adventure for me. I thought a dump station would be a bigger, bathroom-type room, but it’s basically just a hole with a water spout nearby. Unloading the grey water and refilling the fresh water were fairly easy—it just took some adjusting to park the van in the right spot for the hoses to reach. And I won’t go into details, but after our first cleaning of the van’s cassette toilet, we decided to only use it in case of serious emergencies! Most of the campgrounds had their own bathrooms anyway, so that plan worked out well.

Onward! That night was another one where we arrived in the dark and didn’t see the view until the next morning. I knew from Google Maps that we parked on the side of Coca Cola lake (Rotopokaka) and that there was a beach nearby. This is the beauty we woke up to in the morning:

The beach wasn’t far away, either. I walked up a sandy hill and came upon this view on the other side:

Wow! What a perfect place to camp for the night. I was hoping for some waves, but there weren’t any, so after my walk we continued on our driving journey.

New Zealand is known for having glow worm caves, and a lot of people go to the Waitomo Caves which are bigger and offer black water rafting. We wanted a less crowded and more relaxed glow worm experience, so we decided to check out the smaller Waipu Caves Scenic Reserve. It was only a short walk from the parking lot until we found this entry to the cave:

We were glad to have our headlamps as we waded in the dark through some ankle-deep water.

I didn’t see any glow worms, and I was actually going to keep walking into knee-deep water when Bryan stopped me and told me to turn off my head lamp. There were glow worms everywhere! As soon as I looked up, I could see hundreds of them on the cave walls above us like a starry night sky.

My iPhone 14 didn’t do it justice, but you get the idea:

Overall, I’m glad we stopped at the caves. The whole Waitomo black water rafting is probably more of an experience if you’re looking for a half-day/full-day experience, but Waipu was an impressive little stop on our road trip.

Thankful

Hi there! I’m pausing my usual travel posts to say thank you for reading this blog! I’ve been keeping it up for nine years, and I’m grateful there’s someone listening on the other side of the screen… some of you have even been following along the whole way. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day with loved ones and/or doing something you enjoy, and I wish you many blessings to come.

New Zealand Road Trip: Spirits Bay

Our next stop was my favorite camping spot of the trip. We left Whangarei and drove almost all the way to the northern tip of the north island, Spirits Bay.

It was so picturesque, with horses roaming on the hillside and a short walk to the ocean. We parked our camper van in a field and walked to the beach just in time for sunset.

I wish we had unpacked our boards a little sooner, because the waves were perfect that evening. But they were still wrapped in cardboard and plastic wrap to protect them through the flights. We waited to surf the next morning when it was windier and the waves weren’t as good.

But we still paddled out and had some fun. Then we made a nice breakfast with perfect weather and a perfect view, so I really can’t complain.

I would 100% recommend staying longer than just one night in this magical place. But we only had a couple weeks with so much to see and do, so we headed off that afternoon for our next stop.

Spirits Bay, I hope I get to see you again someday!