We went to Singapore

Last year, Matt qualified for the World Sprint Championships for paddle racing. The event is sort of the Olympics of outrigger canoeing, and Matt was competing in a few different events. That meant he'd be at the race site for two weeks, and because he'd be spending so much of his time racing, we figured I should join him toward the end of the event but not attend the entire thing. Then, Matt raised the idea of going to a second location after the championships ended, since he'd have already spent two weeks at the race location and didn't really want to spend that much more time there. We began planning a trip unlike any we've ever taken.

Because this race, unlike most of Matt's races, wasn't in the PNW, or Tennessee, or even our old stomping grounds in Florida. The World Championships were being held in Singapore.

We've never been to SE Asia (or anywhere in Asia, period). The last time I took an international flight was over ten years ago and it was completely planned and organized by Birthright. For Matt, it's been even longer—he hasn't been properly abroad since 2007, when we studied in Edinburgh.

Figuring out the logistics of his two-week stay in Singapore and where we wanted to go afterward was a long and complicated endeavor, but eventually we decided on Bali and got all our plans squared away. With the generous help of my parents, we secured business class tickets and set our plans in stone. We were Asia-bound.

The Lost Dutchman Half Marathon 2026

I don't even know where to start with this race. Although I only registered in late December, I've spent years thinking about what my 40th birthday race would be. The decision to run the Lost Dutchman came down to a few factors, and in the end, since it was possible, it was important to me that I run on my actual birthday. A Sunday birthday the year I turned 40? Probably another sign.

As I weighed my options, the concept of a desert sunrise race spoke to me more and more. It just felt like it would be something special...and it was.

A Weekend in the Desert

When I first had the idea to run a destination race for my birthday, I didn't think it would come to fruition. It felt like a lot of work for something I could always just do locally. But as each year of my late 30s ticked by, the desire to do something big for my 40th grew and grew, and before I knew it, I'd signed up for the race, booked the flights, and committed to the training. And after years of imagining and months of planning, suddenly, my 40th birthday—and my destination race weekend—was upon me.

I went to Portland to buy some doodads

Last week, Melissa invited me on a girls' trip to Portland. The purpose was to buy a discounted Garmin and avoid sales tax, and although that fell through, we still had a great time.

Kauai vacation, part 2

After our incredibly adventurous and busy first days in Kaua'i, I was looking forward to some downtime! Because we spent a couple days doing next to nothing, I've fit the last five days into this second post.

Napali Coast hike: Kalalau Trail to Hanakāpī’ai Falls

On the third day of our trip (October 16), Matt and I hiked to Hanakāpī’ai Falls. This hike is part of the Kalalau Trail, which is an 11-mile out-and-back along the Nāpali Coast. Matt had his heart set on this hike, but I'd heard from friends that it was extremely difficult, so I was nervous. I tend to tap out around 7 miles, and the waterfall hike was 8 (according to Matt...remember that).

I decided it was doable. We could always turn back early if we wanted to! And man, I can't lie: it was rough, but I'm really glad we went.

Kauai vacation, part 1

The last time Matt and I took a vacation that wasn't planned around seeing friends or family, it was 2010 and we have just tied the knot. That's right, we haven't had a just for us vacation since our honeymoon. So, when planning our trip to Kauai, we decided to go all out. We figured we may never go back, so we had to do everything while we had the chance.

That led to a busy, exciting, adventurous vacation that is going to take more than one blog post to recap. So, without further adieu, here's part one of...a few.

This is 38

Last year, I had a pretty rough birthday. With Matt completely occupied by the early days of drill school, we didn't have the time or capacity to do anything beyond the usual dinner-and-cake after the big day had already passed.

This year, he more than made up for it. Of course we still had cake and dinner, but we also took a weekend trip to Victoria, BC, and he coordinated the whole thing.

Moving to Seattle: My Cross-Country Trip

Well, we made it! After years of dreaming and months of planning, Matt and I have officially made our move to Seattle.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, that won't come as a surprise. Over the last few weeks, I've been updating my stories so everyone can follow along on our adventure. The road trip portion of said adventure ended up taking 8 days and was much easier than expected.

But the adventure doesn't end there. I'm 34. I've quit my job and moved across the country, about as far as you can go. I'm in a totally new place with new everything ahead of me.

I know there will be so much to share; right now I'm spending a lot of time reflecting on who I've become in the last few years and trying to figure out who I am now, and who I want to be. But exploring all that here on the blog can wait. For now, I want to give you the run down on the road trip.

You can see all my stories from the trip in my highlights on IG here: 

We left from Sarasota, FL on August 7. We planned to leave August 6, but Matt wanted to take the CPAT before we left, so we had to delay a day. 

On the 7th, we took our usual Chattajack route to Chattanooga and stayed at the La Quinta we're familiar with there. Our biggest concern on this road trip was avoiding COVID. We asked for a room that hadn't been used in a couple days and got lucky, but as we got further along on the trip and got to some big touristy areas, that kind of accommodation was hard to come by.

Lola has a new roof box, named Lilo, that I am absolutely in love with!

We also wore our masks religiously and sought out hotels that were implementing policies to deal with COVID.

Getting to Chattanooga and knowing we still had days of driving ahead of us messed with my mind!

On day two, we left Chattanooga and made the loooong drive to Kansas City, Missouri. On day three, we drove from Kansas City to Sidney, Nebraska, cutting into Iowa a bit along the way.

Driving in separate cars wasn't actually so bad! We had our walkie talkies so we could communicate, and I prefer driving long distances rather than riding along - I feel more engaged and less carsick that way!

Kansas City was neat; on the way we paused to see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and we stopped downtown to see the famous public library parking garage. The drive through Nebraska was honestly the most painful part of the trip. It was boring, flat, and stretched on forever! Nebraska is a much bigger state than I expected.

The KC Public Library's parking garage is decorated with giant book spines. All the steps are shaped like books, too!

From Nebraska, we headed toward Boulder, Wyoming, and were treated to a surprise. Matt's little brother from his fraternity has bought himself an RV and he and his girlfriend are living in it, exploring the US and having an adventure of their own! 

He invited us to stay the night with them, so we cut our drive a bit short on day four and enjoyed a home-cooked meal, good wine, better company, and some good old fashioned hospitality.

On day five, we left Boulder early and made our way to Grand Teton National Park. This was finally where the driving got good. Our first glimpse of mountains and winding roads was pure heaven!

When we arrived in Jackson, WY, we realized we didn't have a plan and kind of needed one. We were dressed for the park but worried that if we went straight in and tried to look for lodging after, we'd be SOL. We decided to splurge on a hotel room in town so we could give the park as much time as possible; I'm glad we did, because Grand Teton NP was the highlight of the trip! I expected to really love Yellowstone more, but GT is where it's at!

Matt did some paddling on Jenny Lake while I attempted to get a run in. It wasn't great, given the elevation, time of day, terrain, and crowds, but it felt good to get moving. Afterward, we drove further into the park to explore the String Lake area, where we took a 3-mile hike and finished with more paddling.

On day six we made our way through Grand Teton NP to Yellowstone. Yellowstone is so huge that you pretty much need to stay in the car and drive from point-of-interest to point-of-interest. We, of course, saw some hot springs and Old Faithful.

Because there was one more spot Matt really wanted to see, we went back to Yellowstone on day seven to see the Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces - they were well worth the second entrance, and we'd gotten year-long national park passes anyway so it didn't cost any extra. From there, we started our next day's drive. We didn't have any other stops on our list, and just wanted to make some good time.

We made it to Missoula, MT, where we stopped to find a hotel. We knew as we turned in for the night that the next day we would arrive in Seattle.

Day eight. We passed briefly through Idaho and then, seemingly out of nowhere, we were in Washington! As soon as we crossed state lines I was grinning - I couldn't believe we were really there! We made it!

Our first selfie in Washington! This isn't Snoqualmie - it's the Columbia River just off I90. 

We made a final pit stop at Snoqualmie Falls. Standing on the rocks down by the water, I told Matt, "We've been dreaming of being here and I can't believe we're really here. This is ours! We can come here whenever we want!"

That feeling of wonder has not left me. Every time we drive back into the city after going out for errands, I see the skyline and the Space Needle and just GRIN. To be completely honest, I tend to exclaim out loud.

"I can't believe we get to live here!"

Making the decision to move was scary and nerve-wracking. I knew I wanted to move to Seattle but actually taking the leap is something else entirely. I can't believe we really did it; I'm so thrilled that we're here! I'm looking forward to the new experience of living somewhere I actually chose, a place that truly feels like home.

ABK

St. Augustine Trip/The National & Courtney Barnett

This summer, we don't have a big trip planned. Unlike last year, when Scott and Robby's wedding took us to the PNW, we didn't have a big excuse to travel but we did have some reasons to stay local.

The biggest reason is my sister's wedding this summer, but that'll be a post for a different time.

Our first "local" adventure for the summer was five hours away. Sometime in the spring, a friend alerted me that one of my all-time favorite bands, The National, would be touring in St. Augustine. This is about a five hour trip for us, but Matt and I literally never go to concerts (I think the last one I went to was in 2006?) and we have friends up that way, so it felt like it had to happen.

I eventually was able to twist Matt's arm and we booked the tickets and sprang for a nice hotel. The concert was on a Monday. We drove up to Sarasota Friday to see our dads for Father's Day, then left early Saturday morning to St. Augustine.

The first part of the weekend we dedicated to seeing Mark and Shane. Mark's entire family was at their beach house for Father's Day/Mark's birthday, so it was a boisterous, fun time. We're talking loads of little kiddos and the best Italian/Argentinian hospitality.

I managed a run on Sunday morning; despite living in Florida, I've never actually run on the beach before. I always run along it on pavement. I decided, though, to give beach running a try, as the sand seemed pretty packed and the sunrise was unbeatable over the ocean. I will say it was a lot tougher than I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot!

Matt also got some surfing in, which he can't usually do on our coast because the Gulf has smaller waves than the Atlantic.

After a huge family-style dinner and birthday celebration, we headed out to our hotel. Here's a video of Mark's incredibly dangerous and amazing birthday candle:

Monday, we spent the day walking around the Old Town part of St. Augustine. The city is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in the US. The history is pretty interesting (the museums don't sugarcoat the treatment of the Timucua by the Spanish colonists) and the atmosphere and architecture are beautiful. St. Augustine is also home to the country's oldest still-standing wooden school house, which I always think is some fun trivia.

At the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest & largest masonry fort in the US.

After touring around, we got ready for the concert, grabbed some dinner, and headed to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. We had plenty of time to find our seats and get comfortable before Courtney Barnett opened. Matt and I really like her music, and I have to say I was blown away by her live performance. I hadn't even realized she was opening until the day before, so it was a treat to see her!

Courtney Barnett! She played for about 45 minutes.

The rest of the concert was incredible. The National is one of those bands that gets to the heart of human nature through both their sound and lyrics. Matt Berninger (the lead singer) came out into the audience a few times, climbing pretty far up into the stands. I didn't get very many photos because I was trying to just enjoy myself and take it all in; I pretty much took one when they first came out and then a couple little videos.

The National takes the stage!

Although they didn't play Matt's favorite song of theirs, they did play quite a few of mine, and I admit I teared up during Bloodbuzz Ohio.

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June 17, 2019 || St. Augustine, FL . You Had Your Soul With You Quiet Light The Pull Of You Hey Rosey Don’t Swallow The Cap Bloodbuzz Ohio Oblivions So Far So Fast Where Is Her Head Green Gloves Peggy-O Brainy The Day I Die Pink Rabbits The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness Hard To Find I Am Easy To Find Graceless Fake Empire Rylan Light Years Mr. November Terrible Love Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks . Photos by Bella Blasko

A post shared by The National (@thenational) on Jun 17, 2019 at 7:05pm PDT

The set list

For the last song of their encore, Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks, they played the instrumental while the audience sang, urged on by Berninger. It was so, so beautiful.

I don't know why we don't attend more concerts. Hearing songs I love as they are filled with raw, pure energy straight from the band directly to my ears? What's better? And there is just nothing quite like singing your heart out with the band to music that means something to you...surrounded by strangers also singing their hearts out.

I am hoping to make concerts a more frequent thing, because it was 100% worth the trip and an experience I'll remember forever.

ABK

Our Winter Trip to the PNW: Seattle

Early on December 28, Matt and I took a cab (Vancouver doesn't have Uber) to the train station. The ride was scheduled to be about 4.5 hours and would take us to Seattle, where we'd disembark, before it continued on to Portland. I love that taking a train is an option, but it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped!

I managed to nap a little on the train while Matt enjoyed the views. We got to Seattle around noon. It was rainy and cold. After storing our luggage at the train station, we decided to get lunch and plan our first day in the city.

We found a little bar called Flatstick Pub that served tacos and had an indoor putt putt course. We had lunch and played a round of duffleball. It was honestly such a perfect way to start our visit! I immediately just felt so happy to be there!

After lunch, I wanted to go to the Seattle Pinball Museum. It was a short walk from the bar, but it had a waiting list. We put our names in and went next door to have some tea and get out of the cold. We hung out (I read) for about an hour before we got the call that there was room for us at the museum.

We spent a long time at the museum. It was so fun playing all the pinball machines. They even had Captain Fantastic, my dad's machine that we played all the time growing up. There were older games, like Captain Fantastic, and newer ones, like a Game of Thrones machine and a 75th Anniversary Wizard of Oz machine. We had a blast!

After playing for a few hours, we went back to the train station to pick up our luggage and took an Uber to our Airbnb. It was a cute little converted garage, super cozy, with a heated floor!

The next day, we finally got out for a run! There are tons of big parks and running areas in Seattle, but since we didn't have a car, I wanted to find somewhere we could run to from the Airbnb. I mapped out a path to the Washington Park Arboretum, which is part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. We had visited in the summer, so I thought the main road would be pretty flat and I'd be able to get in about four miles.

The day was drizzly and in the 50s; it was perfect! There were parts of the run that were way too steep for me to run, so I ended up walking some of it, but it felt good anyway. I wanted to see how running in the winter felt, and it felt great!

After the run, we showered and then took an Uber downtown to get bus passes. We had lunch (sushi...there is so much good sushi in the PNW!) and then to the Starbucks Roastery Reserve. This was one place we'd missed on our summer trip but really wanted to get to.

The roastery was different than I expected. It was basically just a giant Starbucks store with roasting equipment in the middle and three separate counters/bars. Each bar served different styles of drinks, including cocktails. It was packed!

We watched the process of the coffee beans being roasted and packaged and then perused the three different drink menus before finding seats at one of the bars and ordering a flight of cold brews (for Matt) and a Maharaja Chai Nog (for me).

The Pantheon blend, which is only available at the Reserve, was seriously amazing.

We walked around downtown a bit, and because it was raining on and off, we decided to see a movie. Let me just say, Aquaman was as ridiculous and predictable as I expected it to be, but it was fun!

On our last day in Seattle, we took a bus to Kerry Park, where we were told there are fantastic views of the city. We grabbed a bite to eat at a little French bakery and then, continuing our sight-seeing for the day, we made our way to catch a ferry to Bainbridge Island.

Matt really enjoyed the views from the ferry:

At Bainbridge, we explored the art museum and the downtown area. We picked up some amazing pastries from Blackbird Bakery and some drool-worthy fudge at Bon Bon. We spent some time browsing the bookstore before heading back.

Finally, we stopped by a rooftop bar called The Nest for a drink before heading home for dinner and packing.

I got basically a warm cider because I'm old at heart and it was delicious.

It was a nice way to finish our stay in Seattle, not too stressful or busy, but still kind of exhausting. At this point, I was so ready to sit on a plane for six hours because I was tired of all the walking!

Our flight home went without a hitch, except that when we got to the Seattle airport, security was super backed up (probably from the shutdown). We stood in an unmoving line that reached all the way back to the ticketing counters for 15 or more minutes before they finally just started letting people through - shoes on, nothing taken out of bags, etc. A bomb/drug-sniffing dog did the rounds while we all went through the metal detector (not the x-ray scan).

It was super fast. We overheard one TSA agent say she was working for free.

When we arrived in Tampa at midnight (we saw fireworks from the air!) we sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes - even though we were the only plane at our terminal, they were clearly short-staffed.

Happy New Year! And yes, I wore that sweater everywhere. It's my new favorite.

I really enjoyed our trip! The winter up in the PNW is not like winter in Cleveland (where I grew up); it's much more like Scotland, maybe a little wetter. If we ever decided to learn to ski or snowboard, I'd make the trip again.

ABK