The Places to Go for us in 2013 took us from one end of the country to the other, because we love this beautiful land! We kicked off our travels in February with a romantic visit to Joshua Tree Oasis.  What an Oasis…welcoming in the red, brown long-standing rock and strong, stoic cacti.

  

We would’ve never left if not for those obscenely curvy and endearing Joshua trees. Only in our National Parks can you find such treasures! We hiked and hiked and hiked.  Then we ate (a lot of pizza at Pi for the People) and enjoyed the town of Joshua Tree, aka Austin of Cali.

In April we climbed into an 8-seat, extremely loud plane for not-so-off-the-grid Moab, Utah.  We hiked the seriously dangerous Primitive Trail, crossed sky bridges and gazed through arched nature windows.

 

My husband slash “rock” star mountain biker hiding in a Midwestern man’s body dominated the slick rock with SolFun.  We celebrated with 3 point 2, went horseback riding at Red Cliffs Lodge and even found luxurious Spa Moab.  Coming from an “I need a water view” gal, if you’ve never been, you must make a resolution to visit dry but gorgeous Arches National Park this year!

We found both a water view and adventure in our June 2013 trip location on Mt. Desert Island, Maine.  Wonderful hiking, sights and even food at Acadia National Park which is home to historic Jordan Pond House.  There is nothing like fresh lobster and sweet blueberries surrounded by lupines (which only bloom in Maine in June), lighthouses, rocky coastline and majestic pines.

Just 10 minutes down the road from touristy Bar Harbor is quaint, quiet Southwest Harbor. We fell in love with this quintessential small town, USA where you can purchase Dinah-mite jams on the honor system and pies cool in the window at Quietside Café.  We loved it so much that we renewed our vows on the beach located in front of our vacation rental.

Both love and national parks played an important role in our travels during the first part of 2013.  A match made in USA travel heaven!  If you’d like more information on accommodations, restaurants and travel tips, please follow me on Twitter @theplacestogo or message me.