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I am not a big museum person. Usually I want to be out on the town, sight seeing or out in nature instead of inside a museum. However... the museums in Athens were so incredibly cool to see. Some of the statues and remnants from the Acropolis or any of the thousands of pieces of pottery or other archeological findings. Both of the museums we went to were very worth it. We spent a few hours in each of them and it was time well spent.

Our last port of call on our trip was Mykonos, even though all the ports we went to were fantastic, this one was one of our favorites. The narrow streets with white painted cobble ground and multicolored doors, roofs, railings and windows were something very unique to this island. The famous windmills on the coast were also really cool to see. Little Venice was impressive, the churches had red domes instead of the blue and the beaches were beautiful. Spend most of the day here walking down side roads and sitting on the beach. Even got to swim and snorkel a bit.

Probably the most anticipated stop of the trip was Santorini and it did not disappoint at all starting on the water below the cliffs the view from the bottom was a great way to start. We then took a fun cable car ride up the steep cliff wall to get to the top of the island. Once we got to the top and got 3 minutes into walking around the streets we were already loving it. The super narrow streets and white washed buildings were very unique and were really special when you were immersed in them. We saw multiple lookout points for the blue domed buildings. Those were so classic and were great to see, especially with the Caldera in the background. Get ready for a photo dump... We/I had lunch at a cool little place that was tucked away on a secluded and almost secret street. The vibes there were great and the food was really good too. My appy was a banging smoked salmon with a creamy dill sauce and was really good. Allie made an executive decision to get some Greek version of Doughnuts and they were delicious too.

After a long day at see, we had our next stop on the island and country of Cyprus. This stop is very underrated, we didnt hear a whole lot about this place before going but it was a great place to stop! Birthplace of Aphrodite was the first thing we saw. This gorgeous beach is said to be the place where Aphrodite was born. The mythology of it was really cool but the beauty of the beach, water and coast were probably more impressive. After a few minutes at the overlook we continued on to the old city of Paphos. While we were here we saw a bunch of different things, the pillar of St Paul, multiple churches , harbors, and a local candy making shop. Our last stop on the tour and where we spent most of our time was at the Archaeological Site of Neo Paphos. There were some old ruins but the most impressive part of it was all the ancient mosaics made from tiny, multicolored stones from all over the country and region. After getting back from our tour, we had a few minutes to walk around and see the town of Limassol. Here are a few random shots from around town.

Our first real port of call after boarding the ship. We were looking forward to this port quite a bit and it did not disappoint! This day was a mix of sight seeing and a bit of time spent on the beach. The first thing we did was go on a walk through old town Rhodes also called the Medieval City of Rhodes. Interestingly enough the streets were nearly empty and we had the place all to ourselves. We walked down some amazing streets and made our way up to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Nights which was an incredible castle. It was huge and the details were really impressive. We didn't get maybe as much time laying on the beaches this trip but in Rhodes we had a chance to visit Kallthea Springs Bay which was a rocky bay with amazing clear water and an ancient bathhouse. We spent some time lounging in the sun on the shore and I took a quick swim and snorkel in the pristine waters!

Meteora was a bucketlist, once in a lifetime site we got to see on our trip. The stars aligned for us to be able to do this as it was really nowhere near the coast or our cruise ship port. It took a little bit of effort to get out here but it was a beautiful 3 hour drive through the countryside of Greece. The driving in Greek cities is a completely different animal and was absolutely crazy! Once we got too the mountain range where these monasteries were located we drove straight up to them and were instantly in awe. The way these were built was incredible and to think it was done so long ago made it even crazier. They were also beautiful inside and out and the whole scene was just amazing. I also got the chance to fly the drone around a bit and take a picture or 2 and a few quick videos. Go check those out on my portfolios page! It was an incredible experience to be in a place like this that you see pictures of all over and it was just as cool or better to actually do it. Would recommend to anyone who has the chance to go! Not sure there is anything in the world that is similar to these ancient buildings clinging to the mountain tops.

On day 2 in Athens we started early in the morning in an attempt to beat the crowds to the amazing acropolis. We walked up the hill and went through the main gate which and we blown away right from the start. The ancient theaters, ruins, building and huge granite columns were incredible. The sheer size of these buildings combined with the intricate details of the carvings really were something that blew our minds. The Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, Erectheion and The Odeon of Herodes Atticus all stood up to their hype After the acropolis we headed down to the Ancient Agora. This was another site with ruins, archeological finds and more great temples. The Temple of Hephaestus was very well preserved and was really impressive.

This was the first where we spent the first day of our big trip to Greece. We got into Athens and immediately hit the streets after checking into our hotel. After a quick lunch of classic greek salad and pita with tzatziki we started walking around downtown Athens. The Plaka was a cool section of town with restaurants and shops all over the place, with ruins and churches sprinkled in here and there. On the outskirts of this section was a tiny neighborhood right at the foot of the Acropolis called Anafiotika. These housed have tiny unnamed streets and are built right into the rock, it was a cool spot just to walk around in. After Anafiotika we walked over to the Panathenaic Stadium of Athens, where the first modern olympics were held. That was a really cool spot with a lot of history and a massive stadium. After all our adventures were done for the day, we went to our favorite dining experience yet. We were on a rooftop terrace looking up at the Acropolis. This Michelin star restaurant gave us the most wonderful experience and the food was exquisite. So many new flavors and great combinations with all kinds of fresh ingredients. Absolutely our favorite place we have ever eaten. 10/10 would recommend The Zillers if you are in Athens.

For our 5th anniversary we did a weekend trip through Las Vegas to Death Valley. Las Vegas was a blast, we were only there long enough for a nice dinner and a bit of time to chill. We went to a new place called Din Tai Fung and it was really good. The dumplings were steamed in bamboo bins and were fresh and delicious. We stayed at a new Marriott hotel by the strip and it was great too! Death Valley National Park was the next park on our list to check off. We were only there for a couple days but got to see a lot. After arriving in the park we went straight into a 7 mile hike down a canyon and up another. There were a lot of cool things to see and it was a bit challenging. Crazy that the weather was above 20C/68F degrees the entire time. We then went and checked into our sweet hotel. We got to stay in a really nice cottage that was right in the park and after an overpriced dinner and quick swim in the outdoor pool we headed back to the hotel and watched 3 hours worth of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. In the morning we went and hiked through some sand dunes, not much to say about this except they were really cool! Lake Manly was the last stop on our trip before heading home. This was actually really cool to see because it rarely happens and the last time it was there was in 2005. Usually there is no water here making it a huge salt flat but there was over a foot of water in some places.

This was the first of hopefully many winter campouts in the Bookcliffs with the boys. We did a quick 1 night trip out to the dessert late Friday night. After setting up camp (A fire and a tarp out at the Jensens old campsite on East Bench Rd) we hung out around the fire, gathered enough wood for the night, filled up on some hot chocolate and went to bed. I kept very warm and comfy all night even though it got down to about -8C (18F) but could only sleep for a couple hours. I think we got about 8 hours of sleep total between the 4 of us. We spend probably 10 hours total of driving around and looking for animals and we saw about everything there was to see. Over 300 head of deer with about 30 bucks total, a bunch of shooters and a couple no brainers. Saw a herd of about 30 Bison, a couple Elk and then a herd of about 20 Big Horn Sheep. We also spent a lot of time sending hot lead down the range, cant have a Bookcliff trip without some time set aside for shooting.

Took one of the last chances of the year to do a hike without snow gear. After an hour of driving through the fall colors we stopped and did a short but great hike. What started in a forest of yellowed aspens shortly turned into evergreens, because of the shade, the recent snowfall hadn't melted, so the last mile was icy snowpack. The way up was tricky but it was fun sliding on the way down.

Was able to do one last hike in the Utah mountains before the snow came. Made it just by a day. The hike was about 8 miles and just under 3000 ft of elevation gain. It wasn't easy but I cranked it out in just 3 hours of moving time. Spent about a half flying the drone around which is always fun to do! There was snow on the peaks and in some patches and the fall colors were in full force and it was a really pretty trail.