tonight’s date night will be a 7 hour road trip to palm springs. and the best way to have a successful road trip is to prepare!

here are some of my road trip must haves:

1. as much as road trips are for rolling the windows down and blasting music, that can only happen for so long. and sometimes your travel buddy does not want to hear your podcast talking about bravo shows for 2 hours (a huge guilty pleasure). b listens to many audio books that i would prefer to be left out of. comfortable headphones are the key to keeping you both sane.

2. snacks, snacks, snacks. everyone knows during a road trip you have to stock up on some good healthy snacks so you don’t have to succomb to whatever is available in the middle of nowhere (mainly mcdonalds. yes, their fries are good but i can’t live off of fries). i usually head over to trader joe’s before our road trips to load up on almonds, granola, fruit (mainly apples and grapes which are easy to eat and store), vegetables (carrots, celery) and chocolate covered pomegranate seeds.

3. water! yes, you may have to stop more for bathroom breaks, but it is so important to keep hydrated while you travel. i saw this water bottle on laurenconrad.com and loved how it was made of glass and available in a variety of colors.  somehow if the bottle is more pleasing to the eye i am likely to drink more of it.

4. this portable phone charger has saved me when traveling. i use my phone for entertainment, maps, camera and calendar a lot more while traveling and am constantly running low on battery. does anyone else have a battery problem with their iphone 5? Anyways this baby is a lifesaver and will charge your phone 7 times before needing a little recharge itself.

5. b and i love beginning our road trip around 8pm and driving through the night. it is great road tripping through the night because then you don’t waste a day traveling and you miss most of the traffic. b is trooper for doing most of the driving during our road trips because i am a liability when behind the wheel after 10pm.  i don’t drink caffeine, but b needs it if we drive through the night. he prefers to dump a 5 hour energy into his mountain dew for an energy kick. you gotta do what you gotta do i guess.

What are your road trip must haves?

Have a great weekend!

Every summer while growing up, I would always make it a tradition to go to the Orange County Fair. I loved looking at all the different exhibits, sizing up the livestock, riding the crazy (and dangerous) rides and eating the delicious deep fried food. After moving to Utah for college and first year of marriage, I continued the tradition by attending Strawberry Days and Utah State Fair . I love the sense of community that is associated with fairs. I love being a kid again. I love the bright lights and people watching.

This date night we are headed (for the first time) to the Santa Clara Country fair with B’s sister, brother in law and their darling baby girl. I can’t wait to see what Santa Clara brings to the “fair” table. I am crossing my fingers for deep fried oreos, live music and hypnotists.

I just read this article about the best fairs in the country. Part of me would love to attend them all in one summer and then the other part of me thinks that may be overkill.  Maybe we could visit a new one on the list each Summer? Texas, obviously, would be my first destination since there in no doubt in my mind that the Texans know how to put on a heck of a fair.

Have you been to your county or state fair this year? If so, what was your favorite thing to do or eat there?

This date night idea is an oldie but a goodie.
B and I usually cook dinner together, but are in charge of different courses. He prefers to cook the meat and I will do the vegetables.  So to make it feel more like a date and as one,  I found a one pan recipe. That way we were both looking forward to the same end result. It is so fun to cook with my love. I learn more about his food preferences every time. It is a great cost effective date that has a high interaction level and I love that!

I love finding new recipes on Pinterest. There always seems to be a never ending supply. We chose this recipe and also experimented with new ways to cook an artichoke.  Usually B steams the artichoke but wanted to see how roasting an artichoke tasted. It was good but I think we may stick to steaming ( or grilling if only we had an outdoor grill!).
The pasta dish was pretty good but will probably not be repeated. B and I would rate it a 6.5 out of 10. That is my one beef with finding recipes on Pinterest. Everyone is getting so talented at photography that all the dishes look so tasty and doable. And then you start on them and it’s a different story…. Does that ever happen to you?

I think the next thing that would be fun to cook together for a date night would be homemade pizzas!

Find more Summer date night ideas here.

What’s on your agenda for this weekend?

 Last Saturday, B and I ventured up to Muir Woods for a hike in the wilderness. Everyone must have had the same day date idea because it was packed! But, we didn’t let that stop us from taking in the beautiful scenery and exploring the forest. It was the perfect activity to enjoy the weather and each other. We were lucky enough to have B’s BFF, his wife and their cute little babe join us for a day to be mesmerized by the stunning redwoods. We only walked a couple miles around the park but what we saw was majestic. Fun fact! Did you know redwoods can grow as high as 394 feet? Also, redwoods are fire resistant! This is due to their thick bark that holds lots of water.  Some redwoods live as long as 2,000 years!

If you are in the Bay Area and interested in seeing the redwoods this is a great spot to go but I think Big Basin (located approx 25 miles from Santa Cruz) is even better. There are more trees and the trees appear to be bigger. Also, there is usually far less people! Muir Woods is beautiful and has more greenery but I would choose Big Basin given the option (although the road is very narrow and windy on the journey).

I used to really really hate hiking when I was younger. I am not really sure why but I think some of it had to do with how long my Mom wanted us to hike. It always seemed never ending. She would literally stop at every tree/bush/rock/flower and take a picture. However, as I grow older I understand why she did that (I mean it is a little excessive), but this world is so beautiful and she wanted to take it all in. I am still not a fan of strenuous, backpacking type hikes but the day hikes that take us away from the cares of the world are good every now and again. It was fun to just hold B’s hand and explore aimlessly.

Take a hike this weekend and lose yourself in the beauty of this world.
Where is your favorite place to hike?