Summer

Summer of 2016 is going well.

There have been a lot of meals outside. There was Lobster Fest 2016 in Maine with the family. We've been enjoying campfires and just hanging out. I joined a new gym and I've been really soaking up the pool, new yoga classes, barre classes, and Zumba.

Summer really used to be my least favorite season. Then in 2002 we got Central Air. :) Since then I don't hate summer but rather I embrace it.

I don't hike as much but there have been some memorable trips to the woods. This coming weekend we'll be in Maine and I hope to hike each morning. We're taking Friday off so that should be nice and relaxing. I'm looking forward to peace and quiet for a few days. Tyler's Birthday is Friday and on Thursday night we're doing dinner with friends (gotta love a BYOB restaurant).

What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Now I know that Halloween candy is out in stores but it's just too far off to think about. Corn just came into season in MA and we went blueberry picking earlier this month (6 pounds of berries!!).

Did you used to dislike summer too or were you always a summer person?

Trip Planning: Spring Travel & Fall Travel

This spring I'm going on a trip with friends to North Carolina. It will be my 3rd time there (beyond the airport). I've spent a lot of time in Lexington NC and also Chapel Hill for work. I no longer travel really all that much for work so it's a treat to plan trips for fun.

I scored tickets on JetBlue for only $11 (used some JetBlue points!). I only keep frequent flyer points on Virgin America and JetBlue as it's hard for me to fly any other airline in the US. Outside of the US I'm pretty unbiased. I love non-USA airlines. I also got a free ticket to use for the fall trip--road trip for 10 days with my hubby in CO and UT. That will be my 3rd trip to CO and my first to UT (beyond the airport of course).

So it's fun at this point to dream about hiking in a tee shirt. It's fun to think about hiking in boots that are not snow boots. There's still several feet of snow at our home in Maine and the ice is still 18-24" thick in town at our friend's lakes. There was an ice fishing derby this past weekend.

I'm curious what trips you folks are planning for 2015? Are you like me and not really doing much work travel? I used to do work travel 3 months in the spring and 3 months in the fall so it was a lot. I was a bit of a road warrior and I do MISS it with all my heart and soul. I'm a bit of a nomad at heart. A nomad with roots. A nomad divided between MA and Maine (happily).

Here's what I'm thinking about today (below photo). Asheville, North Carolina. The mountains. Fresh air that is not recycled through a tired HVAC system. Cool breezes. Wearing my cowboy boots for a night out on the town. And maybe some magic on the trails. Spotting animal tracks or sharing a lovely lunch packed for a hike with friends.

Help Planning Germany Trip?

So here's what I have so far:

1. Sept 13 fly to Frankfurt via KEF, Iceland. Breakfast in Iceland (win!) and lunch in Germany (woo!)
2. Sept 14 is when we land in Frankfurt.
1. I need a suggestion of a hotel in Frankfurt
2. I need to know how to get to the train to Dusseldorf that will take us to Berlin
3. We plan on renting a car in Berlin and heading south.
4. We already have a hotel booked (and paid for) in Munich for Oktoberfest. So that's 3 days, two nights of 'fest (and you can walk to a castle from our hotel and it has free parking and free SKY TV so...that's cool (TV in English without subtitles).
5. I'd really like some suggestions on hiking, breweries to see on the way south to Munich.

Flying out of Frankfurt on the 24th of September, it leaves in the afternoon and gets in to Boston for 6:30pm the same day.

Thanks for any help you can provide! For those of you that have been...I'd love to hear from you!

We've rented cars in Europe 4 times before so it's not a big deal to us (only in Scotland where it was a standard and you had to shift with your left hand--yikes).
(photo source, Lonely Planet, click for page)