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Norway: Our Campsites Ranked “What the Wifi?”

Posted on August 9, 2018August 10, 2018 by Brianna Shade in Europe, Norway

In America, we’re accustomed to certain amenities in a campground. Space to lay out a tent, a spot to park our car, a pre-established fire pit. If we’re feeling fancy, we’ll ensure there’s an outhouse nearby. A step up from that might also offer a wooden picnic table in our site and perhaps – gasp! – real plumbing-connected toilets. Now, that’s almost no longer camping at that point.

But what about showers? Rarely. A community kitchen? Haha, no. Wifi? Are you serious?

We were quite surprised to find out what was considered standard in Norwegian camping.

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Norway: Epic Road Trip

Posted on August 2, 2018August 2, 2018 by Aaron Shade in Europe, Norway, Stories

The Drive

Driving in Norway was easier than we thought it would be. The road signs were easy to follow and many times we had the road all to ourselves. Doing a car camping road trip through the country was very peaceful compared to anything we’ve ever done in the U.S. or in Costa Rica. It was hard to believe we drove over 2,000 km, but some of the best views were right off the road. Why do a 20 km hike for one view, when you can drive for a thousand? Here were some of our best views.

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Norway: Exploring Oslo

Posted on July 26, 2018July 29, 2018 by Brianna Shade in Europe, Norway, Stories

When visiting someplace new, first impressions can make a big difference. A single day can determine if we want to return, what we think of the people, and how much we’ll talk about it when we return. The first few hours can set the mood for the entire trip.

Fortunately, Oslo was a delightful introduction to Norway.

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Long-term Travel – How We Chose Our Starting Point

Posted on July 19, 2018July 21, 2018 by Aaron Shade in Planning

This world is a big place (although smaller than you think). The number of countries to explore seems very overwhelming at times. We at least want to find our starting point and go from there. But how do we make that choice? Should we throw a dart at a map and see where it lands? Here is how we decided on the first spot. Photo by Tomjonescoaley Creative Commons

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Road Trip: Discovering Crater Lake – Day 8

Posted on July 12, 2018July 11, 2018 by Brianna Shade in North America, Oregon, Stories

We made our way south and saw some amazing things along the way. We appreciated beautiful beaches. We survived the drenching jet boats. The redwoods made us feel rather small. We escaped from Alcatraz and biked the bridge. We enjoyed a lovely 4th of July holiday on the bay, and we indulged in all of the traditional Cisco touristy activities.

But all good things must come to an end, and we had reached the end of our trip. It was finally time to go home.

But we had one last stop before we did: Crater Lake.

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Road Trip: Last Day in San Francisco – Day 7

Posted on July 5, 2018July 19, 2018 by Aaron Shade in California, North America, San Francisco, Stories

Last Day in San Francisco

We had finally reached our ominous last day in San Francisco. Without any firm plans, the city was there for us to explore. We even witnessed something shocking and unexpected. Can you guess what that could be?

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Road Trip: 4th of July on San Francisco Bay – Day 6

Posted on June 28, 2018July 19, 2018 by Brianna Shade in North America, Stories

How do you like to spend your 4th of July holiday? Do you visit family? Do you go to a potluck? Do you fire up the grill at home?

Us? We travel. We’ve passed the holiday at the beach; we’ve spent it with bears. We’ve even celebrated the long American holiday weekend with Canadians.

And we made a special trip south to our fellow west coast city of San Francisco.

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Road Trip: Escape from Alcatraz – Day 5

Posted on June 21, 2018July 19, 2018 by Aaron Shade in North America, Stories

Day 5 brought us to prison, even though we never wanted to end up there. Who knew that going to prison would be so fun! From the staged prison cells, to the one phone call, we got to get a glimpse of what hardened criminals experienced during their time at Alcatraz. What was life like on the rock? More importantly, how did we escape?

: Hardened Tourist

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Road Trip: Mendocino and Reaching San Francisco – Day 4

Posted on June 14, 2018July 19, 2018 by Brianna Shade in Stories

Day 4 finally saw our arrival in the famed San Francisco. Would it live up to our expectations? Was it worth getting drenched and feeling small along the way? Would we try broccoli on pizza? Would I achieve my lifelong dream of photographing the Golden Gate Bridge?

So much lay before us in this grand new city; the adventure had just begun!

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Norway – Endless Beauty from Fjord to Glacier

Posted on June 7, 2018August 12, 2018 by Aaron Shade in Europe, Norway

We just arrived back from Norway a few days ago and were completely stunned by how beautiful it was. Our route included many fjords, glaciers, snowy lakes, and other breath-taking scenery that seemed to be non-stop. Every time we were wowed, there was something even more beautiful around the corner. During our last day we saw a glacier that emotionally impacted us in a way that no pictures or words could describe.

We started to get worried that we would be disappointed going to other countries or even back home in Oregon wondering what could top this. However, there is so much world out there to see that we are up for the challenge. Since there is a lot of material to go through, and we are dead tired from the trip, here are just a couple of the highlights (the highlights never stopped, nor the high jumps).

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