the bargeron explorers | a long weekend in New England.

 My family and I were able to take a bucket list trip for fall break this year:

AN ADVENTURE THROUGH NEW ENGLAND!

This has been on my personal hope-to-visit list since I first saw how beautiful the leaves change in the Northern USA, which was in late high school. I can still remember how my breath caught when I saw the picture of Vermont in that magazine all those years ago, and it was surreal to experience it in person. Spoiler alert: it was even more beautiful in person. The color everywhere was just *squeeeee!* And everywhere (yes, everywhere) was just soaked in both charm and character, too. Even the gas stations looked like cottages. 

After looking forward to this trip for a whole year, we packed our bags for an early Southwest flight on Friday and spent the next three days squeezing everything we could out of our long weekend before flying home on Monday. Our home base for this weekend was Boston, Massachusetts and it was the perfect spot. We were instantly in awe of the charm, beauty, and cool atmosphere all throughout the city. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Boston for three nights, and we loved the central location and ease of walking to hot spots that it offered. We are already hoping to return here one day and spend more time walking these fun, gorgeous streets!

Our trip began in my head long before it arrived, because I spent a while combing through an itinerary that would help us maximize our time in New England and reach our goal of visiting 4 states over the 3 days we would be there. We aren't big "rule followers" when it comes to traveling, meaning that we like to hold all plans loosely. I was extra grateful for this mindset on this particular trip, because it didn't go exactly as planned in more ways than we expected. Lots of time in the car driving from state to state opened up a lot of opportunity for traffic to slow us down, and that's exactly what happened on our first full day of driving. We had braced ourselves for some traffic, but we didn't think it would be as much as it actually was, which meant that we had to pivot some of our original plans. It all worked out in the end, as it often does, and although none of us loved the extra unexpected hours in the car, we were all grateful we still got to do all that we set out to do.

Our itinerary included the following places for exploring over a long weekend, in this order:

Boston, MA
York, ME
North Conway, NH
Kancamagus Highway, NH
Salem, MA
Woodstock, VT

New England, Day One

Explore Boston

-Check into Hotel at 2 PM

-Lunch & afternoon coffee at Tatte Bakery & Cafe

-Visit Boston Public Garden

-Visit Beacon Hill & Acorn Street

-Visit Boston Common

-Stop at playgrounds throughout the city

-Dinner at Union Oyster House

New England, Day Two

Boston to Maine & New Hampshire

-Drive from Boston to York, Maine

-Visit Nubble Lighthouse

-Enjoy coffee & donuts at Beach Bliss Cafe

-Drive from York, ME to North Conway, NH

-Stroll around the charming town and explore local shops

-Have pizza for lunch in North Conway at Flatbread Co.

-Drive the Kancamagus Highway

(And get stuck in nearly six hours of traffic. Yikes!)

-Drive from Lincoln, NH to Boston

New England, Day Three

Boston to Salem, MA & Woodstock, VT

-Drive from Boston to Salem

-Explore downtown Salem

-Visit Hocus Pocus sites

-Drive from Salem to Woodstock, Vermont

-Explore Woodstock

(Stroll around downtown and visit the Middle Covered Bridge, Woodstock Inn, and more)

-Ice cream at Woodstock Scoops before driving back to Boston

-Dinner at Regina Pizza (yum!)

-Cannolis from Mike’s Pastry (double yum!)

-One more sleep in Boston

And on our final morning in this iconic city, we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and stopped to see Fenway Park from the outside before heading to the airport. Next time we visit Boston, we will definitely come when baseball is in season!

Every time we visit another bucket list destination I have so many emotions, and this adventure was no exception. I now want to spend an October weekend in New England every year, thank you very much. The leaves were unlike anything I’ve ever seen before — and we live in a place where we get some incredible color, too. We didn’t visit a single place that didn’t make me feel big feels, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about our trip if I could — nope, not even the massive traffic jam we got caught in.

Everything served a purpose, and I am thankful.

I am so happy we got to have this weekend and these experiences together. It was everything I hoped it would be for nearly two decades...and more.

Making these memories with my family is my favorite thing in the whole world. 

the bargeron explorers | 3 days in San Francisco.

 My family and I spent ten days in sunny California this summer, and it was unforgettable! We began in San Diego, continued on to Anaheim/LA, and then headed to the final destination of our adventure...

San Francisco!

This was extra exciting, because it was a first for all of us. None of us had ever been to San Francisco before, not even the grown ups, and it was all we hoped it would be and more! We had heard mixed reviews about this popular city, which caused us to be a little guarded with tempered expectations about what we would experience. Thankfully, we held what others told us with a loose grip, and it was confirmed that we are wise to take what other people say (for worse or for better) with a grain of salt, because our time in San Francisco was absolute magic!

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in the Embarcadero area of the city, which offered us incredible views of the SF Bay and the Bay Bridge. It was, also, a great location in terms of walkability, too. The only thing we were disappointed in was the abbreviated hours offered in the Regency Club, especially since club access was something we were looking forward to as a way to stretch our vacation budget. But even with the limited club access, we would still stay there again!

We walk along the Bay over and over again, and we really loved Fisherman's Wharf. We walked there on our first day, and that was the first of many times we visited that fun, memorable area. The sea lions at Pier 39 were as iconic and entertaining as I'd envisioned they would be, too! Truly, there wasn't any place we walked that we weren't instantly charmed by. My eyes pricked with tears *the instant* I saw the Golden Gate Bridge come into view! What a memory.

On our first full day in the city, we ate breakfast early and then walked two miles miles to begin a bucket list experience: biking the Golden Gate Bridge! We rented our bikes through Blazing Saddles Bicycles, and spent the next nine hours biking to and from Sausalito, CA via the beautiful red bridge that everyone knows and loves. What a feeling! It was a gorgeous trek, and it was moderately difficult for us, too. Bethany rode tandem with TJ on the way there and with me on the way back, and Braxton biked the whole thing all by himself -- both of which made us so proud as their parents. We love that they find joy in adventuring like this with their mom & dad!

To celebrate such a great and grueling experience, we treated ourselves to ice cream at the San Francisco Chocolate Store back at Fisherman's Wharf after dropping our bikes back off. The way to gobbled those cones up!!

One our last full day of the city, we checked off the last few "must do" things on our list. This included the Painted Ladies (hello to all my 90s sitcom dreams!!), the house that was used as the Full House house (eeeeek!), and crossing the bridge via car for an afternoon adventure at Muir Woods! We hiked around 3.5 miles beneath the stunning Redwood trees in Muir Woods, and it was breath-taking. Now that we've seen a glimpse of those towering beauties, we all want to see more. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this magical place, I hope you do it!

Also, pro tip: don't count on Uber to get you back to the city from Muir Woods. We learned this the hard way and were graciously blessed by a park employee who helped us avoid a $150 taxi bill and get to a place where we had cell phone service. What a story, LOL! What we should have done was pre-purchased shuttle tickets to and from Muir Woods months in advance, so I recommend that for that for visitors who don't rent a car.

Our last night in the city was bittersweet, but we were ready. Ten full days on the west coast was one of dreams, and we lived every day to the fullest! We loved each stop we made, and I think we'll be reliving these days for a long, long time.

The next day, we woke up slow, ate breakfast, walked down to the bay a final time, and then caught an afternoon flight to LAX. There were no Southwest flights from SFO back to our home airport, so we opted for a single night back in LAX after leaving San Francisco and an early flight the next morning. We didn't leave the hotel (the Hyatt Regency LAX) that last night except for a mile-long walk for a farewell dinner at In-n-Out, and then it was time to head home.

Our trip highlights were:

• San Diego Zoo

• La Jolla

• Mission Beach

• Angel Stadium

• In-n-Out Burger

• Disneyland

• Disney California Adventure

• Hollywood Sign

• Downtown LA

• Hollywood Walk of Fame

• Beverly Hills

• Rodeo Drive

• Santa Monica Pier

• Pier 39 in San Francisco

• Fisherman’s Wharf

• Golden Gate Bridge

• Painted Ladies

• Muir Woods

This summer was definitely one for the books, and this adventure through Cali was the perfect ending. So thankful for all the wonderful memories we made. Next time we visit this beautiful state, I’ve got my heart set on Yosemite or (and?) Big Sur.

Have you been to CA before? What’s your favorite part of the state, if so?

I’d love to hear!!