So my name is Kayla and I grew up in good old Massachusetts. From a young age I was exposed to hiking and being outside as much as I possibly could. My father is/was one of the biggest influences on my outdoorsy way of life. As a little girl, we lived right across the street from the Middlesex Fells Reservation, my father would take me on hikes on weekends and whenever else possible. I remember finding a rock one day on one of our hikes and naming it Pride Rock (yes, I was obsessed with the Lion King – but who wasn’t?), we would take hikes and have picnics on “my” Pride Rock. Dad would tell me past stories of his experiences and every year him and a few friends would head up to Maine to hike Mount Katahdin. He would come home and tell my mother and I all the things he got to see and experience. Now that I am older of course I have added Mont Katahdin to my list – hiking the knife’s edge seems like my kind of dangerous.
Anyways, I now have a family of my own and lucky for me they are just as adventurous as me. Always down to venture off and explore any new destination I find for us. As a kid we would pack up the car and head off to Maine or New Hampshire for a few weeks in the summer, now I get to pack up the car and drive to anywhere I wish to see. I quick look into where I have been so far: I have road tripped through almost all if the US states (excluding Hawaii & Canada), traveled to the Dominican Republic, & spent a month in Brazil. Its where I am going that excites me the most, this year I have started planning out our goal for the year: hit as many National Parks as possible. We started this year in Acadia National Park (Maine) in January, such a beautiful place even in the dead of winter – I’ll save that for its own post.
In 2014 me and my boyfriend packed up the car and hit the road, the trip made me completely fall in love with the southwest United States and I wanted to drop everything and move to Arizona (still do!). Of course having a young child at home and some other responsibilities we took out 12 day trip and headed home, saying we would do it again at the next chance given. In between this and Brasil we took a weekend trip to see Niagara Falls (as it was an item on my bucket list). Fun fact about Niagara Falls – they DON’T let it fall at its full potential (why are they messing with nature’s natural beauty!?) The following summer (2015) we booked a trip to Brasil to visit his family, who he hadn’t seen in 20 years. The food, culture, and way of life in Brasil is one that everyone should really take up, nobody should be living this fast-paced, drive you to the ground type of life. Brasil is a beautiful country and I cant wait to go back and explore all the other parts. Upon our return home, our daughter started kindergarten, I went back to work, and he started the journey of starting his own solar company. In April 2016 we traveled down to the Dominican with another couple and can I just say how beautiful the Caribbean is. Of course we took small weekend getaways whenever possible in between all of these larger trips. Our “go-to” getaways were Vermont and up state New York (aka the Adirondack Mountains).
Here’s a peak into some of the adventures:
The one thing I’ve learned is always take the long way home.
(featured photo taken at Bearsden Forest Conservation Area in Athol, MA)
kaylawanders 