We have had lots of people asking how we packed for a year-long trip to Europe. The short answer is: we each took one pack and one smaller bag, and we did lots of research on what to put in them. The long answer… well, I could talk for about five minutes just on how we arranged our bags. Which I did. In this video.
For about two weeks, Tyler and I joined my family for a road trip. We covered lots of ground, saw lots of people, and had lots of squished quality time in the car! We’ll revisit a couple of these towns in later posts– with actual camera photos– but here is the iPhone roundup!
When it comes to beverages, I’m a pretty plain Jane kind of girl. Much to Tyler’s disappointment I think. He loves his snobby coffees and his craft beers. He is always reading up on the newest producers and types of production. He is in the know when it comes to drinks. I, on the other hand, drink just water and tea. And maayyybe a Long Island Iced Tea if I’m feeling wild like I want to drink socially. (And yes, I know that’s made with coke. That’s why I ask them to make it with tea! Yes, I do. I ask the bartender.) But on the odd chance I’m in a hotel and I’m feeling the need to #getmymoneysworth, I will drink apple juice with breakfast. It’s something I suffer through, like eating yogurt. It’s good for me. So I drink it once or twice a year. But sussmost.. this is an entirely different kind of apple juice. It may actually be similar to all those nasty cold ciders people drink, but something about knowing where the …
Our first few weeks in Europe were a whirlwind of family and friends and more family. We visited several towns in three different countries, and didn’t stay in one place longer than five nights. But despite the hectic pace, we so appreciated the chance to get reacquainted with many relatives and family friends. We didn’t do much photo-taking during these weeks, but we snapped some on our phones as the days flew by. iPhone is better than nothing, right? #memoriesmemoriesmemories Here’s the first installment– Hunzenschwil, Switzerland: ^^^ i have memories of visiting this home every time i’ve gone back to switzerland, and it was fun to introduce tyler to the classic old swiss house and charming garden. and that campervan? it was our home for the week and we loved it! ^^^ we got to help make süssmost (swiss apple cider) and we’ll be giving you a closer look at that later this week. we picked, cut, ground, and pressed local apples and then got to enjoy this sweet drink at our family reunion. ^^^ a lot of the apple work happened …
And… we’re here! (London, that is.) After several weeks of constant travel–which you can always follow along real-time via Instagram and Snapchat!–we are semi-settled in one place and back to blogging. We have lots of stories to share and are working on new ways to share them. This week we’ll be trying to play catch up so we’re dumping a lot of posts at once. And you’re even getting the pleasure of multiple videos :) Hope you don’t mind! We’re always working on improving those random videos, but as Tyler has been pushing me.. “finished is more important than perfect!” This video is a condensed look at our flight(s) to Europe. The trip was relatively uneventful, even with a couple delays thrown in there. We were caught in the middle of being immensely excited and in a surreal fog. The departure from Philadelphia was a rush of goodbyes and catching trains and realizing we had to check the bags we’d planned to carry on. We didn’t end up loving our experience with Iceland Air, and probably won’t fly …
When we first arrived in Anchorage, literally the first thing every person would say upon hearing our plan to move in a year was everybody says that, but no one ever leaves Alaska. In our true humble fashion, we were still laughing (scoffing?) at this the day we pulled our packed out UFO trailer out of town. However, as the weeks have passed and we dream of fall in Alaska, we are starting to realize… they were right. It doesn’t take long and Alaska grabs ahold of you. We’re homesick already. As a tribute– and as usual, a memory-jogger for my future elderly self– we are posting a slew photos from that time the young Murphmans brazenly spent just one year in Alaska.
So here’s our second half of the trip! If you want to see the first half– Anchorage to Seattle– check it out here! No one can deny the beauty of the mountains as you come down through Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia. However, as the blanket of terrain smoothed out and the mountains were pushed down to hills and then plains, we began to remember the love we had for the Midwest and corn fields and grasslands. We say it all the time, but it’s true– we leave a piece of our hearts every place we’ve lived. But for now.. across to Detroit! Missoula, Montana sleep– this hotel is exactly what you’d picture for montana– a huge wooden lodge// we see this place every time we drive through and haven’t stayed but admire it from afar// i did some research for you all and it turns out this hotel is as fun inside as out! hot tubs and trees. need i say more. eat– this locally famous ice cream shop is located at the edge of a neighborhood and looks …
It took us just three and a half days to drive between these two cities. We had everything we owed– plus three adults!– in the car and trailer pictured above. It was a tight fit and long, long days of constant driving. Would we recommend a slower pace, allowing for leisurely sight-seeing? Yes. Yes, we would. Either way though, you have to stop and sleep, eat, and maybe even shop somewhere! Here are some of the bigger cities on the first half of our trip, and our top recommendations for places you should sleep, eat, and shop!
So you can keep up with us in spirit, here is the route we’re currently driving. We have budgeted about ten days for the trip, which is shaving off a good four or five days from our trip up last summer! The drive down the Alcan (the Alaska Canada Highway) is gorgeous and remote. It’s a popular road trip route for those who are looking for pristine nature views… and a little bit of roughing it. There are very few places to stop and eat/sleep/refuel, but you get to see plenty of wildlife and enjoy the simplicity of a two lane highway under constant re-construction ;) We saw mostly semi trucks and RVs last year, and we expect similar vehicles to share the road this summer. After heading straight down on the Alcan, we’ll hang a sharp left and start across the mighty West and cross off more nearly-empty states. This land lies in stark contrast to the mountainous Canadian portion of our road trip. While we found that Montana does rival Alaska in some of …
Long time no see, friends! It has been awhile since we’ve posted.. we’ve been in the throes of moving. Packing all our things, selling belongings, moving out of our apartment, temporary residence in our friends’ home, #allthecrazy! But now.. we are already on the road and out of Alaska. How has this time arrived already?! Year one of travel. Done. We said from the beginning– and had to convince many an Alaskan doubter– that we would not allow the Last Frontier to entice us to settle down. We accomplished the feat, but not without doubts of our own and a part of our hearts permanently stamped with a longing for the wild north. But now it’s time for the next season of our adventure! Since we’ve been getting lots of questions from friends and family that we’ve seen in person– and we assume there would be questions from other distant connections if you even realized this time had arrived– we decided it was about the right moment to announce our plans for the next year. …
the murphmans 