2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala

A 351-day adventure by Rachael Read more

Follow Insights Calendar Photos Share

Trip start
January 15, 2025
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
First trip of 2025!
January 15, 2025 in the United States
Off I go on another trip to visit Anna in Steamboat Springs, CO!! I’m a bit squished into my airplane seat since I only have a backpack but have to bring all my winter gear. But the flight went smooth, was on time and at least for this leg of the trip there was no running through the airport. When I arrived I got to see where her and Isaiah live, and drive around town a bit. We also went on a walk with her roommate and saw a natural hot springs just casually on the side of the road. We also visited the gym which has a hot springs (I really wish my gym had a hot springs) and we went from the hot natural pool to the cold plunge and back. That was exciting and actually not as painful as I thought it would be. The next day I had to work from home for a bit while Anna went to her babysitting job. Working with a cat nearby is making up a little bit for working while on vacation!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Late night naked spa
January 17, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 18 °F
The main event this evening was to hit up strawberry park hot springs. We got a reservation awhile back so we would for sure get in as it’s a pretty private place ran by the guy who owns the property. The whole thing was really magical and peaceful. It was hot hot so we stayed in the coolest pool and even jumped into the unheated flowing river nearby. Cold plunges are my new thing after the other hot spring last night. They feel especially good here where it’s all natural and the vibes are just so good. Anna and I (and even Isaiah) took off our swimsuits. It’s so dark it hardly matters. Getting out of the water was really the struggle but we put our swimsuits back on and ran over the snow in our bare feet to dry off. My hair was not having it! According to Anna it’s one of the coldest weekends they have had. Perfect for me as this MN winter has prepared me for negative temperatures for sure!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Ski day number 1!
January 18, 2025 in the United States
Today me and Anna are getting up early and heading out to ski. As usual when I haven’t skied for awhile I am nervous but I’m also excited and just have to remind myself that I could do it last time. Isaiah tasked us with bringing food up the mountain so we had to stop at the grocery store and mornings aren’t really either of our things so it’s not actually much of an early morning. Once we got to the mountain, I was actually feeling pretty confident right away. But I was still not sure where the line was for how good I really am. We had passed along our food haul to a ski patroller who was going to deliver the food while we skied but once it was lunch time we headed way up top where Isaiah and his work team have a tent to hang in while waiting for anyone to need help. However, the girl we passed the brats along to wasn’t even there yet! I guess we should have kept the goods. Eventually we were able to get the brats going on the grill and eat before heading out again. Isaiah brought us down to a doable run in the snow mobile! That was really fun! Makes me wanna ride one again soon! The rest of the day I gained confidence skiing and we did a few runs multiple times and that gave me the chance to relax and enjoy the ride since I knew no extra steep parts where coming!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Ski day number 2!
January 18, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 7 °F
Back to hitting the slopes! Today Isaiah gets to come with us officially. So we are trying some different runs since he knows so much of the mountain’s layout. It’s also a sunny day so I get to have the full views that make coming to Colorado so worth it! Going twice in a row made me extra confident, so I’m really glad I got the opportunity to go for a longer weekend this time. I pretty much just dove head first into any run they wanted to go on and we mostly were in blues today. I still have to go pretty slow but I’m not falling over and even though it’s about zero degrees and Anna and Isaiah are freezing I’m sweating from all my tight turns and pizzaing. Isaiah and I went to the counter to get lunch and the guy gave us half for free but I don’t even think that was on purpose! I have no idea what distracted him but we got a lot of corndogs and definitely didn’t pay resort price for all of them! We went out a little longer after lunch but gondolas were closing and we are tired! So glad I got to prove myself as a skier again and I felt really good about it! So much fun!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Final days
January 19, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 7 °F
I was not the best at taking pictures on this trip overall so all I have to show for the non-skiing fun are these pics when we went out to eat. We had Thai food, so good! We also went to the brewery and played scategories. We watched all three psych movies and I read my book at night. The first night I read in a slowing deflating eating me alive air mattress. I definitely was on the floor and surrounded by plastic when I woke up. But other than that I slept well in Anna’s ice box of a house haha! We also went to a Zumba type workout class, made dinner, played with the cat. What a good and long weekend. (I will not be mentioning the tragedy (aka he who must not be named) that was Jan 20. we are pretending that didn’t happen!)Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Take me to florida!!
May 2, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
It’s time for the annual Florida trip with Mike and Lane! We are quite sad for our hotel from last year who can’t open yet due to hurricanes but it’ll be fun to try a new spot. We are going to the pan handle! Destin! Feeling the Taylor swift vibes already. It’s a nice tiny airport which sped along the rental car situation, we changed clothes in the parking lot and headed to brunch! Pancakes for the table and mimosas is the way to start! Then we went to the beach, it’s a niiice white sand beach so off to a good start! As we do we head from the beach back to eating. The restaurant had buckets of drinks so of course we are doing that! And I tried scallops for the first time and a really good white fish with yummy sauce! Would go back!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Lets eat!
May 3, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
How dare it rain on one of our only full days but we are going to make the most of it by eating all day. First up brunch at Bistrology. We did have to wait outside for over an hour and a half but wow the people watching there was good! A tiny parking lot with lots of people milling around waiting made for some dumb driving decisions that were very fun to watch. We also saw so many poor bachelorettes swing by just to find out it’s a 2 hour wait and having to leave again. The food was sooo worth the wait! The sun was shining as we went to the pier so we sat outside with a piña colada of course. We tried the pool after that but of course it rains again! We then waited for another 2 hours for dinner at Boshamps. Not quite as worth the wait but we got to drink and watch the storm as we waited. What else were we gonna do in the rain?Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Sunshine and waves
May 3, 2025 in the United States
Yay we get to have a beach day officially! We headed to a food truck for smoothie bowls which were so freaking good! Wish I could have another one right now. Then we went to the beach and really didn’t move or leave for the rest of the day. It’s already our last day so we aren’t wasting time leaving to eat. It’s weird for us to not just eat all day but the sun is more important right now. Once the UV was down enough we started a bit of a bar and food crawl. First drinks and food at a hotel bar that was supposed to have muscles but was out?! So sad! Destin is much more fish forward than seafood interestingly. Then outside for a pina colada on the beach, then over to a little stand with beignets, and lastly to another restaurant to finally get muscles. We met some people from Alabama and talked most of the evening as we had our snack and drink. It was actually a bit chilly and they didn’t believe us that it was the same temp if not warmer in MN at that moment.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Perfect place
May 24, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
I just can’t handle how awesome this weekend was! Couldn’t resist posting all these pictures. I mean how precious that pebbles cuddled me and Chris in the morning! Give me more of that.
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Happy first cabin weekend!
May 24, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
It’s always the best when it comes to the cabin time of year! It was a beautiful memorial weekend and I was so happy to finally be able to go up. It was a small group up there but we all got to chill, read, get some sun and so many beautiful sunsets. The water is still unbelievably cold, felt like an ice bath! But I was really just so happy to be swimming that I was having a blast anyway! We went to the chocolate ox by boat which is always fun and having all the doggies around was so cute!! Pebbles and Willow are having a difficult time calming down around each other but it’s so nice to get waken up by a puppy in the morning!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Welcome to New York!
May 30, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Very excited for this early birthday weekend for Flan! It’s been so long since we were in New York I can’t remember what it’s like. Immediately when walking around with our giant backpacks on and walking through manhattan I’m feeling like how do people live here?! It’s so crazy busy and packed with stuff and people it’s like how does anything get done? But as we eat our amazing bagels (Nutella peanut butter cream cheese anyone?!) and get some coffee and AC back in our life I start to enjoy the vibes. We walked all the way to Central Park and hung out there for a bit to enjoy the sun and watch the birds. We got some live music and to eat some fruit. Later that night it’s show number one and first pizza of the trip! We went to Joe’s which is the famous place for pizza, lots of celebrities have been there and were pictured on the walls. We then rushed over to watch the show. It was a good one! Despite the story not being our fav it was such a fun one to watch and felt really like they were going magic in real life. I don’t know how they did some of those effects! Never end the night without a donut on the subway that’s the Times Square rule.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Brooooklyn!!
May 31, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
Off we go to Brooooklyyyyn! We are meeting Chloe near where she lives and at a brunch spot she recommends. We get a coffee first as we wait for our table and then I have a big gooey French toast. She gave us a tour around Brooklyn first to the library and then to Prospect park. We watched some very cute swans eating in the pond and then continued on to see Chloe’s place. Cool to see the classic tiny New York apartment lifestyle. We continued our tour in dumbo and seeing the classic manhattan bridge view! I had no idea we were near by that view and it was exciting to just come around the corner and see such an iconic place. We had more pizza of course, this one less New York style but still very very good! We took the ferry back to our apartment and got those perfect skyline views. It was a classic over 10 mile walking in New York kinda day so we are exhausted!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Manhattan roof top cult
May 31, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Exhausted does not stop us though! We are heading out at about 9:30 for dinner and drinks at a rooftop bar. We are going to 230 Fifth St rooftop. When we got up there it was very strange as we walk out on a whole red robe cladded group of people. I thought we were walking in on something we didn’t want to know about. It was also super busy and we definitely didn’t want to stand after the day we had so luckily after a little we found a table. We also realized the red robes were for the cold which was very important as it was about 50 degrees. Very glad to join the clut to stay warm. We ordered food and fun drinks! Mine was a piña colada in a bag with a little rubber ducky inside! Very fabulous views and I liked the sign about being the “city that sleeps” because I was very ready for sleep. I saw some random guy from Gustavus who remembered me a lot more than I remembered him and I really had to wrack my brain to remember we had gone on one date way back when. How random! It was a fun way to end a good day.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
I’ll never walk cornelia street again
June 1, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Today we are walking the streets Taylor has walked on! We went to Cornelia street to see her old place. We got to watch them making a commercial while there which was cool and led to some good New York esk photos. Very interesting to see the behind the scenes because it’s so casual and slow moving so it would be cool to see the end product. We then walked to Electric Lady studios and by matching photos of Taylor leaving we found the exact area of side walk she’s been on! We went to the park and had hot dogs and listened to buskers. Then of course more bagels which were so fresh it was amazing! Then off to our matinee of stranger things! So freaking good! The acting was out of this world! I was actually scared for the kid because he seemed possessed and the young versions of hopper and Joyce seemed like they were the tv actors. Ending the day with dumplings from china town, more pizza and some more subway rides. That was the end of a great trip! Definitely brought back my love of NYC!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
¡Vamos a Guatemala!
June 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F
4:30AM and we are off to Guatemala! We meet everyone at the airport and take over the caribou and then we get to go! Once we get settled in we begin organizing the supplies we brought down to give to each teacher. We also get to hear about our schedule and where our village visit will be. Turns out it will be to El Porvenir who hasn’t had a visiting group since before Covid and we can’t get to the other village due to rain washing out the road. Also luckily have a chef for this trip as well so we have some Guatemalan soup for dinner!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
The school day
June 24, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
This morning we have eggs and salsa, beans, plantains, cheese and, of course, tortillas. Seems like a very Guatemalan breakfast. Then we hop on the bus to go to the school supplies store. We were there for a really long time having Beatriz selecting all the stuff we need and having Valeria translate and order everything. We had made $500 on our bake sale at church so we got a lot of helpful stuff! Then we got lunch at the mall and it was very tasty! Then finally we went to the school to deliver our stuff and do some lessons with the kids. We did a little lesson on the Lutheran rose with the 5th graders as Karen had suggested we do. They are trying to make sure church stays in the older kids’ lives. We then did some church camp songs we had planned. We practiced one of them in Spanish so we could all sing together and the others worked well as they have a lot of fun actions. We got a tour and it was amazing to see the school again as I haven’t seen it since it was brand new. It looks so amazing now! This stuffed chili dinner was my favorite one of the trip!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
A classic Guatemalan day
June 25, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
Today we start off with our devotions like we have been doing. We have a great spot for it in the court yard. It’s nice to all get to know each other and fun to have new people here and show them the amazing things Guatemala has to offer. Such as the textiles museum. We got an actual tour this time which made it more interesting and was fun to hear from someone first hand who studies this kind of thing. Each Guatemalan village has their own clothing style and our tour guide has been the one to study that and the way colonizers influenced the clothes. We then went to lunch! I had an amazing grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch at this really cute restaurant. We also got Nutella coffee and crepes! Then we went back and met with the Milagros girls! We actually got to talk with them more as they each introduced themselves and told us what their experience was coming to the school. Sounds like some culture shock in some cases and homesickness too. But they get to learn a lot and enjoy baking and sewing classes mainly. Then I led us in a craft about the tree of life. It was awkward to do without much Spanish but they were all very good at following and much more precise than us when crafting.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Going to Coban!
June 26, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
Today we are taking the bus about 5 hours to Coban. We have a fun group so it’s pretty enjoyable to drive around in the bus all day. We get some good views and we’re laughing and chatting up until lunch time. We went to San Marin which was a very pretty place and had a ton of food options! We get some iced coffees of course and head back on the road. By the time we get to the hotel we just have time to hang out and then have dinner. I shared some pasta and a Guatemalan enchilada with Erin. It’s crazy how tired riding in a car makes you, I’m so ready for bed! Which is good because we are driving away at 4:00AM tomorrow to head to Porvenir. First on the bus for an hour in the dark and then when the sun finally comes up we will take a truck for 3 more hours!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
The Gringos are here!
June 27, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Our long day as just begun when we get changed into our mud boots at the gas station and prepare for our ride. We pass along some school supplies to the village we originally planned to visit and then it’s all of us except Jeannie and Karen standing in the back of the truck. We even have the pastor of the church we are visiting riding in the back with us but did I know who he was for the whole ride? No I did not. So were we acting crazy and singing and being strange the whole ride? Of course we were. It’s a very very bumpy ride with ramas (branches) hanging in the way but what a way to see the sights! So beautiful and the breeze is great and we were having so much fun. We definitely got some funny looks from truck loads of people heading to work the other way. Probably thinking what are a load of gringos doing heading deeper into the mountains? One little boy was very excited to see us though and looked up into my eyes and shouted in awe “¡Gringos!” I haven’t laughed so hard in a while! Loved the journey!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Meeting new friends
June 27, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
When the road ends at the river we get a brief break to sit down after the three hours of standing in the truck. The boats we take next are unique canoe shaped boats that sit really low in the water but they zipped us really quickly over to the path up to the village. Then we were met by some teen boys who helped carry our food and water up the hill. At the top we had the sweetest welcome from the children of the church who had a dance prepared and were wearing their traditional outfits. Of course the little guy kinda stole the show! We also danced with them a bit and got to say hello in the church building. They made us breakfast of beans and eggs and great fresh spicy salsa. So after being awake for like 6 hours we got to sit down and eat! They welcome us so kindly and generously. It doesn’t feel very awkward and is just a really fun start to the visit.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Church and lunch and leaving
June 27, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
After breakfast we change into our skirts to be more presentable for church. We have some time to try to learn all the kids’ names as well as sing some songs. They were into it right away and even did some of their own songs for us. Since we know a few kids church songs in Spanish, or really I should say LeighAnna knows some songs in Spanish, we got to all sing together. We didn’t even have to teach them at all they just joined right in! Then we went to church with Pastor Karen, Pastor Raul, and Pad leading. Padre preached. They have electric pianos, guitars, and microphones so we had a lot of music. We then had time to say thank you and present the school supplies and activities we brought. Everyone was so grateful to have us there and very sweet. The matriarch of the town was in tears thanking us for being there. I’m really glad we got to go while she was able to receive us. The visit ended with a big lunch of Guatemalan chicken soup and tamales. We said goodbyes and we are definitely all leaving hoping we can go back. We want to make this place our partner congregation as they were so delightful and welcoming.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Bumpy ride x100
June 27, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 81 °F
We get to do the whole process backwards to get back to our hotel. The boat ride is smooth and though slow going having a bit of breeze is nice. Guatemalan humidity is on another level. Unfortunately it starts raining on the truck ride so we have to put the tarp over and sit down. Really a horrible way to travel. So humid and claustrophobic and BUMPY! We are rattled around like a can of beans and get bruised and cramped and everything in between. However with our group we are all fun and silly so we manage to pass the time. Then, thank goodness, after pouring it down the rain stops so we stand back up for the rest of the trip. So many more people wave and stop to look at us! A whole field of soccer players stopped their game to turn and wave at us! It’s so funny being the town attraction just for driving through.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Tourist day!
June 28, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Today we get to be a bit more chill and do some regular tourist activities. First we do a coffee plantation tour and learn about how they grow different types of beans and styles. Who knew not only the roasting process but the growing and drying out process makes the beans taste different and be more or less expensive. The banana trees provide shade for the beans. Then we went zip lining through the plantation. We got to do like 10 different runs which was unexpected but awesome! Then we got a coffee taste test and demonstration. The girl running it was super sweet and let us see a couple different brewing styles! We had a really good lunch there and then back to the hotel.Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Me encanta Guatemala
June 28, 2025 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 72 °F
It’s the last days and so we do some shopping in Coban. We actually go into a more local market meaning the locals shop there not just tourists type things. It was cool to see where you might actually get your meats and spices and things if you lived here. For our final night in Coban we all had some drinks and played games! We then head back to the Lutheran Center the next day and that wraps up the trip! It was the most meaningful trip I have had to Guatemala yet! It was so fun being with new and old friends and having the whole family together. I have a renewed love for this place and its people. I also have more motivation to learn Spanish and be a part of the church group working to make us an official partner for Porvenir! Can’t wait to come back!Read more
1 like
2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Happy 4th of July!
July 3, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
Another great cabin weekend. It’s a small group with just Joanie added to the same family who just went to Guate so we really must like each other a lot. But we get to have pebbley butt and wilster with us! I went kayaking and loved it! We saw some green herons and loons! We just watched fireworks from the cabin window as it was meant to storm but they had some big shows at cabins just across the way so it worked out! One awesome thing was having a boat selling cold stone in the middle of the lake so we got ice cream sandwiches while in the channels!Read more
1 like