2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala

A 351-day adventure by Rachael Read more

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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Let the annual reading circle commence!
July 11, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
We are off to Madeline Island in Lake Superior for our camping trip this year. So I work for bit in the morning and then we drive up and get the car onto the ferry. It’s so gorgeous and blue! I’m already so pumped. We got pasta for dinner as usual on the first day but this time all we have to do is heat it up since Mike cooked it this morning. That way we don’t have to cook while also setting up. Our first time camping with a dog we just brought Willow since Pebs and her still can’t be chill around each other. Willow is a perfect little camper so it’s worked out to have her crate in the main tent and use the little tent for wood and chairs at night to stay dry. It’s actually really handy for that!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Camping activities have begun
July 12, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Today it rains in the morning so me and Erin and Willow took shelter in the bug tent but it’s really not meant for rain protection so we are damp. But we just get to read and take turns eating breakfast under the truck door and using the breakfast spoon. One spoon for all of us so we save dishes. Then we went on our first hike which was along the shore. It was a bit gloomy but very pretty. The hike was like 4 miles long and we were hungry for lunch when we got back!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Hotdogs while camping? Crazy!
July 12, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
Of course most of our time if we aren’t hiking we are reading. But we also make a fire so we can do hotdogs and chili for a late lunch. I think this is the first time we have ever done hotdogs for a camping meal. Who knew they would be a good thing to bring camping?! Dinner is french toast per usual for night two. We brought bacon this year too which was a really good idea for yumminess and a really bad idea for cleaning up. So far the bugs aren’t too bad so we don’t even need the bug tent for its intended purpose. But it’s definitely making it feel like this might be a campground we come back to.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Cliff jumping into an ice bath!
July 13, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Today’s a good day in the neighborhood! Our kayaking tour was cancelled for weather which really is unfortunate given it seems like a beautiful day and that’s what brought us here. But it’s another reason to come back! Instead we go on a hike, this one was 5 miles through tall grasses and forest. Willow’s longest walk ever! She crushed it as our leader. We then had lunch of sandwiches, so officially opening loaf of bread number 4. After that we got to go cliff jumping which I haven’t ever done. We saw someone doing it so it seemed legit. Also with such perfectly clear water you can see that nothings under there to impale you. First jump was freaky and the seconds of falling would have taken my breath away anyway but hitting the ice cold water made that feeling 10x more! It was so intense but incredible!! I did it over and over. I want to do that again soon! Willow was very cute watching us go over the edge and wondering where we went.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Bonfire time
July 13, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
That night we had pizzas in the pie irons and The Dessert. I switched it up and added peanut butter to it and wow what a perfect treat. We chatted and then had to go to bed when we saw lightening coming in from the distance. Unfortunate to get rain on the last night but check out is late actually so we mostly can dry everything out while finishing our books and enjoying the last of our sunny moments. The ferry ride was very nice again for the weather and views and so it’s a really great way to end another fab camping trip.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Raleigh here we come!
August 7, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 72 °F
Finally it’s the trip we booked months ago to see Brandon and Nicole’s wedding in Raleigh, NC. We get in in the evening so we check into the hotel which is really nice and fancy feeling. And then we walked to Midwood Smokehouse in downtown and had some really good brisket cheesesteak and BBQ nachos. I also got a spicy mule. We then walked to Raleigh Beer Garden where they have 366 beers on tap at the same time! Insane! I had a pineapple cider and Chris had a mango cider. It’s super cute in there and has a great vibe. The next morning we went to the state capitol building where they historically ran the NC government. We also went to the natural science museum. But half of it was closed, not too big a deal since it’s free, but a bummer anyway. They had real whale fossils and dinosaur fossils there though. And they are actively studying them so we got to see some scientists at work. We then went to Biscuit Belly for lunch and omg it was so so good. I’m so sad we don’t do biscuits much in MN because it is a superior bread option. And the gravy was amazing!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
It’s time for a wedding!
August 8, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
We got some big seltzers as a pregame while we got ready and then we took an uber over to the wedding venue. It was a really nice old brick building with the ceremony upstairs and then cocktails down in a little patio space. It was free drinks so I was getting wines all night. Food was a really good buffet with a lot of options. I had some of everything. We then danced to their live band who had one of the most amazing singers I have ever heard live in a small venue like that. The night went by so fast all of a sudden it was the end of the wedding. Since we were having a good time talking to Brandon and Nicole’s new friends from Raleigh we decided to go to a bar from there and then ended the night back at the beer garden. Brandon and Nicole met up with the group there. It was an incredible wedding and so good to see them again. Really feeling like coming back to hang out with them again soon.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Lots of food to end the trip
August 9, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
We wake up feeling pretty rough after being out till 2:30AM. We walked home after the beer garden and I had to take off my shoes but now my feet feel raw and I slept like a log so my neck and shoulders are stiff!! But we mange to check out and meet Chris’s friend Josh out at brunch. It was more delicious biscuits and a grilled cheese and soup for me. My body is failing me so while they disc golf I just lay on the ground by the playground. Then we get some insane milkshakes back by our hotel. It’s such a good trendy area and everything’s so close so we just keep heading back into that area. At the airport we have a lot of time so I get more food and all I really wanna do is lay down. It was great timing to see Chris’s friend. I always love the opportunity to hang with Chris’s people for a change. It was short but oh so sweet to be in Raleigh!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Anna in town
August 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
These pics are from two separate trips Anna made to MN. On the first one we went up to her cabin and had a great weekend relaxing, playing a ton of games, and seeing the sites. The sites being Gordys and the lift bridge in Duluth. We also got to go to the fair together which is my favorite place and with my favorite people it made it even better! Then she came back and she stayed at mine and Chris’s. It’s so nice to have a really great guest room to have people stay over in. We went to the apple orchard and drank Thor’s hard cider and picked our own apples. I haven’t done that before at Aamodts so that was really fun and gave the fall vibes even though it’s been a hot fall so far! We also got to go to the state fair together, and celebrate me and Mikes birthday! We went to dinner and then went out on West 7th! We hadn’t done that in years and it was a blast!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Bachelorette trip here we come!
September 11, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
We are off to Savannah Georgia to celebrate Sydney getting married!! I’m pumped for my first bach trip and to have a vacation fully planned for me - I’m just along for the ride! We get some food after our flight and then get to decorating the Airbnb. It was fun to make the place look more party ready and to surprise Syd! It was the cozy night in theme tonight and we played jeopardy about Sydney and Mike’s life. It was hilarious and some good stories came out about them that I didn’t even know about! It was a cute and fun night getting to know Sydney’s people.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Bonkers boat day
September 12, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
To start the day we head to brunch. Savannah is such a cute town I can tell just from this little walk. It’s easy to walk around and the old buildings make it much more picturesque. We then got ready for the boat day. It started with a photoshoot, paparazzi moment, moved to more photoshoot, and later another photoshoot. Our shared album from the week has over 2000 photos and this day has to be the majority of them! It was such a blast though, we had a really fast boat and the guy driving it let us off to swim and then took us to a few bars on different islands/banks. The whole thing is giving very outerbanks vibes. We order multiple shots at the first bar and then the local drink called a scrap iron at the second. We also brought seltzers and water bottles of hard liquor on the boat. We are heading for a very drunk return trip!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Meet me on the dance floor
September 12, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
The vibes are so fun and wild on the rest of the boat trip! I am definitely missing a few memories in there but by the time I got ready for the night out I can remember the rest. The boat was such a good experience and I love how close and more open with each other it made us. We all chatted and danced and jumped in the water! It’s nice to have such a good group together and having fun just being a bit wild! The night’s theme was cowboy, of course. I love my outfit for tonight! I feel like Taylor swift and I get to eat some good food and then hit the dance floor. It was a very country themed bar with a lot of line dancing. But the great thing about line dancing is it’s not awkward, everyone does the same dance and as long as you can follow along you’re part of it! I’d say my following along was 50/50 but I had a blast! No one was in a bad mood or feeling too sick which is insane for how much we drank! I think the bachelorette gods were shining down on us!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
A recovery morning
September 13, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Luckily everyone was able to get out of bed the next morning. I’m surprised because I have been too hungover to move but today it was just sore feet and tired eyes! I’d say that’s a win! We put on our hangover hat things which cool and squish your head and that helped a lot! We went to the olde pink house which was unbelievably cute inside and had some good classic southern foods. The one thing missing was biscuits though. So after lunch we walked around beautiful Savannah in search of coffee and desserts. We saw some cute shops but mostly just let the sunshine heal us and let the biscuits soak up whatever bad vibes were left in our tummies! As I have said before I love a biscuit!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
She’s in love!
September 13, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
The theme of our last night is red and pink! Basically a she’s in love theme! We get ready again and even just that is a lot of fun. Meekles and Han and I have to share one king bed but then we also get our own bathroom to pregame and get ready in. It’s like being back in college! We go to a fancy restaurant to have dinner, I had a pork chop and it was so good! They actually brought us biscuits to the table for once so I’m loving this place! We take some to go in our purse so we have a late night snack ready for later. We then went bar hopping. First stop had a lot of exotic taxidermy and also the world’s largest gemstones?! So random but very pretty. We then went to a rooftop bar with a slide which was fun but the bar shut down pretty early for some reason. So what choice did we have but to hit up the country bar again! Besides the undersides of my arms being abused by my sequins it was another very fun night with successful drinking all around! Hangover hats were still needed the next day but mostly we just basked in the fun and good vibes for the flight home!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
All the spooky times
October 31, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F
I just had to add these pics in so I could remember my amazing Taylor Swift from the ‘you need to calm down’ music video Halloween costume. As well as the fun time we had at Siri’s party! Not to mention my amazing minions costume that I did with my coworkers, Sigourney, Shelby, and Meredith! It also was just a lovely fall. Even though the colors came late and fast I spent some nice evenings on the rooftop and when Inge came to town we had a blast down on west 7th. We also visited Nico’s Halloween pop up bar and I loved it! Ghouls just wanna have fun ya know!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
DRIVING down to North Carolina
November 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 32 °F
It’s thanksgiving weekend and Chris and I are driving all the way to North Carolina to spend thanksgiving with Chris’s family. We are doing the whole journey in one day!! So we started at 5am which kinda killed me but luckily with an exciting vacation it was good motivation to get up. We also got to see the most insane sunrise. The rest of the pictures are from the next day since we arrived at about 11pm. Not bad timing! We just fully embrace cabin life and chilling when we’re here so with one short walk we spent the rest of the time just soaking up not having to work and being together!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Grateful, thankful, blessed
November 26, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
It’s officially thanksgiving day! I started with a run down their mountain road. I was insanely proud of myself because a I ran a whole mile without stopping and it was up and down hills and at elevation. I can’t even do that on a treadmill at home. The views are great though and the 50 ish degree weather is perfect! I also wanted to soak up some more outside time knowing that at home it’s about to get difficult for that so I did my nails outside. I made pumpkin pie for the meal because I can’t go without it! Ann made the rest and it was by far the best thanksgiving meal I have ever had! I don’t know what made it so freaking good but it just all came together! More and more I feel like I fit right into the family and that feels really nice since we don’t have as much time together.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
All aboard the jet ski!
November 27, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 39 °F
We specifically drove down to NC to pick up the jet ski Chris’s family has. This way if they sell the cabin we already have the jet ski. Super duper nice of them to just let Chris have it. So we also had to make sure we got it back to MN because otherwise that 18hr drive really wasn’t worth it. We ended up having to leave after thanksgiving dinner to drive part of the way home. There’s a huge snowstorm going through what would have been our path on Saturday. So we need to be back before that. Towing a jet ski in a blizzard just doesn’t seem smart. So we get to Kentucky for some sleep and then right away the next morning get up to make it the final distance home! It was a success and not a flurry to be seen.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Getting down to Georgia
December 18, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
We are back again heading to see Chris’s family! This time I get to actually go see where his parents live in St. Simons Island, Georgia. We flew into Savannah so they picked us up and we went out to eat. Chris finally got some seafood in his life and we made friends with a cat. It’s been only a few weeks since we last saw each other which is so nice since we can just get right back into spending time and getting to know each other more and more.Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Living that island life
December 19, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Ann and Philip live in the most beautiful place. It’s an island right off the coast so you take a bridge to get there and their townhouse is a pretty short walk to the beach. Chris and I took a really lovely long walk along the beach since it was low tide. We talked about life and the year we have had and what we want from the year ahead! We also got biscuit sandwiches for breakfast which let me tell you there just isn’t anything better! I really enjoy our meals together and going shopping with Ann. There’s a lot of football going on as usual but that just means a lot of time for me to read and get caught up on my reading goal of 34 books this year!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
Christmas in the south
December 20, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
The good breakfasts just keep coming. This brioche donut with whipped cream and strawberries is definitely the best thing I have ever eaten! (Chris always laughs at me because I say that about every food I eat!) I took a run around the neighborhood and down to the beach. Then we went over to the island next door which is a nature preserve and Philip volunteers there so we get on the island for free. The radio is telling me there are 4 days till Christmas but the weather is not telling me that! Hard to start believing in Christmas time when it’s 65 and super sunny! We went mini golfing with Patrick and then saw some nice Christmas lights at the historical area of the island. We drank hot chocolate and the Christmas feelings started to seep in just a little bit more!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
I could bike all day
December 21, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
This day was my absolute favorite day. A top experience of the year I think. Chris and I went back to Jekyll Island and this time rented bikes to take around the island. We went the whole way around. This meant we biked along the beach, through my FAVORITE Spanish moss covered trees, by the pier and through the historical area. Just getting to spend so many hours together just with Chris was the perfect date. It was not busy at all so we also had so many places to ourselves. We saw driftwood beach which is famous for all the spooky trees lying on the shore. We also stopped for a snack and drink by the ocean. We were being absolutely stalked by the birds there! They really wanted our fried pickles! I just find this place so so beautiful! We had a lot of fun on this trip and got to do Christmas presents with his parents and just soak up some sun and good vibes! We have to leave too soon but I am excited for a white Christmas!Read more
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2025 Travels: USA & Guatemala Traveler
All the festive times
December 25, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F
This year was so full of Christmas events and good times! Mike, Lane, and I visited both European Christmas markets and I got a lot of my gifts for people there. We also ate a lot of good food! Especially this jalapeño cream cheese brat! The family went to Krueger’s to get the Christmas tree of course! I also went to Christmas bars and made Christmas cookies! LeighAnna, Mike, and I beat our record with over 500 cookies made in one day! We were so busy this December Mike had to take a day off work to fit in the cookie making extravaganza! We did our Wahlstedt Christmas and new baby Naomi was the star! I just can’t get enough of Christmas! It was a beautiful season and I already can’t wait till next year!Read more
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Trip end
December 31, 2025