thailand // Deep Water Soloing

One of the main reasons we went to Thailand was for the rock climbing. Alden grew up bouldering and has dreamed about going to Thailand to try deep water soloing. Deep water soloing is when you scale tall cliffs without rope or harnesses and drop into the blue green waters below. The perfect mix of rock climbing and cliff jumping. It was so fun to watch his dream come true.

While staying on a peninsula called Railay we got up early one morning and jumped aboard a sail boat. We went out with a group of six and our guide and sailed out to some small islands made up of steep cliffs.

We all loaded into a dingy and pushed off toward the cliffs. Alden jumped out and started climbing like a pro. It was so fun to watch him. Just to get this out there.... I'm terrified of heights, and the ocean, and sharks. BUT I did manage to scale about 7 feet up a cliff and jump off. GO ME.

For lunch we ate at a small beach (fried rice! woot). Right after we finished, a massive storm came in. It was freezing cold so we got in the water to stay warm and hung out under and overhang. We were in the water for probably 45 mins when things cleared up enough for us to move on.

We headed to another spot where Alden and our guide were the only ones to scale this crazy cliff. Alden had to basically do the splits from the wall to a hanging stalactite.  We were all cheering him on and this British woman on our tour asked when he stretched into the splits, "Did you know he could do that?".... No, darling, I did not.

That boy never ceases to amaze me. I love watching him do things he is good at, things he is passionate about, things that scare me a little bit.

The day ended with a sail back and Bob Marley blasting from the stereo. Oh... and a cold pop. 

wear / there / morocco

pants | blouse | shoes | scarf | necklace | bag

I've decided to bring back the wear there posts! For those of you who are new around here... Wear There posts are when I pick a place I'd like to visit and then create an outfit of what I'd wear there! Check out the bottom of the post to see some of the past wear there's.

I have a neighbor, Julie, that I grew up with in Idaho, who also ended up being my neighbor in Hawaii for a short time who is in Morocco right now. Her and her husband joined the Peace Corps and will be in Morocco for over 2 years. It's been fun to read about their journey and see what life is like in another country. (Click here to read her blog about their time in Morocco!) Their adventures inspired this post... and while Morocco isn't at the top of my list I do think it would be a neat place to visit (maybe take a boat ride there from Spain?) I asked Julie how to dress in Morocco and what to expect if you visit. Here is what she said,

"There are certainly spoken and unspoken rules of modesty here in Morocco, which vary region by region. However, a good general rule to follow is cover your elbows, cover your bottom, and avoid showing your figure. This makes you and everyone around you more comfortable.
Morocco is nicknamed "the cold land with the hot sun," and nothing could be more accurate. In the winter, the weather is bone chilling. Without central heating in most buildings and houses, thermals, winter coats, and gloves can be worn at all times. In the summer, temperatures sky rocket above 100 degrees in many areas. This is when being modest is challenged."

Also, click over to Say Yes to Hoboken where I am talking about overalls today! Would you wear overalls? Did you wear them when you were a kid like I did?

Past Wear There Posts
Thailand | Switzerland | Ireland | Greece | New Zealand | Paris | San Francisco | Italy

Thailand // Ko Lanta

This is part two is a series about our trip to Thailand. To see part one, go here.

After our relaxing time on Ko Phi Phi we took a ferry down to Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta is a larger island with one main road and the main form of transportation is moped! We checked into our little hut and headed off to our cooking class. The class was VERY interesting and was timed nicely since it was pouring outside the entire time. We learned the different ingredients in Thai food and when or when not to eat certain ingredients in the dishes. We then got to make our own food. Our favorite was the green curry, we have since whipped up a batch at home and it was delicious! Our only complaint about the class was how long it was. We were on our feet for about 7 hours, barefoot on cement floor. My feet were swollen and my ankles turned into cankles.

The next day we rented a moped and cruised around the island. We stopped at huge cave and had a guide take us through. They didn't tell me before hand but the cave was full of spiders the size of my hand! The guide got a kick out of pointing out the spiders whenever he saw them just to see me freak out.... We saw at least 10 spiders. I probably wouldn't have gone in if I would have known about the spiders but it was fun anyway. Alden was brave and swam in a pool at the bottom of the cave. His words were... "How can you pass up the opportunity to swim in an underground secret lagoon in Thailand?"

We had planned to go to a national forest after that but it began to rain. We stopped and had lunch and enjoyed the view. We made a stop at a beach on the way home and collected shells until the storm started up again. The next day we loaded up and headed on to the next part of our adventure. It was a short trip and we didn't really get to take advantage of Ko Lanta because of the lack of time and the weather but we enjoyed the change of scenery and driving the moped around on the other side of the road!

*If you are planning a trip of your own to Thailand, we stayed at Lanta Castaway. The cooking class we took was through Time for Lime.

Thailand//Ko Phi Phi

This is part 1 of a series on our trip to Thailand.

Going to Thailand was an amazing experience for me on so many levels.

I had some reservations going into it... long flight, safety, getting sick, and the fact that I had never even been out of the United States.

On the 19 hour flight over I took some medicine so I could sleep through the flight and I also took a little pill to help me keep calm (because flying kind of freaks me out) and I swear that pill kicked in and lasted the entire trip. I felt SO safe in Thailand. More safe than I do in California sometimes. The people were really nice, and ya they were usually trying to sell you something but they didn't take advantage of you.

We flew into Bangkok, transferred airports, slept on the floor and then flew down to Krabi. We spent one night there to kind of "recover" but we were doing surprisingly well so we got out and explored a bit. Krabi is a pretty authentic city and was run down but we caught a "little white bus" aka a small white truck that you ride in the back of and headed to Au Nang where we found a secret beach and some wild and crazy monkeys.

The next day we took a 2 hour ferry to Ko Phi Phi. Ko Phi Phi is an island with a cove on both sides and a small stretch of beach in the middle. The small stretch of beach was crazy crowded and over run with shops and tourists but luckily we had booked our hotel on long beach, which was out and away from all the commotion. We had to take a long boat anytime we wanted to go off of our beach but it was only $3 a person.

Our beach had amazing views of the rest of the island as well as surrounding islands. There were other people there but it was never crowded. Most mornings we even had the beach to ourselves. Ko Phi Phi was definitly the most gorgeous, breath taking part of our trip. It was relaxing and a nice way to kick off our adventure.

Some things we did in Ko Phi Phi,

• Thai massages on the beach at our resort. I think they were one hour for $12.
• Snorkel Trip. Our snorkle trip was probably one of the only disappointing things in Thailand. We booked a cheap tour through our hotel and decided to only do a half day which we were glad we did because our guide was a jerk. Also, the reefs aren't as protected over there so the snorkling really wasn't that great and the places they took us were very crowded.
• Thanksgiving dinner on the beach where we ate a whole fish instead of turkey.
• Ko Phi Phi view hike through town up to the viewpoint and down through the jungle to Rantee Beach on the other side of the island.
• Morning hike to the other side of the island to watch the sunrise.

*If you are planning a trip of your own to Thailand for your information we stayed at Paradise Resort on Ko Phi Phi Long Beach and we highly recommend it.

skipped town

7:38 pm Friday night we got the itch to get out of town. We got on Priceline and did some last minute bidding and by 8:30 pm we were on the road to Monterey.

We stopped at Chick-a-filet for some free dinner (Alden won a years worth of meals, didn't I tell you?) and we got to eat on the road! One of my favorite pastimes that Alden isn't a fan of. I guess eating and driving is very different in Idaho vs California.

We scored a nice hotel in Monterey and found out that loads of celebrities like Kenny G and Bill Murray were in town for a golf tournament. Score.

We woke up Saturday and did what we always do, garage selling and thrifting. I found some gorgeous vintage dresses at an estate sale but they were just a little too big up top (boob jobs ruin everything I tell you).

Then we ate brunch on the water and it was delicious and relaxing. We hit up some more thrift stores and scored us a head board for $30. This is the kind of thrill we live for (exciting I know).

We started heading home up the coast and stopped in Santa Cruz to check out the beach. We walked the pier, enjoyed the shops, had some Mexican and went to Gap. Because no trip is complete without a trip to Gap (they are having some killer sales right now btw).

Our only regret?.... Not staying another night, or two or three.

Wear//there poll

I started the wear//there series while Alden and I were trying to decide where to go on our trip. Well we've made our decision and even bought our tickets!!! (Click here to see where we are going). But now the question is, should I continue with the wear//there series??? I've put a little poll up on the side where you can go vote. If you DO want it to stick around then leave me a comment and let me know what places you would like to see me do wear//there posts for. The skies the limit! I could maybe even do a post for what to wear to the moon... MAYBE. Don't hold me to that :). The poll closes next Wednesday so vote now!