Belize: Island Edition

After saying our goodbyes to Ron, Al and the jungle we were finally ready to begin our journey to the  caye. All it took was a car, plane (very small plane...), and boat ride to get us all to Pelican Beach Resort (which I highly recommend) on South Water Caye. All of the traveling was well worth it because the island was beyond amazing. Itis the island that is in your daydreams  or the one that the doctor asks you to picture while giving you a shot 

Yup...Thats it! Pretty spectacular. 

As soon as we put our stuff down we rented snorkeling gear and swam out to the coral reef.  It was my first time snorkeling so I was a little nervous but I soon discovered it was as easy as everyone said it would be! I then spent the afternoon exploring/photographing the island and our resort.

Our cottage

View looking out from our cottage

The cottage's dock

Osprey that hung out around the cottage

Each day we would travel by boat to explore different reefs. We saw different types of sting rays, barracudas, and tons of fish (my favorite were the parrotfish). We even spent one night snorkeling which sounds more scary then it was. We saw lobster, crab, squid, bioluminescent plankton, and an octopus in the night waters!

If I wasn't snorkeling or swimming most of my time was spent reading, tanning and "hammocking". There were hammocks everywhere- on the beach, on our porch and hidden among trees. I think most afternoons I fell asleep in the hammock having only read two pages in my book. It was perfect.

Blurry-but captures our days perfectly

The last night on the island we ate a delicious dinner of fish and coconut rice. We spent the rest of the night listening to a huge storm roll in and loosing all of our money playing poker. Unfortunately, the storm got worse through the night so we were forced to leave the island while there was a break in weather. We traveled back to the mainland and then on to the airport. 

It was sad to say goodbye to such a beautiful vacation. I was so lucky that Luke's family decided to bring me along (THANK YOU SO MUCH!). We all said our goodbyes at the airport and headed back to separate states for the summer. Luke and I flew to Portland to finish packing up his apartment and then drove back to Chicago for the summer. I'll let y'all know how our drive back to Chicago was in my next blog post!

Belize: Jungle Edition

Visiting my Great-Aunt in Austin was my official kick off to summer travel. The day I left Austin I drove up to Dallas to catch a flight out of DFW bound for Belize! I was lucky enough to tag along with my boyfriend's family on their vacation-there was a total of six of us. Seeing as I had never traveled further south than the Bahamas, I was pumped to be traveling to Central America! We split the trip into two sections; We spent the first half of the trip in an inland Jungle and then closed out the trip on an island. Since the two experiences were different I have decided to split them into two blog posts. This post will focus on my time in the jungle.

While we were in the jungle we stayed at Macaw Bank Jungle Lodge. It was the most wonderful and welcoming location I have ever stayed at. The owners, Ron and Al, are incredibly sweet and a real treat to talk to. They will fill your ears with crazy stories about the lodge and make you delicious rum punches or margaritas. The lodge was located right outside of San Ignacio and was surrounded by jungle, the Macal River and Mayan ruins within driving distance. We visited a few Mayan ruins including Xunantunich, Barton Creek Cave, and Caracol. 

Xunantunich

View from top of El Castillo at Xunantunich

After spending our days exploring, zip lining or birding we would relax by tubing down the Macal River or walking around the lodge's amazing property. The six of us would then gather in the dining room at the lodge for dinner. Ron and Al fed us like royalty while we where there. A few of my favorites dishes that they made were coconut curry shrimp, chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, and a fresh salad with homemade bleu cheese dressing. After a few drinks and fun conversation we'd follow the lantern-lit path back to our cabanas.

Jungle Path

Dining Room

We had so many GREAT adventures in the jungle that we found it hard to leave! Yet, those adventures took a toll on our typical sleep schedules and we were all ready for a little R&R on the island of South Water Caye. But for now, I'll leave you with a few more pictures from our time in the jungle!

Rio Frio Cave

Big Rock Falls

Austin, Texas

I always look forward to summer because it's provides plenty of time for traveling. My first trip of the summer was after my sister, Annie, graduated from college (Go Annie!). We decided to drive from Memphis to visit our fabulous Great-Aunt in Austin, Texas. 

Driving through Austin!

Allen's Boots

The Mighty Cone

Drinks at Clive wearing great-grandmothers jewelry.

We spent much of our time there enjoying all types of food. Some of the highlights were the Mighty Cone Food Truck, amazing spicy coconut and peanut ice cream from Lick, and the wonderful homemade meals cooked by our Aunt. My favorite dish she made was a turkey meatball soup with brown rice. You can make it using this recipe (but swap teriyaki meatballs for turkey and noodles for brown rice).

One afternoon we wandered down South Congress to do a little shopping. We stopped into Allen's  and drooled over their cowboy boots. They are so beautifully made that it was hard to resist buying a pair-the college funds won't allow it! After we left Allen's we went next-door and browsed through the thousands of vintage finds at Uncommon Objects. They have a very inspiring americana section which I encourage everyone to go see. Yet knowing my style my Aunt saved the best shop for last. The boutique is called Feathers and they have both vintage and new clothes. I picked up a funky cheetah print romper from the 90's for my golden birthday! It's pretty ridiculous-in a wonderful kinda way!

At night we would grab a few drinks (my favorite was a New York Sour from Clive), eat cayenne pepper brownies with fresh whipped cream (yes...every night), and watch Nancy Meyer's movies. Annie and I were lucky enough to sift through our great-grandmothers jewelry and snag some beautiful pieces. Then, as a souvenir, the three of us took a charm from my great-grandmothers charm bracelet and put them on necklaces. It was magical to turn a bracelet that my great-grandmother loved so much into a memento we all could cherish and enjoy.

It was delightful to spend time with my Great-Aunt and catch up. It had been years since we last saw each other. I also fell in LOVE with Austin! It is such a fun city and it is somewhere I would love to visit again.