My Travels

8/2026

During the first summer of my postdoc, we took a road trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We spent a week in Munising exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and basked on Miners Beach. We fully embraced the pirate theme and took a ghost ship tour and built sand castles on Sandy Point Beach. We also spent time in Marquette hanging out at Presque Isle Park and exploring Black Rocks and hiking Sugarloaf Mountain.

7/2026

We took a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes, where we explored the dunes and spent time in Glen Arbor at Cherry Republic and the Cherry Public House. We visited Glen Haven Beach, with its big historic fishing boat by the old Cannery, and hiked the wooded Empire Bluff Trail to an overlook with incredible views of Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes.

all the time

This is actually a culmination of several trips! We spend a lot of holidays in Oregon, and much of my work brings me to the Pacific Northwest. My partner’s sister and brother both live in Portland, so we visit often. We’ve explored all over—from hiking at Moulton Falls Regional Park to visiting Hopscotch, and, of course, enjoying Portland’s coffee scene at places like The Fresh Pot.

7/2022

To celebrate our babymoon, Jordan and I took a two-week road trip around Iceland. We were incredibly lucky to have beautiful skies for most of the trip as we made our way around the Ring Road. We chased countless waterfalls, including Skógafoss, Seljalandsfoss, and Goðafoss. We went whale watching in Húsavík, and, of course, visited Eurovision Museum! Along the way, we took in black-sand beaches, glacier lagoons, dramatic volcanic landscapes.

9/2021

Jordan and I took this trip over a long weekend with our good friend (and treasured member of our “quaran-team”) Pamela. We spent our days sandboarding across the dunes, wandering along Medano Creek, and taking in the enormous dunefield against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. At night, we roasted marshmallows and enjoyed some incredible stargazing beneath the park’s famously dark skies.

6/2021

For eight days, I rafted down the Colorado River with Chelsea, another student in my graduate program. It was quite a wild ride! We watched bighorn sheep battle along the canyon walls, weathered a small flash flood that swept through our campsite, and explored lush, cavernous oases tucked among the iron-rich sandstone cliffs the Grand Canyon is famous for.

1/2020

Restless after a busy third semester of graduate school, Jordan and I ran away to snowy Moab for New Year’s—with our kitty, Lady G, and puppy, Goldberry, in tow. We spent our days hiking to Delicate Arch, exploring Hidden Valley Trail, and wandering among the towering formations at Fisher Towers. The trip was even more breathtaking than I imagined: there was something magical about seeing crisp white snow blanketing Moab’s rusty-red sandstone.

8/2019

During our road trip to Washington State, we spent three days exploring Grand Teton National Park. We kayaked across Jackson Lake, relaxed on the rocky beaches beneath the Tetons, and even spotted a few bears along the way. We also ended up rafting down the Snake River with an older fellow camper who befriended us at the campground and invited us along. One night, we fully embraced the road-trip experience and slept in our car before heading out for another day of exploring.

8/2019

This is by far my favorite national park! Jordan and I spent several days exploring the Olympic Peninsula with our good friend from college, Geoff, driving along the coast and wandering through the misty Hoh Rain Forest. We camped right on Second Beach, surrounded by towering sea stacks and the sound of the Pacific. And, of course, as a girl who grew up in the early 2000s, I had to make a pilgrimage to Forks and La Push in search of some vampires!

8/2019

I cannot emphasize enough how beautiful Mount Rainier National Park is. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, don’t pass it up! The park is surrounded by jagged mountain peaks and humblingly tall evergreens, all set against vibrant wildflower meadows that speckle the landscape. We spent our time hiking among alpine meadows, waterfalls, and glaciers, with Mount Rainier looming above us at nearly every turn.

8/2019

This forest started off our road trip with a bang. We spent one day climbing the 12,000-foot Medicine-Bowe Peak. Unfortunately, being of cloudy-high-latitude Irish origin, my skin ignored all the sunscreen I slathered on that morning. So, we spent our second day hiding in a shady campsite while I recovered. If I'm being honest though, I was absolutely worth it!

6/2019

Jordan and I needed to escape Boulder for a day so we ran away to the National Park. We hiked 5-miles hiking from Bierstadt Lake to Bear Lake and back. It was a nice way to sneak into the most popular part of the National Park without dealing with much of the hassle!

1/2019

To distract me from anxiously awaiting responses to my graduate school applications, Jordan and I spent a week exploring Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. We split our time between Cancún, Tulum, Chichén Itzá, and Playa del Carmen, soaking up the sunshine, swimming in the Caribbean, exploring ancient Maya ruins, and enjoying plenty of good food along the way. It was the perfect escape from application-season stress—and made even more memorable because, shortly after we returned, I learned that I had been accepted to CU Boulder!

7/2018

Jordan and I spent a long weekend on the Cape enjoying the beaches, eating sea food, and of course the impromptu hilarious drag show while walking around the beautiful Provincetown. It was a wonderful short escape from my internship in Boston over the summer.

7/2017 - 8/2017

6/2017 - 7/2017

11/2016

11/2016

2/2014 - 3/2014

3/2014 - 4/2014

5/2011 - 7/2011

I studied abroad in Peru during my junior year of college! I stayed with a wonderful family and spent to summer brushing up on my Spanish. My favorite part, by far, was seeing Machu Picchu (I even went twice).  I highly reccomend riding the train in because the cliffs necessary to pass on by car into Agua Caliente are terrifying!