Road Trip Photo Diary

9 months ago we decided we wanted to do a big US trip this summer with two of our closest friends who live in Israel, Roei and Nofar. We had been counting down and planning this road trip ever since and now we can't believe it's over! I decided to take last week off (maybe you noticed there weren't posts last Tuesday or Thursday) because I really wanted to enjoy our time together, enjoy being outside in some of these beautiful places and leave my computer turned off for a few days. I hope you don't mind! The trip was everything we expected and more. If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you have a good idea of where we've been and what we've done. But, I really wanted to share my favorite photos and a little recap of the last two weeks here.

2 weeks ago the four of us hopped on a plane from Chicago to San Francisco and this is where our adventure began. We rented a car (luckily a HUGE Toyota Sequoia thanks to Oren putting on his charm with the lady at the rental car place) and headed into the city. We explored San Francisco for 2 days, saw close friends and family, ate amazing food (totally indulged at Mr Holmes Bakehouse) and visited a few different neighborhoods. We woke up bright and early the 3rd morning to head to Yosemite.

Yosemite was unreal. It totally lived up to it's reputation. We hiked to waterfalls, and stood at the bottom of some that soared higher than I knew possible. The views were amazing and so was the Shakshuka Roei cooked for us that night. The mountain lion that visited our tent at 3:30 that morning on the other hand, was not so pleasant! Who knew all four of us wouldn't ended up sleeping the rest of the night in the car!!!

The next day we drove to Big Sur. Even the drive there was breathtaking. Amazing rolling hills covered in trees, different than any landscape I've ever seen. After a few hours, we hit the coast road and drove along the water until Big Sur. The views were seriously unbelievable. I know I'm using a lot of positive words in this post, but there's not enough to explain some of these things! Highway 1 is a super windy road as high as the clouds. Each turn is a new view over the cliff down to the ocean. It truly is unreal, I hope everyone gets to drive this road one day.

When we got to Big Sur, we checked into our adorable vintage airstream trailers way up in the mountains. We cooked a feast on the grill and just enjoyed all being together and away from the rest of the world. The following morning we visited 3 different parks/beaches in Big Sur. We relaxed, hiked and took lots of pictures. We cooked again that night and headed out early the next morning to make our way to LA.

This drive was crazy! We hit the road around 7am and literally drove through the clouds. I was always thankful that Oren was our driver but I was especially thankful this morning. It was beautiful but a little scary! The visibility was horrible! We made stops on the way to watch the elephant seals play in the water and to eat breakfast in San Luis Obispo.

We made it to our adorable little house in Venice beach late that afternoon. We dropped our things and went to explore Abbott Kinney. I had never been there, what an adorable street! The next day, Oren and I spent the day with my best friend, Sophie while Roei and Nofar went to Disney. We ended the day with an EPIC dinner at Sophies parents house where they made homemade pizza in their wood fired outdoor grill with homemade dough and tomato sauce made from tomatoes picked from their garden. Now that's what I call farm to table! Our last day in LA we explored venice beach and enjoyed time with a few of our friends in LA. The next morning we headed to Vegas.

I had never been to Vegas before and to be honest, I didn't really have much interest in going. I'm not a drinker or a partier, I've never gambled and I'm usually in bed before midnight... But, to Vegas we went! We spend the afternoon laying by the pool (can't complain about that!) and in the evening went to see Cirque Du Soleil, LOVE. That was my favorite part of Vegas. The show was unbelievable! We only stayed one night. The next morning we headed back to the wilderness to Bryce Canyon National Park!

The views in Bryce were insane. We kept saying that we felt like we were looking at a painting! We did an amazing hike down into the canyon and made another amazing dinner at our campsite. Bryce was short yet sweet. The next morning we headed to Zion.

It's hard to choose but I think of all the parks, Zion was my favorite. We hiked through the river in a canyon and climbed 1000 feet on another hike to be able to see the slot canyons. All I have to say is WOW! I really don't even know how to explain it to you! All I can say is I'm glad we have pictures!

The next day we headed back to Vegas because we were flying home from there. There ended up being a a great surprise for the boys in Vegas. The whole NBA was there and Oren sat and played a hand of black jack with Derrick Rose!!! Ok ok Vegas, you redeemed yourself a little on this one!

The next morning we flew home to Chicago and capped off the road trip by driving to Madison Friday evening, spending the weekend with my family and going to one of my oldest friends, beautiful weddings. It's been a whirlwind of a couple weeks but it's been such a blast. Feeling so lucky and so grateful.

xx Ali