French Quarter - New Orleans

New Orleans, you head the words and instantly probably think Hurricane Katrina, but in truth when I hear New Orleans that is the last thing I think about. In the long time I’ve lived in Texas I’ve driven past New Orleans probably five times and had never stopped. I thought about driving one time when I was road tripping by myself, but the drive just seemed too far and coffee was not going to cut it to keep me awake. So I waited and waited and forgot my long lost plans to go. Then it finally happened I went and let me just say going to the French Quarter was like going back in time. All the buildings in the French Quarter just so happened to be turning 300 years old while we were there visiting and can I just say I fell in love with what I got to explore while I was there. Being there was a little bitter sweet because it reminded me of the buildings in Cuba so much, in a way it was like being there again. I tried two of the must haves while I was there beignets and I also had a hand grenade.

West Texas Road Trip: Big Bend & Marfa

  Photo Cred: Alonzo Williams Jr.

West Texas is full of long stretches of road surrounded by rocky mountains. At sunrise the sun lights up the horizon, with the brightest hues of orange and sometimes purple. With every mile you drive the road takes you further away from home, but closer to wonder and excitement of the unknown. The star kissed sky in Big Bend is breathtaking. 

If you thought shooting stars, were rare here they aren’t. One passes every five minutes, and you just cannot get enough of it once you realize there will be more than one grazing the sky during your stay. If you’re up for driving 30 minutes up the mountain from the lodge area, The Hot Springs trail is the perfect place to catch the sunrise. 

 It escapes from behind the mountains slowly to greet you. It’s a slow and beautiful progression of different shades, going from a subtle purple, that turns into yellow, and suddenly the brightest orange. The scenery here is beautiful in the early morning, but plan to get here at the crack of dawn if not a few minutes before while it’s still slightly dark. From a distance you’ll notice the rises from the stream at the end of the trail. When you park you’ll see a casita (ca-see-ta) is the pronunciation in Spanish. Walking toward the hot spring, you’ll pass up a lot bushes, I loved that there was a palm tree, where if you stand in the right place while the sun is coming out is a great photo opp. As you make your way through the fog, you forget that at night this is were a lot of animals rest (there's evidence on the ground), but seeing all the fog, the sun rising and being in that moment makes you forget all about it.. Beautiful isn’t enough to describe it you just have to see it, I even forgot it was in the low 30s just standing there taking in the view.

If you’re patient an hour or so after you arrive. And you might think “yeah, well I’ve seen the sunrise countless of times.” but here’s the truth you haven’t seen it like this before. After a lot of driving to get to the park and to that specific spot, it was the perfect way to begin the day, it felt like the sun brought us back to life.

Photo Cred: Alonzo Williams Jr.

All inexperienced National park goes raise your hands.. UP HIGH. Okay.. It’s easy saying let’s hike up the mountain to see the Balanced Rock, and whole different thing is hiking your way to the very top to see said thing. The trail to get to Balanced rock is in the Grapevine Hills in big bend, the trail is mostly gravel and dirt, and not too bad, but the last quarter mile is a steep on. Having to hand onto heavy boulders to get to the top, stepping as carefully as possible on your way up, although you might want to take many pictures on the way up that last quarter mile isn’t the best time. Reading the sign which tells you the rail is 0.5 miles is encouraging, but 0.5 miles will never be the same again to me.

The longer we hiked the more you feel the elevation weigh down on your body. The trail up to the top teaches you a few things, there are endless photo opps you might miss on the way up but will most definitely notice on the climb down. Prime example is me getting on top of a huge boulder that was 20 times my size.  It reminds you the kind of attention to detail you have to have in that moment to remember exactly where you walked through. It reinstates the a certain fear/respect for natures
sine you're in the center of two steep mountains which could make you a target if there were animals around.

I kept thinking “oh my god what if a giant mountain lion pops up out of nowhere.” Thinking back about that I laugh. Last and most importantly remember the distance is always longer than it seems because you’re walking at an incline, and the elevation makes it harder on your body to breathe. Once you finally make it to the top the small struggle is, well DEFINITELY more than worth it. From up there you can see out for miles in multiple directions, but the most satisfying for me was to see how far up we’d hiked that view was beautiful.

* All pictures included here were taken by photographer Alonzo Williams Jr. click anywhere on this post you see his name to see more of his work*

Standard Diner Albuquerque

There is a lot to be said about Downtown, Albuquerque .. But in a few words its underdeveloped, I am not here to sham on the this area of the city it is just unexpectedly so much different than you would imagine. But as previously stated I am not here to say never visit. I love finding variety, when it comes to eating somewhere whether its in the atmosphere of the place, the selection of the menu, the friendly staff or good prices for good food portions.

 This place in Albuquerque exactly 15 plus hrs from home is more than what I expected after arriving. Located on Central Ave, Standard Diner gives off a very kind of homey feeling with their modern rustic decor. The diner known for their bourbon butter burger, does not disappoint. It has a varied selection of wines from various U.S. states, other countries, locally made wine, and even organic wine. it keeps you engaged with the friendly staff who constantly makes sure that you have everything you want at your table.

For beer fanatics, the beverage menu also features over 10 locally brewed beers on tap with interesting names such as the "Alien Amber Ale", "Monk's Ale", and another cleverly named "A Slice Of Hefen".

The best part in my opinion has got to be the extensive amount of food selection in their dinner, breakfast, lunch, kids, and dessert menu. A lot of places lack an extensive selection of menu items but that is not the case with Standard Diner. 

I would say you get more than what you paid for in food portions, because of the simple fact that nothing on the menu is over $15 unless you order some kind of seafood, steak or specialty dish. If you find yourself  in Downtown Albuquerque and starving for some good food or desserts made from scratch, or maybe if you are on the quest of finding some really good locally brewed beers,locally made desserts, (such as their yuzu cheesecake) or just a great experience. Then Standard Diner is totally the place for you to go !!! I loved it here (since I am sitting in it as I write this lol) I am  look forward to coming to Albuquerque again just to eat here. And it is very rare for me to be genuinely excited about a lot of places for multiple reasons. But I wouldn't mind driving 15 hrs again or maybe i'll fly next time haha. Regardless this is definitely a place that is worth the visit. What do you guys think? Have you been to Standard Diner before? Let me know belooow !            xx -Steph